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Mylene Oswald
ENG101
Mary Petty
October 17, 2014
The Heros Journey: The Lion King
Simba is born as prince into the Pride Lands. Mufasa is Simbas father and the king.
His brother, Scar, was next in line to take the throne until Simba was born. Scar and his
helpers, the hyenas, plan to kill Mufasa and Simba in order for Scar to become king. Their
plan is to have both of killed in a stampede. Their plan works and Mufasa dies, but Simba
still lives. Scar convinces Simba that it is his fault and he killed his father. Simba runs away
into the desert leaving everything behind. He runs all the way to the desert until he meets
Timon and Pumba who helps raise him in the jungle. Simba, in The Lion King, follows
Joseph Campbells monomyth of the hero by separation from the jungle, fulfillment in over
taking the king who is also his uncle, Scar, and finally returning to Pride Rock.
The first stage in the Separation is the Call to Adventure. This when a messenger
acknowledges the hero about the problem. The call to adventure is where the princess drops the
golden ball into a well and a frog retrieves it for her as long as she promised a favor (Campbell
47). The Lion Kings call to adventure was when Nala finds Simba in paradise after his fathers
death. She tells him about the disaster that is occurring back in Pride Rock due to the evil king,
and his uncle, Scar (The Lion King). The Refusal of the Call comes after the call to adventure.
In Refusal of the call, the hero is in denial to go on the adventure. Campbells example of the
refusal of the call is when King Minos keeps the divine bull instead of sacrificing it (55).
Simbas refusal was when he said, no, Im not the king. Maybe I was gonna be. But, that was a

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long time ago (The Lion King). He refuses the call because he is still ashamed and blames
himself for his father, Mufasas, death. When a mentor helps the hero, it is called Supernatural
Aid. The Spider Woman is an example of a mentor, for she invites the children who are looking
for their father into her hole to teach them (Campbell 64). Rafiki represents the Supernatural Aid
in The Lion King. He leads samba in the right direction in order to overtake his uncle Scar and
become the rightful king. The following stage is the Crossing of the First Threshold. This is
where the hero enters the new world from the ordinary world. Campbell uses the example of the
Ogre being the obstacle between the two worlds (71). Simbas obstacle is leaving paradise to
face his uncle and his family after thinking he has been dead a long time (The Lion King). The
final Stage is the Belly of the Whale. The Belly of the Whale is when the hero enters the never
before seen world. In the Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell uses the case of the raven
flying into the whales mouth to get to the belly, hence the Belly of The Whale. The whale
came up. She did as she had been told. Raven darted through the open jaw and straight into her
gullet (83). When Simba returns to Pride Rock, he realizes the disaster and troubles Scar has
created while he was king (The Lion King). After the Refusal of the Call is the Initiation.
The second section of the heros journey is the Initiation. The first stage of this section is
the Road of Trials. In this part, the hero takes a test to help prepare them to face the issue.
Campbell explains the Road of Trials by stating, the hero is covertly aided by the advice,
amulets, and secret agents of the supernatural helper whom he has met before his entrance into
his region. Or it may be that her discovers for the first time that there is benign power
everywhere supporting him in his superhuman passage (89). The Lion Kings Road to Trials is
represented when Nala, Timon, and Pumba go with Simba to Pride Rock. The next stage,
Meeting with the Goddess, is when the hero is encouraged and clear of their mission because of a

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goddess. Hero with a Thousand faces explains how beautiful the Lady of the House of Sleep is
by comparing her to desire and the goal of the hero. Campbell states, she is mother, sister
mistress, bride, to show the beauty (Campbell 101). Nala represents the goddess, but is also the
messenger as well. She lets Simba know the disaster in Pride Rock and encourages him to
become king as he was destined to be (The Lion King). The Woman as a Temptress usually tries
to stop the hero form continuing with the journey. The temptress tries to distract Bernard while
he tried to sleep but ignored her, which is an example in this stage (Campbell 114). The
temptress in The Lion King is not exactly a woman. Timon and Pumba are the temptress because
they try to teach Simba their motto, Hakuna Matata which means no worries. The following
stage is Atonement with the Father. In this stage, the father helps the hero overcome anything
blocking their mind such as fear or judgment. Campbell states, the problem of the hero going to
meet the father is to open his soul beyond terror to such a degree that he will be ripe to
understand how the sickening and insane tragedies of this vast and ruthless cosmos are
completely validated in the majesty of being, on page 135. Mufasa aided Simba by helping him
realize that it is his destiny to become king of Pride Rock (The Lion King). Apotheosis is where
the hero is at his or her strong suit, or where they reach the end of the test to face the
complication. This is a supreme statement of the great paradox by which he wall of the bairs of
opposites is shattered and the candidate admitted to the vision of God, who when he created man
in his own image created him male and female (Campbell 158). When Simba looks at his
reflection, he sees his father in his place. This signified that it was Simbas time to be king (The
Lion King). The Ultimate Boon is the closing stage of the Initiation. This is where the major
tension is resolved. Campbell reveals, the boon bestowed on the worshiper is always scaled to
his stature and to the nature of his dominant desire: the boon is simply a symbol of life energy

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steppe down to the requirements of a certain specific case (175). The Lion Kings ultimate boon
is when Simba fights his uncle Scar. The hyenas finish off Scar after Simba throws him off the
cliff (The Lion King).
The Return is the following section of the Heros Journey. The first stage of this section
is the Refusal of Return. The Refusal of Return is when peace is brought back into the world but
the hero wishes to remain isolated with his boon. The example in the Hero with a Thousand
Faces is, the responsibility has been frequently refused. Even the Buddah, after his triumph,
doubted whether the message or realization could be communicated, and saints are reported to
have passed away while in the supernal ecstacy. Numerous indeed are the heroes fabled to have
taken up residence forever in the blessed isle of the unaging, Goddess of Immortal Being
(Campbell 179). Although, Simba does not refuse his return, he knew his destiny and accepted it
(The Lion King). The second stage is the Magic Flight where the hero leaves his boon. Jason
conquered his obstacles of dragons, bulls, and Medeas brother in order to steal the Golden
Fleece (Campbell 189). Mufasa uses the wind to show Simba his blessing of him becoming king
(The Lion King). After the Magic Flight, is the Rescue from Without. The Rescue From Without
is where the hero may need a guide to help bring everything back to everyday life. An example
Campbell uses is when eight million deities help Amaterasu return to the light (195). When the
hyenas finish off Scar for Simba after the two fought that is the Rescue From Without in The
Lion King. The Crossing of the Return Threshold is the following stage. At this stage, the hero
shares the wisdom they learned from their journey with the world. Campbell suggests, the boon
brought from the transcendent deep becomes quickly rationalized inot the noenitiy, and the need
becomes great for another hero to refresh the word (202). Now as King, Simba will use his
knowledge to restore Pride Rock back to the way it was when his father was king, normal (The

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Lion King). The next stage in the Return is Master of the Two Worlds where both worlds have
balance. The disciple has been blessed with a vision transcending the scope of normal human
destiny, and amounting to a glimpse of the essential name of the cosmos. Not his personal fate,
but the fate of mand kind, of life as a whole, the atom and all the solar system, has been opened
to him (218). Simba becoming king, alone, is what brings peace back to the Pride Lands due to
the fact that Scar nearly destroyed the kingdom (The Lion King). In the Freedom to Live stage,
the world is back to normal, and the quest is officially over and completed. The hero officially
becomes a hero. Campbell states, the hero is the champion of things becoming, not of things
become, because he is. Before Abraham was, I AM. He does not mistake apparent
changelessness in time for permanence of Being, nor is he fearful of the next moment (or of the
other thing), as destroying the permanent with his change, (225). In The Lion King, Simba is
no longer in regret, fear, or ashamed because of blaming himself for his fathers death.
The Lion King follows all of the stages of the Heros Journey. The separation was Simba
leaving the jungle in order to over take his uncle. The Initiation was facing his uncle to take his
rightful place as king. Finally, the Return was him becoming King. From this Journey he gained
strength and learned the truth from his fathers death. He learned that his uncle Scar killed Mufasa
and used the anger in order to defeat him.

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Work Cited
Campbell, Joseph. Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1968. Print.
The Lion King. Director: Roger Allers. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl
Jones. Disney. 1994. DVD.