Lion King, The

Synopsis: Feature animation film. At Pride Rock in Africa, a young lion prince, Simba, is born to Mufasa, king of the lions thus making his embittered and politically ambitious uncle, Scar, the second in line to the throne. Scar plots with the hyenas to kill King Mufasa and Prince Simba, thus making himself King. The King is killed and Simba is led to believe by Scar that it was his fault, and so flees the kingdom in shame. After years of exile he is persuaded to return home to do battle with Scar. He learns about his father’s death and in anger allows Scar to be torn apart by hyenas. A year later order is restored as Rafiki, the mandrill presents Simba’s new-born son - the future lion king. Some critics and scholars have found parallels in the plot with Hamlet; others have argued that Henry IV and Macbeth have informed the film.
Language: English
Country: United States
Medium: Film
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Year of release: 1994
Duration: 88 mins; 7,936 feet

Director

Rob Minkoff; Roger Allers

Producer

Don Hahn

Screenplay

Irene Mecchi; Jonathan Roberts; Linda Woolverton

Music

Elton John; Hans Zimmer

Art Direction

Andy Gaskill

Cast

Notes: The audio commentary on the DVD includes Rob Minkoff acknowledging that the story did borrow from Hamlet.
Reviews: D. Stenberg. ‘The Circle of Life and the Chain of Being: Shakespearean Motifs in THE LION KING’ in Shakespeare Bulletin 14.2 (1996), p36-37. Richard Finkelstein, ‘Disney Cites Shakespeare: the Limits of Appropriation’ in Desmet, Christy and Robert Sawyer (ed), Shakespeare and Appropriation. London: Routledge, 1999. pp179-196 (A discussion of THE LION KING and THE LITTLE MERMAID).

Shakespeare, "Lion King, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av36907 (Accessed 19 Sep 2024)

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