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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 separation is where 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). The refusal in the Lion King was when Simba said,
no, Im not the king. Maybe I was gonna be. But, that was a long time ago. He refuses the call

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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 first stage of the Initation 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 goddess. Hero with a Thousand faces explains how beautiful the Lady

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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, (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. Campbells example of the Apotheosis is when God created man in his
with the power he had (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 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).

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The Refusal of Return is the first stage in the Return section, where 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 Lion King). In the Return is Master of the Two Worlds, 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

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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). The Freedom to Live stage is
when 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. First, Simba left the jungle
in order to over take his uncle. Next, he then faced his evil uncle. Finally, Simba killed him and
took his rightful place as 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.