While I thought it was super interesting to read an interpretation of Timon and Pumbaa's relationship as gay-lovers, I completely disagree with the argument made. Sweeney's "Timon and Pumbaa's Alternative Lifestyle Dilemma" depicts Timon and Pumbaa as an obviously gay couple that fails to meet the heteronormative standards set by Disney and challenges the conservative lifestyle of Mufasa and the other lions of Africa. While Sweeney definitely gave evidence from The Lion King to back up her claims, the evidence used to support these claims was way too much of a stretch.
For instance, Sweeney uses this quote said by Timon, "'You gotta put your behind in the past' (i.e put your past behind you); it's the present that matters, not who you once were, but who you are now" to support her claim that the issue of responsibility and identity is an important aspect of families, especially gay families...like, WHAT? Is she forreal connecting the identity struggles commonly found among gay people in relation to their selves and their families to Timon's reinforcement of a carefree philosophy??? Wayyy to much of a stretch for me.
Additionally, I feel like a lot of the evidence she uses to support her claim that Timon and Pumbaa are cleary a gay couple can easily be used to describe two friends that are simply close (hence a bromance!). Sweeney for one, follows Timon saying that Pumbaa is his "bestest best friend"with "these two characters are obviously a same-sex couple." How is a boy calling another boy his "bestest best friend" indicative of homosexuality? To me, the light-heartedness, carefreeness, and simple-mindedness of Timon and Pumbaa serves to reiterate their youthful, boyish personas. She also supports her assertion of their homosexuality by including that "they live together, they work together, and long after their relationship has been affirmed, they raise a child together... ."While I understand how Sweeney twists this in favor of Timon and Pumbaa being gay parents, the first things she describes, living and working together, can be characteristic of any pair of friends. Her saying that "their relationship has been affirmed" is unclear and unsupported, as there is no obvious definition of their relationship. Lastly, while she equates Timon and Pumbaa's relationship to Simba to parent-child, their relationship could easily be that of three good friends. One thing I feel important to note is that while Simba matures throughout the movie, essentially turning into another Mufasa, Timon and Pumbaa's appearance is unchanging; they show little signs of aging and retain their boyish traits for the duration of the movie. To me, Timon and Pumbaa's lack of change in the appearance despite Simba's dramatic transformation is indicative of the timelessness of youth and how their lack of physical change is reflective of their kiddish, fun-loving personalities. If anything, I would think that Simba is more parent to them, not only because of his physical maturity but also due to the duties and responsibilities expected of him (unlike Timon and Pumbaa).
Similarly, I feel that this bromance rather than homosexual relationship possessed by Timon and Pumbaa is further iterated at the conclusion of the movie when they dress in hula costumes and dance enthusiastically to distract the hyenas away from Simba. Sweeney likens their actions to that of a drag queen dancing dramatically...again, way too much of a stretch. Can't it just be a consequence of the playful nature of Timon and Pumbaa, two characters that legit give no f**ks (I MEAN THEY EVEN SING A WHOLE SONG ABOUT GIVING NO F**KS)??? If ya couldn't tell, I didn't like this point either.
Another thing I disliked about Sweeney's article is her dependence upon stereotypical views of gay men. For instance, one of her justifications for Timon and Pumbaa's homosexual relationship is that they are opposites: "Timon is a skeptic, while Pumbaa is sentimental and romantic." To me, its seems that Timon is being portrayed as male while Pumbaa seems to be more feminine; since they're both male and one is slightly feminine they must be gay right?? No, just another stereotype that is yet to be corrected.
One thing I actually AGREE with is the dilemma Sweeney addresses between Simba's "no worries, no responsibilities" attitude (attributed to Timon and Pumbaa) and the "remember your responsibilities" (given by Mufasa and because lions are the on top of the food chain and DUH he's King!). I do agree that the film seems to advocate two completely different philosophies.
Lastly, I think the whole section on the question of Timon being Jewish is completely unnecessary and I feel that she jumped around two much between The Lion King, The Lion King 1 1/2, and the TV show later made with Timon and Pumbaa.
While I know I criticized her a lot, I really did enjoy reading her article. I just felt that it had way too many leaps/stretches between argument and evidence.
Peace Love Disney :)))
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