Character Similarities
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Scar = Claudius (both murder their brothers in order to be king) Scar means "none" and Claudius means "lame"(Character Profiles). Both antagonists have names that are not optimistic.
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Timone and Pumbaa = Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (best friends of main characters, provide comic relief, keep Simba/Hamlet sane) "My excellent good friends! How dost thou, Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do ye both?" (2.2. 217-218) Although Hamlet is thought to have gone mad, he appears to be sane when he greets his friends. Similarly, Timone advises Simba "You got to put your past behind you"(The Lion King), giving Simba valuable words of wisdom.
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Rafiki = Horatio (trusted friends who show Simba/ Hamlet their fathers even after the murders) "Nope! wrong again! He's alive and I will show him to you! You follow old Rafiki. He knows the way" (The Lion King). Similarly, Horatio informs Hamlet, " my lord, I think I saw him yesternight" (1.2. 189), speaking of the deceased King Hamlet. It is noted that Horatio aids Hamlet (Mabillard 2008), much like Rafiki aids Simba.
