One can’t help but notice several distinct similarities within Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Disney’s The Lion King. Whether these similarities are intentional, or merely alike by coincidence has been a topic of numerous literary debates. This essay will serve to prove the argument that The Lion King is in fact, based off of Hamlet. The basis for this argument will be the central themes of the fight for power, and a thirst for revenge and justice. Hamlet and The Lion King withhold similarities in theme, plot, and structure. By proving these similarities, it can be proven that Shakespeare’s Hamlet played a key role in the ideas behind Disney’s The Lion King.
There is no doubt that both Hamlet and The Lion King focus on the main characters’ quest
Some differences between Shakespeare’s play and Disney’s movie are the ages of Simba and prince Hamlet, Simba’s story is happy overall, most of the characters in “Hamlet” die but only one died in “The Lion King”, Simba lives happily ever after while price Hamlet died in the process of his revenge, Simba has help with his friends while prince Hamlet was forced to keep things to himself, prince Hamlet’s mother got remarried to her husband’s brother, and obviously, the species are different.
One of the best known pieces of literature throughout the world, Hamlet is also granted a position of excellence as a work of art. One of the elements which makes this play one of such prestige is the manner in which the story unfolds. Throughout time, Shakespeare has been renowned for writing excellent superlative opening scenes for his plays. By reviewing Act 1, Scene 1 of Hamlet, the reader is able to establish a clear understanding of events to come. This scene effectively sets a strong mood for the events to come, gives important background information, and introduces the main characters. With the use of this information, it is simple to see how Shakespeare manages to create stories with such everlasting appeal.
The theme of greed and jealousy are explored through stories of Disney's 'The Lion King' and Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. Both texts show us that greed and jealousy can override someones personality and that guilt will always get the best of you. However, Disney's version of 'The Lion King' doesn't have such a tragic ending because the lion's kingdom is restored at the end of the film whereas in Hamlet, Denmark is ruled by Norwegian prince at the end.
Over the course of the past fifty years there have been many cinematic productions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, some of which remain true to the text while others take greater liberties with the original format. Director Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 production of Hamlet was true to Shakespeare’s work in that the film’s dialogue was delivered word or word as it is presented in the text. In contrast, Franco Zeffirelli conducted his 1990 production of Hamlet in a much more liberal direction in which lines, scenes and characters were omitted from the film. I argue that from the perspective of an individual with moderate knowledge in Shakespearian literature, that the best film versions of Hamlet are those that take the most liberties from the text. I
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 Lion King, Minkoff and Allers present a clear difference between good and evil, whereas Shakespeare’s depiction of good and evil character in Hamlet is not so clear. The characters in The Lion King are categorised almost immediately in the orientation of the film, with the image of the characters giving the audience a clear picture of who the suspected betrayer is. However in the play Hamlet it’s a lot more difficult to label the characters as good or evil, the audience cannot be certain that Claudius is evil until the climax when he reacts to the play organised by Hamlet.
In 1994, the critics hail an animated masterpiece, not only for its artwork and music, but also for the plotline: an evil uncle displaces the heir to the throne and sends him into exile. Years later, following both a prophecy and an encounter with the ghost of the old king, the heir is persuaded to return to his home, avenge his father's death, and take his proper place as the ruler of the kingdom. At first glance, Disney's The Lion King has all the classic motifs of the revenge plot. These archetypal patterns occur in many stories, and Disney writers Jim Capoblanco and Irene Mecchi may well have built the plot's structure from the ground up. However, if we disregard the Serengeti setting, the
Many literary works can be compared due to vast amounts of similarities between theme and characters; Hamlet and the Lion King are two literary works in which character and theme are surprisingly similar throughout each work. The Lion King is thought to be just an animated children’s film, however, it is in fact a modern translation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The main characters in the Lion King are definite parallels to those in Hamlet. Along with the main characters and plot details, the stories were similar in the representation of the secondary characters. "Here's my little secret, I killed Mufasa.” The theme in Hamlet can be compared to the Walt Disney movie The Lion King. Hamlet and Simba are betrayed by their uncles whom murder their
When contrasting the characters in William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet to the characters in Walt Disney’s film, The Lion King, there are many differences in characterization. Hamlet is a play set in Denmark that tells the story of the tragic murder of King Hamlet and the emotional effects it has on his son, Prince Hamlet. The Prince’s mental instability causes him to go wildly insane over his love for Ophelia, who he will never have. He seeks vengeance on his uncle who is guilty of his father's murder. The Lion King is a film about Simba, a young lion prince who grieves over the untimely death of his father, the King of the Pride Lands. Simba discovers his Uncle Scar was the cause of his father's death. He must now return to Pride Rock in order to save his home and all who live there from the chaos under the ruling of Scar while he finds his place in society. When analyzing the characters Ophelia and Nala, they are dissimilar in their traits of obedience, dependence, and inner strength.
The two texts ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Hamlet’ explore the meaning of heroes and villains. Simba and Hamlet have the same characteristics they both wanted to take back what was rightly there’s. It took a couple of years for Simba to realize that he does deserve to be king and to fight for his throne. Hamlets mindset was the same, when his father’s ghost appeared, hamlet said “To be or not to be” he was second guessing his life and wanted to die, but after taking a long think he jumped up and wanted to get revenge for his father.
The Lion King and Hamlet have a lot of similarities, but it also has some differences that are pretty noticeable. For say The Lion King is a more family-friendly movie as for Hamlet has more of a PG14 plot.There is a lot more sexual joke in Hamlet, but in the Lion King, there was not any or only a few sexual jokes. There are also a lot of similarities in both plots like in the characters, but there are lots more similarities than just characters. Disney changed a lot of stuff to make it more kid-friendly and so that Shakespeare fans don’t get super mad because they copied Hamlet exactly, but there is still lots of similarities, but a lot more differences
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet explores and condones the same variety of themes in Disney’s The Lion King. Through a number of events, both the antagonists want to take revenge upon their evil uncles. The reader and audience learn the importance of finding happiness when Simba meets Timon and Pumba, but Hamlet is neglected leaving him to spiral into dark thoughts. Another theme explored by both texts is power and how easy it is to lose what’s all around you as well as the even bigger struggle it is to gain it all back. Both texts have a variety of differences, yet they are very similar which makes them unique. Especially The Lion King, being aimed at a younger audience, it is evident to see how Disney has purposely left out harsh topics, such as suicide, to cater for the indented audience.
The purpose of this report is to compare and contrast two movies made about Hamlet. I will present and discuss different aspects of the version directed by Kenneth Branagh to that of Franco Zefirelli. During this paper you will be presented with my opinions in reference to determining which version of Hamlet best reflects the original text by Shakespeare. I will end this paper with my belief and explanation of which movie is true to the original play.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet is without question the most famous play in the English language. Hamlet is a play about a character's struggles with the opposing forces of moral integrity and the need to avenge his father's murder. Disney's The Lion King is an award winning film about a young lion cub named Simba, and his struggles against himself and reality. The movie, The Lion King, and the book, Hamlet, both have a similar story line. Shakespeare's Hamlet and Disney's The Lion King have similar occurrences such as, the king is killed and revenge is sought by the king's son, the murderers are the king's brothers who want the power of the throne, and many others; but each story is also unique in their own ways.
People always ask, “What is a tragic hero?” The question that should be asked is, “Who is more of a tragic hero, Macbeth or Hamlet?” Macbeth is the more tragic hero when compared to Hamlet because Hamlet had nothing to lose the whole time. The three things that make Macbeth a more a lamentable legend than Hamlet is his appalling blemish of being presumptuous, being vanquished toward the end and decapitated by Macduff and losing the greater part of his Fortune, and ultimately his acknowledgment of his results of his executing Macduff's family toward the end of the play. These are the reasons that will be used to make evident why Macbeth is more of a tragic hero than Hamlet.