The Hero's Journey in The Lion King
In this blog, I want to talk about how the Hero’s Journey is represented in Disney’s 1994 The Lion King. I wanted to write about the Hero’s Journey and how a Disney movie adapts to this template, and when I started to think about which Disney movie to choose, I realized that almost every Disney movie I thought of follows the Hero’s Journey template at least partially, but I thought The Lion King fit the template especially well. The Lion King is about a young lion named Simba who is next in line to become king after his father Mufasa. Simba’s uncle (and villain of the story), Scar, murders Mufasa and banishes Simba. Simba then meets two new friends: Pumba and Timone. He grows up with his new friends and eventually returns home to reclaim his throne from Scar. Since there are too many steps to discuss in detail, I will be highlighting the more important steps and how these steps relate to the movie. The first step, Call to Adventure, could be placed with a number of scenes, but I think the most fitting is when Mufasa gives Simba his speech about becoming king one day when Mufasa dies. This scene hints that Simba will become king later in the movie and gives him motivation to not let anyone else take over the throne (like Scar).
Later on in the film, we witness Mufasa’s heartbreaking death with Scar telling Simba afterwards to “run away and never return.” This is another movie with a physical Crossing the First Threshold step, because Simba is driven away to a new land and must learn to fend for himself without his father for support and guidance. Similar to Star Wars, most of the events in the movie could be described as the Road of Trials step, but I would start it with the scene of Simba and Nala getting chased by hyenas in the Elephant’s Graveyard, since this is the first real trial they encounter. The Road of Trials step arguably lasts until Scar is defeated, even though there are other steps happening throughout the movie as well.
As the film nears its ending, Simba moves to the Apotheosis step in the Hero’s Journey. This step is when he finds the strength to fight Scar and win. This scene is a high-stakes final battle with the rivals fighting for their lives on top of a flaming cliff. There’s no moment where Simba gains a new power or magical ability, but he finds his confidence and strength to beat Scar. After this step, most of the ending steps in the template are skipped (which seems to happen in a lot of books/movies). Simba’s Freedom to Live step can be interpreted literally since he reclaims his throne and has freedom to rule however he wants. Finally, the very last scene in the movie is an echo of the first: Simba’s kid is being held up to all the animals, which connects to the Circle of Life theme in the movie. This scene is also relevant to the Hero’s Journey, because it implies that the cub will go on a future adventure (I think there’s a Lion King 2 but I’ve never seen it), which would continue the cycle of the Hero’s Journey with a new Call to Adventure for the cub.
Overall, The Lion King is a great example of the Hero’s Journey in a children’s movie. This movie is also evidence of how widespread the Hero’s Journey template is, especially in Disney movies. This movie is also interesting because although the Hero’s Journey is largely based on self-discovery and internal changes in the protagonist, there really isn’t much evidence of Simba’s character developing aside from his decision to return to fight Scar. This is probably due to the movie being meant for kids, and making it too deep would ruin the movie for its target audience, but I thought it was interesting how the movie managed to fit the template so well without much character depth.
I like the observation that Simba gained confidence rather than something physical like in Star Wars. In this case, it is much like the Lego Movie where the character mentally gains a vision of the "Man Upstairs". I wonder if there are any differences between the type of movies with characters that gain a new physical power versus differences between gained spiritual power.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This is a great breakdown of Simba's journey. I do disagree with the idea that Simba's decision to return to fight Scar is a small character development, though. From what I remember, Simba gaining courage, taking responsibility, and overcoming the past is a huge part of the movie. I like the idea that, like in Siddhartha, Simba's kid will have its own hero's journey.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I like your breakdown of the steps of the Hero's Journey in the Lion King. I disagree that Mufasa's speech is the call to adventure however. I would say that the call to adventure would be Mufasa's death, because that is the first event that changes the status quo in the movie. Before Mufasa's death, nothing really changes for Simba, but after Mufasa's death, Simba's entire way of life is upended.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention that the final steps of the hero's journey in the return phase are usually missing. It seems like the few of these stages that are there are usually crammed together too like in Star Wars, which makes me wonder why Campbell included so many of them. And like you mention this is just another example of that.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! When I first watched this movie, I noticed that there are several unfinished hero's journeys, such as Mufasa's storyline and Nala's storyline. I also think it's interesting that you noted Simba's ruling over the animal kingdom as being his freedom to live, even though what he seemed to be searching for all along was freedom from his leadership role as king.
ReplyDeleteI loved this movie as a kid so it was cool to see it used in class, especially related to a interesting topic. It's interesting to see how well the movie fits the template, despite not having much character depth for Simba. Your observations about the Call to Adventure, Crossing of the First Threshold, and Road of Trials are particularly insightful and demonstrate the presence of the Hero's Journey in the movie. It's also a great point to consider how the Circle of Life theme ties into the Hero's Journey with it's cyclical pattern and sets up a potential new adventure for Simba's cub in the future. Overall, it's clear that you know what your talking about. Good Job.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the Lion King in a while, so I enjoyed reading about it! I think that the Call to Adventure, when it's hinted that Simba will take the throne after Mufasa dies, makes sense because it's like where one hero's journey is ending, another cycle is beginning. As well, like you said, the continuation of the cycle is also emphasized in the end with Simba's cub.
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