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The Connection between Hamlet and Lion King Austin Aliss & Dan Ramirez English 1101 Elizabeth Anderson October 17, 2013

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It became evident that there are numerous directions in which a project with such potential and choices could be taken. While brainstorming various possibilities, the chance to analyze the movie The Lion King made an appearance. After further discussion of how to analyze the movie, a connection was made between the movie and one of Shakespeares most prominent plays, Hamlet. At a glance one may only see few similarities between the two works, but as you dig deeper all of the major events from Hamlet make an appearance in The Lion King. The death of the great King, the princes father, the princes vision of his father and not to forget the rise of the prince. After this discovery, the mission was now to expose the new and creative version of Shakespeares Hamlet within a Disney classic. The most prominent resemblance of Hamlet within The Lion King is the death of the father; more importantly, this event was a murder and had been through the evil actions of the uncle. This is not to say that murder by a family member is not a common event in other plays and literary works but the fact that this hand been accomplished by the hands of the Kings own brother makes it evident. Along with this, the murder was brought about by similar, if not the exact same, emotions and reasons; jealousy, anger, hatred, and greed seem to be the shared traits. In the play Hamlet, King Claudius, Hamlets uncle, became monarch by murdering his brother King Hamlet with poison. Now while poison is not involved in the death of the King Mufasa in The Lion King, the murder was still brought about and completed by Scar, Mufasas brother. It was at Scars hands, rather paws, which Mufasa died. You can really feel the emotions in Scars actions, and voice when he says: Long live the king. There is no remorse nor sorrow during or after the death. It is all a faade, an act, especially when he is comforting the young prince Simba. Almost to a tee, does the scene focusing on the death pay out the same premise in Hamlet and The Lion King. Now within this shared event there lie more similarities. In the aftermath of

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the death, in the play, King Claudius fears that he will be found out as being responsible for his brothers death. He entrusts Hamlets school friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch Hamlet and to make sure that he does nothing drastic. In the movie Simbas mother, Sarabi entrusts Timon and pumba to watch over Simba and help him move past the death of his father. The big shared trait however remains in the death itself. In the play King Hamlet awakes from his sleep, to see his brother, just after he has been poisoned and the two lock eyes. In the movie as Mufasa is being held by Scar hoping to be lifted up, Scar looks into Mufasas eyes and then lets him go. Shortly after the death, just as in the play, Simba and Hamlet go into a depression, but not so deep in the movie due to the fact that it is a Disney movie and must therefore have a family friendly aspect of just being sad, while the rest of the kingdom seems to be able to simply move on with little hesitation. It was through this depression however that the princes begin on the path to learning the truth about their fathers death and realize what they must do to take back the life that was destined to be his. A second major storyline event within the two works is the vision of the former King by his son. While in the midst of his depression both Simba and Hamlet see a ghost of their father. In the play, King Hamlets ghost terrorizes some of the kingdoms guards. Soldiers are worried each night fearing the sight of the ghost. After multiple nights of the ghosts visitations, Hamlets teacher Horatio informs Hamlet who then sets out to see the apparition of his father. Upon meeting with his fathers ghost, it is revealed to Hamlet that it was his uncle, Claudius, who killed King Hamlet. Hamlet becomes enraged and begins his plot to avenge his father and reveal his uncles actions. Now in the Lion King, it has been years since the death of Mufasa. Simba has grown, yet still wallows in his own self-pity. He avoids his remaining family and pushes away his friends just as Hamlet does. However when Simbas father visits him, it is more of an

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internal wake up call for Simba. Mufasa tells Simba: You have forgotten who you are, so in turn have forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba. You are more than what you have become and must return to your place in the circle of life. You are the one true king. This message is just what Simba needed. It went straight to his heart and reawakened his true self. Through this visit, he realizes that as the prince, he must go and reclaim his true place as the King. Simba does not learn the truth of how his father dies but none the less is still fueled to accomplish his mission. This third important similarity shared between the play and movie, is the confrontation of the Uncle by the prince. Perhaps more vital to this, revealing that the new King is a fraud and is responsible for his brothers death. In doing this, the kingdom should be returned back to its former glory and regain his right. The visitation of their fathers fueled and empowered the princes to unveil the truth of what has happened and bring those responsible, Their Uncle, to justice. Now while this is the plan, it does not unfold in the same manner in the two works. In the final scene of Hamlet, Hamlet engages in a duel with a former friend to settle a debate. It is through this duel that Hamlet plans to reveal his Uncle. Hamlet is so focused he is unaware of his uncles scheme to get rid of him by allowing the other duelist to poison his sword as a way to get the ultimate revenge against Hamlet by killing him. The duel runs its course and The King is revealed as a murderer and is forced to drink poison himself, however Hamlet, having been cut by the poisoned sword also dies. On the other hand in The Lion King, Simba being readied by the words of his father, goes to confront his uncle Scar through a battle. The winner takes control of the kingdom. However being a conniving and deceitful being, attempts to win by cheating and kill Simba the same way his father had been killed. While Simba is hanging off the side of a cliff, Scar reveals that he was the one who killed Mufasa. Hearing this enrages Simba and after

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climbing back up, wins the fight with his uncle and takes back his rightful place and title as king. While these events shared similarities, differences remain. The two princes, share the struggle and strife, battle to regain what is theirs, and have a passion for what is right. Hamlet though has a motive the for the most part hinges on revenge while Simba fights his what is his. Analysis is everywhere and anywhere. All that is required is some thinking power and the ability to make connections. When a project or assignment such as this is assigned it can appear to be a daunting task. All one needs to do is find a starting point. A simple comparison can be made between two works such as The Lion King and Hamlet. By making connections to similar events just like the ones in these works, the death of a father and the fall and rise of a son. This storyline while unique can be rewritten just as Disney did to make a more modern version with a twist. After a long and research ridden process it was discovered that The Lion King is just an adaption of a tremendously successful play with some subtle and obvious changes.

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References The Lion King movie Shakespeares Hamlet Video on Animate 3