The Lion King v. Hamlet: Is It The Same Story?

By Skylar

After reading Hamlet published by William Shakespeare in 1603, we watched The Lion King by Walt Disney which aired in 1994. Throughout the film, we evaluated similarities and differences, the Lion King may have towards Hamlet. In my opinion, I feel that the Lion King was inspired by Hamlet; only it was altered for family and friends for a comedy film that was friendly to all crowds.

Within a few minutes into the movie, it’s easy to tell which character could represent another in Hamlet. I put the puzzle together and figured out that Scar would be Claudius, Mufasa as King Hamlet, Simba as Prince Hamlet, as well as Nala being Ophelia. Every action or feeling these characters may have had could have instantly been compared to Hamlet. Scar’s un-liking towards Mufasa or Ophelia’s insane mood swings, and even Simba’s lost and anger towards the village (You might even consider it a castle). The main characters weren’t the only similarities I saw, even the background roles were in the movie, only they were altered to fit the film. Timon and Pumba were displayed as Simba’s good friends whom guided Simba through choices he might’ve made. In Hamlet, Horatio did the exact same thing . Now, I know Timbo and Pumba were two characters, and Horatio was only one, I feel an extra character was added to create humor for the film and even to represent second thinking Horatio might have had in Hamlet. Another twist I saw in The Lion King was the group of hyenas. I thought maybe the soldiers in Hamlet would’ve been adjusted to be the evil version so Scar could have his evil sidekicks.  

There were multiple similar themes between The Lion King and Hamlet. Each scene would involve something that occured in Hamlet. When Mufasa passed away, Scar declared himself as a leader. Or when Simba found Nala again and they began to fight until they recognized each other then their moods changed and became “best friends” again. It was almost exactly like Ophelia and Hamlet’s interactions together, when she was super moody and crazy. Another scene that’s in the Lion King was where the crazy monkey guy led Simba to the pond where his father’s reflection was. It’s almost an exact representation of ‘The Ghost of King Hamlet’ when he was appeared in the book.

Though there are many more scenes and characters in both the movie and book, I feel those stood out to me the most in order to prove my opinion of how The Lion King was inspired by Hamlet, only made into a Disnified version.