Timon & Pumbaa

The thing that Disney has done a billion times in every single one of their movies such as Aladdin, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, etc. Is those annoying sidekicks with one-liners that the kids admire and the adults only like them because they are voiced by people such as Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy. But every time they bring in characters like this, they just have to make spin-offs of the sidekicks, of which I don't know how they get made. Timon and Pumbaa which is a spin-off of Lion King is fairly decent, despite some of the same tiresome Looney Tunes style Cartoony situations with other characters who won't be remembered. The side shows to Timon and Pumbaa, which are the one's with those Hyena's are not so bad. The Rafaki Baboon episodes are very blah. Note to anyone who has kids: Be careful of getting your kid hook on pointless spinoffs, for there have been things worse than this. Timon and Pumbaa in themselves make a great comedy couple.

Timon and Pumbaa can be described as Looney Tunes Lite. Though some of the episodes are fairly close to screwball comedy they usually end with some kind of lesson to be learned. A prime example is the episode where Pumbaa has trouble catching bugs. Timon gets the idea that it must be because Pumbaa needs glasses because he can't see how many fingers he is holding up from 100 feet away. The episode even starts with Road Runner-like title cards in pig Latin. The end features a vision of the ghost of Pumbaa's uncle who gives the lesson of the day: Believe in yourself. In conclusion I have to say that although I like the sometimes intellectual aspect of the show there are many instances where it's just plain slapstick humor with Timon getting everything dropped on his head that flattens him. I have watched the show about a dozen times and the best episodes are actually not the ones with Timon and Pumbaa as central characters but the side characters the hyenas. They feature one of my favorite voice-over actor Tress Macneille who can imitate everything from a teenage boy (Jimbo and Milhouse on the Simpsons) to a brainless blonde.

Okay yeah, "Timon and Pumbaa" isn't exactly a Disney masterpiece, but personally, I love the show. Yes, the animation is pretty much crap. Yes, a lot of the plot lines are incredibly simple if not stupid (I wanted to shoot myself when I realized I had spent 15 minutes watching T&P trying to hit a golf ball). But for every cliché loony-tunes rip-off, there are a lot of really cute, really funny moments in the show. Episodes such as when Timon's "mom" comes to dinner or that gorilla mistakes T&P for babies or when T&P find Pumbaa Jr. or the episode "Bumble in the Jungle" (aka Fantasia Toon Dinsey Style)...these are the episodes that make me really wish Disney would put this show on DVD. And even in some of the dumber episodes, there are always one or two moments when you find yourself laughing at the crazy banter between T&P (example- in Uganda be an Elephant- check out the "backwards not forgetting" sequence). Face it, these two are the animated version of Abbott and Costello. Personally, I'll latch upon any outlet I can to watch these two.

Because of the trend that was being formed for all the Disney Afternoon cartoons back in the day, I was hoping for a "Lion King" cartoon to come out. And it did!!!!! The cartoon was called "Timon and Pumbaa," created in 1995 and shown on The Disney Afternoon for a couple years then.

Like with "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," more adventures have sprung up for the main characters - those being Timon the Meerkat and Pumbaa the Warthog (a.k.a. MR. PIG)! I liked all the new characters and the new enemies (they were soooo funny!!!!!), and there were some episodes that had only the Hyenas or Rafiki, and those were good, too! Note: I mentioned about Mr. Pig because of what Pumbaa sometimes said when he was called a name:

"What did you call me????? What did you call me?????? WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?????

THEY CALL ME.....

MR. PIg!

Aaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!"

Man, this show was the classic!!!!!

10 stars

At 17, I still absolutely love the Lion King. It was the first film I ever saw in the cinema, and even now I marvel at the amazing animation, music, humour and voice acting. In this show, the zany characters Timon and Pumbaa, who along with Sebastian and Flounder, The Three Good Fairies and Jaq and Gus are my favourite Disney sidekicks are the main attraction. The show itself is uneven, but it is still very entertaining.

Animation: There are times when it isn't great, sometimes a little shoddy and static and some of the characters who features are occasionally wonkily animated, but when the animation is good it is good. When it is good, the backgrounds are colourful, the colours audacious and the characters move convincingly.

Music: The irresistible and hilarious Hukuna Matata, which I consider one of my favourite songs from the Lion King, serves as the theme tune for this show. And you know what, it still works. I always find myself singing along, and for me that is a glorious feeling. And the incidental music is above decent as well.

Story lines/quotes: I do agree that some of the story lines are predictable, repetitive and silly, but there are some funny and cute moments. And there are some funny quotes in my opinion, with Timon and Pumbaa's witty bantering quite inspired.

Voices/characters: I know there are some people who find Timon and Pumbaa annoying, personally I really like them. They both have flaws, Timon being selfish and Pumbaa being naive, but they are both very funny and charming. Rafiki and the hyenas sometimes make guest appearances, the episodes with the hyenas are good(not great mind you), but Rafiki's are just okay. The voice acting is great, Ernie Sabella is wonderful as Pumbaa, and while Kevin Schon lacks the impeccable comic timing of Nathan Lane, he does an above average job, as does Quentin Flynn. Veteran voice actor Jim Cummings is brilliant as always with voice of Ed the hyena.

Overall, Timon and Pumbaa is uneven, but it is entertaining. And as a matter of fact it is something I recommend for kids. 7/10 Bethany Cox