Disney’s 1994 film The Lion King is a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Hamlet. Undeniably, Hamlet and The Lion King is similar and different.
Hamlet is the classic tragic hero who makes judgment errors that inevitably leads to his own destruction. He keep questioning himself, but not take the revenge immediately. There are a lot complex conflicts in Hamlet.
On the other side, Disney provides a simple, clear and understandable mental interpretation in The Lion King for Simba’s behaviors: Scar murders the King and leads Simba consider the death of his father caused by himself, then the guiltiness allow Simba to escape from the reality and also his responsibility.
Both of them have an exiled experience, whereas the experience of Simba clearly seems happier.
Life treats Simba more kind and gentle. As Hamlet, after the death of his father, the appearance of conspiracy of the murder, his world changes. He is doubting him. He is doubting the world. He is so painful and says “To be or nor to be”. And about Simba, though he blame on himself of his father’s death by mistake, he has two friends stay with him and play with him. They teach Simba to simile, to laugh, to get out of the shadow of his guiltiness. As a lion, Simba even doesn’t hunt animals and eat worm which is impacted by his two friends! Simba treats others kind too, unlike Hamlet, won’t feel guilty even he kill the Polonius by accident.
I consider The Lion King is a movie which is full of love. We can know from the transmitted ideas of two ghosts.
In Hamlet, the king’s ghost wants Hamlet to seek vengeance so he may rest in peace. Simba is also visited by his father’s spirit. Simba’s father, appears in the sky and tells his son to seek his “place in the circle of life” and is “the one true king”. Different wishes and then different sons.
Or, the background political environment can be another influence of their difference.
In Hamlet, Norway is corruption. Especially after the death of King Hamlet, young Hamlet finds out the ugly side of people. There are sycophants everywhere, such as Polonius to Claudius, the betray of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and so on. Hamlet and Simba are both right side, however Simba lives in a more peaceful environment, when he is exiled. Simba has time to recover himself and find the right way he should go.
In a word, the main idea of Simba is not “revenge”, but the “responsibility” and “grow up”. Disney beautifies Hamlet and becomes Simba who is a truly King and a truly hero saved the land. The time for Hamlet is too short to wait him growing up a truly King. Thus, he becomes a tragic hero.
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