Why did they choose to have Pumbaa fart?

[Rollo]

.

[Lynx]

I watched the memoir video that was on the LK Blu Ray and turns out during the recording of his lines Ernie Sebella would make fart sounds with his hands next to Nathan Lane. The production crew simply found it funny enough to include.

[TheLionPrince]

I think Lynx hit the nail on the head. In a book titled Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cultural History of the Fart by Jim Dawson, it was written that:

The fart was certainly wafting in polite company in 1994, when Walt Disney Studios, once a bastion of middle America propriety and tight-assed taste, became woozy from the aroma of box office flatulence. (According to several animators who worked for him, Uncle Walt was himself notoriously and blissfully flatulent in the presence of others.) Disney's animated blockbuster, The Lion King, not only features a warthog named Pumbaa whose farting power is prodigious, but includes a song about it called "Hakuna Matata" (Swahili for "no worries"), which was nominated an Academy Award. According to the song, "When he was a young warthog he found his aroma lacked a certain appeal, he could clear the savannah after every meal." Ernie Sabella, the voice of Pumbaa, told The New York Times that farting was not originally in the script but added on the spot when Nathan Lane (voicing Pumbaa's meerkat sidekick Timon) encouraged him to make an impromptu fart noise while they were recording the script. The directors laughed and decided it would be a great idea. "We never thought we would use it," said Sabella, but Pumbaa's farts became a running gag.

[BrianGriffinFan]

I don't think that Simba and Nala being cubs necessarily makes that portion of the movie strictly a 'kid zone'. the dialogue and antics btwn Simba and Nala are very entertaining in their own right, plus quite a bit of the scenes with cub characters are very serious in nature (Mufasa's 'circle of life' lesson, Simba and Nala's near-death by hyena, Mufasa's talk with Simba, and of course Mufasa's death).

What I was saying is that because of their age and design, no matter what situation they're in, it just feels, well, tainted.

[Tsuki]

I think Lynx hit the nail on the head. In a book titled Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cultural History of the Fart by Jim Dawson, it was written that:

The fart was certainly wafting in polite company in 1994, when Walt Disney Studios, once a bastion of middle America propriety and tight-assed taste, became woozy from the aroma of box office flatulence. (According to several animators who worked for him, Uncle Walt was himself notoriously and blissfully flatulent in the presence of others.) Disney's animated blockbuster, The Lion King, not only features a warthog named Pumbaa whose farting power is prodigious, but includes a song about it called "Hakuna Matata" (Swahili for "no worries"), which was nominated an Academy Award. According to the song, "When he was a young warthog he found his aroma lacked a certain appeal, he could clear the savannah after every meal." Ernie Sabella, the voice of Pumbaa, told The New York Times that farting was not originally in the script but added on the spot when Nathan Lane (voicing Pumbaa's meerkat sidekick Timon) encouraged him to make an impromptu fart noise while they were recording the script. The directors laughed and decided it would be a great idea. "We never thought we would use it," said Sabella, but Pumbaa's farts became a running gag.

Oh wow what an interesting read! Thanks for sharing. Guess that clears things up then. And I suppose they made Pumbaa fart because pigs are suppose to be dirty animals....though in reality they aren't really . But like Julie said, it's suppose to lighten the story after such a dark scene .

[Timon the great]

To be honest, I personally find this idea for Pumbaa as a character to be very childish. It doesn't really help give any depth to him at all in which he already lacks from the films. So while it may be funny for kids, I think this really shows that the creators didn't have much creative development for Pumbaa or they didn't want to. Even if he turned out to be the first Disney character to have flatulence issues.

In other words, why would you want to basically force something like this on a character that already lacks a real identity because you simply thought it was funny?

On top of that, as I've said before on this forum already, he'd be a completely powerless character without and unlike Timon. Then again, I've always seen Timon as the one for adults, while Pumbaa as the one for kids. But even then, the creators could've gave Pumbaa at least a little more deep thought if they really wanted to give him a mind and soul. Not that I care much about this as I do for Timon. But I do think the creators could've worked a little better on Pumbaa as a character on his own.

[Squeely]

The writers wanted more comedy in the film, and with Simba having ran away from the other comedic characters, well they needed some way to do it. That, and wanting levity after such a sad scene. It also gives Pumbaa a good reason for being an outcast, otherwise why would he have been exiled? Because his sounder didn't like him??

I don't know why anyone would take issue with TLK's fart jokes. They're smartly and tastefully done; a far cry from ugh Minions who just stand there laughing at their own farts. Plus, it was far more original to have a character fart in an animated feature in 1994.

[KiovuLove]

I agree that it's probably due to it just being a little comedy for the kids. When I was little, I loved it from what I remember. I had my one friend's kids watch the trilogy before the lion guard came out. They loved the first one and apparently the second one made them lose attention to the movies and by the time she put 1 1/2 in, they went off and did other things. But they love the lion guard. So I think since the second movie didn't have nearly as much comedic action, they just found it a bit boring. There's also less pumbaa and his facts which adds to that

[gothprincesskiara]

my simple answer is, im dont like potty humor but again there are those who do like a little potty humor, another reason why I dont like timon and pumbaa

[PrincessKiara]

I have honestly never given it any thought, but I like it was so tastefully handled in TLK with the musical noise and showing the animals reacting to Pumbaas smell. Also the joke later on, when Timon says "I tell you, Pumbaa, this stinks!" And the warthog automatically assumes Timon is referring to him.

I did not appreciate how it was handled in TLK 3 or The Lion Guard for that matter, it was over the top and too crude for Disney, in my opinion.