The Lion King versus Hamlet

To express the depth and scope of the concepts and themes in Hamlet, an animated Disney film about talking animals seems to be an unlikely choice. However, thanks to such an unlikely choice, most of today's children have experienced a version of Hamlet before the age of ten – yet they don’t even know it. This experience comes in the form of the classic Disney movie, The Lion King. Based originally on the Shakespeare play, Hamlet, the Disney adaptation creates a simpler and seemingly bare version of the source text that strips out some of the complexities of the work, such as Hamlet's struggle with suicide and the dual loyalties of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, by eliminating such complex topics, the themes of Hamlet become far more accessible to a wider audience, which in turn allows for continuing adaptions and threads of intertextuality.  By stripping down Hamlet and focusing on the theme of overcoming guilt, as shown through The Lion King, the story and the theme become more accessible to a wider audience and therefore allows for the continuing adaptation of such a work.

Characters:

Simba
(image from http://africa.wikia.com/wiki/File:Simba-The-Lion-King-Blu-Ray-simba-29326762-1209-680.jpg)

Simba – In this adaptation, Simba replaces Hamlet. The much-loved son of the current king of the Pride Lands, Simba is a rambunctious cub always looking for a new adventure. This spirited nature ends up landing him into trouble as he accidentally puts himself in the path of the stampede that kills his father. Consequently, he exiles himself (in contrast to Hamlet's forced exile). When he does return home, his pack fights with him out of devotion to him, just as Denmark is devoted to Hamlet. 

Mufasa
(image from: https://disneymovieyear.wordpress.com/tag/disney-renaissance/)

Mufasa – In this adaptation, Mufasa replaces old King Hamlet. He is Simba's father and the king of the Pride Lands. However, his brother murders him for this kingship, and his spirit later appears to his son and urges him to "remember who you are". Mufasa does not spend a great deal of time on the screen, but even so he clearly loves and cares about his son. This same relationship is not made as clear in Hamlet; however, from Hamlet's devotion to his father this kind of relationship does not seem implausible. 

Scar
(image from: http://lionking.wikia.com/wiki/Scar)

Scar – In this adaptation, Scar takes the place of Claudius, Simba/Hamlet's uncle and the usurper of the throne. In the beginning of the movie, Simba seems to have a good relationship with Scar; he certainly trusts Scar, as Simba excitedly tells him about his future kingship. However, Scar does not share the same excitement, and would much rather ascend the throne himself. Thus, he follows the lead of his Shakespearean predecessor and commits fratricide. Just like Claudius, Scar is deeply conniving, single-mindedly ambitious, and relies on lackeys to assist him with his deeds. Unlike Claudius, the audience does not see Scar show any kind of remorse for what he has done.

Sarabi
(image from: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Sarabi)

Sarabi - In The Lion King, Sarabi takes the role of Gertrude, wife of the king, and queen of the Pride Lands. She also does not appear on the screen very often, and yet her relationship with Simba also seems to be very close. Unlike Gertrude, Sarabi shows no interest in marrying Scar, or even any kind of friendship towards him; rather, she even attempts to compare him to Mufasa, saying "If you were even half the king Mufasa was" before Scar silences her. 

Nala
(image from: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-lion-king/images/32824886/title/nala-photo)

Nala – In this adaptation, Nala plays the role of Ophelia, Hamlet's close friend and romantic interest. Nala and Simba were friends as cubs, but their relationship did not take on a romantic aspect until after they met unexpectedly as young adults, while Simba was still in exile. However, unlike Ophelia, Nala does not struggle with insanity, and she lives to see the end of the story. In addition, Nala has no mixed loyalties, unlike Ophelia, and even helps to inspire Simba to regain his rightful place as king.

Zazu
(image from: http://free-quotes.xyz/c4eee32/lion-king-zazu-bird.html#.VtRheMeprTM)

Zazu – In The Lion King, Zazu takes the role of Polonius, the long-winded and often idiotic adviser to the king. However, unlike Polonius, Zazu is not loyal to the position of the kingship, but to the "right" ruler of the Pride Lands, which makes him a far simpler character than Polonius, who strongly desires the feeling of importance.  

Timon and Pumbaa
(image from: http://www.cultjer.com/video/timon-and-pumbaa-explain-hakuna-matata-lion-king-3d)

Timon and Pumbaa – Throughout The Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa together play the role of Horatio, Hamlet/Simba's closest friend and most trusted confidant. Timon and Pumba take Simba in during his exile and show him how to temporarily bury his guilt in the "hakuna matata" philosophy. While Timon and Pumbaa also fill role of comic relief, a role Horatio certainly does not assume, they ultimately stand by Simba in his darkest hour and help him take back the Pride Lands.

Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed
(image from: http://lionking.wikia.com/wiki/Hyenas)

Shenzi, Banzai, Ed – While the original Rosencrantz and Guildenstern start as friends of Hamlet before shifting their loyalties, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed hold no love for Simba at any time during the film. The Hyenas serve Scar alone, and act as his minions and lackeys throughout the film, assisting him with the death of Mufasa, and the attempted murder of Simba. While Rosencrantz and Guildenstern never commit murder themselves, they do play a large role in the attempted murder of Hamlet, which costs them their lives, just as Simba eliminates the Hyenas when he regains his rightful place.

Storyline:
The Lion King begins by watching the presentation of Simba, the new prince, to the animals and observing his childhood and his close relationship with Mufasa, his father. Scar, Mufasa’s brother, exudes jealousy over this new heir, as he believes he should have the throne. Consequently, Scar kills Mufasa. Simba is devastated over the loss of his father, and believes the death was his fault, as Mufasa died trying to save Simba from a stampede. Similarly in Hamlet, Hamlet is also devastated by the death of his father.  Hamlet exclaims, “But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two: So excellent a king” (I.ii.139-140). However, while Hamlet debates killing himself, and says “Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!”(I.ii.131-132), Simba decides to run away. In doing so, he meets Timon and Pumbaa, who dually mirror Horatio, and grows up learning the ways of the wild with them. After many years, Simba encounters and falls in love with his childhood friend, Nala, who mirrors Ophelia, and she explains that the Pride Lands have suffered under Scar’s rule. Simba’s feelings of guilt return, and he flees from her, only to encounter his father’s spirit. Mufasa’s ghost accuses Simba of forgetting him and commands him to take his rightful place on the throne, just as old King Hamlet’s Ghost enjoins Hamlet to “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest” (I.v.82-83), and the departs, commanding Hamlet, “Remember me” (I.v.91).

In the end, The Lion King diverges from Hamlet quite drastically. Simba decides to return to the Pride Lands to reclaim his rightful place as king. When he arrives, he sees Scar mistreating his mother, and the two lions begin to fight. During this fight, Scar confesses the murder to Simba, just as Claudius admits to the murder in the prayer which Hamlet overhears, lamenting,  “O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder” (III.ii.37-37). Simba then forces Scar to admit his deed to the rest of the animals, who then throw out Scar and his hyena henchmen, and Simba ascends the throne. This ending starkly contrasts to the ending of Hamlet, where all of the main characters die in one way or another. Ophelia commits suicide, Hamlet stabs Polonius, Gertrude is accidentally poisoned, Hamlet is stabbed, and then stabs Claudius. However, since The Lion King was intended to be a children’s movie, this significant change makes sense – most children would be horrified by such a cruel ending, and the story would therefore be lost.

"To be or not to be?" - What Makes Hamlet?

While The Lion King presents a severely stripped down version of Hamlet, all of the fundamental features of the story are present. In the source text, Hamlet's uncle murders his father and marries his mother. In The Lion King, Scar does murder his brother Mufasa for the kingship, but Mufasa's wife, Serabi, wants no part in Scar's usurpation, and even disdainfully compares Scar to Mufasa. Scar has no interest in Serabi; in fact, when Simba returns to the Pride Lands, he sees Scar hit Serabi (see video clip below). 

Scar hits Serabi

Similarly, Hamlet's struggle with suicide and Ophelia's descent into madness also play no role. Rather, Simba struggles intensely with his guilt over Mufasa's death. Thanks to a conniving plot, Scar not only managed to murder Mufasa in a seemingly-accidental way, but also convinced Simba that he was to blame for his own father's death. This extreme guilt on such a young child severely impacts Simba, and he flees Pride Rock, again on Scar's urging. However, Simba never once considers suicide, a fate which Hamlet contemplates quite often, as when he considers "To be or not to be: that is the question" (III.i.57). Nala also experiences no struggles with mental illness; while the original Ophelia eventually goes mad thanks to Hamlet's erratic treatment of her, Nala functions as a strong female character who urges Simba to regain his rightful place. 
In addition, The Lion King places a significant emphasis on the difference between a good and evil, a distinction which Hamlet liberally blurs. For example, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have a dual nature; they originally feature in the story as Hamlet's friend, but are persuaded by Claudius to spy on Hamlet, and even attempt to deliver him to his death. In The Lion King, the distinction between their good and bad aspects manifests into two groups of characters: Timon and Pumbaa and the Hyenas. While Timon and Pumbaa most clearly seem to take the place of Horatio, some of their character traits seem to be more reminiscent of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, such as their misguided attempts to help Hamlet/ Simba overcome that which ails him. Conversely, the Hyenas's loyalty to the usurper king clearly mirrors Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's loyalty to Claudius, and like their Shakespearean sources, play a role in an attempt on Hamlet/ Simba's life.This distinction between good and evil does not appear in the original Hamlet.
Even with all of these changes affecting the storyline, The Lion King still displays all the fundamental features of Hamlet. A brother, Scar, murders a brother, Mufasa, in order to gain the rule of the kingdom. As a result of this fratricide, the son of the old king, Simba, becomes wracked with guilt and attempts to avoid the issue. After being visited by his father's spirit who commands him to "remember who you are" (see video clip below), Simba returns and faces the usurper king. 

Simba is visited by Mufasa's spirit.

The Lion King even includes scenes and dialogues similar to the original version of Hamlet. For example, in the beginning of Act V, Hamlet and Horatio find themselves in a graveyard, and they converse with gravediggers among the bones of the deceased (see clip below). Later, Hamlet fights a duel with Laertes in the same graveyard over the grave of Ophelia. 

One version of the graveyard scene from Hamlet.

Similarly, in the beginning of The Lion King, Simba and Nala find themselves in the elephant graveyard, where they encounter Scar's hyena henchmen (see clip below). In both cases, a skull features prominently in the scene, Yorick's skull in Hamlet and the elephant skull in The Lion King, and in both stories Hamlet and Simba must fight or run for their lives in the graveyard.

The elephant graveyard from The Lion King

Furthermore, some of the language conventions from Hamlet also translate well to The Lion King. For example, Hamlet is rife with puns and hidden meanings; for example, when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are attempting to find the source of Hamlet's misery, Hamlet weaves an elaborate instrument metaphor for the way they are trying to manipulate him, ending with "Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me" (III.ii.336-338). While The Lion King does not employ such extensive metaphors, puns do feature prominently, including the following:

 "What's a motto?" 

Overall, while Hamlet and The Lion King have significant differences, such as Serabi's uninterested in Scar and the sharp distinction between good and evil, the fundamental elements of Hamlet are present in The Lion King. 

Classification:

To classify this film, first remember the following definitions proposed by Julie Saunders:
Adaptation: "Reinterpretations of established texts in new generic contexts or with relocations of an 'original' or sourcetext's cultural and/or temporal setting, which may or may not involve a generic shift."
Transpositions: A type of adaptation where a text from one genre is delivered to new audiences by means of aesthetic conventions of an entirely different generic process or further, through cultural, geographical, and temporal terms.
Analogue: A type of adaptation , a stand alone work that is deepened by the understanding of the source text.

Based on these above definitions, The Lion King appears to fall into multiple categories. Fundamentally, it is an adaptation, as it clearly is a reinterpretation of Hamlet into a new context. However, Hamlet has also been transposed; rather than a play with Shakespearian language, The Lion King is a animated movie about talking and singing animals. This shift fulfills another requirement of a transposition – by reimagining Hamlet as The Lion King, the story and themes of Hamlet become more accessible to a new audience, children.  Similarly, The Lion King fits the definition of an analogue; while a prior understanding of Hamlet deepens the understanding and enjoyment of The Lion King, the latter can most certainly be enjoyed alone.

Plot Simplification Leads To Stronger Focus on Themes

The simplification of Hamlet into The Lion King allows for a much stronger focus on the important themes of the story. For example, the theme of overcoming guilt figures prominently in both Hamlet and The Lion King. Since Simba does not need to worry about his mother sleeping with a murderer or his love interest losing her mind, he can spend far more time introspectively focused on his own guilt over his father's death. In fact, he takes this focus to its extreme, and even places himself in a self-imposed (and Scar-encouraged) exile so that he does not have to face anyone who might have been affected by his father's death (see clip below).

"Run away, Simba"

Similarly, without having to worry about the true loyalties of his friends, Timon and Pumbaa, he can trust them to help him live according to the "hakuna matata" philosophy, which provides a short term solution of Simba's feelings of guilt. The hakuna matata philosophy involves living a life free of worries, which is exactly why it appears to be such a perfect escape. 

Hakuna Matata 

In comparison to Hamlet, Simba does spend much more of the movie concerned with his guilt. In Hamlet, Hamlet begins the play severely worried about his mother's marriage to Claudius, and spends a significant amount of time contemplating Gertrude's time in "th' incestuous pleasure of [Claudius's] bed" (III.iii.91), and as such, Hamlet somewhat suspects Claudius from the very beginning. Conversely, the young Simba had no idea that Scar was responsible for the death of Mufasa. Instead, Simba trusted Scar as any child trusts an uncle. Therefore, when Scar implies that Simba is responsible for the death of his own father, Simba has no reason to distrust him. As if that guilt were not enough, Scar then further exascerbates these feelings by asking "what would your mother think?" and encouraging Simba to run away from his problems, and anyone who might be affected by Mufasa's death (see "Run away, Simba" clip). However, through the helpful visit of his father's spirit, Simba follows his father's advice to "remember who you are", reclaims the throne from Scar and kills him, ultimately overcoming not only his guilt, but the true source of his guilt. 

Accessibility
By simplifying Hamlet into a lighter, more modern version of the story, Hamlet becomes not only more accessible but also more palatable to a wider audience. First, catchy songs can convey some of the original darkness in a manner that does not seem nearly as menacing. For example, while he is plotting to kill Mufasa, Scar sings a song titled "Be Prepared", in which he states his purpose to kill Mufasa and Simba and take the kingship for himself. While such an announcement would have been truly menacing as a spoken declaration, hiding the idea within a memorable song and a busy scene allows the audience to detach from the idea. 

Be Prepared

In addition, most parents would not want their children to watch a tale as dark as the Hamlet source text, and most children would be lost in the darkness and horror of such a tale. Therefore, the use of animated talking animals as characters allows some degrees of separation between the actual events of the movie and the real life of the viewers. For a child, it would be very difficult to watch another child lose a parent; however, since animals do not actually talk, the plot seems automatically invalidated and therefore becomes easier to consume. Due to the modern accessibility of such an adaptation, some schools even use The Lion King to teach about Hamlet. For example, in her article, Lessons from the Literacy Club: Hamlet Meets the Lion King After School Jacqueline Darvin describes how her program, the Literacy Club, designed to assist non-native English speakers practice their reading skills for American schools, chose to read the play Hamlet, which was taught "using its connections to Disney‘s The Lion King, an animated film with which the students were already familiar" (Darvin 43). Upon completion of the reading, the students then had the opportunity to see a performance of The Lion King on Broadway (Darvin 43). Through this multi-media approach, the students were not only able to read the original source text of Hamlet, but gain a deeper understanding of the story. 


Continuing Adaptations and Intertextuality
Through simplifying Hamlet and creating an entirely new, stand-alone adaptation, The Lion King itself becomes the subject of continuing adaptations and allows for threads of intertextuality. For example, in 1997, The Lion King was adapted into a Broadway musical. The simplicity of the original movie The Lion King gave the adaptors the freedom to experiment with the story as they pleased. While much of the story remains the same, the theater setting and a few new scenes, such as one of the lionesses hunting, add a sense of emotional depth which the movie version lacked. One review even mentions that "many of the strongest scenes in this 'Lion King' are edged in mortal darkness" (Brantley), a sense which the movie certainly did not convey. In addition, the Broadway version is longer than the move version, which allows for more detailed and emotional scenes than the movie version, especially since most Broadway shows are not intended for the same young audience as a Disney movie.

The Lion King on Broadway(image from: http://www.broadwaybox.com/shows/the-lion-king/)

In addition to being open to continuing adaptations, The Lion King also presents opportunities for intertextual connections. For example, the actor who voiced Mufasa also played Darth Vader in Star Wars. Such a parallel between The Lion King and Star Wars creates a few interesting ideas. First, both Mufasa and Darth Vader are fathers of a son who embarks on a quest to inherit his rightful place. While this idea of a "rightful place" takes a different shape in each movie, the similarities present themselves clearly. Upon Mufasa's death, Simba should have inherited the throne of the Pride Lands, but instead must fight his usurping uncle for the crown. Luke Skywalker never knew about his parents or his powers, but still must learn to use the force in order to become the good Jedi Master his father never was. Second, both The Lion King and the Star Wars series involve similar scene with Simba and Luke. Just as Simba saw his father's spirit in the sky, Luke sees his (then unknown) father, Darth Vader in a cave while visiting Jedi Master Yoda. 

Star Wars - Luke confronts Darth Vader in the cave

In both scenes, Simba and Luke must confront their father, but in widely different ways. Simba confronts his father's expectations for him to become a good and wise ruler. Luke must physically confront his father, who represents all of the evil in the galaxy. In both cases, the encounter creates emotions in Simba and Luke that then drives them to complete their final goal. 



Conclusion:
In general, The Lion King presents a far simpler version of Hamlet while still maintaining all of the characteristic features. While Sarabi does not marry Scar, Simba does not contemplate suicide, and Nala does not go mad, Scar still commits fratricide in order to gain the throne, and Simba must overcome the imposter to regain his rightful place. Through this simplification, the theme of overcoming guilt plays a far bigger role in this version; since Simba does not have so many additional concerns on which to focus, he can and does spend more of his time wallowing in his guilt over his father's death. This simplified version becomes more accessible to a wider audience, as children and parents alike can enjoy such a light-hearted tale that can simultaneously be used to teach the source text. Finally, the simplicity and simultaneous sentiment of The Lion King allows for continuing adaptations of that work itself, such as the Broadway production of the same name, and for continuing intertextual connections such as the connection between The Lion King and Star Wars. Through the creation of such a widely applicable and much loved work, Hamlet and The Lion King will continue to be adapted and re-loved through the future. 

Works Cited:
Brantley, Ben. "Cub Comes of Age: A Twice-Told Cosmic Tale." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Nov. 1997. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.
Darvin, Jacqueline. "Lessons from the Literacy Club: Hamlet Meets the Lion King After-School." THE LANGUAGE AND LITERACY SPECTRUM 19.2009 (n.d.): 39-56. ERIC. Institute of Education Sciences. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.