Timon & Pumbaa

 Timon & Pumbaa, also known as The Lion King's 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 Disney film franchise The Lion King, without most of the other characters in the franchise. The show ran for three seasons on CBS in the United States, and BBS in Canada from September 1, 1995 to November 1, 1998.

Premise
The show stars Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog, both characters from the Disney animated film The Lion King and its sequels. The characters are normally seen having misadventures in the jungle, but sometimes find themselves across the globe in various settings.

Production
Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella reprised their roles as Pumbaa and Timon, respectively, in The Lion King, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and The Lion King 1½. Both actors were featured early in the television show; however, Lane is not the only voice actor who played his respective role. The role was also played by Quinton Flynn, in some episodes, and Kevin Schon, in most episodes. However, Matthew Broderick, Rowan Atkinson, and Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin did not return for the show, and were all replaced by Cam Clarke, Michael Gough, and Tress MacNeille and Rob Paulsen. Jim Cummings also reprised his role as Ed.

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

During the final season (1998), there was also a change in writers, and a new director meant the show became aimed more towards children than the whole family. As a result of this, ratings declined and the show was cancelled by Disney in 1998 (Disney's purchase of ABC in 1996 may have also been a factor in the cancellation).

As of 2013, reruns of the series air on Disney Junior. However, only several select episodes are shown, and some episodes are also abruptly edited.

Characters
The following are the original characters from the movie returning in the series.
 * Timon (voiced in early episodes by Nathan Lane, then by Kevin Schon and Quinton Flynn) - The show's main protagonist.
 * Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella) - The show's deuteragonist.
 * Simba (voiced by Cam Clarke) - Friend of Timon and Pumbaa, King of the Pride Lands, and the tritagonist of the show.
 * Zazu (voiced by Michael Gough) - An arrogant hornbill who works for Simba.
 * Shenzi, Banzai and Ed (voiced by Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulsen, and Jim Cummings) - Three clumsy hyenas who pick on Timon and Pumbaa. They used to work for Scar and serve as the show's antagonists. In their own episodes, they are known as "The Laughing Hyenas".
 * Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume) - A wise baboon who gives good advice and is occasionally the butt of jokes. He has his own episode called "Rafiki Fables".
 * Gopher (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A mole who is Zazu's assistant. He appears briefly in the movie and is a recurring character in the series.

Recurring characters
The following are characters who appear in more than one episode of the series.
 * Quint (voiced by Corey Burton) - The show's most recurring villain. He has different identities.
 * Speedy The Snail (voiced by Corey Burton) - A talking and singing snail that Timon and Pumbaa will never eat.
 * Fred (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) - Timon's old meerkat friend who likes to pull practical jokes.
 * Boss Beaver (voiced by Brad Garrett) - A loudmouth beaver who likes to make people work. He has his own philosophy: Makuta Hamaka, which means "Work real hard."
 * Irwin (voiced by Charlie Adler) - An penguin who causes accident to people around him.
 * Toucan Dan (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - A dishonest toucan who would do anything to get people in trouble.
 * Rabbit (voiced by Charlie Adler) - An obnoxious and tiring pink bunny.
 * The Vulture Police (voiced by Townsend Coleman and Brian Cummings) - Two vulture cops that talk very fast.
 * Cheetato and Cheetata (voiced by Rob Paulsen and Jim Cummings) - Two sophisticated cheetahs who look for a meal.
 * Smolder the Bear (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A grizzly bear who would hurt anyone who annoys him.
 * Little Jimmy (voiced by Joe Alaskey) - A cute, yet dangerous bluebird.
 * Ned the Elephant (voiced by Frank Welker) - A high and mighty elephant who thinks he's wonderful at everything.
 * The Three Natives (voiced by Jeff Bennett) Three natives who are really university students.
 * Dr. Happy (voiced by Steve Mackall) - A kid genius who likes to help endangered animals.
 * Happy Dog (voiced by Steve Mackall) - Dr. Happy's dog.
 * Leslie Lambeau (voiced by Grey DeLisle) - A supermodel who Timon, Pumbaa, and Smolder the Bear have a crush for.

One Time characters
The following are some of the characters who only appear in one episode of the series.
 * Monty (voiced by Quinton Flynn) - A meerkat who Pumbaa befriends. He is Timon's polar opposite.
 * Bampuu (voiced by Ernie Sabella) - A warthog who Timon befriends. He is Pumbaa's polar opposite.
 * The Meerkat Angel (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - An angel who lives in Meerkat Heaven.
 * Jumbo Jumbo (voiced by Patrick Fraley) - A stubborn elephant.
 * Bruce (voiced by Jim Cummings) - A blue crab who lives in the Australian Outback.
 * Uncle Boaris (voiced by Jim Cummings) - Pumbaa's uncle who lives in Russia.
 * Duke Meerkat (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - The ruler of the meerkat colony.
 * Tatiana (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - The Duke Meerkat's daughter and the princess of the meerkat colony.
 * Mother Eagle (voiced by Joycee Katz) - A loudmouth eagle who asks Timon and Pumbaa to babysit her son.
 * Baby Earl - Mother Eagle's son.
 * Pumbaa Jr. (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) - An alligator who hatches in an egg Pumbaa believes he laid and who Timon believes is an ugly chicken.
 * Dr. Caliostro (voiced by Billy West) - A mad scientist who wants to make Timon and Pumbaa beautiful.
 * Torgo (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - Dr. Caliostro's monster and assistant.
 * Lester the Whale (voiced by Jim Cummings - An enchanted three wish wishing whale.
 * Jackal - An animal who tries to eat Timon and Pumbaa after the two helped a widowed tigress.
 * Nefu (voiced by Tahj Mowry) - Rafiki's nephew who wants to be just like his uncle.
 * King Leopold (voiced by Frank Welker) - The king of the leopards and the father of Princess Claudia.
 * Princess Claudia (voiced by Tara Strong) - The princess of the leopards and the daughter of King Leopold.
 * Pimon and Tumbaa (voiced by Billy West and Kevin Michael Richardson) - A buff meerkat and warthog who steal Timon and Pumbaa's bag of bugs.