I am going to start this blog post off by saying if you have not seen the Lion King yet (I'm looking at you, Mrs. King), you need to do it A.S.A.P., especially before the live action film comes out. If you have seen it, then Hakuna Matata, you're on the right track.The Lion King is hands down the best Walt Disney film of all time, and do not try to argue this with me. The Lion King has many many parallels to Hamlet, this is not new news. In fact, most people say that the Lion King was derived from the Shakespeare play as well. In addition to that observation, people have concluded that the Lion King 2: Simba's Pride is also an ode to another Shakes classic, Romeo and Juliet (of course with the exception of the tragic deaths at the end).
The basic plot of the Lion King, in case you didn't know because maybe you haven't seen the movie or something, *cough cough* Mrs King *cough*, is when Scar, Simba's power hungry uncle, kills Mufasa, Simba's dad and the king of Pride Rock, in order to gain power and rule the land.This relates to the play because as we just read in Act 1 Scene 5, Claudius (supposedly) killed King Hamlet. But you might want to Be Prepared for this newsflash because it might take you for a loop: Hamlet and The Lion King differ in the fact that in the Lion King, Scar needed to rid Simba in order to gain control over the throne. To do this he convinces Simba as a cub that he killed his own father, causing him to run away. This differs from Hamlet, because in the play Claudius was next in line for the throne- before young Hamlet.
Another parallel between the two is the moment when Simba's seeking advice while grieving obviously after his father's death and sees Mufasa's spirit in the stars, this scene is quite the tear-jerker considering the circumstances but hey I guess thats The Circle of Life. The last parallel to make is the connection between Claudius and Gertrude and Scar and Sarabi. After Hamlet's death we know that Gertrude does not mourn much and immediately moves on, offering a large motif of the pay: a sort of dramatizing and theatrical characteristic. In the Lion King, Sarabi does not do the same and there is not a defined line of her and Scar's relationship after Mufasa's death but here certainly is hinting at the fact that Scar makes Sarabi his property after-- how romantic, Can you feel the Love Tonight?
Overall my main takeaway from this is that Mrs. King should watch Lion King.
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5 comments:
Hahahahahaha! I love this blog post Anabella!
I love the parallels drawn between these two great works of art!! The Lion King is such a good movie and yes, Mrs. King absolutely needs to watch. One other thing we could observe is the similarity between Simba and Hamlet in their grieving. Simba stands over Mufasas body in attempts to make him get up after he is trampled, and (as you pointed out) continues to feel heavy long after the death. As we read in Hamlets soliloquy, he is suicidal after his fathers death and is seeking answers as well as he watches his mother move on so rapidly.
This is honestly one of my favorite blog posts of the year. Maybe that’s becuase I love Disney, so it makes me a little bias. You could also say that scar and Claudius are very manipulative in terms of making people how think their brother died, taking the focus off of them. Mrs. King, this is an amazing movie you must watch! And if you ever get to see the broadway show that’s pretty good too.
I don’t think the Lion King is the best Disney film of all time.
I have to disagree on this one. The best Disney movie of all time is Homeward Bound. The story in the movie is narrated by a orphan bulldog named Chance who is adopted from the pound by a family living in the countryside. The family also has a cat named Sassy. Her name describes her character perfectly. She is so snobby and sarcastic it makes me so annoyed. They also have a golden retriever named Shadow who is my favorite character. The three pets are very loving to the children in the family. The family has to move to small apartment in the city and the pets are forced to stay on the farm of a friend during the move process. At the farm, Shadow decides to try and go home and convinces Sassy and Chance to go with him. He thinks that home is just on the other side of the mountain, but on their journey, they find out they were wrong and end up lost, beginning their incredible journey to find home. Produced in 1993, this movie is the best Disney has ever made not only for making $41,833,324, but because of how awesome, but difficult it probably was to film it. The movie consists of these pets traveling through the wild and being voiced over by humans. These dogs and cats had to have been so well trained to do this! It is actually amazing! The movie might be one the happiest and saddest ever. There is only two reasons that a man should cry and that is death and America. I'll admit though that seeing these animals come home to the children that loved them so much put me in tears. If you haven't seen this, you definitely need too. It will really get to your emotions. For these reasons, Homeward Bound is the best Disney movie of all time.
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