When the Lion King first came out in 1994, everyone praised
it for being one of the few Main stream animated movies to not be based on a
book or historical event, but instead a story that Disney created themselves.
But recently people have been noticing Similarities between the highest
grossing 2D animated movie of all time and a story written during the
renaissance, a little play called Hamlet. You might not realize it but William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet has virtualy the same plot as Disney’s the Lion King, both
star a young prince whose Father is killed by his Uncle as a means to take the
thrown for himself and then the prince is thrown into a deep depression, has a
relationship with a girl from his past and eventually go back to confront his
uncle and take back the thrown for himself, but the similarities don’t stop there.
The most famous scene from the play is the scene where Hamlet holds a skull and
ponders philosophies of life and death, and in the movie the Lion King this is referenced
however briefly, when Uncle Scar, the villain of the story, picks up a hyena
skull, holds it the same way that Hamlet does in the play, staring directly at
the face of the Skull, and starts to talk to it. Although this moment is just a
reference and not a direct parallel, I assume it must have been put in the
movie as a little clue to viewers as to the similarities of the two stories.
And
all the lion king movies are based on art from the renaissance, the sequel,
Lion King II, has the same plot as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and even
Lion King one and a half is based on a story written about a hundred or so
years after Shakespeare’s Hamlet called Rosencrant and Gildenstern are dead, where two minor
characters from Hamlet talk about the adventures they were having at the same
time the original play was going on! Now I guess we know what gave Disney the
idea to make such a strange sequel.
the And both the play and the movie, show
renaissance ideals very well, they deal with issues of money and power which
people during the renaissance valued well, they show a strong connection to
religion, The Lion King substituting Christian beliefs with that of the circle
of life, and akuhna mattata, still a strong connection to religion but a different
religion than that of Hamlet, and both show a connection to art in its purest
form, Hamlet more directly to the renaissance being written in that time period,
but the Lion King as well can show the impact the art of the renaissance can have
on us, that story lines written all the way back then can still affect us
hundreds of years later, some times without us even knowing it.
I knew that the Lion King was based on Hamlet, but I never knew how deep into the plot it went. On top of that, I didn't even know that the Lion King HAD a sequel. I liked how you compared the two stories and mentioned its critical reception. Thank you for enlightening me.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that the Renaissance and Shakespeare had such a big influence on the Lion king. I really liked the comparisons you made between the plays and the movie. Also I really liked your pictures, especially the won with scar holding the skull and how you actually used it in comparing Hamlet with the lion king. Your title also made me want to read more about this. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very good blog post an I can't believe how much influence Shakespeare and the Renaissance had on the Lion King. This was very interesting to read about. Overall great job.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! This was a really clever association that you made between these seemingly unrelated things, and it was well written. It was also very entertaining to read!
ReplyDeleteGreat, I have not actually seen the connection before your post. But the connection there is evident now that you have pointed it out. It was interesting how you explained it and was a fun read. You should consider posting pictures from hamlet from movies or plays and a citation.
ReplyDeleteI would not have connected these two things before I read your post. It is interesting to see how very old pieces of literature affect movies from today. I never would have thought about the connections to our history class unless you pointed them out. The smallest details from the Lion King and Hamlet relate, and I never would have though of them! Your title was very catchy and the pictures you chose helped support your argument. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteVery good blog Colson, I really enjoyed it. I have never seen or read Hamlet so I wouldn't see the connection. But, I really enjoyed reading all the connections you made between the two. I really liked the connection you made between the two with the skull scene. Overall, nice blog
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how Disney parodies the Lion King so closely with Hamlet. The way you went about making comparisons between the two was very clear and interesting. The pictures helped with the connections even more, putting the solid image of the scene in the readers head, great post.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a great blog post. This is because this is a classic childhood movie that everyone has seen, and it is a lot easier that to way to understand how it connects to the past. The details in this writing were also excellent, as they really made me think about what happened. Overall great job :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting point of view, that i had never thought about. You did a great job of showing how in depth the similarities are.I also thought it was interesting how you that disney was being original. You did a great job.
ReplyDelete