Character Traits In The Lion King

The Lion King is a successful musical movie by Walt Disney Animation Studios that was released in the year 1994. Following the success of the movie were two sequels and two spin-off TV series. Borrowing some elements from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, “The Lion King” is a blend of classic mythology and African folk tales which tells a coming-of-age tale. The movie is set in an African lion kingdom, following the story of a young lion cub name Simba. He is the only son and heir of Mufasa who is the presiding king of the Pride Lands”. Simba is a mischievous and adventurous cub who is told since birth that he will one day be king over the Pride Lands. What makes “The Lion King” captivating is Simba’s journey of maturity in becoming king.

The character’s

An innocent person implies that the individual has no experience and no knowledge about the evils in the world while a naïve person implies that the individual does not care for mundane things and what others think of the individual’s actions or personality (differencebetween.net). However, in the movie, innocence is a thought as a vulnerable trait to possess as it is used against Simba to manipulate and deceive him. Simba’s innocence’s makes him to be relatively susceptible when it comes to trusting others like his Uncle Scar. Because Simba idolizes his father’s bravery he is always wanting to prove himself, which allows Scar to cleverly trick him with the claim “only the bravest lions go there” (Scar). Consequently, this incites Simba to explore the forbidden shadowy land beyond the kingdom’s border, thus showing Simba’s innocence and naivety to the dangers of the real world and his impulsiveness to do whatever comes to mind without thinking of the

It was his father’s words of wisdom that musters the courage within him to go back and face his past (animationsource.org), in the knowledge that his father believes in him and loves him despite Simba turning his back on his birthright. Slowly, Simba begins to accept the inevitability of his responsibilities to his kingdom, “I know what I have to do, but going back means I’ll have to face my past. I’ve been running from it for so long” (Simba), yet he is still hesitant to go back. Rafiki uses his stick to literally ‘knock’ some sense into Simba and explains “The past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it or learn from it” (Rafiki). These last few words from Rafiki to Simba is the ultimate turning point of Simba accepting his responsibilities and himself as king, thereby showing his maturity of finally facing his insecurities in order to save his