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Uncle kills father
In the Lion King, Simba’s uncle, Scar, kills his father, Mufausa. Also in Hamlet, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius,
kills his father. In both movies, the death is considered an accident, and it leaves both sons upset and
conflicted, though in different ways. Hamlet is angry at his mother for marrying again so soon after his
father’s death, and Simba is upset because he blames himself for his father’s death.
Uncle takes ‘throne’
In both Hamlet and the Lion King, the Uncles take control of the Kingdoms after the death their brother.
In Hamlet however, Claudius wants both the queen and throne, and he becomes King after marrying the
queen. While in Lion King, Scar just wants the throne and becomes ‘King’ after Mufausa is dead and
Simba runs away, though is assumed dead by those of the pride.
Uncle tries to get rid of nephew
While not at first in Hamlet, in both movies the uncle tries to get rid of their nephew. At first Claudius
doesn’t know what’s wrong with Hamlet and is thinking of sending him away to England, then when he
finds out that Hamlet knows what he did he tries to have him killed, twice. In the Lion King though, it
plays out differently. Scar tells Simba that it’s his fault that his father is dead and that technically he
killed him. So he should run away since the ‘crime’ is punishable by death, which in turn Scar sends his
lackeys the hyenas after Simba to kill him, be his escapes. Much like Hamlet does the first time his Uncle
tries to have him killed.
Nephew returns home
In both movies, the main character returns home to face their uncle. Hamlet hasn’t been gone from
home too long, a couple months at the most, so not much has changed when he returns. However, for
Simba he’s been gone for some time, when he left he was only a cub and when he returns he’s full
grown. While Hamlet seems to have a more gracious welcome, after of course Ophelia’s funeral, Simba
returns home to find the place dying and wrecked and then faces his uncle right away for the throne.
Different (Compared to Hamlet)
Simba’s girlfriend doesn’t die
In the Lion King, Simba and Nala are together. At first though, when they are young they are just best
friends. When Nala finds Simba in the jungle, some time after he runs away, they bond and become
more than just friends. At the end of the movie, she is still alive and together they have a good life.
While in Hamlet, it isn’t known whether Ophelia and Hamlet has known each other since childhood, and
their relationship becomes quite strained, especially after he kills Ophelia’s father. Later Ophelia drowns
by accident.
Simba’s mother doesn’t die
In Hamlet, Hamlet’s mother is killed by accidently drinking the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet; it was a
last attempt to try and kill Hamlet if Laertes wasn’t able to hit him with his poisoned blade. While in the
Lion King, Simba’s mother is very much alive at the end of the movie.
Simba doesn’t die
Hamlet dies at the end of the movie, along with most of the other characters. However, he does
accomplish the task he sent out to do, even if he got many other people unintentionally and
intentionally killed in the process. In the Lion King though Simba ends up living after getting rid of Scar
and becomes ‘king’ as well as being with his love, Nala.
Simba doesn’t send his ‘friends’ to get killed
While Rosencrantz and Guildenstern aren’t exactly Hamlet’s friends they used to be. I guess you could
slightly compare them to Timon and Pumbaa, but they’re more of Simba’s best friends then Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern were to Hamlet. Hamlet ends up sending them to their deaths though after finding out
they were blindly sending Hamlet to his death.
Simba doesn’t kill girlfriend’s father
Hamlet accidently kills Polonius, Ophelia’s father, which is what makes Ophelia goes insane and
accidently kill herself. In the Lion King though, Nala’s father isn’t even mentioned, actually Mufausa is
the only male lion in the pride which leads to some other unanswered questions, but Simba doesn’t do
anything majorly hurtful to Nala.
Simba blames himself for father’s death
Hamlet doesn’t blame himself for his father’s death; he blames Claudius since Hamlet knows he killed
his father. Simba, however, since he was young didn’t know Scar had killed his father, believed it was his
own fault that his father died.