Hamlet Vs. Lion King

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It has been said by many intelligent and informed people that Walt Disney's The Lion King is a children's version of Shakespeare's Hamlet. There are certainly many parallels between the two stories, and even in the actual dialogue. Both are the story of a young man who is torn apart by the early demise of his father and both stories have an uncle that takes over the thrown that should rightly belong to both of the young prince’s. The similarities between the storylines and the ways they are portrayed, especially on screen, are incredible. The three biggest parallels of the stories are the presence of death images and symbolism, the actions of the secondary characters, and the development of the tragic hero. There are many differences between the stories involving characters, and detailed plot points, but the main storylines are essentially the same. Death is a reoccurring theme that can be found in both Hamlet and the Lion king. Scar and Claudius believe themselves to be stronger mentally than their brothers, and so they believe they would make better kings thus killing their brothers. In the Lion King, Scar kills his brother Mufasa by throwing him into a wild stampede. He then tells everyone that the king was killed but the stampede which is only half the truth. This false statement of the truth is found in the play Hamlet when Claudius pours poison into Old Hamlet’s ear and kills him but then tells the people that it was a serpent that bit him and poisoned him. Both of these statements are only half true. Another way death is seem to parallel in both the Lion King and in Hamlet is that when Timone and Pumbaa find Simba, Simba wishes he was dead, and half-heartedly tries to kill himself. Just like in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet talks to himself and says “O, that this too solid flesh would melt thaw and resolve itself into a dew” (Act I, Scene II). Hamlet wants to

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