The Similarities Between The Lion King And Hamlet

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

timeless advice to both his son Laertes and his daughter Ophelia. Shenzi mirrors this through her wisecrack remarks about young Simba and Nala in the elephant graveyard and in constantly evading punishment from Scar.
Ophelia’s is portrayed as ignorant and unwilling to come to terms with events that take place in Hamlet.

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

Shenzi.
The familial betrayal in the Lion King and Hamlet are the most important and prominent points of conflict. Mufasa and King Hamlet are beloved rulers and both have less powerful brothers. Scar and Claudius rip apart their familial bonds out of jealousy for what their superior siblings possess and in hopes to achieve the powers they had not been born with. Scar and Claudius’s unnatural rise to power has similar consequences found both in the lion King and Hamlet. The kingdoms in which they rule upon severely deteriorate as it become evident that neither are fit to rule. With the death of Claudius at the hands of Hamlet, the natural born leader Fortinbras conquers Denmark and it is left to be concluded that the land returns to relative peacefulness. This is reflected in The Lion King when Simba returns to the now desolate and barren Pride Rock. Scar is soon dethroned and killed and Simba, the true heir to the throne, gains power. Pride Rock is then also returned to its pre-Scar glory.
While differences do exist, the similarities between The Lion King and Hamlet are numerous. From the parallelism in the three hyenas and Polonius and his two children, extreme acts of betrayal committed by conniving uncles, and the restoration of harmony when the rightful take their place to rule, it becomes clear that today’s favorites often mirror yesterday's classics.