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Writer's picture Untitled Art Gallery

Original Production Animation Drawing of Pumbaa from "The Lion King," 1994


Original Production Animation Drawing of Pumbaa from "The Lion King," 1994
Original Production Animation Drawing of Pumbaa from "The Lion King," 1994

Original production animation drawing of Pumbaa in blue pencil from "The Lion King," 1994, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 3 in blue pencil lower right; Animation ladder right edge; Size - Pumbaa: 6 x 4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 17"; Unframed. "They call me Mister Pig!" - Pumbaa


"The Lion King," 1994 is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The story centers on an African kingdom of lions, and was derived from William Shakespeare's famous play "Hamlet." The film was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, with the screenplay written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Original songs were by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the original score was written by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast including: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings.


Pumbaa, who's lead animator was Tony Bancroft, is a gluttonous warthog and best friends with Timon the meerkat. Most of the animals are wary and dismissive of Pumbaa because of his pungent odor, but he remains a happy-go-lucky guy because of his Hakuna Matata philosophy. Hakuna-matata is a Swahili language phrase from East Africa, meaning "no trouble" or "no worries" and the phrase was adopted for "The Lion King." The music for the song "Hakuna Matata" was composed by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and sung by Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane), Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella), Young Simba (voiced by Jason Weaver), and Adult Simba (voiced by Joseph Williams). The song occurs in the film after the death of Simba father, and is about moving on from troubled pasts and forgetting worries. The song also tells the backstory of Pumbaa, explaining how he was ostracized from the other animals because of his flatulence problem; and serves as a vehicle to show Simba growing from lion cub into an adult. "Hakuna Matata" has become one of the most celebrated and popular of all Disney songs, and was nominated for Best Song at the 67th Academy Awards. It was also ranked in the AFI's list of the 100 best American movie songs of all time, Disney's seventh on the list. This is a very nice and rare original production animation drawing of Pumbaa accomplished in blue pencil. He is one of the most memorable characters in the film and this is a large, full figure image. Pumbaa is eyes and mouth open, and you can see his large warthog tusk. A great piece of Walt Disney animation artwork, perfect for any collection!


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