Hamlet and Lion King?

Question

I have to write a report on how Lion King is based on Hamlet. I never read hamlet thoug. What is the overall point of Hamlet? What are some similarities and differences? Any info will help.

In hamlet is Claudius hamlet jr.'s uncle?
Is hamlet away at college?

Answer 1

Hey, what a good observation! I never realized that it IS based on Hamlet! Here is what I come up with, off the top of my head:

In Hamlet, his father's brother kills his father and marries his mother and takes over the kingdom.

In Lion King, same thing as above, however, the son is banished. In Hamlet, the son remains.

Hamlet's mother conspires with her husband's brother and murderer; in Lion King, Simba's mother is innocent.

The ghost of the father appears to Hamlet, just as the dead lion king, Simba's father, also appears to Simba. It is the ghost in both stories that reveals to the son that the father was indeed murdered -- and by whom.

There is a magician in both stories (I **think**)--double check that.

In the Lion King, when Simba fights his uncle, Scar, for the throne, Scar is killed and Simba is restored to his rightful place as heir to the throne.

In Hamlet, of course, it ends tragically. Everybody dies.

If I were doing the report, I might add the opinion that where Lion King differs, ie, the innocence of the mother and the restoration of the throne to the son, is done to change a tragedy into a happy ending because the target audience for Lion King is children. The concept of a guilty mother and justice not being served in the end would be too disturbing for children.
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So, you've never read Hamlet? If you do not have a lot of time, I might suggest that you try Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare (For Children). They do a good job summarizing the stories, very simply. If you need a lot of depth, however, this won't do. But it is a good start for a general idea of The Bard's storylines. Here is the Lamb's version of Hamlet: http://www.bartleby.com/1012/18.html

For the rest of Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare, go here:
http://www.bartleby.com/1012/

Answer 2

They're both about an uncle taking the throne of his nephew, the rightful heir to the kingdom. In Hamlet, Claudius' main ally is Gertrude, the his elder brother's wife, but in the Lion King, Scar's allies are his heyna henchmen. Also, Hamlet ends with most everyone dying, including Hamlet, but the Lion King ends happily, with Simba reclaiming his throne, marrying his love, and living with his mother.

Answer 3

I have read Hamlet, but not seen "The Lion King," so I can only be of limited help here...but I do know that both have:

-Young male who is an heir
-Evil uncle

Hope that helps a little.

Answer 4

I have seen The Lion King and read & seen Hamlet... and boy that is a stretch... the only links between the two are a young prince and an evil uncle who wants to control the kingdom...

Answer 5

both stories: father dies, son is haunted by father's ghost/spirit and is told by ghost/spirit to avenge the death/ live life, both sons are hesitant to do anything and initially run away from their responsibility, but they eventually avenge their father's death....big difference is that Simba grows into a responsible "man" but Hamlet acts to late and dies after avenging the death