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
Credits
- 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
James Earl Jones Mufasa (voice) Jeremy Irons Scar (voice) Matthew Broderick Simba (voice) Moira Kelly Nala (voice) Rowan Atkinson Zazu (voice)
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Plays
- Hamlet
- Keywords
- animals; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Notes
- 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).
Production Company
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Retail outlets
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Lion King, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av36907 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)