House of Mouse : Season 1 Episode 5
"Timon and Pumbaa"

Air Date February 17, 2001

Synopsis

Special guests Timon & Pumbaa decide to split up and each go solo, Mickey's the one who has to try and get them back together.

Characters

Listing provided by "Dis-Philip" : Aracuan Bird, Simba, Nala, Magic Mirror, Mushu, Cri-Kee, Lady, Tramp, Mad Hatter, March Hare, Snow White, the 7 Dwarfs, Ariel, Sebastian, Scuttle, Flounder, Cavemen (from "Toot, Whistle, Plunk And Boom"), Pinocchio, Gepetto, Cleo, Figaro, Madame Mim, Robin Hood, Little John, Baloo, Bagheera, Magical Mouse, Willie The Giant, Thumper, Jiminy Cricket, Card Soldiers, Genie, Jafar, Carpet, Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Christopher Robin, Elliot the Dragon, Cruella De Vil, Ursula, Toby Tortoise, Max Hare, Foulfellow, Gideon, Beast, Bernard, Miss Bianca, Orville, Aladdin, Jasmine, Hades, Pain, Panic, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Penguins (from "Mary Poppins").

Credits

Writer

Tracy Berna

Editor

Henry Gilroy

Directors

Robert Gannaway

Tony Craig

Storyboard Supervisor : Rick Schneider

Storyboard

Edward Baker

Daniel Jippes

Carlos Paeza

Thomas Bernardo

Rossen Varbanov

Lyndon Ruddy

Additional Storyboard

Calvin Suggs

Robert Griffith

Gregory Peters

Dublin Evans

Todd Kurosawa

Shorts Shown

Pluto's Magic Paws

Mickey to the Rescue : Cage and Cannons

Golf Nut Donald

Comments

From Juan F. Lara : I was looking forward to this episode but I found it disappointing.

The meerkat and warthog's bickering got a big laugh from Mushu and the rest of the club audience. But for me they were too abrasive to be funny. Timon comes on too strong as a heavy to be appealing. ( hat was a chronic problem of the T&P series ) Pumbaa gets sucked into a subplot of Donald getting fed up with getting secondary assignments. That subplot competed with Timon and Pumbaa's plotthread for the HoM segment's very limited airtime. (And we've have several episodes already about Donald's envy of Mickey. So I got fed with this plot.) The better "Timon and Pumbaa" shorts conveyed the affection each of the duo had for the other, even when they argued. I didn't really feel that affection except for the scenes in the last part of the episode. Maybe there just wasn't enough time to show that side of their friendship.

This is kind of a reunion for Craig/Gannaway. They were one of several groups of producers that worked on "The Lion King's Timon and Pumpaa". During the second season of that show I thought Craig and Gannaway's episodes (Forbidden Pumbaa", "The Man from J.U.N.G.L.E." and several others) were some of the best work from the TV Animation division, and Craig/Gannaway's best work to date. Kevin Schon was playing Timon here. He played Timon during T&P's second season and in the 39 "overseas" eps that wound up first overseas and then on Toon Disney. Nathan Lane had to leave after only a few episodes because of other commitments. But now Lane's back at Disney voicing Spot/Scott on "Teacher's Pet". So how come he didn't voice Timon here? There seems to be a mixup of the episode order. Here the nephews said they were first changing to the Splashing Pumpkins routine. Was that rabbit Timon had supposed to be Thumper? I couldn't tell. Why was Head Waiter Goofy being made to do plumbing duties?

From Lee Suggs : This was a great episode for sight gags and happenings at the HOM itself. We start off with a funny bit about cartoon characters losing weight by getting rid of the heavy objects they carry in their pockets. (like anvils!) Then Mushu and Crickee have a fun interaction with Donald. Amusing situations are basically the theme of this episode and we get to see Willie the Giant and some prolific beans, Donald being jealous because Mickey gets all the credit for their club, and Timon and Pumbaa fighting. The last bit is the least successful since we know Pumbaa has always put up with Timon, and the stage act they end up doing just doesn't make any sense.

This HOM episode lacked the amusing ending that most of the others in the series have featured, it just seemed to run out of gas. Still there were a lot of great sight gags and one superior cartoon this time out. The HOM concept is developing quite well, and it looks like it could last several seasons.