10 Iconic Movie Characters With Less Screen Time Than You Think

With the possible exception of young Simba, Timon and Pumbaa were by far the most marketable characters from the original Lion King. They featured heavily in trailers, had their own clothing, dolls, cuddly toys and pretty much anything else Disney cared to merchandise; Disney being Disney, that meant a lot of Timon & Pumbaa wares.

They even got their own Disney Channel spin off show, cementing themselves as some of the House Of Mouse’s most popular characters ever. Back in their debut movie though, they’re not in it all that much.

They don’t appear until the second act, quickly becoming tertiary characters as the third act begins, so there’s only the middle part where they’re really in the movie at all. They’re vital to Simba’s development and provide great comic relief, but only have a handful of minutes on the screen.

Since then, they’ve been crucial to the brand of The Lion King, with their casting for the live action movie generating the most press. Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner feel like great picks though, filling the spots Ernie Sabella and Nathan Lane played so ably originally. They’ll likewise get more screen time too.