2019 remake starring Donald Glover and Beyonce.
Despite the fact that Timon and Pumbaa are nearly universally beloved Disney characters, fans do not know a lot about them. With so much excitement and nostalgia surrounding The Lion King once again, it is time to revisit some facts about two of its most important characters and learn more about them.
TIMON AND PUMBAA’S VOICES ALMOST WENT TO DIFFERENT CHARACTERS
This may come as a shock to many The Lion King fans, but Nathan Lane (who voiced Timon) and Ernie Sabella (who voiced Pumbaa) were initially brought in to audition for the roles of the hyenas in the movie. However, the film’s directors were apparently worried that Lion King was turning out to have too dark of a tone.
After Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella auditioned for Disney, the studio started to get different ideas for the movie as a whole. During an interview with the Huffington Post, Sabella explained: “There was something in our ad-libs that made [The Lion King director] Roger think that we could maybe be the voices of these comic characters that hadn’t even been developed yet.” All in all, it is safe to say that the idea for Timon and Pumbaa originated from Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella’s audition for the roles of the hyenas.
HAKUNA MATATA ORIGINALLY HAD A VERSE EXPLAINING TIMON’S BACKSTORY
We all know that “Hakuna Matata” explains not only what this catchphrase actually means, but also provides a little bit of backstory as to where Pumbaa came from. While we have all come to accept this wonderful, fun song as it is… It still begs the question: why didn’t we also get Timon’s backstory?
As the story goes, “Hakuna Matata” originally did have an entire verse explaining Timon’s backstory, which sounds just like the verse about Pumbaa. However, the verse was eventually cut out of the song because it was considered to be too long.
PUMBAA WAS THE FIRST CHARACTER TO EVER FART IN A DISNEY MOVIE
This may come as a surprise to many, but Pumbaa actually holds the very important title of being the first-ever character to fart on screen in a Disney movie. That’s right: before The Lion King in 1994, no character had ever farted in an animated feature produced by Disney.
It is safe to say that, if there was ever a character that was able to break the stigma of ing gas in a Disney film, that was certainly Pumbaa.
TIMON DISCOVERED THE GREEN JUNGLE PARADISE WHERE THEY LIVE
You know the green jungle paradise where Timon and Pumbaa live, where they introduce Simba to “Hakuna Matata” and eat slimy things for dessert? Well, according to The Lion King 1 ½, it was Timon who found that incredible place.
After the Kingdom Hearts II game, it is established that the lionesses of Pride Rock knew of this jungle paradise, but were blocked by Scar to move there.
IN SWAHILI, PUMBAA MEANS “LAZY”
Many of the words and character names used in The Lion King came from the Swahili language, which is considered the common language of various parts of Africa, including Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, to name a few. For example, “Hakuna Matata” comes from Swahili, where it literally means “no worries.”
Like many other names and in The Lion King, “Pumbaa” is also a word in Swahili. According to translators, “Pumbaa” means things like “lazy,” “careless,” and even “ignorant.” Needless to say, Pumbaa’s name was really painting a picture of what the character would be.
TIMON AND PUMBAA HAVE LAST NAMES
It is not uncommon for fictional characters to have full names that fans were never actually aware of. That is because, most times, animated movies only focus on a character’s first name, making it easier for audiences to it.
Because Timon was developed as a character that had Jewish ancestry, it makes sense for his name to have a Jewish origin. In the Disney Channel spin-off series Timon & Pumbaa, it was revealed that Timon’s middle name is Leslie and that his last name is Berkowitz. In the same TV series, it was also revealed that Pumbaa’s last name is Smith.
PUMBAA RUBBING HIS BELLY WAS INSPIRED BY A PREGNANT WOMAN
One of the most memorable Pumbaa moments in The Lion King is when the character rubs his belly as he, Timon, and Simba are stargazing and discussing what the stars in the sky really mean. Well, it turns out that the inspiration behind Pumbaa’s belly-rubbing came from animator Tony Bancroft’s pregnant wife, who used to rub her belly that exact same way while he was working on the film.
According to Tony Bancroft, Pumbaa rubbing his belly is one of his favorite scenes in The Lion King. During an interview with MovieWeb, the animator stated, “It was something that I thought added a little life to [the scene] and made it more relatable.”
TIMON HAS TWO KNOWN RELATIVES
Even hardcore Disney fans have failed to watch The Lion King 1 ½, but a lot of Timon’s background was actually revealed during that film. For example, it is now canon that Timon has two known relatives: his mother, which is officially known as Ma, and his uncle, who is named Max. However, it is not clear to audiences whether Uncle Max and Ma are siblings or in-laws.
Ma is a caring and ive mother who fears for Timon’s safety but also wants him to succeed in life. Uncle Max is more of an irritable character who is often scared and negative, often reminding Disney fans of an early-on Marlin from Finding Nemo.
WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL IS PUMBAA?
Though it may seem odd to many more diehard fans, there are a surprising amount of people out there that simply don't know what animals the two characters are. Not to mention quite a few younger fans who are still learning about the natural world through fun and memorable movies like The Lion King.
Pumbaa is identified by himself in the movie as a warthog. They are large pigs that are indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa, and are, therefore, a logical choice of animal to see in the movie's setting.
WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL IS TIMON?
Timon, on the other hand, is a meerkat, a small mongoose known for its tendency to live in large groups and stand on its hind legs to watch out for danger. They're also natives of southern Africa like warthogs and therefore not odd animals for the area.
Obviously, certain liberties are taken with the realities of the animals, and not everything about Timon's representation as a meerkat in the movie is strictly accurate, as our next entry delves into...
