Distinctive feature of Timon.

[Zonofon]

Interesting question about Timon. Have you ever thought about the fact that it is an Timon who is anthropomorphic character in TLK movies? Can recall Rafiki, but he is not the main character. In the first film Timon is also not the protagonist, but still creators of the film have made him in this question similar to wise character Rafiki.
But Timon is the main character in the TLK 3. And that he walks on two legs strongly (sometimes positive) differ him from the other characters. I can say that in TLK 3 is very well used that he anthropomorphic, as well as his family and the colony. This really makes him the main character. I believe that this is one of the reasons why Timon became the protagonist of TLK 3 - his distinction from others. There are also certainly more important reasons.
Can recall the habits of meerkats, but they do not move on two legs. They can only stand some time.

[Timon the great]

I really like that the creators made Timon fully anthropomorphic on this film of his and it gives him an almost extremely humanized make-up and appearance and especially as the central protagonist/hero. He even has shoulders and a neck like a human's too.

The sentimentality that comes from him is very strong sometimes partly because of these things, like in this part, or this one, and even more interestingly to me being this one, and also this one as well (which is something not seen from him at all in TLK 1 or 2), which are all really good.

But it all helps to show that even though he may physically be a non-human being in form, he's definitely still a person inside and out.

In this film, he does everything basically like any actual person does too. He walks/runs, hugs (like his mother completely with his arms and hands), and lays down on a hammock/bed just like a human does with his feet even crossed at times.

Spoiler: show

It is interesting though that in TLK 1, both Timon and Rafiki as the major non-lion characters stand and walk on two feet (I have seen Rafiki walk on two feet as well in this film), even though they run on all fours. I don't think Zazu counts because all birds pretty much stand the same way.

[Animal of the Wild]

Well, it seems Timon is really liked as far as the movies go, which is great, even though I have to disagree. The one in the movies generally seems really sweet---perhaps a little overly so---except at the end of TLK 3, where he really did something bad for the first time, which just made me like him less.

[Carl]

Well technically, all of the characters are anthropomorphic, as the term "anthropomorphic" means "described or thought of as being like human beings in appearance, behavior, etc." or "considering animals, objects, etc., as having human qualities" (source). All of the characters talk and philosophize and interact in a human way. The social interactions are set up much like human social conventions and the kingdom runs in a similar way. The characters all use human words/expressions and sometimes make references to the human world. They don't just attack one another when they are angry, they plot and think about it, sometimes for long times. And in SP we see the lions using their forepaws like hands to pull one another up, make gestures, and numerous other things that they didn't do in the first film. We also saw Simba and Mufasa both hug Rafiki with their forelegs in a way that real lions do not do in the first film. So, really, all of the characters are anthropomorphic. It's not just Timon.

[Zonofon]

[quote="Julie Skywalker"]Well technically, all of the characters are anthropomorphic, as the term "anthropomorphic" means "described or thought of as being like human beings in appearance, behavior, etc." or "considering animals, objects, etc., as having human qualities" (source). All of the characters talk and philosophize and interact in a human way.[/quote]
I agree with this. I did not want to say something bad about the other characters.

But when I created this topic I meant that Timon is one of the most anthropomorphic TLK characters in appearance. That is, he looks almost human.
But this does not mean that the other characters do not humanized and they do not have deep thoughts.

[Timon the great]

^That is what I was going to mention to Julie Skywalker, in that I was assuming you meant more so that Timon is distinctively humanized. Which is correct about him because he is one of the LK characters that doesn't have much conformity to the natural habits of his own species.

Quite honestly and especially with this film of his, Timon really doesn't behave much like a meerkat at all, which I believe actually makes him stronger as an individual and lead hero. Because, even though his physical form is of a meerkat, his own appearance especially on this film of his makes it pretty darn difficult to distinguish him as an animal from person. But in a uniquely interesting way, of course.

[DGFone]

In a crazy kind of way, Timon is a lot like the deleted character "Fearless Buzz". Timon chose to abandon the relative comfort and safety of the colony, and while he did cry like a baby when he finally left Ma, the simple fact that he chose to venture out on his own proves that he is much braver than the vast majority of the other meerkats in the colony.

And then to add to the comparison even further, didn't Timon and Pumbaa face down an entire group of hyenas all on their own? Not to mention right before that, going out of their way to appear as nice juicy meals? Fearless Buzz took on a single hyena, but lost when others showed up. Timon, with the help of Pumbaa, took on a group and won.

[Timon the great]

[quote="DGFone"]In a crazy kind of way, Timon is a lot like the deleted character "Fearless Buzz". Timon chose to abandon the relative comfort and safety of the colony, and while he did cry like a baby when he finally left Ma, the simple fact that he chose to venture out on his own proves that he is much braver than the vast majority of the other meerkats in the colony.[/quote]
I'm not sure if it can be said that Timon really is like Fearless Buzz given the fact that this deleted character mostly impressed Timon's colony by fending off a predator and instructing the colony, while doing nothing more to truly benefit the colony itself and especially their already fearful way of life. He simply doesn't change it.

With Timon, his main goal is to change the way a meerkat merely survives and I quote exactly as he points the exact reality of this when he's with Ma in the beginning: "I wanna be where we don't have to dig tunnels and live with our heads stuck in the sand.", a second after this part.

By the way, where you wrote that Timon cries like a baby after he leaves Ma in the beginning (assuming you're talking about the scene just before he encounters Rafiki), now that I think of it, it's mainly for comedic effect and I don't think it is fully serious.

Because in the scene when he's with his mother for the last time in the beginning, I'm actually surprised that he keeps his composure firm here and gives hope and assurance to her by telling her: "I'll be okay.", before he leaves, without welling up one bit here. While Ma actually does, when she watches Timon beginning to walk away to set off on his journey.

[MeerkatOnTheMoon]

I like the sense of individuality Timon has in the movie compared to the other meerkats. He's able to envision a better living condition for the meerkats. Having this determination to change how meerkats can survive gives his character a great motivation. Also, I agree with the way TLK characters are anthropomorphic in that they have human qualities, Timon included. I will be taking a class called Animals as Media this Spring, so I look forward to exploring more on this and draw examples from TLK, even TLK 1 1/2 like Timon's interactions with his mom, colony, Simba and Pumbaa.

About Timon's way of walking, it's interesting that in Simba's Pride, he can be spotted using all four legs to move around like when he and Pumbaa are tasked to spy on Kiara during her first hunt and during the war with the Outlanders.