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‘’’’Larronce Smith Sampson

Dr. Gail Crump/Dr. Darlene Ciraulo

English 4000

March 26, 2010

From Denmark to Pride Rock: A Kid Friendly Version of Hamlet

Disney’s musical, The Lion King, is a kid friendly version of the Shakespeare’s more

brutal play Hamlet. Even though, Disney billed The Lion King as the first original animated

movie that was not based on a fairy tale in 1994 (Wetpaint) , it contained several nuances that

alluded to the original play, Hamlet. The Lion King took away most of the brutality of Hamlet

and disguised it with cute animated animals that sang and danced. The main characters and the

overall plots of the stories are very similar. Several of the differences and similarities of both

stories will be discussed.

In both stories, the protagonists were young princes who were scheduled to be the next

heirs to their fathers’ thrones. When both kings died untimely deaths, neither Simba nor Hamlet

was immediately able to take their rightful thrones. Simba, a lion cub, was next in line for the

throne, but his Uncle Scar wanted him dead so that he could secede his brother, Mufasa. Hamlet

was stopped by his Uncle Claudius and was killed before taking his place on the throne. The

main story line is almost identical. Claudius killed Hamlet, Sr. to usurp his throne away from

Hamlet. Scar tricked Simba into believing that his father died because he was trying to save

Simba from rampaging antelopes.

Both characters, Hamlet and Simba, were told by the spirits of their fathers to

“remember” them (Ingoglia 79) (Shakespeare 1.5). Each prince also had a responsibility to

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“remember” not only their fathers, but also to “remember” who the princes were. Hamlet stated

this in a note that he had written to his uncle,

“So uncle, there you are.

Now to my word.

It is “adieu, adieu, remember me.”

I have sworn’t.”” (Shakespeare 1.5)

Rafiki noted a similar sentiment to Simba when he was showing Simba his father’s reflection in

the water,

““That’s not my father,” Simba told him. “It’s just my reflection.”

“Look harder,” said Rafiki.

Puzzled, Simba stared into the shining water again. His reflection shimmered

and gradually changed shape. It was turning into his father’s image!

Simba gasped.

“You see,” said Rafiki, “he lives in you.”” (Ingoglia 77)

Hamlet had no reason to initially blame anyone for the murder of his father. Everyone

thought that Hamlet, Sr. had been bitten by a serpent while sleeping in the orchard. When the

ghost of Hamlet’s father told him differently, Hamlet vowed to remember his father and to

avenge his father’s death. Hamlet began to act as if he had gone mad to throw everyone off

about his plans. In a sense, through his madness, he ran away from his direct obligations until

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he had the evidence he needed. Hamlet enlisted the help of his friends, Horatio and Barnardo

and swore them to secrecy. Hamlet drug his feet in seeking revenge though. He devised a plan

in Act 2, Scene 2, to have some actors enact a play called “The Murder of Gonzago” so that he

could see Claudius’ reactions to how the king in the play was murdered.

Simba adopted “Hakuna Matata” attitude which meant “no worries”, with his friends

Timon and Pumbaa. Where Hamlet had already been trained to be a warrior and successor to his

father’s throne, Simba had just begun his lessons as the future king of the Pride Lands, and he

felt deep regret for causing his father’s death. He was only a small child when his father died.

He ran away from his responsibilities, and his friend Nala and the mystic, Rafiki made him

realize that he was worthy to be the king of the Pride Lands.

Hamlet was a young man that came home for his father’s funeral. While he is home, his

mother Gertrude married the one person that could take Hamlet’s rightful throne, his Uncle

Claudius. Hamlet was more distraught about his mother’s “incestuous” remarriage so quickly

after his father’s death than he was about the actual funeral. Hamlet learned from his father’s

ghost, that his uncle poisoned Hamlet, Sr. so that he could take over Denmark and go to war with

the neighboring land of Norway. Hamlet showed signs of insanity after he spoke with the

spirit. Hamlet caused the women he loved a great deal of grief and believed that no woman

could be trusted focusing the entire story line on the murder of his father and his mother’s errant

relationship.

Simba ran away from Pride Rock when he thought he had accidentally killed his father.

He was a small child (lion cub) and his Uncle Scar told him that “it was his fault that his father

was dead.” Simba unknowingly broke his mother’s heart, because he ran away and his mother

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was told that he was dead. Simba was left for dead in the African desert and two unlikely friends

in Timon and Pumbaa came to his rescue. Simba was told that he was the cause of Mufasa’s

death, even though his uncle who told him that it was his fault was the true murderer. Simba hid

from his responsibilities in the jungle with his new found friends.

The Lion King began with the sun dawning on a new day across the horizon. All of the

animals were joyously running to Pride Rock. None of the animals wanted to miss the

celebration of the “blessing of the new prince, by the Chief Mystic, Rafiki” (Ingoglia 6). The

glorious colors and joy grabbed kids’ attention. The weather was perfectly warm in the Pride

Lands of Africa. The warmth of the entire situation fills its audience with excitement.

Unfortunately, Hamlet began on an extremely dismal and cold night. There was a degree

of excitement for the night watchmen, but there was no joy, only apprehension. Two nights in a

row, they saw a spirit that resembled Hamlet’s dead father. The wind was bitterly cold and the

air crackled under their breaths. The ghost was fully armored but had his beaver lifted above his

face so that the watchmen saw his face. When Hamlet was told about the armored spirit he

commented,

“My father’s spirit—in arms! All is not well.

I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come!

Till then, sit still, my soul. (Foul) deeds will rise,

Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes “(Shakespeare 1.2).

Simba was an innocent lion cub who “just can’t wait to be king” (Thomas, Broderick and

Irons). His father, Mufasa, was the epitome of strength, courage, and honor. He was stern when

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he needed to be, but gentle and loving especially to his only son any other time. As he was

showing Simba the kingdom, he warned Simba to not go to the place of shadows (Thomas,

Broderick and Irons). Simba later got into mischief with his friend Nala when they decided to

visit “an elephant graveyard” that his Uncle Scar told him about. This is where The Lion King

started to coincide with Hamlet. Scar wanted Simba to go to the elephant graveyard so that the

hyenas could attack and kill Simba. Scar was the younger brother of Mufasa and should have

been the next in line for the throne if it “hadn’t been for the hairball.” (Ingoglia 12)

In The Lion King, Scar was the only creature that had no real honor, unlike Hamlet where

even Claudius, had to some degree, a sense of misguided honor in the beginning of the story.

Scar was the only one not to show for Simba’s blessing ceremony earlier in the day. He was not

honorable, because he wanted Mufasa and Simba out of the way, he did not have the guts to kill

them himself. Claudius did poison his brother, so he showed that even though, he committed an

immoral act, and he had the courage to see the act to the end. His scrawny and almost comical

appearance, made everyone in the audience, especially the kids, know that he was the “bad guy.”

Claudius made a short speech first about his brother, but then quickly drew all the

attention to him. (Shakespeare 1.2). During this time, Claudius was still basically considered a

“decent guy,” but he started to paint a different picture to his audience about himself when he

went overboard with his “look how great I am speech.” He called Gertrude “the imperial

jointress to this warlike state.” (Shakespeare 1.2). According to previous description of King

Hamlet, Denmark was a peaceful state. He had already begun his plan to start wars against

Fortinbras, Jr. and Norway. His only transgression had been so far, that he married Queen

Gertrude within a month of the King’s death.

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Another kid friendly design of The Lion King was that there were only three male lions

and the rest of the pride was lionesses. Two of the males were decent and gained their strength

from their female counterparts. Sarabi and Nala were portrayed as the ultimate “huntresses.”

This differs in Hamlet, because the females were used as catalysts that tore entire families apart.

In an ironic twist of plots, Scar and they hyenas tore the pride of lions apart. The hyenas ate all

of the food. Scar destroyed the once beautiful Pride Rock.

Disney showed the females in the pride to be strong and nurturing. Even close to the

beginning of the movie, Simba’s mother, Sarabi, and Nala’s mother were nurturing their young

cubs by giving them baths. (Thomas, Broderick and Irons)

Sarabi was still the queen of the Pride Lands and very capable in her duties as queen.

She was proud and efficiently found food and was in charge of the other lionesses. Scar called

upon her when there was no more food. She had the strength to stand up to Scar and tell him,

“There’s no food-the herds have moved on. We have no choice. We must leave Pride Rock.”

(Ingoglia 84) She did not fear Scar even when he knocked with his paw to the ground. She was

courageous, and when she realized that Simba was back, she was more concerned about her

son’s welfare than she was her own.

Nala was also a strong female character for The Lion King. She was the second in charge

of the lionesses and took it upon herself to find help and more food. She showed her physical

strength when she was a child and was playing with Simba and could consistently pin him. When

she found Simba, she explained herself eloquently to him and Timon and Pumbaa. She

convinced Simba that his place was at Pride Rock. She became the new queen and mate to

Simba in the end, differing from every major character in Hamlet who died in the end.

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This differs drastically from the perception that was given to Queen Gertrude and

Ophelia. Both Queen Gertrude and Ophelia were portrayed as frail and pitiful. Gertrude was

already the queen, but she took orders from Claudius, and she never gave any orders to any of

her subjects. She was more of a puppet queen for Claudius. She was just the extra benefits

package that Claudius received when he became king. Gertrude humiliated herself and her

family by marrying her brother-in-law, less than a month after Hamlet, Sr.’s death. She showed

no real authority especially when she should have stood up to Claudius and her son, Hamlet.

Ophelia was a seemingly naïve young girl who did everything she was told to do by the

men in her life. Her brother, Laertes, warned her in Act 1, Scene 2, to “lose your heart or your

chaste treasure open to his unmastered importunity”. She did everything she was told to do by

her brother, her father, and Hamlet. Her weakness began to show after her father’s death and

she genuinely became mad. She committed the cardinal sin by committing suicide.

Sarabi did not humiliate herself in any way. She nurtured the entire pride and did not fall

victim to scandalous behavior. Sarabi was still considered the queen of the Pride Lands by

virtue of her original position being in charge of the lionesses. Even Scar had to call upon her

when there was no more food left. When Nala found Simba, she asked him to come back for

his mother’s sake. Simba still respected his mother enough to go back to her.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are compared to Timon and Pumbaa, but they are

extremely different characters. The only similarity between the friends of Hamlet and the friends

of Simba is that they all began their friendships having fun. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were

Hamlet’s friends at college. They represent a lifestyle where Hamlet had fun and was not

imprisoned in his tragic life after his father’s death. The two of them were summoned by King

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Claudius and Queen Gertrude because of Hamlet’s madness. They were childhood friends and

Hamlet spoke of them often. Claudius asked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern “to draw him on to

pleasures, and to gather So much as from occasion you may glean.” (Shakespeare 2.2) In the

end, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spied on Hamlet and betrayed his trust leaving Hamlet even

more disheartened than before they arrived.

Timon and Pumbaa were the comedy relief for Simba. They taught Simba to laugh

again and not to take life quite so seriously. They were used as the buffers to Simba’s sorrows

instead of his anxieties. Pumbaa felt so much love and admiration for his friend, Simba, that

when Nala started to follow Simba, Pumbaa answered when Timon asked, “Hey, …where’re you

goin’?” Nala answered that she was going and Pumbaa said,

“I’m going, too,” “Like Simba, who marches off into the face of death, I, too, go

to meet my destiny…as his faithful friend.” (Ingoglia 81)

They not only supported Simba in his trek to claim his lands back, but when “Simba reached the

edge of the Pride Lands, Pride Rock stood tall in the middle of the empty, parched plain.”

(Ingoglia 83)

In Hamlet’s soliloquy, “To be or not to be,” Hamlet was genuinely depressed but was

also asking himself where he fit into “The Circle of His Life.” Unlike The Lion King, Simba

knew where he belonged in his “Circle of Life” but was still afraid of where he had belonged in

the “Circle. Hamlet carried his insanity act to extremes so that could finally seek justice for his

father’s death. The kid friendly version of Simba’s depression is reflected when he first met

Timon and Pumbaa, and Timon said, “He looks blue, and Pumbaa said he looked more like

brownish gold.” Then Timon said, “No, I mean he looked depressed.” (Thomas, Broderick and

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Irons). While Hamlet was being watched for possible insanity, Simba and his friends were

having an insanely good time with “Hakuna Matata”.

The settings of the two stories began very differently. The Lion King was celebrating

new life with the blessing ceremony of Simba from Rafiki. Everyone was happy and all of the

animals were in a spirit of continuity, love, and respect for their new prince. It was a very

joyous occasion filled with anticipation. The blessing ceremony in The Lion King signified that

there were some underlying Christian connotations. This blessing was the equivalent of the new

life in Christ.

Ironically, the Ghost in Hamlet was not given Last Rites when he died which should have

signified his death and rebirth with Christ, but instead he was sentenced to purgatory filled with

revenge and heartache. When Hamlet’s father was murdered, he could not fill his place in the

never ending circle of life.

“No reck’ning made, but sent to my account

With all my imperfections on my head,

O horrible, o horrible, most horrible! (Shakespeare 1.5)

The opening scenes of Hamlet showed a great deal of anticipation also, but there was no

joy or warmth or prosperity to be found. The spirit of Hamlet’s father came to the night

watchmen on cold, dark dismal nights after midnight to disclose how he had died. Two nights

had passed and Horatio, a guard, tried to speak to the apparition. He and the other guard tried to

threaten the apparition to speak. The apparition was ready to speak when the cock crewed

(Shakespeare 1.1) . On the third night, Hamlet came out to speak to the apparition. The ghost

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told him a story of how his brother, Claudius, murdered him. He wanted Hamlet to avenge his

death.

Claudius confessed his sins in his prayers when he did not know that Hamlet was in the

room. Hamlet had the opportunity to kill Claudius then, but he showed mercy upon his uncle.

“I, his sole son, do this same villain send

To heaven.

Why, this (hire) and (salary), not revenge.

He took my father grossly, full of bread,

With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May;

And how his audit stand who knows save heaven.

But in our circumstance and course of thought

‘Tis heavy with him. And am I then revenged

To take him in the purging of his soul,

When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?

No.

Up sword, and know thou a more horrid hent.”

(He sheathes his sword) (Shakespeare 3.4)

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Simba was also willing to give his uncle a reprieve from death when he “paused briefly

considering his uncle’s plea. “Run away, Scar,” Simba ordered. “Go--- and never show your

face again.” (Ingoglia 90). The differences in character between Claudius and Scar began to

show. Claudius had developed a conscience and realized all of his horrible transgressions and

tried to think of way to absolve those transgressions. Scar, on the other hand, wanted to fill only

his narcisstic needs. He tricked Simba and struck back after he was ordered to leave. Simba

wanted to do the honorable thing towards his uncle, but his uncle had no honor. Simba told

Scar, “You’ve lost your chance!” “He grabbed Scar and heaved him over the edge. (Ingoglia

91).

Another very distinctive moment that was also very subtle in similarity, was the scene

where at least one of the actors in the play had to dress as the queen. There were no female

actors during Shakespeare’s time. Timon had a similar moment, "What do you want me to do,

dress in drag and do the hula?" was improvised by Nathan Lane. (Rovira). This very funny

scene in the movie took on the serious note of being eaten by hyenas and made it into a joke.

The kid friendly side of this would not have looked very kindly toward the good guys getting

killed.

Hamlet is called a tragedy for a reason. It is a tragic situation involving death,

destruction of a homeland, incest, and revenge. Every major character died in Hamlet. Life

could not go on for any of those characters because “justice” and “purpose” was served. The

“Circle of Life” (Thomas, Broderick and Irons) for Hamlet was very jagged. Those are not

factors of a “happily ever after” kids fairy tale. Even though The Lion King does touch upon

some of those subjects, they are “dumbed down” so as not to be so brutal or even not politically

correct. According to the Internet Movie Database, “when writer Irene Mecchi came on board,

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she was told that the story pitch was "Bambi (1942) in Africa meets Hamlet (1990/I)", or

"Bamlet", as she termed it.

The weather was a major contributor in both stories towards the overall mood of each

story. The Lion King weather patterns differed significantly from the weather patterns of

Hamlet. The Lion King began,

“The moon had vanished. One by one the stars faded from the cold nights sky.

Behind the dark eastern hills, the sun rose, turning the flat-topped acacia trees

from black to green. Once again it was dawn in Africa.” (Ingoglia 5)

When Mufasa was explaining to Simba where his kingdom would be, he used the sun rays to

mark the territory.

“Look at the rays of the rising sun, Simba,” the king told him. “Everything the

light touches is our kingdom.

Simba was impressed, “That’s just about everywhere!”

“A king’s time as ruler rises and falls like the sun,” his father said. “One day the

sun will set on my time here. It will rise with you as the new king.”

…”What about that shadowy place?” he (Simba) asked.”

“That’s beyond our borders,” said Mufasa. You must never go there, my son.”

(Ingoglia 16)

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WORKS CITED

Gale, Thomson. "The Lion King Summary." 2005-2006. Thomson Gale. 15 March 2010 <http://www.bookrags.com/research/the-lion-king-sjpc-03/>.

Ingoglia, Gina. Disney's The Lion King. New York: Disney Press, 1994.

"Monkey Notes Study Guide." 1997-2000. PinkMonkey.com. Ed. Diane Sauder. 9 March 2010 <http://pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pmHamlet01.asp>.

Rovira, Jim. "Metaphilm: Lion King." 16 September 2003. http://thephilosopersstone.blogspot.com/. 16 March 2010.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1992.

—. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1992.

The Lion King. Dirs. Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. Perf. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, et al. Prods. Alice Dewey, et al. 1994.

"Wetpaint." February 2010. 15 March 2010 <http://englishplace.wetpaint.com/page/Hamlet+and+The+Lion+King>.