Timon & Pumbaa's Scenes...

[LionessJhr13]

Anyone else bothered by those annoying, pointless Timon & Pumbaa scenes from SP?

There's the one at the end of Kiara's presentation, let's just call it "It's a girl"

The one when their babysitting Kiara then start arguing about which kind of bugs taste better. "Let me define 'babysitting'"

Another during Kiara's First Hunt, they're spying on her and she catches them, "Timon... what are you doing here?"

Yet another while Kiara and Kovu are getting to know each other, "The Rhino Chase"

And another, just before the battle, Timon and Pumbaa have realized Kiara is missing and start arguing. " You were gonna watch her!"

The last one, during the battle, Timon and Pumbaa are backed into a corner by some Outsiders when they manage to scare them away, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

I'm interested to see what others think, please vote!

If you want to check out these scenes, the Simba's Pride script can be found here: http://www.lionking.org/scripts/SP-Script.html#opening

[TheLionPrince]

Yeah, one of the weak plot points of Simba's Pride is the lack of an active role for Timon and Pumbaa. I always took to the "It's a girl" scene as an inside joke to those that thought the cub at the end of the first movie was a male. They transfer the role of the incompetent chaperone from Zazu in the first movie to them, but I felt that scene was necessary so Kiara could escape their clutches and enter the Outlands where she meets Kovu.

Timon and Pumbaa's spying on Kiara during her first hunt was kind of necessary so she can escape them, and be open for attack from Nuka and Vitani's flames. Then, again, Nuka and Vitani could have torched the Pride Lands where ever she was. All that mattered was Kovu being there to save her.

The rhino chase was kind of necessary so Kovu and Kiara could begin the first stages of their relationship.

That "You were gonna watch her!" was really unnecessary, and it still puzzles me why Simba still trusted Timon and Pumbaa to watch over Kiara after they failed twice in the movie. It's likely they chaperoned over her throughout Kiara's childhood, though we don't know if they were successful or not. The only point in that scene was that Simba gets Kiara is gone, which wouldn't be too hard to notice for himself if he noticed one of the rocks in the back of the den had been moved, noticed her pawprints on the dirt trail (if they were any), or she hasn't returned to Pride Rock since Kovu's exile. And then, he instructs Zazu to find her even though Zazu doesn't reappear until after the fight scene is over.

Timon and Pumbaa's confrontation with the Outsider lionesses was there just for the younger audiences so the fight scene doesn't seem so dramatic and violent.

There's also the "love not like" moment at the end during the wedding scene, which kind of interrupts the vocal silence of the final scene (if you don't mind Mufasa's last words). And the "let me at him" scene that takes place before Simba exiles Kovu which was not necessary. Those are just some additional choices for the poll.

For now, I'm leaning towards voting for the "You were gonna watch her!" scene.

[MooLion]

I wasn't sure what to pick, but now I've read TLP's comment, I'm inclined to agree the 'you were gonna watch her' was possibly the most unnecessary scene. That scene has always stuck out for me as you never see them being asked to watch out for her at that point. Obviously you can have these things take place and not be shown, however it did still seem to me a lot of guilt fell onto T&P when it (seemed to me) needn't have. And yeah, had not Simba learnt from the last squillion times not to rely solely on those two for keeping an eye on Kiara? She was in Pride Rock, what about the other lionesses? Give Zazu a little more to do at that particular point? Maybe give T&P a break that babysitting really isn't their strong point?

Altogether, Timon and Pumbaa's scenes are quite weak in the sequel and the 'humour' ain't great.

[EdtheHyena]

Um...could I trade in one for something with the hyenas?

If not, I don't really see the point in removing any of these. It's bad enough as it is.

[Carl]

I always hated their appearance in the fight scene. It wasn't as comedic and useful as their role against the hyenas in the first film's battle, and instead just seemed way too goofy to me. If it had been handled better, it could have worked, just like the one in the first movie. But as it was, it didn't work. The other scenes of them that were necessary could have been better executed as well, and really should have been. There were loads of things they could have done with those two in a way that would have worked better for the film instead of making them just seem so unnecessary.

But I also agree that the "you were gonna watch her" scene is the one with the least plot value.

[InsaneSeagull]

I was never truly bothered by them in SP, but probably the Rhino Chase scene felt rather awkward. Somehow, I feel it would function better with just Kovu and Kiara, since it was supposed to be THEIR bonding scene. Leave them be.

I was also kind of bothered b how they followed Kiara all along. I felt like they should have been given a different role. They are just not supposed to be stalkers. I don't see them like it. But fine...

[juhouh]

^ I think you're right. It's quite stupid that a meerkat and a warthog are looking after lioness! Actually Kiara should look after them instead. Yet I can understand Zazu doing it because he can pass the news for Simba almost instantly. But as I've said many times, their role should have been separated from the main story

[NeverLander22]

I truly don't think they should have been introduced any further into the second movie. They were honestly, rather annoying with all the random, unnecessary scenes. It was just annoying at one point and they would have been fine without all the pointless jokes and weird concepts. They should have been minor characters like they were in the first movie.

[Lauren]

I voted "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!"

First of all, I'm generally annoyed with all the scenes they have in the second movie because they ruin many of the serious or emotional moments with some ridiculous outburst that just makes it awkward for at least 5 seconds. I picked this one especially since this is taking place during the war between the Pridelanders and Outsiders, which is very intense, but awesome at the same time. I hate how Timon and Pumbaa just have to distract us away from the main characters in some way. It would've been better if they weren't even in there. I know they would do anything for Simba and try to help, but there isn't much they could do during that time with so much violence and brute going on between the lions.

[MooLion]

^ Yeah, T&P during the scenes against the outsiders were cringey and just annoying in the seriousness of the situation.