The Lion King and Star Wars: separated at birth?
Amberle S Ferrian
forwarded this interesting comparison to me. She's unable to post this,
so she's asked me to do so.
Disney is currently fighting accusations that their so-called first
original animated film, The Lion King, bears remarkable coincidences
to an earlier Japanese animation, Kimba the White Lion. The people
over in rec.arts.sf.starwars had a comparison going of TLK and the
Star Wars trilogy, and after reading through it, you have to wonder if
Kimba isn't the only place Disney lifted story ideas from...:-)
SCAR = Emperor (as in evil, cowardly, so-and-so)
MUFASA = Anakin
SIMBA = Luke
TIMON and PUMBA (sp?) = R2D2 and 3PO (much needed comic relief in a
relatively "dark" film)
RITIKI (sp?) = Yoda (leads the hero on a quest through a forest;
lures him to a "tree"; forces him to confront himself
and his heritage)
HYENAS = Storm Troopers
SHENZI = Vader (when she turns on Scar after he "betrays"
them.)
---
Amberle Ferrian <amb...@epx.cis.umn.edu> | They are one person
Writer/Not Ready For ToonTown Player | They are two alone
in future "Disney Improv Nite" show | They are three together
theme-park walkaround Belle | They are for each other...
and general Sherri Stoner fan/wannabe | --"Helplessly Hoping"
in The Future Disney Cabinet | Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Ron Vutpakdi
Yes, but the biggest thing for me was having James Earl Jones as Mufasa,
especially when he says "... my son..."
I did firmly suppress the urge to yell "Use the Force, Simba!"
:-)
Ron
FDC Nap-About Sleepy, 2nd Shift
PS: For those who don't know (and I did run into someone the other day),
James Earl Jones did the voice for Darth Vader.
--
******************************************************************************
Ron Vutpakdi * Schlumberger Well Services
vutp...@houston.wireline.slb.com *
Scott King
>
>SCAR = Emperor (as in evil, cowardly, so-and-so)
>MUFASA = Anakin
>SIMBA = Luke
>TIMON and PUMBA (sp?) = R2D2 and 3PO (much needed comic relief in a
> relatively "dark" film)
>RITIKI (sp?) = Yoda (leads the hero on a quest through a forest;
> lures him to a "tree"; forces him to confront himself
> and his heritage)
>HYENAS = Storm Troopers
>SHENZI = Vader (when she turns on Scar after he "betrays"
> them.)
I think this is pretty superficial. The plot comparison is almost
non-existant. You could compare character roles with several movies if
you wanted to, I LOVE TLK, but the characters are not very unique.
Did they try and back this up with plot comparisons? I am a BIG
Star Wars fan as well and I just don't see it.
Scott
Sanjiv D. Sarwate
> Scott
The Star Wars story is based on a fairly standard tale of the hero's growth.
The Lion King follows some of the same lines. The Lion King did not rip
off Star Wars, but as it was trying to tell the same kind of story, some
similarities do exist. They are both borrowing from very common human
tales.
--
===============================================================================
Sanjiv Sarwate | "Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."
sar...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu | - Yoda
===============================================================================
Nicholas Molfetas
In article <CszxC...@news.cis.umn.edu>,
Amberle S Ferrian <amb...@epx.cis.umn.edu> wrote:
[spoilers coming...]
>[...] The people
>over in rec.arts.sf.starwars had a comparison going of TLK and the
>Star Wars trilogy, and after reading through it, you have to wonder if
>Kimba isn't the only place Disney lifted story ideas from...:-)
>
Aren't we exaggerating a bit here? I know certain readers of this group aren't
particularly fond of TLK (to put it mildly...), but in any film where there's
goodies and baddies there's bound to be something similar to some of the other
(thousands of) Holywood goodies-baddies films. There are certainly some
stereotypes that even companies like Disney (who's usualy quite creative)
follow.
Let's see:
>SCAR = Emperor (as in evil, cowardly, so-and-so)
Ok, the leader of the baddies. What's wrong with that? There has to be a leader
(remember I'm talking about stereotypes here), and he has to be evil
(obviously). Being cowardly is also quite usual, to make it clear that the
baddies aren't half as good as the goodies in any respect...
>MUFASA = Anakin
>SIMBA = Luke
Hmm... who was Anakin? Some leader of the goodies I suppose. I assume he was
great and glorious but now he's gone so the goodies are in a tight position.
Nothing exceptional there either. If they weren't in a tight position there
wouldn't be a plot ; and there's always someone in the past to look up to. One
similar example that comes to mind is "The Lord Of the Rings": Aragorn's great
and glorious ancestors are long gone, and now he has to fight his way against
the evil, lead by some mystifying wizard (Gandalf). That's not even half of the
plot of course, but it just goes to show that some ideas are repeated.
>TIMON and PUMBA (sp?) = R2D2 and 3PO (much needed comic relief in a
> relatively "dark" film)
That looks striking at first, but if you think about it there's almost always
_some_ comic relief characters ; comic duos (with contrasting personalities)
have been popular ever since Laurel and Hardy. Eg. Lumiere and Cogsworth, or
Scotch & what's-his-name in Lady & the Tramp, or Bagheera and Baloo (OK,
Bagheera isn't such a comic character, but the contrast with Baloo comes up all
the time, and often gives a good laugh), or the cat and the fox in Pinochio,
and so on.
>RITIKI (sp?) = Yoda (leads the hero on a quest through a forest;
> lures him to a "tree"; forces him to confront himself
> and his heritage)
That's the most striking similarity IMHO. You could say it's a "reference" (a
comic one too), but it's also possible that they "stole" the idea. But then why
don't you also say that Tezuka stole the idea? (or Lucas from Tezuka, whoever
was first).
>HYENAS = Storm Troopers
Come on! What would an evil leader be without someone to lead? :)
>SHENZI = Vader (when she turns on Scar after he "betrays"
> them.)
That's also a stereotype IMHO. Goes to show that the baddies have no rules,
alliances or friendships and they can easily turn against each other.
Overall, I'm sure if you were to look at other classic (or not) adventures
you'd find just as many similarities, and probably the same ones as the above
too!
Nicholas
Geoffrey Sean Brandenburg
>original animated film, The Lion King, bears remarkable coincidences
>to an earlier Japanese animation, Kimba the White Lion. The people
>over in rec.arts.sf.starwars had a comparison going of TLK and the
>Star Wars trilogy, and after reading through it, you have to wonder if
>Kimba isn't the only place Disney lifted story ideas from...:-)
>
That's stretching things. If one is going to reach this far, one could also
draw comparisons between TLK and half of the fantasy novels on a bookstore
shelf.
--
Sean Brandenburg
gsbr...@acs.ucalgary.ca
Valerie
> >Disney is currently fighting accusations that their so-called first
> >original animated film, The Lion King, bears remarkable coincidences
> >to an earlier Japanese animation, Kimba the White Lion.
Does anyone remember a cartoon series from the late 60s called Simba the
White Lion? It had some plot similarities if I remember, the cub destined
to reclaim his place as King of the jungle....
--
Valerie
Port Townsend, Washington
Amberle S Ferrian
Geoffrey Sean Brandenburg <gsbr...@acs.ucalgary.ca> wrote:
>In article <CszxC...@news.cis.umn.edu> amb...@epx.cis.umn.edu (Amberle S Ferrian) writes:
>>
>>Disney is currently fighting accusations that their so-called first
>>original animated film, The Lion King, bears remarkable coincidences
>>to an earlier Japanese animation, Kimba the White Lion. The people
>>over in rec.arts.sf.starwars had a comparison going of TLK and the
>>Star Wars trilogy, and after reading through it, you have to wonder if
>>Kimba isn't the only place Disney lifted story ideas from...:-)
>>(comparison deleted)
>
>That's stretching things. If one is going to reach this far, one could also
>draw comparisons between TLK and half of the fantasy novels on a bookstore
>shelf.
See that smiley over in the corner there, in the original post? If you
stretch your imagination some, you might realize the list was a joke.
Kelly Sedinger
Edition), check out the USA Network this weekend. I don't know when, but
that's what TV Guide is for.
---
=====================================================
The Universe, and all it encompasses, is one,
including the works of man; for who is man but
the work of some higher force?
Kelly Sedinger sedi...@marx.sbu.edu
=====================================================
Candy Whitehead
Jenny Asahara
: Thanks to Nancy Hayes <nan...@pmafire.inel.gov> who compiled and
: forwarded this interesting comparison to me. She's unable to post this,
: so she's asked me to do so.
: Disney is currently fighting accusations that their so-called first
: original animated film, The Lion King, bears remarkable coincidences
: to an earlier Japanese animation, Kimba the White Lion. The people
: over in rec.arts.sf.starwars had a comparison going of TLK and the
: Star Wars trilogy, and after reading through it, you have to wonder if
: Kimba isn't the only place Disney lifted story ideas from...:-)
:
: SCAR = Emperor (as in evil, cowardly, so-and-so)
: MUFASA = Anakin
: SIMBA = Luke
: TIMON and PUMBA (sp?) = R2D2 and 3PO (much needed comic relief in a
: relatively "dark" film)
: RITIKI (sp?) = Yoda (leads the hero on a quest through a forest;
: lures him to a "tree"; forces him to confront himself
: and his heritage)
: HYENAS = Storm Troopers
: SHENZI = Vader (when she turns on Scar after he "betrays"
: them.)
Have you read "Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell? He
believes that all stories follow a basic premise. First the hero (Simba)
leaves his home, by force or choice, to go on an adventure. Along the
way, he faces danger (Scar, Hyennas), is assited by new friends (Warthog
and meercat), and finally comes to some startling realization about
life. With this new strength, he returns home and enlightens everyone there.
This pattern is in many Disney flicks (Dalmations, Mermaid, Pinnochio,
Snow White, etc.) as well as Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Raiders of the
Lost Ark series, Gone with the Wind.
And yes, Lucas is a fan of Joseph Campbell too.
--
Jenny Asahara
mk4...@beach.csulb.edu
Eric G. Carter
sedi...@sbu.edu (Kelly Sedinger) wrote:
>
>If you want to catch the original version of CE3K (as
>opposed to the Special Edition), check out the USA
>Network this weekend. I don't know when, but that's
>what TV Guide is for.
>
CE3K was on USA last weekend.
eca...@pipeline.com
Eric Carter "The truth shall make you strange"