Broadway Bound & Gagged

Broadway Bound & Gagged Gallery

Broadway Bound & Gagged
Attribution information
Director	Brad Neave
Writer	Ford Riley
Production information
Series	The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
Season	3
Episode	19b
Air date	May 7, 1999
Episode guide
Previous	"Ivy Beleaguered"
Next	"Steel Hog"

“

A Broadway musical starring a warthog can do just as well as a show with meerkats! ―Pumbaa

”

"Broadway Bound & Gagged" is the second segment of the nineteenth episode of Season 3 of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa. It aired on May 7, 1999, alongside "Ivy Beleaguered".

Official synopsis

"Timon and Pumbaa compete against each other to make the best Broadway play."

Plot summary

While visiting New York City, Timon and Pumbaa join a Broadway play to audition for Bob Coffee, a Broadway dance legend. However, when the two accidentally ruin the show, they get kicked out by Bob.

The pals trying to come up with their own broadway play

Timon and Pumbaa then suggest that they should make a Broadway show about themselves, but Pumbaa mentions that putting on a show costs money. Timon points out that in America, all they have to do is sign their names to pay for something, as the meerkat notices a woman charging a hot dog from a vendor. Timon states that the secret to success on Broadway is to think big and tries to come up with a title for their new play.

Pumbaa then suggests they do a show starring both himself and Timon, but Timon tells Pumbaa that every musical with a warthog is unsuccessful, showing him from a book three past musicals with warthogs that he admits has never heard of. Therefore, Timon suggests that their Broadway musical should be 100% warthog-free. Pumbaa tries to convince Timon that they can have a successful musical with a warthog, but Timon refuses to take such chance. As Timon will not include him in his play, Pumbaa decides to make his own musical.

Timon shows Pumbaa that he added lasers in his musical to compete with the smoke effects the warthog added in his

After opening their own Broadway show, Timon and Pumbaa bet to see which one of them can make the best show. As Timon's cast prepare for the show, with Bob hired as director and choreographer and Timon signing a bill for the meerkat costumes, the meerkat decides to go check on Pumbaa. When he arrives at Pumbaa's musical, he sees that the warthog added smoke effects while his cast perform, making the meerkat suggest that he should add lasers to his play. Pumbaa then decides to go see how Timon is doing.

When Pumbaa arrives at Timon's play, Timon shows his friend that he included a rotating stage, which ends up injuring the cast, resulting in Timon signing a medical bill. Pumbaa starts to feel like they're taking the competition a little too far, but Timon insists that they should have more splash and pizzazz than any musical in town. The two continue competing against each other.

After the duo gets kicked out of their play, the duo agree that they should have worked together

Timon and Pumbaa ask for more elements to include in their musical. As the shows go on, the two get more and more bills to sign and as Bob watches Timon's plays, his addiction to coffee increases to the point where he gets sent to the hospital.

Later, Timon gets visited by a lawyer, who asks the meerkat to pay for the expenses. As Timon is unable to do so, he gets kicked out of his own show. Pumbaa also gets kicked out, indicating that he also got a visit from a lawyer and was asked to pay. Timon laments over losing his Broadway show and agrees with Pumbaa that it would have worked out had they worked together. Pumbaa then tells Timon that they've learned that a show starring a warthog can do just as well as a show with meerkats, to which Timon shakes his head in disbelief.

Cast

Starring

• Kevin Schon as Timon
• Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa

Guest Starring

• Tom Wilson as Bob Coffee

Appearances

Characters Bob Coffee Pumbaa Timon Species Dogs Horses Humans Meerkats Warthogs Locations New York Organization and Titles Broadway Dance Legend Choreographer Director

Trivia

• The episode's title is a reference to the Neil Simon play Broadway Bound.

• Pumbaa declares that his musical will have everything, except the King of Siam. The King of Siam is one of the main characters in the musical The King and I.

• The episode contains several parody titles of real Broadway musicals:
  • The first play Timon shows Pumbaa on why musicals with warthogs flop is Guys and Hogs, is a parody of the 1992 Broadway Musical Guys and Dolls. Ironically, said 1992 musical is referenced in the Season 1 episode "Manhattan Mishap". Also interestingly, Timon and Pumbaa's voice actors, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, co-starred in that musical.
  • The second play, Fiddler on the Hoof, is a parody of the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof.
  • The third play, Swineset Boulevard, is a reference to the 1991 musical Sunset Boulevard.
  • Les Meerkats - Les Misérables.
  • Timon Superstar - Jesus Christ Superstar.
  • Sunday in the Park with Timon and Pumbaa - Sunday in the Park with George.
  • Timon and the Amazing Technicolor Pumbaa - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

• Dorothy Gale and Toto from The Wizard of Oz make a brief cameo, after Pumbaa orders more hot air balloons.

• Timon causing a chandelier to crash is an homage to The Phantom of the Opera.

• The "long-haired Bohemians" are an reference to the musical Hair.

• Pumbaa decides to feature a giant painting, that resembles A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. Seurat and his painting are both featured in the musical Sunday in the Park with George.

• The man dancing around in the rain is an reference to Singin' in the Rain.

• The exploding pinball machine is a reference to The Who's Tommy.

• One of the things Pumbaa adds to his musical is a replica of the RMS Titanic. This is a reference to the Broadway musical Titanic.

Media

Ivy Beleaguered & Broadway Bound and Gagged

The full episodes of "Ivy Beleaguered" and "Broadway Bound & Gagged"