<P> As with many characters in Lion King, Pumbaa's name derives from the East African language Swahili . In Swahili, pumbaa (v .) means "to be foolish, silly, weakminded, careless, negligent". Timon is one of the few characters whose name has no meaning in Swahili; Timon is a historical Greek name, taken to mean "he who respects". Timon's name may also possibly derive from Shakespeare's tragedy Timon of Athens, another Shakespeare reference in a film which derives its plot from Hamlet . </P> <P> Timon is a wise - cracking and self - absorbed meerkat who is known for claiming Pumbaa's ideas as his own, while Pumbaa has flatulence issues . However, Pumbaa is also a fierce warrior, charging into battle like a battering ram, and taking great offense if anyone who's not his friend calls him a pig, at which point he exclaims "They call me Mister pig!"--a reference to Sidney Poitier's line "They call me Mister Tibbs!" from the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night . Unlike real meerkats, Timon can walk on his hind legs, while in real life, meerkats walk on all four legs and can only stand on their hind ones . </P> <P> Based on the characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Hamlet, Timon and Pumbaa are played by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella . Timon was animated and created by Michael Surrey . They made their first appearances in the 1994 film when they shooed away the vultures that swarmed around young Simba, who had collapsed from heat exhaustion . Timon and Pumbaa then took the collapsed lion cub back to a small pool, where they splashed water on him to wake him up . After Simba is awakened by the two, they introduce themselves and welcome Simba to stay with them and follow their hakuna matata philosophy . At first, Simba is confused about Timon and Pumbaa's lifestyle, but it is explained to him in the song "Hakuna Matata". </P> <P> Many years later, while out on a musical walk with Timon, Pumbaa is distracted by a bug, which he follows into the jungle . The bug leads him right to a hungry lioness prowling around, who then tries to hunt down Pumbaa . She chases the warthog until Simba springs into action, and the two lions engage in conflict . When the lioness pins Simba, he recognizes her as Nala, his childhood playmate . They are happy to be together, but Timon is jealous after they leave for a night of romance . He and Pumbaa start singing the song "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" and are joined by Simba and Nala on their night out . Still, the two help Simba defeat Scar and gain his rightful place as the king of the Pride Lands, most notably when they create a hula distraction to lure away Scar's hyenas . Pumbaa single - handedly drives off Shenzi, Banzai and Ed . They also stand on top of Pride Rock along with Simba and Nala when Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the animals of the Pride Lands . </P>

Who played pumbaa in the lion king movie