A closer look
Pumbaa from the Lion King holds the distinguished cinematic honor of being the first character to fart on screen in a Disney animated feature. Disney maintained a pristine, flatulence-free environment for decades, terrified that acknowledging bodily functions would shatter their wholesome brand identity. Burbank studio executives watched as millions of dollars in pristine hand-drawn animation were effortlessly upstaged by a well-timed sound effect from a warthog in 1994, shattering the glass ceiling of animated intestinal gas. American parents must now endure endless bodily function jokes disguised as high-art emotional storytelling just to keep their children occupied for ninety minutes
