Similarities Between Hamlet And The Lion King

Throughout Disney’s movie, The Lion King, many key points seem to overlap with those of Shakespeare’s well known play, Hamlet. Although released nearly three hundred years apart, The Lion King mirrors Hamlet in both the plot and its characters. In both works, the plot follows the life of an heir to the kingdoms throne, Hamlet and Simba, as he copes with the death of his father whom he looked up to most. The story unfolds as both sons try to reclaim what is rightfully his own after his uncle unjustly usurps the throne following his father’s death. Here, the plot thickens, as both Hamlet and Simba learn that their uncle was responsible for the death of their father. Both uncles, Claudius and Scar, were expressed as manipulative and evil, and

their envy towards their brothers resulted in murder and unjustly claiming the throne, while both fostering a hatred towards their nephews.
Throughout Hamlet, Claudius is seen to be evil because of his thirst for power and manipulative nature.

Claudius tells Hamlet that he needs to cope with and overcome his fathers death in act two, scene one. He tells him, “to preserver / In obstinate condolement is a course / Of impious stubbornness. Tis unmanly grief” (I.II.96-98). Here, Claudius tells Hamlet its not manly of him to continue to mourn over the death of his late father, an act that could be seen as manipulative as he is attempting to make Hamlet feel guilty for his perfectly normal and acceptable mourning. Scar can be seen as just as manipulative towards Simba as Claudius was towards Hamlet, as Scar blames Mufasasa death, Simbas father, on Simba, even though it was arguably entirely Scar’s fault. Scar pushed Mufasa off the side of a cliff as Simba laid at the bottom in the middle of a stampede, and afterwards he told Simba that if it were not for him Mufasa would still be

alive.
Both Claudius and Scar were rip with envy towards their brothers, jealous of the kingdom and jealous of their title as king.

Scar, as stated above, pushed Mufasa off the edge of a cliff as he clung on by his paws, while he was begging Scar to save him. Once Simba leaves the kingdom, Mufasa claims the throne as his own. Later, when Simba finds out that it was Scar who killed Mufasa, he is filled with fury and forces Scar to announce it to the rest of the kingdom, so everyone knows the real truth about their king. Claudius also kills his brother, King Hamlet, by pouring poison in his ear. Hamlet finds out this information when the ghost of his late father reveals to him that, “juice of cursed hebona in a vial / And in the porches of my ears did pour” (1.5.69-70). The ghost of King Hamlet reveals to Hamlet that Claudius was indeed the one responsible for his death, which enrages Hamlet, just as Simba felt enraged when he learned that Scar was responsible for Mufasa’s

death.
Throughout The Lion King, Scar expresses his disliking towards Simba through his actions since Simba’s birth. For example, Scar tells Simba there is an elephant graveyard located beyond the kingdom in the shadows of the desert, where the hyenas are located, even though he knows Mufasa did not want Simba knowing what was there. He uses Simba’s naïve nature to convince him to visit, telling him that only the bravest lions were able to visit the area. Scar did not just slip up and unintentionally tell Simba what was in the restricted area, but he purposely tricked him into visiting, something any normal uncle probably would not do to their nephew if they truly loved them. Claudius also dislikes Hamlet, but does not express his feelings until after he realizes that Hamlet knows the truth about the death of his father. Claudius sees Hamlet as a threat and sends him to England, with strict instructions to kill Hamlet. He says to himself, “By letters congruing to that effect / The present death of Hamlet” (4.5.73-74). After admitting that he had enclosed in his letter Hamlet’s murder plot, he admits that he cannot be happy until Hamlet is dead. Both Claudius and Scar foster a hatred towards their nephews, but Scars is more chronic and long lasting throughout the movie, while Claudius’ is more sudden and severe.
Scar and Claudius both exhibit many similarities to each other throughout Hamlet and The Lion King, but also some differences. Both were jealous and manipulative, making their nephews feel bad for their justifiable actions. Both Scar and Claudius were found to have killed their brothers, Mufasa and King Hamlet, and had claimed the throne. Lastly, they both fostered a hatred towards their nephews. Throughout both The Lion King and Hamlet, many similarities and differences were evident throughout the antagonists of Scar and Claudius.