|
|
Famous playwright, William Shakespeare, has written many plays that have been made into movies, but only one has undergone the process of “disneyfication” (to put in your words, Mr. Klaus). This, one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, has now become what can be argued as the best loved animated film of all time. The play is Hamlet, and the movie, created almost four hundred years later, is The Lion King. To understand the process by which Disney transferred the play based in Demark to the African wilderness set film, we must first become familiar with the characters and plots of both works. Hamlet begins after King Hamlet’s death. His son, Prince Hamlet, develops a mindset of revenge, but is unsure of how to react. He becomes depressed and wanders around fatherless and confused, while his uncle, Claudius, accepts the throne and marries his widowed mother. Although Hamlet believes that his father was murdered by Claudius, he remains uncertain until a ghostly apparition of his deceased father appears. After his father informs Hamlet of his gruesome death, and that Claudius is, in fact, the one to blame, the young prince decides to avenge his father and kill his uncle. However, Hamlet’s depressed state worsens and Claudius discovers what Hamlet is up to by sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to watch him. The King’s counselor, Polonius, believes that Hamlet loves his daughter, Ophelia. So they plan to spy on Hamlet again through the counselor’s daughter. After speaking with Ophelia, Hamlet searches for Claudius, so that he may kill him. He hears someone hiding behind a tapestry, and believes it to be Claudius. When he stabs through the tapestry he finds that he has killed Polonius, who, yet again was spying on him. After hearing the news of her father’s death, Ophelia is driven insane and, in her madness, drowns in a river. Hamlet is banished from Denmark, and sent away by ship with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who have specific orders to kill Hamlet. They never get the chance, because their ship is attacked by pirates and Hamlet finds his way back to Denmark. Claudius is frightened by Hamlet’s return, and stages a “friendly” swordfight between Hamlet and Laertes, Polonius’ son and Ophelia’s brother. Claudius poisons Laertes’ blade, so that if he stabs Hamlet, then it will kill him. He also has a back up goblet of poisoned wine, to offer Hamlet if he wins. Hamlet cuts Laertes first, but declines the wine, and Gertrude, the Queen, takes it in toast to Hamlet. As the fighting continues, Laertes cuts Hamlet with the poisoned blade, but Hamlet does not die immediately. However, his mother has now become ill from the wine and slowly dies. Laertes has also been stabbed by his own sword, and, as he dies, reveals Claudius’ plan to Hamlet. In his rage, Hamlet stabs Claudius, and then forces him to drink the remaining wine from the goblet. After Claudius dies, Hamlet’s poisoned wound finally gets the best of him and he, too, dies. The children’s film, The Lion King, begins with the presentation of the new lion prince, Simba. As Simba grows, he proves to be a very mischievous cub who “just can’t wait to be king”. He and his friend, Nala, are very troublesome. However, the main storyline of the Disney film starts with the murder of Simba’s father, Mufasa, by his own power-hungry brother, Scar.
|
