The Lion King 1½

The Lion King 1½ retells the story of The Lion King from the perspective of Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog. The film begins before the events of the original, showing Timon's life among his meerkat colony, where his habit of causing tunnel collapses makes him an outcast. He leaves home in search of a better place to live, meets the lonely warthog Pumbaa, and the two become friends. Their search for a home eventually brings them into contact with Simba, the lion cub they later help raise, and the film revisits familiar moments from the earlier story as the pair experience them. New characters include Timon's mother and his sarcastic Uncle Max.

Bradley Raymond directed the film, the fourth in the chronological list of his directed features, following Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame II. Tom Rogers wrote the screenplay, and the voice cast includes Nathan Lane as Timon, Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa, Julie Kavner as Mom, Jerry Stiller as Uncle Max, Matthew Broderick as Simba and Robert Guillaume as Rafiki. The production involved 32 credited cast members and 60 credited crew members.

Released in 2004, the film runs 77 minutes. It holds a rating of 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb and a matching 6.6 out of 10 on TMDB from over three thousand votes, while film critics gave it 6.1 out of 10 across 17 reviews. Audience and critical scores sit close together, indicating a generally moderate reception rather than a sharply divided one.