Without a doubt, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is one of the most famous plays in English literature. On the other hand, Disney’s The Lion King is a beloved movie for children and adult. To this day, many producers of animated movies integrate great literature, which makes The Lion King such a great movie. Apart from the difference that on is play written centuries ago and one is an animated movie, they are similar in their character traits, plots and themes. The main similarity many find is the characters, Hamlet and Simba. As you may know, both protagonists come from a royal family. Simba is the son of Mufasa, the leader of the lions, and Hamlet is the son of King Hamlet, making him the prince of Denmark. Scar and Claudius, the evil uncles, have cause a horrid act upon their families by murdering their own brother causing the protagonists to be sent away. The reason Hamlet was sent away, was because Claudius wanted to kill Hamlet: Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety, / Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve For that which thou hast done,--must send thee hence / With fiery quickness: therefore prepare thyself; / The bark is ready, and the wind …show more content…
Simba develops close friendships with the ever-entertaining Timone and Pumbaa. They are there for him during a time in his life where he has no one, and they teach him how to enjoy life. Simba also has a love interest named Nala. They were friends as young cubs, but romance blossomed when they met again as adults. Hamlet has a friend named Horatio whom he knew from college. Though Horatio does not have as big of an impact on Hamlet as Timone and Pumbaa have on Simba, he does help Hamlet on several occasions and can be considered his one true friend. Hamlet also has a love interest named Ophelia. There is much controversy about whether he truly loved her or was simply using her, but she is the one young woman in his life
Characterization is the representation of a fictional character. A key element of any story is character development. The LION King's cast, created by Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton and Irene Mecchi, mirror the characters of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The characters involved in this scene from Hamlet include Hamlet, Gertrude (The Queen), and King Hamlet’s ghost. In The LION King Mufasa’s Spirit share the moment. Each prince and their fathers spirit share close similarities. Both Hamlet and Simba are at first shocked to see the spirits. While Hamlet has witnessed the supernatural before, this is Simba’s first time. The two characters are equally in need of guidance and they each rely on their father, whom they trusted, to remind them of themselves. They have both along the way forgotten parts of themselves, Simba being his destiny and Hamlet being his humanity and task. The spirits arrive after something triggers the princes into a state of insecurity, depression, and anger. Hamlet had killed an innocent man and felt betrayed by his mother. Simba's memories of his dark past resurfaced and he felt like he was being pushed to return to it. Each character's father is soft spoken and direct, but not harsh. They do not engage in a conversation, but
When comparing the characters in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Disney’s The Lion King, they are similar. Hamlet is a play about a boy who lost his father and had to get revenge on his uncle, the new King and the killer of his father. The Lion King is a movie about a young lion who loses his father and then struggles with his uncle and finding his place in the circle of life. When specifically looking at Scar and Claudius they are similar because they are cruel, selfish, and two-faced.
“Obstacles are put in your way to see if what you want is really worth fighting for” (Joseph Campbell), this relates to monomyth because it shows that hero’s follow the monomyth cycle, the hero is fighting for something that is important to them no matter how difficult it is. Joseph Campbell depicts “a typical adventure of the archetype known as the hero” (Mrs. Suarez document). The monomyth journey shows that heroic characters experience this pattern. Monomyth is present in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and Walt Disney’s movie The Lion King. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is about a young man named Hamlet who found out that his father was murdered by his uncle and he became depressed; he eventually overcame
The instinct for justice to be served and the idea of revenge to be sought has existed upon us to be a natural part of human nature for many years. Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Disney’s 1994 film “The Lion King” directed by Roger Allers share many parallels between the relationship of brothers, resulting for the seek of revenge and restored order to compare. Green with envy, Scar and Claudius result to murder to achieve victory in gaining power over the thrown. The comparison between Claudius and Cain are evident to portray revenge upon their brothers and later to be exiled With both king deaths, Mufasa and King Hamlet bring meaning and actions to lend hand in the motive to their sons to restore what is right.
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Old Hamlet is killed by his brother, Claudius, who has poured poison in his ear while he is asleep. In The Lion King Mufasa is killed by his brother, Scar, who pushes him off of a cliff. In both films the kings are killed by their brothers because their brothers are jealous of them and want to rule their kingdom. In both films the kings come back as a ghost and talk to their sons. In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Old Hamlet comes back as a ghostly figure and tells Hamlet to take revenge on his uncle but leave his mother to go to heaven because she has done no wrong (Shakespear, 36). In The Lion King, Mufasa comes back in the stars and tells Simba to take his proper place in the circle of life. After both Hamlet and Simba speak with their fathers they both will carry out what was asked to be done of
Simba, the prince of Pride Rock, is destined to be the King after his father, but the representative of manipulation and evil, Simba’s uncle Scar, stages a takeover by murdering Simba’s father, Mufasa, and convincing
While Shakespeare develops the secondary characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Disney draws upon this concept of friendship through Timon and Pumba. In the Lion King Timon and Pumba are not main characters but they still play a very important role in the film in that when Simba is banished he comes across them and they look after Simba and keep his spirits high while he is in the wild. They introduce him to their free-living concept of “Hakuna Matata” and give him an out from his responsibilities and his past. Similarly, in Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
However, Simba’s life was different from Hamlet in
Hamlet, the longest play written by the Bard, has been considered to be among the world’s most powerful and influential works of literature. It is fitting that the modern Disney adaptation of the play, The Lion King, is among
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is hands down the best play ever conceived. The play focuses around a son struggling to keep sane while seeking revenge for his father’s death. This play teaches the values of integrity, morality and the importance of how the thirst for power leads to corruption. Similar to Hamlet one is reminded of these values and lessons taught in Disney’s 1994 film The Lion King. The Lion King is a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Hamlet. Rather than telling the story through humans, the story is told through lions in Africa. While comparing the two, one will be able to track similarities and differences, and their purpose, in the key events and storylines of both versions.
Tacking on a few more interesting differences, let’s talk about friendship. Hamlet doesn’t have anyone close to him, the closest being a friend from college, Horatio. This lack of closeness with others, and loneliness that Hamlet must have experienced can explain a number of the things he did, that weren’t portrayed by Simba. For example, Simba had Timon and Pumba, whom he was very close with from the time he was a cub. Furthermore, Simba had multiple sources he could seek out that loved, respected, and overall knew him as an individual. Another similarity that is actually more a difference is the presence of a love interest. In Hamlet, though his woman of interest, Ophelia, was seen as nothing more than an object and treated just the same. Hamlet also used a plethora of sexual innuendo, and inappropriate sexual jokes that fuel his relationship with Ophelia. The Lion King shows no such trend. If anything, Nala, Simba’s love interest, is seen as a figure of power and strength. It was left up to the women to keep everyone alive after Mufasa was murdered, and Scar became the alpha. The two actually seem to portray women completely different, seen in Hamlet as nothing more than sex machines and object, while seen in The Lion King as figures of power and strength. I think I can speak for a majority of women when I say, thank you Disney, thank you for portraying women for what
The Lion King and Hamlet are so much alike that teachers today use The Lion King while teaching students of Hamlet. First off, Hamlet starts off with the son of a king depressed of the recent death of his father. In the Lion King, the king does not die until halfway through the movie and those watching get to see the relationship between father and son before he dies. The story’s happen to line up with the ghost of the father coming back to encourage their son to avenge them and take back the throne, however, their actions after this a very different. Hamlet pretends to be crazy and put on a play to prove whether or not his uncle did kill his father, and Simba goes straight back to pride rock to face Scar already knowing what really happened to his dad. The play and the movie may be similar with characters but the storylines are totally different. Hamlet ends with everyone dying and The Lion King ends with Simba taking back the throne and rejoicing over his newborn
Without Shakespeare we wouldn’t have some of the greatest movies that we know today. The Lion King was based on Hamlet, which is one of Shakespeare most famous plays. Hamlet is know as one of the best plots of all time from the creative way that that Prince Hamlet tried to expose his uncle for the murder of his father by using a play within the play. Prince Hamlet is know as one of the most
Walt Disney’s The Lion King is a legendary film even after its release almost twenty years ago, in 1994. (Disney). This film is easily the best animated feature of its kind; from the musical score to the animation to the memorable characters this film is an instant classic. The film is an animated fantasy adventure that spins the tale of a young lion cub named, Simba, who is the young prince of the lion pride. Simba is betrayed by his uncle, Scar, and runs into the wilderness after his father’s murder. The comical antics of his adopted family, Timone and Pumbaa make the film funny and the seriousness of Scar’s betrayal adds some drama to the film. The film is directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. (Disney). The Lion King boasts an
Hamlet does not forget his father long after everyone else has forgotten about his death and has moved on in seeking reconciliation. He remembers his father’s