Timon & Pumbaa (TV series)

The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, often simply referred to as Timon & Pumbaa, is an American animated television series made by The Walt Disney Company. It centers on Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog from the 1994 Disney film The Lion King, without most of the other characters in the franchise. The show ran for three seasons from September 8, 1995 to September 24, 1999. It is also the first Lion King related media to show humans, as humans were not present in the movie. It is one of two television series to be based on the film, the second being The Lion Guard.

Premise
The show stars Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog, both characters from the Disney animated film The Lion King and its sequels. Set after the events of the original film, the series involves the characters having misadventures in the jungle, as well as across the globe in various settings such as Canada, Britain, the United States and Spain.

Production
The series premiered on September 8, 1995, airing on Fridays on the syndicated block The Disney Afternoon. Eight days later, on September 16, the series also began airing on Saturday mornings on CBS. The show was one of the last Disney productions to air on CBS, which had a cross-promotion agreement with Disney. Disney would buy ABC in 1996, the same year that this show (and all other Disney properties still airing on CBS at the time) left the network. Also, in 1995, Westinghouse acquired CBS outright for $5.4 billion. As one of the major broadcasting group owners of commercial radio and television stations (as Group W) since 1920, Westinghouse sought to transition from a station operator into a major media company with its purchase of CBS. In 1998, there was a change in writers and a new director, which meant the show became aimed more towards children than the whole family. As a result of this, ratings declined and the show was canceled.

Music underscore by Stephen James Taylor featuring frequent use of a microtonal xylophone and pan pipes based on an African tribal tuning.

Since February 8, 2009 (after its final airing on the now-defunct Toon Disney), this show went off the air for three years. However, it returned to broadcast reruns on March 23, 2012 on Disney Junior.

Characters

 * Timon (voiced in early episodes by Nathan Lane, then by Kevin Schon or Quinton Flynn) – One of the show's two main protagonists.
 * Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella) – One of the show's two main protagonists.
 * Simba (voiced by Cam Clarke) – Friend and adopted son of Timon and Pumbaa and king of the Pride Lands.
 * Zazu (voiced by Michael Gough) – A pompous hornbill who works for Simba.
 * Shenzi, Banzai and Ed (voiced by Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulsen and Jim Cummings) – Three hyenas who are usually spending their time looking for food, though their attempts to get it tend to backfire in their faces.
 * Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume) – A wise baboon who gives good advice and is occasionally the butt of jokes.
 * Quint (voiced by Corey Burton) – Timon and Pumbaa's archenemy and the main antagonist of the series. He is a man of many disguises, and his role varies from episode to episode, from mildly bothersome antagonist to full villain.
 * Speedy the Snail (voiced by Corey Burton, in a manner similar to Bing Crosby) – An easygoing blue snail who can talk and sing. Timon and Pumbaa originally planned to eat him, but ended up becoming friends with him instead. They often find themselves rushing to have to save Speedy from dangerous situations.
 * Boss Beaver (voiced by Brad Garrett) – A stereotypical beaver whose life philosophy is the exact opposite of Hakuna Matata. He values hard work and is sometimes too harsh on his employees. He also emphasizes the importance of safe work conditions.
 * Irwin (voiced by Charlie Adler) – A dimwitted, accident-prone penguin whose bad luck seems to be terribly contagious. Timon and Pumbaa became his friends after they were stranded in Antarctica and Irwin had two extra tickets to a cruise ship. They will try to avoid him at all costs.
 * Toucan Dan (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – A criminal toucan, wanted by the police. He is known for being a convincing liar and impersonator and always manages to trick Timon and Pumbaa (or just Timon) into helping him
 * Smolder the Bear (voiced by Jim Cummings) – A large bear with a very short temperament who Timon and Pumbaa often run into. He can be quite menacing, but at least one episode shows that deep inside he is a nice guy.
 * The Three Natives (voiced by Jeff Bennett) – Three natives who are really university students. Their "chief" is also a university student, and usually precedes what he says with "Bungala bungala!"

US releases
Six VHS cassettes containing 18 episodes of the series were released in the United States under the name Timon & Pumbaa's Wild Adventures.

European & Australian releases
Three VHS cassettes containing 21 episodes of the series were released in Europe and Australia.

DVD releases
Three DVDs containing 21 episodes of the series were released in Europe and Japan.

To date, none of the series has yet been released on DVD in the United States.

Awards and nominations
Daytime Emmy Awards
 * 1996 – Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program – Nathan Lane For playing "Timon". (Won)
 * 1997 – Outstanding Sound Mixing – Special Class – Deb Adair, Jim Hodson, Melissa Ellis, Michael Beiriger, Dan Hiland, Joseph D. Citarella, Allen L. Stone, and Michael Jiron (Won)
 * 1997 – Outstanding Individual in Animation – Kexx Singleton for ("Beethoven's Whiff") (Won)