Upon delving into the topic of intertextuality, I have discovered that all works of art are essentially derived from a previous source in one way or another. The first thing that came to mind after reading more was the well-kept secret of the similarities between William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, and the Walt Disney Picture, The Lion King.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is about a prince whose father was killed (unknowingly by his uncle) and then his uncle assumes the throne. Shortly after, a ghost appears before Hamlet. The ghost is Hamlet’s father. The ghost tells Hamlet that he was killed by his brother and that Hamlet must avenge his father’s death.
In The Lion King, Hamlet is portrayed through the lion cub, Simba. Simba’s uncle kills his father, thus assuming the throne, while blaming Simba for his death at the same time. Simba runs away to avoid facing the pride filled with shame. After many years pass, a “ghost” appears before Simba in the sky. The ghost is Simba’s father. Simba’s father, Mufasa, urges Simba to “remember who you are” and return to the pride to take his rightful place as king.
In both of the works of art, the son/prince eventually avenges his father’s death by killing their uncle, or implying that the uncle is dead because of them. The two differences in these plotlines involve how the sons/princes react before avenging their father. Simba runs away for many years before he is ready to face his pride again, he essentially starts a new life. Hamlet tries to validate the suspicions he has of his uncle. He sets up various scenarios where he can view his uncle’s reaction to his father’s death. Inevitably, people grow suspicious of Hamlet’s doings and eventually there is a duel between Hamlet and his uncle. Another difference between the film and the tragedy is that in Hamlet, everyone dies (spoiler). The father is killed in the beginning of the story, during the duel Hamlet and Claudius (Hamlet’s uncle) kill each other, and Hamlet’s mother gets hit by a stray sword and dies as well. In The Lion King, Simba goes back to face his uncle, Scar. Eventually, Scar is thrown into the same circumstances of when he killed his brother. Because it is a children’s film, it is implied that Scar dies from getting killed by the hyenas that he enlisted to help run the kingdom when Mufasa was gone.
I believe that the strongest connection between the two pieces of literature is directly after when each ghost appears and speaks to their sons. Though the ghosts go about telling their sons what to do in very different ways, the same message gets across. Since the two works of art were made for two different audiences, Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers, the directors of The Lion King, had to get the same point across to Simba, but without it seeming solely hate filled. They argue that his reasoning for returning to his pride is because he needs to redeem his character. Running away did not reflect his true character.
I really enjoy the fact that the two works of art are strongly related because not many people are even aware of their connections. The Lion King is a beloved children’s film, while Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy written by, William Shakespeare, one who is considered to be the greatest writer in the English language.
sheacm2 