The Lion King Research Paper

“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

When I went to go see The Lion King on Broadway a few words came to mind after the play; amazing, stunning, and unbelievable! I was a little unsure at first, because I thought I was too young to see something from a Disney World production. I was also wondering how Disney was going to manage putting a film starring non-human characters, into a three-dimensional stage. However, using all their “Disney magic” with a little help from a great stage producer The Lion King Musical kept my attention all the way through with their; voice and diction, staging, and many other elements.

The Lion King is a true hero's journey that takes place in the savannas of Africa. The title "the Lion King" emphasizes that a lion is king, most likely referring to the main character, Simba. Simba is the main hero in the story because he regains his kingdom and defeats evil. The main character's archetype is "king"; he takes responsibility for his actions and his kingdom, he regains order and control. Simba takes part in a hero's journey by being a part of the departure, initiation, and the return.

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.

Heroes are present in movies, tv shows or games. A “hero's journey” shows a character's journey on gaining the title of a “hero”. A movie or tv show may show a character or multiple characters go through very difficult times but it the end show how they overcame adversity and is now known as a hero. In the Lion King, Simba can be seen as a hero with the challenges he endures and what he overcomes by the end. Simba has many heroic qualities his wisdom, compassion for others, moral reasoning and responsibility makes him stand out above all other characters. Simba as a young lion, was very selfish and naive to many things happening at Pride Rock . His choice to run away at a young age showed he didn't want to face his problems or accept what he thought he did. Simba begins to gain heroic qualities as he is now living his own life in a faraway jungle, he is learning how to be independent, and how to live his own life instead of being in the shadow of his dad, the king of Pride Rock.

The original Disney cartoon of a lion cub blamed for his father's death has been remade into a Broadway musical acclaimed all over the world. Seen by over twenty five million people in over 15 thousand performances this intricately designed wonder has taken over 37 thousand hours just to build the puppets and masks. Julie Taymor the director and costume designer was faced with a problem of whether to create humans or animals playing the part and she decided to make masks that show the animal face, as well as, show the human face giving the character his or her personality. As for expressing other animals that are not part of the main cast or to express a certain theme, 2 different kinds of puppetry were used

Lazarus states her thesis by saying: “The Lion King is breaking box office records. But it’s not breaking stereotypes (1)”. She discusses how at first she believes it will be different from the traditional Disney movies because it is based on a group of animals and not on sexist princess movies such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast (1). Lazarus says she had grown “weary of reinforcing women’s subordinate status by screening fables about a beauty who tames an angry male beast or a mermaid who gives up her glorious voice and splits her body to be with a prince.(1)”

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.

With its acquisition of the theatre Disney opened Beauty and the Beast, a stage musical based on the company’s popular musical film, and not long after its opening did investors such as Time Warner and Madame Tussauds “hop on the 42nd street bandwagon” (Nelson 74). The reopening of the New Amsterdam Theatre marked a transformation to the “New Times Square” which, as

As innocent and young the Disney movie “The Lion King” may seem, it is, indeed, loosely based off of the renowned Shakespeare play “Hamlet”. It would seem strange to the typical audiences of each, but when looked at closer, it is seen that they are actually related underneath the youthful, animated surface of The Lion King.

In 1994, the critics hail an animated masterpiece, not only for its artwork and music, but also for the plotline: an evil uncle displaces the heir to the throne and sends him into exile. Years later, following both a prophecy and an encounter with the ghost of the old king, the heir is persuaded to return to his home, avenge his father's death, and take his proper place as the ruler of the kingdom. At first glance, Disney's The Lion King has all the classic motifs of the revenge plot. These archetypal patterns occur in many stories, and Disney writers Jim Capoblanco and Irene Mecchi may well have built the plot's structure from the ground up. However, if we disregard the Serengeti setting, the

Today's world requires leadership to compete and succeed. The rapidly changing conditions in the workplace demand adaptive leadership styles, and the success of an organization relies on leaders evaluating and applying effective leadership styles before workplace failures occur. The Disney's animated movie "The Lion King" portrays a combination of leadership styles and changing conditions. We chose to analyze Mufasa, King of Pride Rock, and explain his use of the Path-Goal Theory and its different leadership approaches based on who he was leading and the situation. Additionally, French and Raven’s Five Bases of Power is presented in order to highlight Mufasa's success in leading the Pride Rock Kingdom, while simultaneously using the

Disney has created many beloved stories that have topped the charts. The company has been around since 1923 when Walt Disney created the company in his small garage in L.A., California. The success of the company took some time but still continues to grow to this day. In 1994 Disney, at the time, it’s most popular movie: The Lion King. The accomplishments of the movie were not predicted by those who were working on it though. At the time the producers were working on another Disney move, Pocahontas, and The Lion King was considered a second best movie. By the end of the year though it was obvious that they were rather happily mistaken by bringing in a total of $312,855,561 domestic total gross and $422,783,777 domestic lifetime gross, which includes IMax, 3D and regular viewings. The movie is still making the company a pretty penny between the movie itself, merchandise and books all based on the movie. No dispute can be made of the success of the

Mid-1994, Walt Disney Pictures released what could arguably be one of the best animated features of all time, The Lion King. The original story however, was written by one of the most famous literary artists still to this day, William Shakespear. The work of Disney 's The Lion King parallels none other than one of Shakesphear’s most prized literary works, The Tragedy of Hamlet. The film shadows this work so closely, that the resemblances between the main characters themselves are wildly apparent. Even with a four hundred year gap these two stories resemble each other to a high degree and definitely make their mark on past and future generations.

Fairy tales have helped children deal with things they fear. Now a days, the fairy tales children are aware are not the Hans Christian Anderson, Studio Ghibli or Brothers Grimm, but Disney. Disney has taken the typification portrayal in the fairy tales, make it a reality and took it to entertainment industry. Comparing the original narrative to the Disney version, most of the stories have went through retellings and alternation; for example Hamlet and The Lion King. Disney has inadvertently neglected these stories origin and motive. Many agree and have picked up The Lion King, Disney's most watched and victorious movie till date, as Disney's only original movie; the only movie which is previously has not been a fairy tale. However, this is not the true. While The Lion King may not be based on a fairy tale, it is a matter of fact strongly based on the play by William Shakespeare called Hamlet . Disney creative writers adroitly disguise the basic character