Aristotle’s definition of tragedy includes inducing a feeling of pity and/or fear, a tragic hero, and its story must hold weight. No movie/play depicts this in a clearer to understand form than The Lion King. While based off the Greek tragedy Hamlet, the Lion King provides a more modern twist to the play, and presents it in a fashion that is significantly easier to grasp.
The major themes of the film are pride, betrayal and redemption; all of which are common in tragedies.
The tragic hero of The Lion King is Simba. Simba, as a lion cub, is blamed for the death of his father, Mufasa, while in reality the cause was due to his uncle Scar. Scar convinces Simba that Simba was the cause of Mufasa’s death, leading Simba to exile. Simba is then left with the guilt and goes off to die in his deep depression. The Disney variation on Hamlet does turn to a brighter side with “Hakuna Matata”, however this is only an attempt to appeal to a younger audience and to make the tragedy somewhat less tragic. It was Disney’s way of putting a shine on this tragic story.
The pride element is seen through Simba, as he finds he cannot return home because he was believed to have murdered Mufasa. Simba, however, returns eventually when he discovers himself through the help of Rafiki. This leads to his redemption in returning back to the Pride Lands to fight and beat Scar, redeeming himself in the process.
The pity and fear produced from the movie is seen throughout the Pride Lands after Mufasas death. This felt throughout the movie, including the starvation of a massive group alongside the depression and exile filled in our tragic hero. This is also evident in that Simba, at the beginning of the movie, feels pride in the leadership role he will gain, he feels pride in the responsibilities he will gain. However these are torn from him due to his fate. He loses everything due to the deception of his uncle.
The pity and fear is also felt in the audience when Simba is blamed for something he did not do. It reminds us that sometimes things happen out of our control that we just have to deal with. These things can be caused by deceiving people or through actions outside of anyone’s control, but still it is just something we have to live with.
The Lion King is a modern tragedy dressed up with periods of brief foolishness and jokes to soften its delivery and appeal to a younger audience.
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