Similarities Between Hamlet And The Lion King

Characterization is the representation of a fictional character. A key element of any story is character development. The LION King's cast, created by Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton and Irene Mecchi, mirror the characters of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The characters involved in this scene from Hamlet include Hamlet, Gertrude (The Queen), and King Hamlet’s ghost. In The LION King Mufasa’s Spirit share the moment. Each prince and their fathers spirit share close similarities. Both Hamlet and Simba are at first shocked to see the spirits. While Hamlet has witnessed the supernatural before, this is Simba’s first time. The two characters are equally in need of guidance and they each rely on their father, whom they trusted, to remind them of themselves. They have both along the way forgotten parts of themselves, Simba being his destiny and Hamlet being his humanity and task. The spirits arrive after something triggers the princes into a state of insecurity, depression, and anger. Hamlet had killed an innocent man and felt betrayed by his mother. Simba's memories of his dark past resurfaced and he felt like he was being pushed to return to it. Each character's father is soft spoken and direct, but not harsh. They do not engage in a conversation, but

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.

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 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.

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

There is a lot of similarities between the Lion King and Hamlet. One of the biggest similarities is the characters, their traits, and their aspiration. In the Lion King Simba’s uncle Scar killed Simba’s dad and in the play Hamlet, Claudius killed Hamlet’s father. Simba and Hamlet are super alike. They both are loving, caring, empowered, fighters and they both want to kill their uncles because of what they did to their dads. Ophelia and Nala are both loving, caring and care about Simba/Hamlet. Ophelia and Nala are both the love interest of the main character. Scar and Claudius both want control of the kingdom. Simba and Hamlet both disappear from their families for a little. Both of the families in the Lion King and Hamlet are royal families. There is still a lot more similarities, but they mostly all have to do with character traits and what they do.

Simba and Hamlet, the main protagonists of The Lion King and Hamlet, can represent both the exiled child and tragic hero archetypes. In The Lion King Simba was compelled to leave his homeland because he was led to believe he had killed his own father. In Hamlet, Hamlet was forced to leave by his uncle’s order. Likewise in The Lion King Simba’s leave was also influenced by his uncle’s action. Unlike Simba’s unawareness of his uncle’s role in his father’s death, Hamlet is fully aware of his father’s killer being his uncle. As of the beginning of Hamlet, he meets his father’s ghost who asks Hamlet for vengeance, as the ghost leaves he says “Adieu adieu Hamlet remember me”. This scene can be compared to when Simba also meets his father’s ghost, who says to Simba as he leaves “Remember who you are”. Simba’s father appears more concerned about Simba’s state of mind and convinces him to return to The Pride Lands, whereas Hamlet’s father shows little concern for Hamlet and wants to be remembered and avenged. Hamlet is older and spends less time than Simba in exile whereas Simba spends a few years exiled without a care, which is shown in the song Hakuna Matata. After his father’s influence, Simba returns. Upon both of their returns, a fight occurs. Hamlet kills his uncle and is also killed himself whereas in The Lion King Simba doesn’t actually kill scar but says to him “Run away Scar...Run. Run away and never return.” however Scar pounces on Simba and their duel begins, in the end, Simba throws Scar off a cliff leaving him to the hyenas. Hamlet and Simba both represent the exiled child and tragic by being forced to leave their homeland and to kill, fight their own uncles to save their homeland. The Lion King’s ending was altered to have almost no death to make the film

When comparing the characters in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Disney’s The Lion King, they are similar. Hamlet is a play about a boy who lost his father and had to get revenge on his uncle, the new King and the killer of his father. The Lion King is a movie about a young lion who loses his father and then struggles with his uncle and finding his place in the circle of life. When specifically looking at Scar and Claudius they are similar because they are cruel, selfish, and two-faced.

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.

Although The Lion King and Macbeth seems like two different stories. One is set in the medieval era while the other is set in postmodernity, but both displays the similarities of the character’s strategic battle for power. Scar, known as the villain in the movie, The Lion King, committed selfish acts to fulfill his distorted desires. As Simba was at the edge of the cliff, about to be murdered by Scar, Scar snarled at him, “That [is] the way your father looked before I killed him” (The Lion King). Simba leaped up from the side of the cliff, and pushed Scar to the ground demanding him to confess to his crime of killing the king, his father, Mufasa. This quote proves that Scar’s ambition leads him to do ruthless acts, wanting to kill Simba, who was next in line of the throne. These malevolent plots are what fuels the battle of evil against the good. Scar stated to his three murders, the Hyenas, “We [are] going to kill him. And Simba, too” (The Lion King). In the movie, The Lion King, shows that Scar is resentful of the king, Mufasa, and the power he retains. In this quote, he plans a plot on who he wants to kill with the three hyenas to help him finish the deed, which shows his strong ambitions. Another

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 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.

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

We are never shown this in Hamlet; instead we discover that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.5 90). We are left to assume that things have deteriorated since Claudius took the throne. Since we cannot see the geographical setting that lies beyond the stage in Hamlet, we are constantly reminded of the sick state by characters and events: the undertones of incest, the drunken revelries of the marriage feast, and the impending threat of invasion from Norway. The Lion King does not have the restrictions of the stage, and therefore we can actually see the physical landscape turn from paradise into a wasteland under Scar's rule. At the beginning of the movie, we are shown the elephant graveyard where the hyenas live. Once Scar allows the hyenas to venture beyond the borders and into his kingdom, the entire land looks like this graveyard - gray, barren, and parched, with niether food nor water. Suddenly there is a striking resemblance to Denmark in Hamlet's opening scene. There is no need to explore the political unrest or poisoned gene pool; Disney has converted all psychological and emotional complexities into the visible deterioration of the physical landscape. And when Simba comes back and conquers Scar at the end of the movie, it begins to rain almost instantly, putting out the raging fire that has spontaneously caught during the final battle, and instantaneously bringing new life to the landscape. No such luck for Hamlet - because he and everyone

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.