The Lion King 1½ facts for kids

The Lion King 1½ (also known as The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata in some countries) is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated comedy movie. It is a third installment and prequel to The Lion King. It is a final installment in the trilogy and the sequel to The Lion King. All three movies were made by The Walt Disney Company. This movie is about the fictional characters Timon and Pumbaa before they met Simba. The movie was released on DVD and video on February 10, 2004.

Release

Country	Premiere
China	February 9, 2004
Canada	February 10, 2004
United States	February 10, 2004
United Kingdom	February 16, 2004
Japan	March 19, 2004
Denmark	March 29, 2004
Poland	April 17, 2004
Australia	May 12, 2004
Chile	June 17, 2004
Turkey	July 11, 2004
Vietnam	August 20, 2004
Croatia	September 11, 2004
Mexico	September 14, 2004
Greece	September 14, 2004

Re-Releases

Country	Premiere
Canada	January 2, 2015
Turkey	February 22, 2015
United States	March 27, 2015
Japan	April 11, 2015

Home Media

VHS/DVD on February 10, 2004 to releases. Blu-ray on March 6, 2012 and September 11, 2012.

The story

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 were not 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 met Pumbaa, and the perils they encountered while searching for their dream home.

Cast

• Nathan Lane as Timon
• Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa
• Matthew Broderick as Simba (mature)
• Matt Weinberg as Simba (young)
• Cheech Marin as Banzai
• Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi
• Jim Cummings as Ed
• Robert Guillaume as Rafiki
• Moira Kelly as Nala
• Edward Hibbert as Zazu
• Julie Kavner as Ma (Timon's mom)
• Jerry Stiller as Uncle Max

Soundtrack

The movie's soundtrack, The Lion King 1½: Songs From Timon and Pumbaa's Hilarious Adventure, was released on CD by Disney Records on February 10, 2004. It includes two songs from the original movie, "That's All I Need" and "Hakuna Matata", reperformed by Nathan Lane who took over the role of voicing the character Timon. The rest of the soundtrack includes various R&B tracks, including remakes of the Kool and the Gang classic "Jungle Boogie" by artist French, and two instrumental pieces from film composer Don Harper.

1. "Grazing In The Grass" (Raven)
2. "Digga Tunnah Dance" (Lebo M and Vinx)
3. "That's All I Need" (Nathan Lane)
4. "Hakuna Matata" (Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver, Joseph Williams )
5. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (Lebo M)
6. "Jungle Boogie" (French)
7. "Timon's Traveling Theme"
8. "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly"

Awards

• 2005 Annie Award for
  • "Best Home Entertainment Production" (Won)
  • "Music in an Animated Feature Production" (Nominated)
• 2005 DVD Exclusive Awards in the following categories:
  • Best Animated Character Performance (Nathan Lane - voice, Alexis Stadermann - animator) for "Timon" (Won)
  • Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie (Won)
  • Best Director (of a DVD Premiere Movie) - Bradley Raymond (Won)
  • Best Editing (of a DVD Premiere Movie) - Joyce Arrastia (Won)
  • Best Screenplay (for a DVD Premiere Movie) - Tom Rogers (Won)
• 2005 Saturn Award
  • "Best DVD Release" (Nominated)

Video game

A video game version of the movie was published in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. It had Timon and Pumbaa as the playable characters.