Response to Gael Sweeny’s “Timon and Pumbaa’s Alternative Lifestyle Dilemma”

Before reading this article, I had never heard thought about or heard of the concept that Timon and Pumbaa were gay.  I had always just considered them to be buddies, having fun in their secluded paradise.  But after reading the examples Sweeney gives, I realize that these characters border on being overtly gay, which completely blew my mind at first.  These two characters, who would not actually belong in the African savannah, especially as partners, added the drama and sarcasm that kept the movie lively and interesting, instead of somber and intense the whole time.  That being said, the way they were crafted sheds light on the changing ideologies of Disney animators at the time.

Overall, I liked Sweeney’s article and the argument he was making.  He uses the “they say/I say” argument style that we have discussed in class to his advantage by first explaining who was criticizing Disney for not committing to “family values,” and what their arguments were.  He then, instead of disagreeing with their points about sexuality, and especially homosexuality, explains how their arguments actually are sound, and as a result how this was a monumental change for Disney.  In other words, he is not disagreeing with the religious conservatives about the lack of homoerotic signs, but he is saying that these signs are good instead of bad.  As a result of his argumentation style, I found myself agreeing with a lot of what he had to say. 

I find it very funny and a bit surprising that the Disney animators decided to make Timon and Pumbaa act stereotypically gay.  Considering that conservative, white America was the group of people that Walt Disney catered to and identified with in his original feature and short films, this shows a drastic change in the ideologies of the animation studio.  While it may have been fun for these new animators to get back at anti-Disney advocators in groups associated with the Religious Right, producers may have feared losing viewers by “promoting” a happy gay couple.  This may explain why the two buddies don’t actually say they are committed to one another, but instead just say they are “best friends.”  No matter how controversial animators wanted to be, they still had to be realistic and not alienate viewers.