Timon is a major character in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and the protagonist of the 2004 film The Lion King 1½. He is a wisecracking meerkat and the best friend of Pumbaa. Though he originates from an industrious family, Timon lives an easygoing lifestyle of grub-eating and sleeping, under a "problem-free philosophy" called Hakuna matata. Timon initially regarded the rescuing of Simba as the acquisition of a predator-fending bodyguard. Over time, however, Timon's inclination would change to the point of viewing Simba as his own son.