February 17, 2001 – The House of Mouse Episode “Timon and Pumbaa” Premieres
“I wish I could be like you. You don’t mind doing everything Mickey tells you, and letting Mickey get all the fame, and the glory, the big bucks, the fancy cars, while you’re stuck being number two…teach me, Donald, how to be a doormat just like you!”
On February 17, 2001, the House of Mouse episode “Timon and Pumbaa” premiered on Toon Disney. This was the fifth episode of the first season of the show, and was directed by Tony Craig and Roberts Gannaway.
Mickey introduces the show, announcing that the special guests for the night are Timon and Pumbaa – much to the chagrin of Simba. Donald is in the lobby greeting guests, and when he says hello to Mushu, the dragon walks right by without a word. Angered, Donald steps on his tail, demanding a response. As Mushu once again brushes him off and leaves, Daisy enters and tells Donald that Timon and Pumbaa want their grubs immediately. When Donald asks why Goofy can’t do it, the scene switches to Goofy in the kitchen, with his head stuck in the sink’s pipes, remarking that they must be clogged. Donald begrudgingly brings Timon and Pumbaa a bucket full of worms, grousing and griping.
Mickey and Minnie watch as Timon and Pumbaa fight over their act
In the dressing room, Timon and Pumbaa have a fight over what they will do on stage, with Pumbaa insisting on stand-up comedy, and Timon fighting for magic. The two break up, leaving Mickey without an act. Mickey quickly introduces a Pluto short film, entitled “Pluto’s Magic Paws.” In the short, Mickey greets a magician named Magical Mouse, who gives Mickey a ticket to his show. Mickey then enters the dry cleaners, asking the clerk if he mixed up the orders again, and the clerk insists that he didn’t. That night, Mickey leaves Pluto home alone while he takes Minnie to the magic show. Pluto quickly heads to the cans of dog food, hoping to open it, but he is unable to use the can opener. Giving up, he goes over to the television, which plays a variety of shows with the word “cat” in the title. Meanwhile, Mickey’s dry cleaning package opens by itself, revealing a pair of the magician’s magical gloves, which begin to run amok in the house. One of the gloves slips on Pluto’s paw, giving the dog the ability to do things he couldn’t before, like use the can opener and play the piano. Meanwhile at the magic show, the magician is unable to perform any of his tricks without his magical gloves. Pluto continues to use the gloves to impress a female dog down the street, which gets him in trouble with his nemesis, Butch. The gloves make a break for it, with Pluto chasing them, and Butch chasing Pluto. The gloves steal a fire truck to get to their owner, and Magical Mouse is relieved to have his gloves again.
Timon is busy preparing for his magic act, but Mickey tells him that the audience is expecting Timon and Pumbaa. Timon tries to reassure Mickey that it will be okay, but Mickey isn’t so certain. Donald is sent to talk to Pumbaa, who only makes Donald’s temper flare when he “envies” Donald’s willingness to be nothing more than number two to Mickey. When Pumbaa asks Donald’s help in being a doormat, Donald gets an idea to make Donald and Pumbaa an act, which lasts about two seconds.
Mickey uses reverse psychology on Timon to make him go out on stage with Pumbaa
The next short is “Mickey to the Rescue,” which begins with Minnie being captured by Pete, and Mickey having to battle all of Pete’s booby traps to reach Minnie and get her out of her cage. After the short, Pumbaa begins his stand-up routine, which is met with a lukewarm reception. Timon remarks that Pumbaa is horrible without him. Mickey tries to use reverse psychology on Timon, but while it seems that Timon won’t go along with it, he does. The act is even worse with Timon doing his magic, but when the two begin insulting each other, the audience begins to laugh and applaud. Mickey breathes a sigh of relief, and Minnie cues the next cartoon.
The last part is a Donald Duck short called “Golf Nut Donald,” where Donald is the janitor at a golf course. Donald spies a trophy given to the golfer with the best score, and decides that the trophy is meant to be his. He plays magnificently, until he gets to the final hole, where the ball is sent flying into Chip and Dale’s tree, which then blocks his shot. Donald chops down the tree quickly, and Chip and Dale decide to get revenge by tampering with his golf ball and using a magnet to make it move away from Donald’s shots. Donald is sent all over the golf course as he tries to hit his ball, with Chip and Dale continuing to play their pranks on him, and finally driving off in his golf cart. In the end, when Donald is finally able to sink his putt, he is given the trophy – for the worst score.
Donald still wishes to be the boss, revealing to Mickey his big plans of changing the name of the club
The show ends with Timon and Pumbaa patching things up, but Donald is still in a foul mood. Mickey then thanks Donald for being a team player, but Donald still wishes he were the boss, and shows Mickey his plans to name the club “House of Duck.”
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