Hamlet is a play written by Shakespeare and centered on Prince Hamlet and his vengeance against his uncle, Claudius, who has killed his father to get on the throne. Hamlet is Shakespeare’s immortal creation that has endlessly been retold and adapted by others (Thompson & Taylor, 2006). The Lion King by Disney is one of its many adaptations. The film parallels Hamlet as the main characters in the play and the film are both princes, and the antagonists are uncles who murder their brothers to gain power. Simultaneously, the movie diverts from the play in terms of setting, central theme, language, and plot. Nevertheless, the Lion King is still a great adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
On the one hand, there are several similarities between The Lion King and Hamlet. Viewers see Simba and Hamlet as the main characters whose fathers were murdered by their uncles. The plots are similar since both heroes are outcasted from their kingdoms. Moreover, Simba and Hamlet have only one love interest, Nala and Ophelia, respectively. Both female characters help the protagonists to achieve their goals. Both princes experience internal struggle as Simba doubts whether he should return to the pride, and Hamlet asks “to be or not to be” when he thinks about killing his uncle (Shakespeare, 1992, 3.1.1). Another similarity is that ghosts of murdered kings appear at midnight and talk to their sons, which is a turning point in the plots of the movie and the play as both princes decide to return to their kingdoms and find the truth. Finally, both punish and kill their uncles for their murders at the end.
On the other hand, it is essential to note the differences between the movie and the play. First of all, the characters in The Lion King come from the animal world. The film shows the interactions among lions and hyenas, a meerkat, a monkey, a warthog, and others endowed with human characters and emotions. In contrast, Hamlet shows the noble society of the sixteenth century in Denmark, while the movie’s events take place in Africa’s Pride Lands at an unknown time. Second, death is the play’s central theme as the events start with the appearance of King Hamlet’s ghost and end in the death of the main characters. Meanwhile, The Lion King encourages the viewers to learn from past mistakes and participate in “the circle of life” (Hahn, 1994, 10:09). Moreover, the plots of the film and the play differ to a certain extent. For example, Hamlet’s king appears only in the ghost’s form, unlike Simba’s father, who is alive for a significant part of the movie. The spirit in the Lion King does not demand revenge from his son but instead sends a positive message to remember who he is. Also, the authors of The Lion King use contemporary language that is easily understandable even for children, while Shakespeare writes in Early Modern English and uses words that are now obsolete; for example, “swounds,” “esil,” and “prate” (Shakespeare, 1992, 5.1.267).
Overall, Shakespeare’s plays are adapted often because his stories are timeless. He composed plays and sonnets about love and power, greed and betrayal. All of these topics are relatable to any generation. His language is sometimes incomprehensible even to the native English speakers, which arouses even more interest in his works. However, given that some of the plotlines in his works can be unpalatable and hard to understand for the readers, they are often modified. The creators of the Lion King were able to convey an accessible and lighter version of Hamlet for children. They did this by switching the setting to colorful African Pride Lands, using contemporary language, and adding some fun characters, such as Timon and Pumba, which makes this movie a great adaptation of the play for a younger audience.
References
Hahn, D. (Director). (1994). The Lion King. (Film). Walt Disney Pictures.
Shakespeare, W. (1992). Hamlet, prince of Denmark. C. Watts & K. Carabine (Eds.). Wordsworth Editions. (Original work published 1599).
Thompson, A., & Taylor, N. (Eds.). (2006). Hamlet: The Arden Shakespeare. Cengage Learning.