One of the great coming-of-age stories of the 2oth century, The Lion King reimagines the plot of Shakespeare’s Hamlet for a younger audience – with some great animation to boot.
Use this beat sheet to see how the plot of The Lion King matches up to the beats of the classic Three Act Structure, even if the urge to sing the theme song is just a whim away.
Mufasa, the king of the Pride Lands, introduces his son Simba to the animals of the kingdom. Simba is curious and energetic, and Mufasa teaches him about the “circle of life,” which refers to the natural order of the animal kingdom.
Mufasa’s younger brother Scar, who covets the throne, plots to kill Mufasa and Simba so that he can become the new king. He convinces Simba to go visit the forbidden Elephant Graveyard where Scar hopes he will be killed. His plan fails, and he makes a new one, intending to make Mufasa’s death look like an accident.
He succeeds in his plan by using Simba as bait and tricking Mufasa into trying to save his son from a wildebeest stampede. After Mufasa is killed, Scar convinces Simba he is responsible for his father’s death. He promises to spare him if he runs away and never returns. Scar becomes the new king of the Pride Lands. Due to his selfishness and inept leadership, desolation, hunger, and poverty result.
Simba runs away from the Pride Lands and nearly dies in a wasteland before being resucued by a meerkat named Timon and a warthog named Pumbaa. He ends up going with them and living in the jungle with a group of outcast animals. Simba grows up living a carefree “Hakuna Matada” life and leaving behind his responsibilities as a prince.
However, he cannot forget his past entirely, and is still haunted by it. A young lioness from the kingdom, Nola, arrives and tells him how bad things are back home. Simba resists any thought of returning home.
While Nala fails to convince Simba to return, Rafiki, the shaman from the pride lands, discovers that Simba still lives and comes to find him. He leads the reluctant prince to a reflecting pool. There, Simba is visited by the spirit of Mufasa, who tells him that he must return to the Pride Lands and take his rightful place as the king. Simba still resists, but Rafiki reminds him that his father lives in him, and that the kingdom needs him.
He eventually agrees and sets out with Nala and his new friends to reclaim his kingdom. When he arrives he sees the desolation of the Pridelands and discovered that his mother has been abused by Scar. Simba reacts with new determination to make things right,
With the help of his friends and Nala, Simba confronts Scar, who publicly falsely accuses him of killing his father. He then attempts to kill Simba, nearly mirroring the way he killed Mufasa. While Simba’s life hangs in the balance, Mufasa leans closer to him and issues a whispered confession that he killed Mufasa.
Simba, outraged by the confession, overcomes Scar and forces him to confess to the Pride that he killed Mufasa. He tries to blame his old allies, the hyenas, but Simba does not believe him. He sends Scar into their midst, and they kill Scar for his betrayal.
Simba takes his place as the new king of the Pride Lands. The land is restored and peace and prosperity return to the kingdom. Simba and Nala marry and have a son of their own, and the Pride Lands are happy and secure, at least for now.
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