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Aslan vs Simba

Mart De Haan Posted by Mart DeHaan
April 10th, 2012
24 Comments » 

Disney’s musical adaption of “The Lion King” has become the highest earning show in Broadway history. According to a BBC online article, “The musical has earned $853.8 million (£536.7 million) since opening in 1997. Its closest rival, The Phantom of the Opera, has made $853.1m (£536.3m).”

Has anyone else noted the comparison and contrast between the hero “Simba” of the Lion King and “Aslan” of CS Lewis’ “The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe?”

Wikipedia notes that the storyline of “The Lion King” was influenced by the biblical stories of Moses, Joseph, and William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. CS Lewis’ version of The Lion King, Aslan, is  a fictional parallel of “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah”.

The storyline and music of “The Lion King” are brilliantly entertaining, while the plot of Aslan is profoundly spiritual. One appears to present the longings of our own human nature. The second is heaven’s answer in the Lion who became a Lamb for us.

 


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24 Responses to “Aslan vs Simba”

  1. SFDBWV says:
    April 10, 2012 at 6:24 am

    Now that I have reached an age that allows for me to look back over my small time on earth, I can both laugh and grimace at how arrogant youth is and how frustrating old age is.

    The Preacher in Ecclesiastes 1: 9 tells me that there is nothing new under the sun. I have certainly learned to accept that as every day I get revelations of *news* written by 25 year olds both on line and in the newspaper; new to them and both inaccurate and old to me.

    I have not been educated in journalism, but have notices that since mankind began to record both history and fiction that there is almost nothing original from its beginning.

    In fact most storylines copy from Biblical themes as Biblical themes are stories of life and the struggle of good over evil.

    As I have stated many times before every aspect of mankind to me is like the message in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2: 31-45) in that we continue to spiral downward into a lesser quality of being as time marches on toward its final end.

    C.S. Lewis’s brilliant writing of Aslan and the story of Narnia are his adaptation straight from the story of Christ and his own experiences of seeing life.

    The Lion King, “Simba”, doesn’t die for his kingdom but rather fights for it and as one critic put it; odd how all the animals that are on his menu come and bow down to him. This king consumes those under his rule not lay down his life for them.

    Sadly in some ways once I became an adult Christian I see all the flaws in imitations of portraying hero’s as being Christ like, I can push past it and enjoy the fiction, but am always a bit uncomfortable with them.

    Nothing new there I suppose as well.

    Steve

  2. remarutho says:
    April 10, 2012 at 6:41 am

    Good Morning Mart & Friends —

    The Lion King Simba takes revenge upon Scar — and regains first place in the pride and in the area.

    Aslan, the ruler of Narnia, overcomes the witch and the wolf by his transcendent goodness.

    It seems to me this is something like comparing the economy of Wall Street with the economy of heaven. In the fullness of God’s kingdom, the “wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11:1-9)

    It seems like the force of nature compared to the sovereign power of God — something to pray about in Easter Week. May the Lord transform our imaginations.

    Blessings,
    Maru

  3. poohpity says:
    April 10, 2012 at 10:15 am

    I really enjoyed both in the movie theater but have, since it came out, wanted to see “The Lion King” as a Broadway musical. I hear it is outstanding to say the least.

    The comparisons of both are the plot of good overcoming evil which is what seems to be in every person’s heart until we have to look at the evil or negative in our own lives then we are slow to want judgement and good over evil to prevail. ;-)

    The contrast is with their kingship. Aslan seems to have been the king forever. We do not get to see his youth or how he got to be king just the fact that he has always been the king. I can see the spiritual reference as the Lion from the tribe of Judah.

    Simba although born to be a king allowed shame to drive him away from his duties. He had to develop into a king after many lessons of life. Similar to what Joseph and Moses went through as they enjoyed their lives as they were well loved by their fathers but had to go off to discover what they were intended to be. I can see the parallels with Joseph, Moses, and Hamlet.

  4. saled says:
    April 10, 2012 at 6:44 pm

    My family saw the Lion King on the big screen at a drive-in theater in the summer of 1994. My youngest daughter turned six that year, and, like the rest of us, fell in love with this story. When she was introduced to the Chronicles of Narnia four years later, she was overjoyed to learn how Aslan was used to symbolize Jesus. It was almost like her appreciation of Simba found fulfillment in Aslan. Nine years ago, she created her own business and named it Lion’s Paw.

    On Easter Sunday I was thinking of Mr. Tumnus from Narnia. It snowed all day long here in Maine on Sunday, and several times I found myself remembering Mr. Tumnus’ line, “Always winter, and never Christmas.” And that is how it sometimes seems while we are here stuck in time, always winter and never Christmas. We look for Aslan’s return and with it, a springtime like we have never before experienced.

  5. poohpity says:
    April 10, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    Your daughter makes beautiful jewelry, sal. :-)

    I enjoy any story that makes what is written in scripture come alive through personal application even fantasies. I enjoyed Lion King because it showed that there is hope for misfits that are loyal to the King and the Kingdom to make a difference even though they have limited abilities (Timon and Pumbaa). Even little successes for the Kingdom is a success for the Kingdom.

  6. SFDBWV says:
    April 11, 2012 at 8:46 am

    I am reminded that we are but an image of our creator; God in His infinite wisdom and desires is the only truly original matter within His creation.

    Every storyline is borrowed from another and as is often said “fact is stranger than fiction.”

    The fact that God laced together an epic story from Genesis to Revelation not only has design but is uniquely played out by the actual lives of people He chose to do so.

    As Shakespeare said “All the worlds a stage…”

    People who have the precious gift of the scripture have been given the true story in its fullness. We get to see how the story of God and man wove itself right up to the present day, its characters specially chosen by God in order to advance the story as well as provide life examples for us to either copy or avoid.

    I for one have never believed that God got blindsided by Adam and Eve’s disobedience, rather I have come to believe that from the beginning every detail of this grand story was already mapped out in the mind of God. Especially His desire to sacrifice Himself for His creation. An ultimate sacrifice that presents an act of ultimate love.

    To think that we are just now contemplating such matters is very foolish as these thoughts have been circulating in the thoughts and minds of people forever.

    If any of you ever read the book or seen the movie “Dune” it steals most of its base not only from the Bible but also from the Koran and weaves witches and spells and many other uncomfortable similarities concerning our religion into an ultimate battle between two sons for the control and future of worlds of peoples.

    Entertaining, but most certainly sacrilegious.

    The Movie “Star Wars” is an epic adventure of good over evil including the *Force* an all powerful energy that is aware and manipulates events for the ultimate purpose of balance in the universe.

    Very entertaining and though it may skirt the edges of a “chosen one” to bring about peace, it is not as religiously offensive as “Dune”.

    In both of the movies I mentioned, killing the bad guys was all that was needed to win.

    In God’s story, killing the good guy brings about victory, but in the end all the bad guys get killed off as well.

    There are lots of similarities in stories men write and scripture; the power I suppose is recognizing them.

    Steve

  7. oneg2dblu says:
    April 11, 2012 at 10:43 am

    Good day all… It is true thatstory lines and all their drama make life unfold before us. To me, in the bible story the story line is that basically everyone who has lived also dies, the good, the bad, and the ugly! But, upon that death also comes a judgment for all who will be “living again eternally.” They are judged and found in only two places, one for those that receive the finding of, “Well done my good and faithful servant,” and the other, “Away from me you evil doers, I never knew you!”
    For some it snows… and yet for others it is Eternally Christmas! Gary

  8. SFDBWV says:
    April 11, 2012 at 1:05 pm

    Well Gary it ain’t December 25, but it has snowed all day, I am starting to forget how warm it was last month.

    Steve

  9. oneg2dblu says:
    April 11, 2012 at 4:55 pm

    Steve…Perhaps another stage setting or scriptural scene would have been a better for you. We can all look at the brighter side, as that snow won’t be there for eternity. This too shall pass! The darkest hour is just before the Dawn! Sunday is coming! He is Risen! You get the picture. Have a blessed day! :)

  10. davids says:
    April 11, 2012 at 5:10 pm

    Steve, picking up on your statement, “we continue to spiral downward into a lesser quality of being as time marches on toward its final end.”

    Perhaps it is my (relatively) youthful optimism, but I just don’t see that. By any measure of well-being, people are better off today than ever: housing, food, water, healthcare, access to justice, education, peace, security, etc. To me, it is a miracle.

    And our spiritual life? There are every day more Christians in the world, even if the faith is weakened in the “West”. In the past, there might have been many classified as Christian, but the middle-ages peasant that bought indulgences from the Church was no Believer.

    The things that made life so difficult in the past, hardship and widespread corruption, are going away. What a blessed time we live in. Praise the Lord!

  11. SFDBWV says:
    April 12, 2012 at 6:24 am

    Good morning Davids, of course I am speaking of a moral decline in people as well as a decline in values and behavior.

    In spite of what I have said I remain a fan of young people as they still have to have everything proved to them so they continue to challenge accepted beliefs and the obstacles of life. And so change the world, sometimes for the better sometimes not.

    There is a little movie out there titled “Time Changer” with Gavin MacLeod about a bible professor in 1890 and his look into the present time. He had an awakening about how differently Christians thought and behaved in just over a hundred years. It is a nice little movie and worth the time to watch.

    There has always been bad behavior but it has never been accepted into society as it is today, with the exception of the days of Noah before the flood.

    I don’t have the energy for a long debate just wanted to respond and of course tell you it is always ok to disagree with me as all of life’s knowledge and wisdom does not end with me.

    I hope that terrible winter you folks had in Europe is over, we have had below freezing temps every morning for the past week and only 40s through the days, odd it looks like we had June weather in March and March weather in April I can’t wait to see what is in store for us in May.

    Hope you have a good day.

    Steve

  12. BruceC says:
    April 12, 2012 at 7:11 am

    Hope all are well here today.

    Davids,

    I am by no means a very educated man. Just high school and the school of hard knocks, 27 of those years as a cop. But I must disagree with you on some points. While it is true that in our age we have more opportunity than ever before some of the things we see are not so good from a believer’s perspective. Education is great, but so much of it today is anti-God. There is actually less peace and security than before. Nukes can more easily fall into the wrong hands and there are wars being waged all over the globe.
    Also too bad we can’t ask the tens of millions who have died in their mother’s wombs just how secure they felt.
    Those people in the middle ages were unlearned and kept under the thumb by both the royal authorities and the church. They had no access to The Word and only those in the church could read it. Most commoners could not read it if they had it. So they did as instructed. To say they weren’t believers is a stretch as that is left to God.
    Also if you keep up on what is really going on in the world, corruption is getting worse at all levels; from those in government and business right down to the average person.

    Things seem to be waxing worse and worse.

    BruceC
    Soli Deo Gloria!

  13. remarutho says:
    April 12, 2012 at 9:01 am

    Good Morning All —

    Looking at the lyrics of Elton John’s song, “The Circle of Life”, it is pretty obvious that one of the major themes of Lion King the movie is the birth-life-death-decay-birth cycle of nature. Scar kills Simba’s father, and ruins the kingdom. Simba, after a time of growth and reflection, reappears to take back the kingship. Goodness is in the balance of nature put back in order. This apparently earns close to a billion dollars in revenue in 2012.

    When King Aslan grants the White Witch’s claim to a life for breaking the law, he freely gives his own. He is shaved and bound on the stone table — then stabbed to death. He is reborn over night and emerges to take his place as king. His sovereign power doesn’t the natural order, but rather destroys every wicked thing (Ephesians 6:12). The grip of winter has been thawed, all those the cruel ruler has turned to stone are restored to life. Aslan puts his anointed on the throne. They are human beings. There is no charge for the gospel.

    It is a form of the “old, old story I love to tell.” (hymn “I Love to Tell the Story,” by Katherine Hankey)

    Blessings,
    Maru

  14. remarutho says:
    April 12, 2012 at 9:03 am

    Meant to say that Aslan does not restore the natural order. Sorry, slow fingers. Maru

  15. poohpity says:
    April 12, 2012 at 10:56 am

    You guys are so funny. People are the same as they have ever been calling what is good, bad and what is bad, good. If one feels things are not getting better as you post your comments on the computer with electricity running into your homes while you turn the water on rather than going to a well. With the TV turned on to get the news from around the world or any entertainment. The bible translated into hundreds of different languages of which many are on the computer to bring up in the touch of a finger. I guess it depends on whether someone is an optimist or a pessimist.

    Wars that were fought almost yearly to establish territories or to fight oppression. The color of your skin at one time established your rank in life or even your gender. I wonder if people of color think things are any better now than they used to be. How about even in Africa when now they have had people to build wells to get running water as they worship God in their new churches made of tin but there is a church. Talk to those who were starving but now get food because of those people who chose to get out of the comfort of their homes to touch people lives.

    Ask a person who has an electric wheelchair if things are any better since they can now be mobile and not depend on anyone to push them anymore. How about just the help that is available when someone is sick and a hospital is near or the helicopter that is soon to come to bring the person who needs immediate attention.

    There has always been abortions they just used to cut open the stomach of a woman to kill her and the unborn, there has always been homosexuality, prostitution read about in the bible. People are the same the times have changed but whether it is better or worse depends on a person’s perspective doesn’t it?

    Maru, in the latest movie “Prince Caspian” they bring the world of human beings together with those of Narnia for peace. Rather than loses to each world through war one person from each world chose to battle dependent on which group won they could either fall under the leadership of peace or war from the other side. I chuckle to think of our President in a one on one battle with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

  16. poohpity says:
    April 12, 2012 at 11:14 am

    Just as in “The Lion King” we all are part of the circle of life and we can bring in as Scar did, destruction and devastation or as Simba did, peace and growth. Comparing that to Aslan it was a similar with who the beings decided to follow. The contrast was Simba’s kingdom was of this world and was limited to his life span while the Kingdom of Aslan was forever.

  17. remarutho says:
    April 12, 2012 at 11:43 am

    Pooh!

    I do like the picture of two world leaders clanking around in a field in armor — going after one another like “Full Metal Jousting!” Tee-hee!

    Like we used to say, let Senators and Congressmen get trained and go to war instead of 19 or 20-year-olds. Short war, huh?

    Thanks for the smile! Maru :o)

  18. poohpity says:
    April 12, 2012 at 12:18 pm

    Yep, since it is the Congress and limited power of the President that send us to war let them go, tee hee!! Can you imagine that picture. Very funny to imagine from both sides.

  19. BruceC says:
    April 12, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    pooh,

    Believe it or not I am an optmist. I know that Christ is returning and that He will make all things new.

    And I agree that many things we enjoy today are blessings and used for our good.
    However that cannot be used as a measure of things NOT getting worse.
    Yes there have has always been abortions and sin but I seriously doubt if even the Romans aborted tens of millions in such a short time as we have. What do you think?
    God once destroyed the earth with a flood except for Noah and his family and Christ said that in the end times things shall as they were during the days of Noah.
    Atrophy is the law of decay; and there is spiritual atrophy too. So overall I do not see all things as getting better.

    Qtip
    Soli Deo Gloria!

  20. poohpity says:
    April 12, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    Can you imagine Nancy Pelosi with a helmet on, rofl!!

  21. poohpity says:
    April 12, 2012 at 12:53 pm

    Bruce, I think that what happened in the old days were just as barbaric as they are today. Today there are on a whole more people who have been some what civilized compared to then not that they still do not sin. Just like David said there are more Christians today than there ever has been because more people are being reached in the name of Christ and the bible has been translated into more languages. Today more people are calling things good when they are bad and things bad when they are good. Some areas are better and some areas are still filled with human instinct to be in power and in control. It all depends on how one looks at it. How come it was OK for Steve and you to have your opinion but mine is not OK to share and be accepted?

    I was around in the south when people of color were denied access to even a water fountain or allowed to come into a restaurant is that better today than then? They were not even allowed public education is that better now? So please allow me to think that some things are better now and a lot better than they used to be.

    When I went to Africa, 14 years after the Apartheid, things for them are better now that what they were. Spiritually more people now have the Lord than in the past and still act as if they don’t and that has not changed to much but that is why it is so amazing about God’s grace.

    The Romans used to heard hundreds of Christians into Coliseums and feed to lions and used as pin cushions, come on. Indifference and apathy about many things and desensitization yes plagues our society today but with more people coming to Christ we will always stand for what is right, just and merciful.

  22. davids says:
    April 12, 2012 at 6:08 pm

    Steve and Bruce,

    I will not take the debate further from the subject, and thank you for your respectful disagreement.

    With Deb, I will thank the Lord that more people than ever have access to the Word in their language, and that persecution in many places seems to be reducing.

    Thank you for the movie tip, Steve, although it doesn’t seem to be available at my local DVD rental place.

  23. narrowpathseeker says:
    April 12, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    Hello all..I have only a few minutes to spend, but I wanted to see how everyone was doing. I have checked in from time to time but I haven’t had time to comment. However, I really would like to say that although I understand what Pooh and Davids are saying about the many blessings we have today that we often take for granted, I fully agree with Steve and Bruce. People may have always been as bad as we are today, but the way I see it is that today immorality is not only accepted, many people take great pride in it. I think the difference being pride vs the shame of if all. I also think 2nd Timothy 3:1-10 supports that concept. While I thank God for all the blessings of modern conveniences and all that I enjoy, I do think the world today is getting worse. Have a good evening all…have to run.

  24. poohpity says:
    April 12, 2012 at 11:57 pm

    One of the things I find that both our topic movies share is the fact that the people or the animals needed to work together to achieve a common goal. They realized that alone they did not function well but when they worked together they found that they became strong and looked to the King as the ultimate authority whether that was Aslan or Simba. That seems to be one area that we as human beings have gotten worse at overtime.

    The thoughts that I can do things for myself without the help of God or community. People seem to be building higher fences in their backyards, having the sense of self sufficiency, never asking for help, secure in their own finances and abilities that they feel no need for God. With the technology of today it has made things way easier for some people than it ever has been but people talk less in person and community is who is on one’s friend list on the internet or phone.

    When Aslan was away for awhile the beings lost track of each other, hope was fading and those who were friends stayed off to themselves. When Simba was away it seemed the same happened, hope got lost and depression had set in. When hope is smothered by feelings of no escape or no way out the pride began to slowly deteriorate.

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