The pair arrive at Pride Rock during the presentation of Simba to the Pride Lands' animals. The two quickly form a bond and Pumbaa accompanies Timon. Believing Pride Rock to be his paradise home, Timon ventures there and encounters Pumbaa on his way. Timon takes the advice literally and observes Pride Rock in the distance. He meets the mandrill Rafiki, who teaches him about ' Hakuna Matata' and advises him to 'look beyond what you see'. Now completely shunned and convinced that he will never fit in with the other meerkats, Timon decides to leave to find a better life. One day, he is assigned as a sentry in an attempt by his mother to get him accepted, but his daydreaming leads to the near death of his Uncle Max by the hyenas Shenzi, Banzai and Ed.

Though he is unconditionally supported by his mother, Timon dreams of a better life than his colony's bleak existence continuously hiding from predators. Timon is a social outcast in his meerkat colony on the outskirts of the Pride Lands due to frequently messing things up by accident. Pumbaa's protest over this eventually prompts Timon to share his backstory, going back to before the beginning of the movie. As Timon and Pumbaa watch the original film in a theater room, Timon decides to fast-forward to their scenes.

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