The Similarities Between The Lion King And Hamlet

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No story is entirely original. Authors, playwrights, and songwriters all pick and choose elements from stories regardless of whether they intend to or not. Some stories mirror those of the past more similarly than others while adding a fresh, new twist. The Disney movie The Lion King contains many similarities to Shakespeare's play Hamlet, some of which are more obvious than others. Similarities in the character complexes of the three hyenas and Polonius's family, betrayal from Scar and Claudius, and the kingdoms deterioration and resolution are a few examples of the likenesses of the movie and play.
One of the principal similarities between the Lion King and Hamlet exist in the character structures between Polonius’s family and the three hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. Select character traits from the Polonius family are mixed amongst the hyenas while the primary character complexes exist in each individual hyena. The more dominant of the hyenas is the female hyena Shenzi. Polonius is Shenzi’s Shakespearean counterpart, both of which are cunning and assertive. Throughout the play, Polonius is sly and intelligent, which becomes apparent as he spies on his son and on young Hamlet. Polonius is also the speaker of Hamlet’s wiser quotes as he provides …show more content…

Ed’s character greatly exaggerates Ophelia’s trait. Ed is unable to form coherent sentences, which is an imitation of Ophelia’s eventual descent into insanity and he is also dependent upon both Shenzi and Banzai. After her father’s death (with the addition of Hamlet’s unrequited love) Ophelia’s supports are gone and she proceeds so succumb into deliriousness, thus causing her eventual death. Banzai is a representation Laertes. Both Laertes and Banzai are much more capable than Ophelia and Ed, yet they prove to still rely on the head of the family/pack. Throughout the movie, Banzai’s mistakes are corrected by

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