Handlung

Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog retell the story of Der König der Löwen (1994) from their own perspective.

The events of The Lion King from Timon's and Pumbaa's points of view. The story of how they met and how they became best friends while having difficulties and obstacles in their lives. They rely on each other to get through the toughest of times.—RECB3

Timon and Pumbaa start to watch the original Lion King movie, but Timon keeps insisting to fast forward to when they come in, because they weren't seen in the beginning of the story or anywhere until halfway through. Pumbaa suggests telling the audience their story, which begins before Simba's journey begins. Through this, we meet Timon's mother and Uncle Max, discover why he left his meerkat colony, where he learned Hakuna Matata, how he meets Pumbaa, and the perils they encountered while searching for their dream home.—Kari Gilmore

Imagine a cross between _Lion King, The (1994)_ and Zurück in die Zukunft II (1989). This is a separate story thread, that of Timon and Pumbaa, intertwined with the original story. Thus, along with seeing new events (e.g. Timon's departure from the meerkat colony, Timon and Pumbaa's first meeting, the origin of "Hakuna Matata"), we get to see a new perspective on (and some previously unseen causes for) some of the events in the original film. Oh, and the whole thing is told in a Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988) framework, with Timon and Pumbaa narrating and interacting with the "onscreen" movie.—EJSawyer

While watching opening act of the first Lion King film in a home movie theater, Timon (Nathan Lane) a meerkat who is somewhat selfish, arrogant, and withdrawn, decides to fast forward to the scene where he and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) a warthog who is slow-witted, he is very empathetic and willing to trust and befriend anyone, first appear but Pumbaa rewinds it to the beginning.

Pumbaa says that they were in the beginning of the story, but Timon argues that the audience would never know that by watching the film as it is. They soon fight over the control of the film until they agreed to tell their own story about how they met, which began some time before they met Simba (Matthew Broderick).

Timon lives in a meerkat colony on the outskirts of the Pride Lands with his Ma (Julie Kavner) and Uncle Max (Jerry Stiller) but is an outcast to the meerkat. Timon says that meerkat are so low on the food chain that they have to live underground. Hyenas are the natural enemies of meerkat. Meerkats live in underground tunnels to escape the hyenas, and a result meerkat are experts in tunnel construction.

Timon is clumsy and makes mistakes (like trying to build a skylight for the tunnel), which results in tunnels caving in and causing injuries to his fellow meerkat. Timon has already collapsed 4 walls and 2 tunnel exits in just the past week. Timon says that he is tired of digging tunnels and wants to live in a place where he doesn't have to stay underground all the time. To keep Timon away from digging, he is assigned to learn survival skills from his paranoid uncle Max. Max leaves Timon alone to practice the skills and to look out for hyenas, but Timon starts to wander around and dreams of a future where meerkat are not merely food.

Timon's daydreaming leads to a hyena attack. Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), Banzai (Cheech Marin), and Ed (Jim Cummings) are the trio of spotted hyenas who are the local predators of Timon's meerkat colony before their allegiance with Scar. The colony decides to exile Timon fir his negligence and for putting the entire colony in jeopardy. Timon knows that he does not fit in at the colony and his Ma reassures him and tells him that she prays that he finds what he is looking for.

Timon is desolate at leaving his colony and misses his mother as he reaches a large tree. Timon cannot figure out which way to go, when a mandrill appears before him from the tree. The mandrill Rafiki (Robert Guillaume) shaman of the Pride Lands, teaches him the philosophy of "Hakuna Matata" and advises him to "look beyond what you see." Rafiki understands that Timon is looking for a life without worry. Timon takes this advice literally, and, observing Pride Rock in the distance, sets out in that direction. Timon encounters Pumbaa and learning that he has a "special power" that keeps predators away, invites him along on the journey. Pumbaa is claustrophobic and passes gas in crowds. Timon wants Pumbaa to come with him as he journeys to Pride Rock to keep the predators at bay. Timon and Pumbaa are both bug eaters.

The pair arrive at Pride Rock during the presentation of Simba to the animals of the Pride Lands, and as they make their way through the crowd, Pumbaa passes gas, causing the nearby animals to faint and prompting animals further away to bow to Simba, as they think that the animals to the rear are also bowing, and they don't want to seem rude. Timon and Pumbaa decide to stay together as friends even after Timon has reached Pride Rock. Pumbaa is very accommodating and takes care of Timon even though Timon is oblivious to how he dismissive of Pumbaa. It is clear that while Timon thinks very highly of himself, it is actually Pumbaa who has the better sense, is more practical and has better survival instincts compared to Timon. The cave in which they were staying has a very noisy group of animals living on top of the cave, thereby forcing Timon and Pumbaa to find another home.

Attempting to find their perfect home, the pair witness the dramatic ending of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", the chase through the Elephant Graveyard (where they see Mufasa attacking the hyenas to save Simba), the hyena march scene of "Be Prepared", and the wildebeest stampede that kills Mufasa. Escaping the stampede, the pair are sent down a river and over a waterfall.

Exhausted, Timon suggests giving up and going home. Pumbaa admits that he doesn't have a home, and the pair realize they are each other's only friends. They discover that the river has deposited them in a lush green jungle: their dream home. The jungle has dramatic views, porch swings, Hot tub and spa, well stocked cupboards with insects, and no predators. The pair settle there, embracing "Hakuna Matata" as their philosophy which means "no worries". Meanwhile, Timon's mother and Uncle Max leave the colony in search of Timon.

Timon and Pumbaa later rescue Simba from vultures, who were circling him at the edge of the desert, which was right next to their jungle. Timon and Pumbaa raise him under their philosophy such as eating bugs and relaxing in a hot tub. Years later, Simba's childhood friend Nala (Moira Kelly) appears and reunites with him. Believing the trio's friendship to be in jeopardy, Timon and Pumbaa try sabotaging their burgeoning romance, and believe they have succeeded when they see the two get into an argument about why Simba refuses to return to Pride Rock. The next day, Nala explains that Simba has returned home to challenge Scar and reclaim his rightful place as king. Pumbaa follows him, but Timon, angry that Simba has seemingly discarded their philosophy, refuses to help. Timon soon becomes lonely without his friends' company, and Rafiki helps him realize that his true Hakuna Matata is with the ones he loves. Timon catches up and reconciles with Pumbaa in the desert.

After helping to distract the hyenas with a hula dance in the Pride Lands, Timon and Pumbaa run into Ma and Uncle Max. Seeing the hyenas advancing on Simba, Timon proposes that they all help Simba by getting rid of the hyenas for good. Ma and Uncle Max construct a series of tunnels beneath the hyenas while Timon and Pumbaa stall for time. Max collapses the tunnels, breaking the ground under the hyenas. Timon breaks the final support beam himself and the hyenas are ejected through the tunnels.

Simba accepts his place as the rightful king of the Pride Lands, thanking Timon and Pumbaa for their help. Timon invites Ma, Uncle Max, and the rest of the meerkat colony to live in the jungle with him and Pumbaa to complete his Hakuna Matata; the colony praise him as their hero.

Back in the theater, Pumbaa asks Timon if they can start from the beginning. Timon initially declines, but his family, Simba, Rafiki, and a host of characters from other Disney media flood the theater and persuade him to rewind it. As the film starts again, Pumbaa suddenly becomes nervous about the size of the crowd.