Herman

Herman is a male wildebeest.
Due to Herman's unattractive physical appearance, many Pride Landers were afraid of him. Even so, he had a crush on a beautiful gazelle named Lara and asked Rafiki to help him become more attractive so that she would notice him. Rafiki did so, and Herman attempted to court Lara, only for a male gazelle named Mel to challenge him. During the fight, Herman exposed his ugly appearance, which caused Mel to flee. Inspired by Herman's self-confidence, Lara revealed her own ugly appearance, and the two became a couple.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Herman lived in the Pride Lands. He was notorious for his hideous physical appearance.
===Romance with Lara===
When Herman approached a water hole to get a drink of water, his ugliness chased away the animals who had been gathered around the pool, which left him alone with Lara and her two friends. When the friends realized that they were in the presence of such an ugly beast, they laughed at him and mocked him for his appearance until Lara told them to leave him alone. She then asked him if he would attend her birthday party, and, ignoring the protests of her friends, he accepted the invitation.
Later that day, Herman accidentally rammed into Rafiki's tree and got doused by a bowl of food that toppled from its branches. Alerted by the accident, Rafiki scrambled down his tree and asked Herman if he was all right. Still saddened by his encounter with Lara, Herman admitted his problems to Rafiki and asked the mandrill for help in impressing Lara at her birthday party. After examining Herman's condition, Rafiki agreed to do so.
For his first lesson, Rafiki decided to teach Herman about posture. To start the lesson, he instructed Herman to walk across a line of crocodiles and then return to him without falling. Despite successfully crossing the crocodiles, Herman stumbled back to the bank by plowing into Rafiki and knocking them both into a tree.
For his second attempt to tame Herman, Rafiki offered the wildebeest a special drink that would make his voice sound less grotesque. Though initially hesitant to try the drink, Herman took a sip and found that the potion worked but made his voice change every few seconds. A simple hit on the head with Rafiki's stick made the sounds stop changing, and Herman was left with a stunning new voice.
For his third trick, Rafiki worked his magic on Herman by fixing his teeth and horns, bathing him, and giving him a makeover. At last, Rafiki deemed the wildebeest handsome and tilted a mirror to show Herman his stunning new look.
At Lara's birthday party, she spurned Mel's love for her. She then turned to find that Herman was at her party and handsomer than ever. Outraged at being outdone by a wildebeest, Mel challenged Herman to a fight in which they would run at each other full-force and collide horns. Determined to win Lara's heart, Herman agreed.
As the two charged at each other, Herman suddenly realized that he must be true to himself and dunked his head underwater, which changed him back into an ugly beast. Mel stopped short at Herman's transformation and ran away, screaming. Despite his victory, Herman was sad that he was ugly again and began to troop away with Rafiki until he was stopped by Lara, who complimented him on his bravery. She then dunked her head underwater, revealing herself to be ugly as well, and the two shared a romantic kiss.
==Physical appearance==
Herman is notorious for his ugliness. He is large, hunch-backed, and gangly, with gray fur, a black mane, and dark stripes on his back. He has crooked horns, buck teeth, and unevenly spaced black eyes.
==Personality and traits==
Herman is quite shy and gets upset easily when other animals run away from him due to his ugliness. He has romantic feelings for Lara and initially wanted to get her attention during her birthday party. During his fight with Mel, Herman learned from Rafiki that he must be true to himself and changed back to his ugly form. His courage to be himself inspired Lara to gain the same self-confidence.
==Appearances==
* The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
** "Beauty and the Wildebeest"
==Trivia==
* Herman was voiced by Richard Karron.
** Karron also voiced Eddie.
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa characters
Category:Males
Category:Wildebeests