Symbolism In The Lion King

The 1994 Disney film, The Lion King, is the beloved coming of age story about a young lion cub, Simba, who experiences tragedy, becomes lost, but eventually finds his way back to his roots. Perhaps, one of the most memorable scenes is the one where the ghost of his father confronts Simba. Disney used several elements to portray the feeling of being lost, and finding himself again throughout the less than four-minute scene with the use of symbolism of physical obstacles, scenery, and parallels to Hamlet.

The Lion King is a twist on the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Both have the apparition of the Prince’s fallen father who is murdered by their own brother. Both king’s advise their lost son’s but in different ways. In Hamlet, King Hamlet

They reawaken the lost ambition and knocked Simba out of his selfish ways. The jungle Simba is running through is dark and dreary. The darkness of it and complexity is symbolic for the lost and bind path that Simba has been on. Once through it, he finds himself at a clearing, with a pool of water. Rafiki has Simba look into it. At first Simba sees only himself, alluding to his mind has been clouded with selfish thought, and forgetting about everything but himself while on his hiatus. The significance that it is a pool of water is relevant for several reasons. Water is a sign for a center or renewal for Simba, and also a transformation. This moment builds on with reference to an earlier moment when Simba told Rafiki that Mufasa was dead, and Rafiki responded with “He’s alive! And I will show him to you”. Rafiki has him “Look harder”, and this time Simba sees his father. The second look is a subtle way that Disney shows that Simba’s mind is beginning to clear, and that Rafiki really meant that Mufasa lives through Simba, because even though Simba has repressed the thought of his father, he is still in Simba’s heart and mind. Mufasa speaks to his son and tells him that, that “You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me”. Earlier Simba had also told Rafiki that he doesn’t know who he is anymore, Mufasa tells Simba that “Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king.” And then the apparition

The scene starts off at night, and symbolically represents the uncertainty and loss that Simba is experiencing. The heavy winds while Simba talks to Mufasa can be symbolized as the winds of change, the blow in the direction of Pride Rock, Simba’s homeland. Mufasa appears in storm clouds that are dark and the colors are cool. As Mufasa refreshes Simba’s mind of his destiny, the clouds gradually brighten and warm in color. The brightening of colors is used to bring about a sense of hope in the future. After consoling from Rafiki, Simba runs off as the sun begins to rise over the Pride Land, bringing a new down, and a new