by Amadi_the_Guard » December 27th, 2015, 12:27 am
The first movie made it look like Timon, Pumbaa and Simba were just friends, despite the age difference.
Probably referenced from Kimba who, for example, has a lot of animal friends, some of which are much older then him, but who still hold him in high regard and don't treat him too much like a child, despite looking out for him and teaching him about life from time to time.
Besides, I believe that, in the period when TLK was made, Disney tried their best to make it look like adults can easily become friends with children, rather then giving the realistic picture: Oliver from Oliver & Company sorta made friends with a much older crew, Patch befriended Thunderbolt, Scamp was treated as an equal by Buster, Melody befriended the the penguin and... whatever, who also appear to be adults... And Simba never really referred to the duo as his parents in the original, instead calling them his friends when he introduced them to Nala. He doesn't seem to show them much direct respect, either, like he probably would for Mufasa and Sarabi... or any parental figure, but still looks out for them like a friend would.
That would even make Timon and Pumbaa's motives more reasonable and less... creepy.
It's not so much of a:
-Hey, lets take in this lion cub and raise him to be our body guard.
as it was:
-Hey, lets make friends with this lion cub. He could help us when we get in trouble once he grows up.
Speaking of which, this is more like Timon's motive, rather then Pumbaa's. If you pay attention to the dialogue, after Timon said Simba could eat them, Pumbaa said that he could be on their side - as in, probably not eating them. Then it clicked to Timon that they could have a lion on their side, who could also protect them. And we all know Timon, despite really having the heart of gold, is a bit on the selfish side. That's my interpretation.
In TLK 1 1/2, the producers probably thought it would be kinda cute to show the pair raising Simba, and that it would make Timon even more likable when we see him actually look out for Simba like a father would. So why not? Here's the first time we see him call Timon 'pops'...
As for the original post, no matter how one looks at their relationship with the cub, I disagree. If they have left Simba behind, he would have died from dehydration. Simply because they wanted to live care-free lives, that doesn't make them cruel, so as protagonists they made a better choice and later got an awesome, powerful lion king looking out for them. Besides, it's not like Simba didn't grow into their care-free life himself. I don't believe we should feel sorry for people who make brave choices - that only means they are great and will be rewarded later on.
Alright, I'm not sure if Timon would have been brave enough to pick the lion cub if he was alone, but if he did, he would have looked out for him as he obviously does care for him. As for Pumbaa - if he's not sick of Timon, he wouldn't have grown sick of Simba either. Pumbaa is one of the most tolerant, kind, and patient characters on the show, and I don't think I ever saw him even doing something selfish or cruel to others. How long does it take him to forgive the lioness who tried to eat him, again? The care-free life was mostly TImon's idea, anyway... Pumbaa just choose to rolle with it.