Mel

Mel

Physical information
Gender	Male
Species	Gazelle
Hair color	Black, brown, and cream
Eye color	Black
Distinguishing features	• Large chin • Long tail
Biographical information
Status	Living
Residence	Pride Lands
Affiliations	• Lara's herd • Pride Landers
Relationship information
Romances	Lara (unrequited)
Allies	Lara
Enemies	Herman

“

My dear Lara, whatever gift you've received, you should get back. Because my gift to you is beyond compare. My gift to you is the only thing you'll ever need to have. My gift to you is me!

―Mel^[src]

”

Mel is a male gazelle. He is a member of a herd of gazelles in the Pride Lands.

Mel attempted to woo a beautiful female gazelle named Lara. However, a wildebeest named Herman challenged Mel for Lara's affections, and the two agreed to fight for her heart. Herman managed to win by dunking his head under the water and exposing his ugly appearance, which scared off Mel.

Biography

Early life

Mel lived in the Pride Lands. He was a member of a gazelle herd.^[1]

Wooing Lara

While Herman got a makeover from Rafiki, the savanna celebrated Lara's birthday with a giant cake. As the festivities commenced, Mel popped out of the cake and attempted to serenade Lara with a song. However, she was disgusted and rejected his kiss. Just as Mel moved in for another attempt, Lara turned to find that Herman was at her party and handsomer than ever. Outraged at being outdone by a wildebeest, Mel challenged Herman to a fight in which they would run at each other full-force and collide horns. Determined to win Lara's heart, Herman agreed.

As the two charged at each other, Herman suddenly realized that he must be true to himself and dunked his head underwater, which changed him back into an ugly beast. Mel stopped short at Herman's transformation and ran away, screeching. Despite his victory, Herman was sad that he was ugly again and began to troop away with Rafiki until he was stopped by Lara, who admired him for his bravery. She then dunked her head underwater, revealing herself to be ugly as well. The two shared a romantic kiss.^[1]

Physical appearance

Mel is a large and brawny gazelle. He has brown fur, with a pale underbelly, a dark brown mane and tail tip, and black eyes. He wears a blue bowtie.^[1]

Personality and traits

Mel is cocky and confident in his ability to woo. While romancing Lara, he thought little of her feelings and automatically assumed that his good looks and charm would win her over. When confronted by Herman, he was quick to anger and even more quick to defend his pride. He also turned out to be very cowardly, as he fled from Herman after seeing his true form.^[1]

Appearances

The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa
- "Beauty and the Wildebeest"

Trivia

Mel was voiced by Jeff Bennett.^[2]
- Bennett also voiced Zazu in the "The Morning Report" sequence in The Lion King and in The Lion Guard as well as the beast, Buzz, the castaway, Cisco Pig's gang, Count Down, Duke Meerkat, El Toro, the fox, the foxhound, Heimlich, the meerkat angel, Mr. Vam Pirebat, the native chief, Sigmund, the three natives, and Toucan Dan in The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa.^[2]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Revealed in "Beauty and the Wildebeest" from Disney's The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa. Season 1, Episode 12b. Written by Byron Simpson and directed by Jeff DeGrandis. Originally aired October 21, 1995.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Jeff Bennett. IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved on September 18, 2020.

[BatW-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Revealed in "Beauty and the Wildebeest" from Disney's The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa. Season 1, Episode 12b. Written by Byron Simpson and directed by Jeff DeGrandis. Originally aired October 21, 1995.

[IMDb-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Jeff Bennett. IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved on September 18, 2020.

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