Lion King vs. Hamlet

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2009 adaptation of Hamlet shows resembance to Disney’s 1994 production of the Lion King. Each film revolves around a male protagonist, who must cope with the death of his father, murdered by his uncle. Both characters are a prince, and threats to the throne which makes them targets for murder. They each experience emotional trauma in order to overthrow the corrupt king. Gregory Duncan had an unusual vision for his modern rendition of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, just as Roger Allen had for his African themed one. One parallel event which stands prominent is Hamlet’s second encounter with his father’s spirit compared to Simba’s with his. Each director effectively used characterization, as well as manipulated their script to fulfill their interpretation of this scene from the classic story. Thus, proving that each film reflects the positive and negative connections within a family in a monarchy's society.

After the process of making their way back home, both princes end up with fighting with their uncles. In “The Lion King”, Simba fights with Scar and Scar gets killed by the hyenas. Prince Hamlet in Hamlet kills king Claudius with a poisonous knife. Both “The Lion King” and “Hamlet” allows the main character to overcome a moral struggle. In “The Lion King”, Simba must act and be the king of his palace for sake of the animals of the kingdom and his father instead of running from what happened in the past. In “Hamlet”, prince Hamlet must decide to kill his uncle and take the risk of getting himself killed, or to keep the secret of King Claudius killing King Hamlet and live with it for the rest of his life.

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.

In comparison, Scar’s selfish character is similar to that of Claudius. Both Scar and Claudius have an unpleasant image. Scar is dark in colour, skinny, with long black nails and green evil eyes. The eyes represent jealousy, greed, and envy. Both characters are “thinly veiled” and scheme to destroy people they dislike. In the opening scene of the Lion King, Mufasa confronts his brother Scar. “Don’t turn your back on me!” Mufasa stops Scar with a warning. Scar shoots back – “No, perhaps you shouldn’t turn your back on me!” This is a veiled threat on the king’s life. Because the king is never introduced in Hamlet, the audience is left to wonder whether the king had any notice that his brother wanted him dead. However there is a

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

Almost everyone in the world is familiar with the infamous Disney movie The Lion King, but very few have gone into detail and analyzed the rhetoric within the film. Each scene is filled with a sense of pathos that tugs on the emotions of the audience and inevitably pushes them to one side over the other. It is interesting to see how the voices, color, and actions of each character have such an effect on their personalities which then has an effect on the audience and leaves them judging the morals of the characters. For people who grew up watching the original Disney movies, this is a great film to watch in depth and really figure out the meaning behind each scene.

Tony Robbins said, “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others”. Shakespeare’s writing has had many different ways of being presented because people perceive it in different ways. Whether it is a literal representation or a spin, directors like to show viewers the way they perceive the text. In the movie version of Hamlet the director, Kenneth Branagh, wanted the viewers to find Shakespeare interesting and full of action and drama. Kenneth chose the right direction to go in to keep the audience’s attention but it

There are many similarities between the characters Claudius and Scar. One of those similarities is how they are both very cruel, especially to the people that they are supposed to love. One example of this from Hamlet is when the ghost says, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown,” exposing Claudius. (I.V.44-45). This quote shows just how cruel Claudius really is. He killed his own brother so that he could be the king and rule over Denmark. Also, Claudius never admits what he did and he doesn’t feel any remorse after doing it. Throughout the entire play we see Claudius doing cruel things that affect the other characters. One example of Scar being cruel is when he also killed his own brother. Just like Claudius killed Hamlet Sr, Scar killed Mufasa so that he could take over the Pridelands. He was jealous of Mufasa and wanted to be king so that the other animals would respect him. Instead, Claudius remained unliked by the other animals and didn’t gain from his cruel actions. Ultimately, they are both very cruel characters that were willing to kill in order to get what they wanted.

When comparing two different Hamlet movies I found that one scene in particular was obviously more different than the others. I compared Columbia pictures 1996 version with Kenneth Branagh playing the role of Hamlet versus BBC’s 2009 Hamlet in which David Tennant played the honorable role of Hamlet. When comparing both movies I found a lot of similarities but there was one major difference when I compared the “To be or not to be” scene. The scenes vary in multiple ways whether it is lighting, focus, camera movements, and even the actors that play Hamlet.

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.

Out of spite, both protagonists plan to take revenge on their evil uncles. Hamlet ponders on the idea of revenging his father’s death, but it wasn’t until Claudius’ guilty conscience was exposed during the play and also when the Ghost orders Hamlet to “Revenge his soul!” that Hamlets purpose was clear. In the end, Hamlet confronts Claudius but it is pointless ending in a blood battle. Simba on the other hand was told, “Run away and never return!” after believing it was himself who killed his father. Wanting to do what was right, Simba followed his uncle’s orders and it wasn’t until a chance encounter with Nala, that he realised the damage he had caused. Trying to take back what was rightfully his, Simba defeats Scar but instead of death as his revenge, he banishes Scar from The Pride Lands, telling his “to never return”. Both antagonists in the texts experience the heartbreak and misfortune of revenge but deal with it in ways their intended audiences will understand and learn from.

The popular and adored movie The Lion King illustrates many of the undesirable actions humans take part in. There are a several scenes where the child can especially learn from.

One of the main aspects that connects The Lion King and Hamlet is the characters. Simba and Hamlet are both princes of their kingdoms. Hamlet, a man, and Simba, a lion cub, are in the same situation which is coping with and avenging their fathers’ deaths. Hamlet goes crazy and creates a whole plan of revenge but Simba simply runs from the problem altogether

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.

Since the beginning of time, humans have attempted to correct an unjust behavior through the act of seeking revenge. But does seeking revenge really correct the wrongs? Mahatma Gandhi once famously said, “before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”. Seeking revenge maybe useful to punish the offender but it will never calm the inner anger. The works of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare and Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, show that Hamlet and Maximus end up digging their own graves as they strive to get revenge for the wrongdoings that were done to them.