My Lion King Forum

I like Timon the most. While he's a sarcastic jerk, he still has a heart of gold and he has the funniest lines in the films.

That being said I don't think Timon would work as a character without Pumbaa as a foil.

Pumbaa just because he's not a know it all

[quote="Elton John"]That being said I don't think Timon would work as a character without Pumbaa as a foil.[/quote]
I really see that the opposite of that is true. To be very honest, much if not all of Pumbaa's power is actually dependant on Timon. If he wasn't tied to him story-wise in Lion King 1, Pumbaa would pretty much be powerless as a character (no offense to any Pumbaa only fans that may be out there).

The reason why most people prefer Timon and Pumbaa as a duo instead of seeing them as two separate characters is because of what the Disney company emphasized back in the very beginning when the first LK film came out. Had it not been that way, it could've Easily turned out to be the opposite with these two (at least for Timon), when most people see them. And one of my Timon friends agree with me that he easily could've also been seen as a single character from the very beginning.

You also still have to consider who Timon is from Lion King 1 1/2 since it's official material. Even if they're not very deeply developed, we still have scenes where he's completely on his own and has a single identity on the film, where he even speaks and thinks independently for himself.

To me, the idea of "Timon and Pumbaa" restricts Timon's character, because you don't see Timon able to "breathe" as much on the first two LK films, compared to himself from 1 1/2.

To me they work well together. Pumbaa is the one who has good ideas or profound thoughts. He was the first to realize that raising Simba as a cub would be a good thing, what stars are made of, etc. Timon is the one who gets things done, and is a bit more smart.

I think that they work well together, and I also agree with you on Timon working the best as his own character.

^So, if I'm understanding correctly with what you wrote above, you're agreeing with me that Timon also works as an independent character or protagonist like on LK 1 1/2?

Yes.

I've mentioned before that as far as comic relief characters go I like timon and pumbaa and think they are necessary to the story in the lion king 1. That without them Simba probably would have died in the desert, and if he survived the desert the overwelming amount of guilt would make him a very different character. I also actually find timon to be funny which is another stark contrast to most comic relief characters in movies or tv shows.

I also think Timon would have worked on his own but that as a duo, timon and pumbaa are the near perfect comic relief characters as they aren't two dimensional beings just there to wisecrack and tell fart jokes.

I understand what you mean that Timon and Pumbaa are important to story of the first film because of Simba. But just to make sure we're exactly on the same page, when I asked if you agreed with me that Timon also works as an independant character, I meant completely as a single character or without Pumbaa in any way.

Yeah, this LK meerkat person is definitely funny and a character himself who always wonders why he has issues.

I usually never write about such things about Timon on here often because it's something that people know about him very easy. His funny side, I mean. But even this was uniquely explored more on Lion King 1 1/2 (where he even talks directly to us, viewers, on the original or non-movie theater parts), which I see is also the most meaningful for him.

You can relate things like this in life to who Timon is from this film as its protagonist, the most out of all other media about him. To me, aside from his exceptionally humanized appearance here, and in comparison to Pumbaa, this just makes Timon so much more appealing as a single main film hero.

Timon.

Gotta go with Pumbaa. I'm chubby and I fart a lot, so I relate to him xD And he's such a cute lovable pig-puppy at times.

I find them both adorable. Timon slightly edges it for me. Have heard that Pumbaa was very popular in Italy.

Also, I kinda see Timon and Pumbaa as a couple, especially now they are Uncles to Bunga. Probably platonic but I find them to be emotionally involved and very much a strong unit. I don't think that was the intention with the first movie, I think they were buddies/bros, but now I kinda see that it might be something a bit deeper.


They come as a 2 piece. Vital to the story and Simba was lucky that they found him - imagine it had been another pride of lions or hyenas, vultures (as we saw nearly happened). He'd have been in big trouble. They raised him into adulthood.