The Lion King And Hamlet Comparison Essay

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.

“The Lion King” is watched by children all over the world. It is a classic Disney movie that many watch for fun and entertainment, but could there be something else to this film? The plot of “The Lion King” is very similar to Shakespeare’s play,” Hamlet”. Some similarities include the lives of Simba and prince Hamlet are changed due to their evil uncles, both fathers die, and both fathers come back as ghosts. Each character in “The Lion King” connects with a character in “Hamlet”. Simba plays as prince Hamlet, Mufasa plays as King Hamlet, Gertrude plays as Sarabi, Scar plays as King Claudius, Nala plays as Ophelia, Rafiki plays as Horatio, hyenas plays as Laertes, and Timon and Pumbaa plays as Rosencrantz and

In Shakespeare’s, “The Tragedy of Hamlet”, the protagonist, Hamlet, is a highly intelligent and perceptive man. His life turns awry after the death of his father and Hamlet faces his greatest moral dilemma. Likewise, Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” chronicles the life of a young Indian boy stranded on a boat with a Bengal tiger for 227 days with only his faith to keep him going. Both Piscine Patel and Prince Hamlet were deeply religious, however, their outlooks and philosophies on life were vastly different. Hamlet struggled to trust others, having only a true confidant in Horatio. Whilst Pi on the other hand, befriends everyone, even those who have opposing beliefs to him.

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.

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.

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

William Shakespeare wrote plays that covered the breadth of human experience, which seem to have transcended the restraints of age because they contain universal themes. His body of his work is comprised of genres of plays, which varied from tragedies to comedies.

“Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I.V.31). In Shakespeare's play titled Hamlet, Lies, deception, and foul play are all encompassed into an iconic tale of revenge. The tragedy takes place in Denmark, following the death of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. Shortly after his death, King Hamlet’s brother Claudius marries, the Queen, who is prince Hamlet’s mother. The ghost of the dead king later shows himself to Hamlet in order to reveal that he was actually murdered by his own brother Claudius. After the ghost instructs Hamlet to avenge his death, he composes a plan involving false insanity, to discover whether Claudius really did kill his father and how to avenge his father's death. In comparing the original Hamlet play, to movie

Not only do the characters align but also various events throughout both stories show similarities. It all starts with the murder of the king. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it simply goes straight into life without the king. The guards on the outer walls of the city discuss this unfortunate event of the king being bitten by a snake, and now his brother rules (Act I, Scene I). On the other hand, Disney’s The Lion King begins the movie with the birth of the prince of the Pride Lands, Simba. For the first thirty minutes or so of the movie, it shows Simba’s early childhood which includes his father Mufasa. Simba is an adventurous cub who tends to find himself getting in trouble, and instead of punishing his son, Mufasa uses the event to teach Simba a lesson about the circle of life (Allers). Though viewers see the father to son companionship in The Lion King unlike Hamlet, it is short lived. Neither son received the leadership and guidance of what it means to be king because of their father’s unexpected yet planned death

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet explores and condones the same variety of themes in Disney’s The Lion King. Through a number of events, both the antagonists want to take revenge upon their evil uncles. The reader and audience learn the importance of finding happiness when Simba meets Timon and Pumba, but Hamlet is neglected leaving him to spiral into dark thoughts. Another theme explored by both texts is power and how easy it is to lose what’s all around you as well as the even bigger struggle it is to gain it all back. Both texts have a variety of differences, yet they are very similar which makes them unique. Especially The Lion King, being aimed at a younger audience, it is evident to see how Disney has purposely left out harsh topics, such as suicide, to cater for the indented audience.

There are many parallels that can be drawn between Disney’s classic children’s film The Lion King and William Shakespeare’s iconic play Hamlet. The two texts explore many of the same themes, however they do so in different ways, to account for the difference in target audience. Throughout both texts the protagonist must decide whether to fix what has happened, or leave everything as it is, and struggles with the decision for much of the story. The idea of revenge and the consequences of it is prominent throughout both texts, however The Lion King focuses more the idea of accepting your responsibility. Through the use of minor characters, both texts explore the importance of friendship, and how important it is to be surrounded by people to support you. Due to the younger target audience, these themes are explored very differently in The Lion King, however many of the same messages come from the two texts.

During her funeral procession Laertes and Hamlet react similarly when they both jump into her grave and declare their love for Ophelia (enotes). Afterward, Hamlet asks for forgiveness for killing Polonius and Laertes pretends to accept it. Laertes still determined to avenge his father’s death agrees with Claudius to have a sword duel with Hamlet in which Laertes sharpened blade has been covered with a poison that will kill Hamlet with just a slight nick to the skin (sparknotes). Both men are nicked with the poisoned blade. As Laertes lies dying, he has a moral enlightenment “Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father's death come not upon thee, nor thine on me!” (5.2.337-339) and tells Hamlet of the deceit and plot that the king had created. At the same time the queen who has no idea of what Claudius had plotted drank from a poisoned chalice that contained poison meant for Hamlet in the event he won the duel. She falls down, but warns Hamlet of the poison and then dies. Without hesitation Hamlet stabs the king and forces him to drink the poison. The revenge at this point seems bittersweet.

Sadly, he figured out too late that Claudius was tricking him. He completed his vengeful quest and succeeded in wounding Hamlet with the poisoned sword, but was also hit with the poisoned blade himself. He realised what was actually happening and exposed Claudius for treason. He changed the outcome of the whole play and allowed Hamlet to take his revenge on his father and mother. Justice is in many different forms, not all of them are safe and reliable. Laertes dug his own grave while trying to kill Hamlet. And it was ultimately his downfall. However, he able to change the outcome, and that may be his biggest triumph. Slowing down and assessing the situation would have been the smartest way to figure out just what happened to Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, and Polonius. He realised too late what was happening. He dug his grave with revenge and then he had to lie in

Now that we pointed out the character’s reason for revenge, we can discuss how seeking revenge can lead to horrible outcomes, more specifically death. Due to Hamlets thirst for revenge that lead him to accidently killing Polonius, Laertes’ father, because he thought he was Claudius. This is made known because after he stabs the man hiding behind the curtain he asks, “is it the King” showing that he intended to kill the King and not Polonius. However, since Hamlet was so hungry for revenge he stabs through the curtain without first checking to see who is behind it and kills someone he did not intend to kill. Another example of how revenge can lead to death comes from Act 5 scene 2, when the King accidently kills the Queen when he attempts to assist Laertes in killing Hamlet. The king’s plan was to get