While the other three movies that I watch were all based solely on the Shakespearean plays they resemble, the Lion King has multiple pulls from classic stories. One of my earliest memories of watching the Lion King was watching it at church and then having it explained to me how the movie reflected the biblical story of Moses. Moses fled from Egypt after he accidentally killed a slave overseer, he was later visited by God who spoke to him from a burning bush and told him to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to free all the Jews. This is similar to the Lion King because Simba caused Mufasa's death and then ran away after because he was ashamed. He is visited by Rafiki and then the spirit of his father in the sky who tell him he needs to return home to save his people. A main difference here is that while Moses wanted to take the Jews away from Egypt, Simba wanted to make the hyenas and Scar leave Pride Rock. The way that the writers of the Lion King; Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton were able to weave together the stories of Moses and Hamlet together to create the Lion King is incredible. It allowed to the story to take the best of both worlds to make an entertaining and timeless story that met the moral standards of a children's movie. The authors could omit the periods of suicidal depression in Hamlet and the killing of thousands of first born sons in the story of Moses and instead highlight honor, freedom, duty, and family. This is what allowed for a Shakespearean tragedy such as Hamlet to be accessible to younger people.
The idea of spirituality in the Lion King is also very interesting. The movie opens up with the now classic song, The Circle of Life, which is a very spiritual song about exactly what the title suggests. The movie is partially based on the story of Moses, but you would be hard pressed to say that the movie is pushing any sort of religious agenda. However, there are many instances of spirituality throughout the movie. The first example of this is Rafiki. He is very mysterious and always seems to know much more than he thinks is wise to share with others. He is very connected with the spirits and helps guide Simba. Another moment is when Mufasa appears to Simba and tells him that he and all the other past kings are watching over him from the stars. This provides Simba with the strength and guidance he needed to go back to Pride Rock and reclaim his rightful place. In Hamlet, spirits and spirituality are treated very differently. There are not clear Christian references in Hamlet and it is unspecified what type of ghost Hamlet's father has become after he died, although there are references to him being in purgatory. He tells Hamlet that his brother is an incestuous, adulterate beast and that Hamlet must avenge his murder. Mufasa and Rafiki both provide guidance to Simba and then hope he chooses to do what is best. This is very different that the ghost in Hamlet is very demanding when he tells his son to get revenge on Claudius for killing him. Clearly, the beautiful spiritual messages that come from the Lion King are not drawn from Hamlet.
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