The Lion King, a film of sorrow and revenge, focuses on the prince of the Pridelands, Simba. Simba, the son of Mufasa(King of the Pridelands), is a mischievous lion cub that gets caught in a stampede incident; which, results in the death of his father. He believes he is to blame for his father’s death, but he is not. Mufasa’s death is the work of Simba’s vile uncle, Scar. Since the making of this film, many people have compared this movie to the shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet. Though the two works share surface-level similarities in plot and characterization, when comparing themes and structure, The Lion King and Hamlet are fundamentally different.
The Lion King and Hamlet have undeniably similar plots; however, Hamlet ends vastly different
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In the beginning of the movie Simba is a free-spirited lion cub that has not a care in the world. An example of his carefree personality is: Simba takes Nala to the elephant graveyard, disregarding what his father told him about the kingdom’s boundaries. The instance of disobeying his father, even out of curiosity, shows that Simba is not concerned with the outcome of his actions. This happy-go-lucky feeling leaves Simba, as he witnesses his father’s death. Mufasa’s body lies still on the earth and Simba joins his father on the ground, beginning to sob. In this single moment Simba is no longer carefree, it’s almost as if he loses his innocence. Like Simba, Hamlet faces emotional distress as he too, loses his father. Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, comments on the appearance of her woeful son, “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off, And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. Do not forever with thy vailèd lids seek for thy noble father in the dust . . . (1.2.70-73).” Gertrude is telling Hamlet to put away his mourning clothes and welcome the newly appointed king(his Uncle Claudius). She also says that Hamlet cannot grieve his father’s death forever. The words Gertrude speaks to Hamlet help convey the emotions he is feeling: sorrow and denial. As the stories unfold both Hamlet and Simba receive visits from their deceased fathers, which causes each of them to have an emotional shift. The ghost of Old Hamlet tells his son there has been an unjust murder. Hamlet is greatly intrigued and urges his father to tell him more information, hoping to avenge the death. Previously Hamlet was in utter despair, due to the loss of his father, but the notion of an unjust murder drives Hamlet to seek revenge. In The Lion King, Mufasa’s ghost encourages Simba to reclaim what is his and bring liveliness back to the
The leading roles in each of the stories had a corresponding role in the other. The corresponding characters shared a number of similarities, but it was the ways in which they were different that determined their fate and that of the kingdom. In Hamlet, the prince is Hamlet. He is in deep grieving of his father’s death. He is angry because he believes that everyone has already forgotten how great of a king his father was. Hamlet does not know for sure who is responsible for his father’s death, but he suspects Claudius who is his uncle and the new king. Hamlet decides that if he can convince everyone that he is insane, then maybe he will be able to get someone to tell him more about his father’s murder. In The Lion King, Simba is the prince. Simba’s father, Mufasa, is killed after he falls from a cliff into a herd of hyenas. Simba falls into a deep depression after his uncle Scar twists things around and convinces Simba that he is the one responsible for the Mufasa’s death. Simba can not deal with what has happened and he runs away from the kingdom.
The Lion King and Hamlet are similar because both dads die, and are different because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are on Claudius’ side in the play, but Timon and Pumba are on Simba’s side in the movie. Because of Hamlets dad dyeing and he finds out the truth and seeks revenge on Claudius. When Simba found out that his dad died, found out that scar actually killed him, and seeks revenge. Since Simba was walking too slow, I told him to
“To be or not to be, that is the question.” It is a well-known quote from Hamlet who was created by Shakespeare. William Shakespeare is known as a great poet, playwright, and actor. He had written about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and many other writings (Bevington, 1). He was not only a playwright, but also he was the father of 1,380 characters (Bevington, 2), including Hamlet, Romeo, Juliet, Claudio, Prospero and Henry V. Shakespeare successfully created different characters and each of them had their unique personalities. Most of the well-known characters were not only alive in the plays, but also their characteristics could be found in the reality.
The Shakesperience report has taught me many things throughout the school year. Some of the many things I have accomplished so far during the Shakespeare report are learning about Shakespeare and his life, reading three fantastic Shakespeare plays (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet), learning about each protagonist and antagonist from the plays, comparing and contrasting each theme to one another, and discussing the roles of fate and destiny. I am writing this letter to compare and contrast each of the three plays to one another.
Scar from The Lion King is one of the most well-known villains to appear in a Disney movie. For many people who grew up in the nineties, Scar may have been one of the first antagonists they had seen in fiction. In the film, Scar murders his brother Mufasa and drives his nephew Simba away to assume control over the Pride Lands. By that description, it would be difficult to find any likable qualities in a character like Scar. However, nearly 400 years before the release of The Lion King, William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. The antagonist of this play was King Claudius, Hamlet 's uncle. Claudius not only murdered his brother to take control of the throne, but he also marries his brother 's widowed wife. The writers of The Lion King took inspiration
Hamlet and Lion king are similar because in both Brothers want to kill the king to take the throne. In act 1 scene 5 the ghost told hamlet to kill Claudius for what he did to him. Oh, my offence is rank.it smells to heaven. It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, a brother’s murder. Shakespeare Act 3 Scene 3 (42- 44) It shows that both in the Lion King and Hamlet that brothers kill each other for power. Though Scar kills Mufasa by throwing him off a cliff. “Scar help me. Long live the king brother” Disney. It shows that in both movie and play that the brothers king kills to become king. In both play and movie they kill for the throne and power because of their selfish emotions.
Hamlet and Lion King has lots of differences and similarities. In the Lion king, Scar, Simba’s uncle killed his father. In Hamlet, Hamlets uncle Claudius killed his father old hamlet. Simba's crush was his childhood friend, but hamlets crush was a peasant. Sarabi the queen didn't like Simbas uncle but in Hamlet, Hamlet's mom remarried his uncle.
Like Hamlet, Laertes is a son confronted with a father's death, but Laertes' revenge for his father was more personal and he could care less about the consequences of his actions.
The two stories have individual beginning as the play starts as King Hamlet is already murdered and Claudius takes the throne as well as gets married with Getrude, who is Hamlet’s mother and on the other hand, The Lion King begins similarly to other Disney movies that is the delightful time of the main character, which is Simba at a young age. King Hamlet, who is known as the Ghost, appears more than once throughout the story in order to give Hamlet advice what to do and also tells his son the truth behind his death and what he wants, which is to revenge for his father. In contrast, Mufasa, who is Simba’s father, shows up later in the movies when Simba fully grows up and becomes an adult but he
Hamlet and The Lion King shared majority of the themes that were found in each story. A theme of revenge was prominent in both the film and the original play as Simba and Prince Hamlet worked towards avenging their fathers throughout the story. Politics can also be seen in both as the stories explain to the viewer/reader that a bad king can mean a corrupt and equally bad kingdom (murders committed by the new kings). Although some harsh themes, family also seems to be mutual in both tales, more so seen in The Lion King. Shakespeare was able to show the reader the importance of family throughout Hamlet, when there is a power-hungry family member, and the rest of the family must stick together to overcome the struggle. The producers of The Lion King do a similar job as they explain the same thing, however also digging into the loyalty of Sarabi for Mufasa. The reason for a greater theme of positivity in the newer film is due to the demographics. The Lion King was primarily a children’s film, thus it required a simpler and happier tone. This also changes the overall plot by reducing the number of deaths and ruling out madness. This tone also affects the number of comic relief moments in the story. In Hamlet, there were only a few moments in which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were able to lighten the mood of the play by offering comedic anecdotes. In The Lion
Walt Disney’s The Lion King manages to put on a façade of revenge and responsibility by retelling the story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare through a children’s perspective. At first glance, The Lion King looks like another children’s film with its plethora of talking cartoon animals, goofy songs, and jokes but, with the overarching themes of revenge and responsibility playing a major factor in the movie, the comparison to Shakespeare’s most memorable play, Hamlet: Prince of Denmark isn’t unexpected. It might be hard to imagine Shakespeare’s mature themes and complex characters being put successfully put into a children’s film without completely ruining the meaning the original work but Disney does it very eloquently. Both Hamlet and The Lion King share similar characters, plots and themes and the influence of Hamlet on The Lion King is evident throughout the entire movie. Although both works are very similar, they are also different in many ways.
The story of The Lion King and the tragedy Hamlet are parallel stories. Both journeys take the recalcitrant protagonist through the loss of their fathers’ and on a journey to discover who was there to seal their fathers’ fate. Once the characters learn that the said person is one of their own family members they realize that in order to restore order they must avenge their fathers’ deaths. This decision would not have been made without the madness that both Simba and Hamlet face to face with.
It is often said that the easiest way to drive a person mad is to leave them alone with nothing but their thoughts. When one overthinks, it can become a toxic habit that can cause more damage than many may realize. Oftentimes, overthinking a situation can lead to serious emotional distress and can lead to the inability to make decisions quickly and effectively. In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet is a thinker rather than a man of action. Hamlet’s inclination to think about every situation is proven by his multiple soliloquys throughout the entire play. Throughout these numerous moments of thought and contemplation, Hamlet is unable to make decisions confidently and, consequently, is hesitant to follow through with his initial intentions. Hamlet is unable to take swift revenge on Claudius because of his constant need to overthink.
Michael Almereyda’s movie adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet brings about a new perspective through its performance. The movie adaptation, Hamlet (2000), retells the original play in a modernized setting, bringing out various different elements of characters, which highlights a new reading of these characters as individuals, and a newfangled reading of the play as well. Throughout the movie, Ophelia and Gertrude, the woman-leads, are advanced in a progressive manner compared to the original play. In particular, Gertrude from Hamlet (2000) is noticeably altered from Hamlet, the play. This new interpretation of Gertrude and the play created by the movie adaptation advances the position of Gertrude as a woman, as well as motifs of incest, misogyny,
The Lion King and hamlet have very similar characters. At first you might not see the references but there definitely there. Both the families are royalty and the main character is the prince hair to the throne. In both movies there is a so called evil uncle of the main character that kills his brother the king. In the Lion King its scar and in hamlet its