The Biggest Influence on The Lion King - Hamlet or the Epic of Son-Jara?

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Recommended: Comparison of The Lion King and Hamlet

The Lion King is Disney's most successful movie to date. Many believe that the Lion King is Disney's only original movie; the only movie not previously a fairy tale from one country or another. In fact, The Lion King is in on based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Disney writers conceal the basic character archetypes and simplified storyline in a children's tale of cute lions in Africa. On the other hand William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based on the Epic of Son-Jara or Sundiata. This lead to the debate is the Lion King based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet or the West African story, the Epic of Son Jara. Simba, Hamlet, and Son-Jara are all heroes in their own story. All of them must take on a villain that knew very well, but who does Simba’s journey resemble the most Does Simba represent Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, or Son-Jara, the lion king.

The characters in The Lion King closely resemble the characters in Hamlet. Simba, the main character in The Lion King, embodies Hamlet. Simba and Hamlet are the son of kings and both are the rightful heirs to the throne. “By pairing the play Hamlet with the Disney movie, The Lion King, students discover that both Hamlet and Simba represent the mythical archetype of exiled child whose role is to restore world order and who has an heroic task. Students also realize that they too are unique individuals on heroic journeys.”(Gavin 55) Hamlet and Simba, when he was a lion cub, were banished from their homes. Simba exiled himself because he believed that he killed his own father but, it was in fact his uncle scar that killed him. Hamlet, on the under hand, was sent off to college by his uncle Claudius. Claudius became the king of Denmark after death of Hamlet’s father. Claudius believed that Hamlet played a h...

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...ng. Dir. Roger Allers. Walt Disney Pictures, 1994. Flim.

Simon, Peter Ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Shorter second edition, Vol.I.

New York: W.W. Norton + Company, 2009

Nobumitsu .The Epic of Son-Jara. Simon 1552-1587

William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Simon 1782-1872

Gavin, Rosemarie. The Lion King" and "Hamlet": A Homecoming for the Exiled Child. The English Journal 3rd ser. 85 (1996): 55-57. Print.

Paterno, Domenica R. "The True Lion King of Africa: The Epic History of Sundiata, King of Old Mali." Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English. Orlando. 16-21 Nov. 1994. Speech.

"Q&A WITH THE DIRECTORS OF DISNEY'S THE LION KING!" Interview by Victor Medina. Q&A WITH THE DIRECTORS OF DISNEY'S THE LION KING! Web. 3 Apr. 2012.

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