Disney-Bway27
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TLK InspirationsI didn't see a topic like this, so this is the place to discuss where the story of The Lion King came from and connections between the "big four".
Well, in 1994, Disney marketed The Lion King as their first movie based on something without having been previously written. Through several controversial debates, four stories have been proven to have inspired the story of TLK to some extent. These are:
-Hamlet, the Shakespearean masterpiece. Nuff said.
-The Epic of Sundiata, the true story of an African prince with very similar adventures as Simba.
-Kimba: The White Lion, obviously.
-Bambi, mainly the Disney incarnation, whereas Bambi = Simba, Friend Owl = Rafiki, Thumper and Flower = Timon and Pumbaa, etc.
Discuss. 
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Vanessa20
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Re: TLK Inspirations | Disney-Bway27 wrote: | | -The Epic of Sundiata, the true story of an African prince with very similar adventures as Simba. |
I've never heard of that one. Care to elaborate?
I think Wikipedia also lists the Joseph and Moses stories from the Bible as possible inspirations, since they also involve heroes who have privileged childhoods, but then are forced to leave home, learn and grow during their years away, and eventually reunite with their people and save them.
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Disney-Bway27
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| Quote: | | I've never heard of that one. Care to elaborate? |
Ah yes, the Epic of Sundiata. Keep in mind, this is very paraphrased.
For starters, Sundiata was a Mali prince...he was born to a very nice king and queen, as can be expected of a prince. This queen was the king's second wife, and Sundiata was the king's second child. However, when Sundiata was born, he was a very lazy child. He never bothered to learn to walk and he rarely spoke. By the time the king died, Sundiata's cruel half-brother Dankaran took the throne. Sundiata was still on all fours.
One day, Sundiata told his mother, who was constantly pegged with insults and jeers due to young Sundiata's laziness, that he was going to learn to walk. So, he just stood up and began to walk.
Now that Sundiata was able to walk, he could take the false king Dankaran off the throne. Dankaran saw this as a threat, so Sundiata's mother took him into exile for his protection.
Sundiata came to manhood while in exile, hundreds of miles away, where he learned to fight and hunt.
Here's where the story gets a little twisted.
The evil king Suomaoro took over the Mali throne, sent Dankaran into exile, and put Sundiata's teacher and sister into custody. Sundiata set to return to Mali, and his mother died the night he embarked. On his way home, Sundiata gathered fighters.
Long story short (too late), Sundiata killed Suomaoro.
Whew.
Now for the connections with TLK!
Obviously, Sundiata = Simba, Sundiata's mother = Sarabi/Mufasa, Sundiata's teacher = Rafiki/Zazu, Suomaoro/Dankaran = Scar, and I'm thinking Sundiata's Sister = Nala to an extent (as a female figure the protagonist was close with back home).
Also, in the epic of Sundiata, Sundiata's sister actually ends up marrying Suomaoro. The musical version of TLK expands on this idea, in the scene when Scar tries to seduce Nala (The Madness of King Scar).
Also, the rooster is revealed to be Suomaoro's sacred animal, and it could kill him, and I think the rooster's Lion King equivalent is the hyena, since it was an animal close to the antagonist that eventually led to his demise.
To top it off, Sundiata's nickname is actually "The Lion King of Mali."
There you go. :]
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