Following the critical acclaim and overwhelming success of the 1994 Disney film, The Lion King, Disney and CBS certainly felt the love. And so, they paired up to bring two of its more comical characters to Saturday morning television screens. The result was the animated series, The Lion King’s Timon and Pumbaa.

The show followed the zany misadventures of Timon, an impulsive meerkat, and Pumbaa, the rational warthog and their capers in the African forest and beyond. With a carefree, “hakuna matata” philosophy on life, the two did their best to stay out of trouble but were rarely successful. They were joined by a few other familiar faces in the jungle, including Zazu the hornbill, Rafiki, the wise baboon and the trio of hyenas – Shenzi, Banzai and Ed.  

Lending authenticity to the series were the two actors who voiced the characters in the film, Nathan Lane (Timon) and Ernie Sabella (Pumbaa.) With a steady stream of the same slapstick humor audiences loved from the film, The Lion King’s Timon and Pumbaa was good clean fun for the whole family. The show aired for four seasons, although a change in writers during the final year caused ratings to decline and Disney stopped feeling the love. Of course, with their “no worries” attitude, it is doubtful that the hyperactive Timon and ever-flatulent Pumbaa were overly affected by the cancellation.