Are Timon & Pumbaa Really Important?

[SummerSnowLeopard]

Do you think that Timon and Pumbaa are really important to the story-line? I mean, yes they helped Simba and taught him Hakuna Matata, but please take a moment to imagine TLK without Timon and Pumbaa. Other than saving Simba, they didn't do anything important.

Thoughts?

[FlipMode]

I think they are... are because they found Simba in the desert, taught him Hakuna Matata and what not too so the story would have been different if they were not in it. They were more there for the comic relief but take any character out of any story and it becomes totally different.

[SummerSnowLeopard]

They could of just replaced Timon and Pumbaa with someone else
But you do make a good point...

[atouchofgrace]

[quote="QueenSummer"]They could of just replaced Timon and Pumbaa with someone else[/quote]
Heck, they can replace Simba with someone else.
TLK has the perfect cast of characters. Take one out and the story won't be the same.

[Rarity]

Apart from saving simba they helped simba survive. Also I believed it was hakuna matata that was broken which drove simba even more to fight scar

[SummerSnowLeopard]

I think the movie didn't need Timon and Pumbaa.

[Panda-chan]

I think they were important for teaching kids what not to do if they get caught in the same situation. Hakuna Matata was obviously not the answer to Simba's problems, as it became obvious when Simba was told by both Nala and Mufasa's ghost that he needed to take responsibility for the fate of his kingdom. So basically, Timon and Pumbaa existed to teach Simba and therefore the young movie-going audience that although a carefree lifestyle works to deal with overwhelming real life problems (such as death) to a degree, it cannot get rid of them.

[SummerSnowLeopard]

Yeah.

[Panda-chan]

Adding to my previous post....
Admittedly I found T&P quite out of place in the movie the first time I watched TLK. After the shock and horror of watching Mufasa's death and Simba's exile, they seemed too immature and comical of characters to even be put in the next scene. So I guess another role they played in TLK was to urge kids to not get dragged down by whatever terrible might have happened in the past and to just move on. From a film-making perspective, they might have also been put there to calm kids' nerves down after the last few terrifying scenes.

[SummerSnowLeopard]

You make a good point...