Hero's Journey Project

1. Hero's Journey Project Subject: The Lion King (1994)

2. Departure

3. The adventure begins with the hero receiving a call to action, such as a threat to the peace of the community, or the hero simply happens into it. The call maybe announced to the hero by another character who acts as a "herald". The herald, often represented as dark or terrifying and judged evil by the world, may call the character to adventure simply by the crisis of his appearance. Scar tempts Simba into going to the Elephant Graveyard, saying that only the bravest of the lions can go there. Simba wanted to brave like Mufasa, so he, his guide Zazu, and his future wife Nala go to the Elephant Graveyard, even though his father told him not to go there. Call to Adventure

4. In some stories, the hero initially refuses the call to adventure. When this happens, the hero may suffer somehow, and may eventually choose to answer, or may continue to decline the call. When Simba was first told by Mufasa not to go to the Outside World, he doesn’t go there, but his curiosity makes him uncomfortable. Refusal to Call

5. After the hero has accepted the call, he encounters a protective figure (often elderly) who provides special tools and advice for the adventure ahead, such as an amulet or a weapon. After Sarabe, Simba’s mother, gives permission to go to the watering hole with Nala, Zazu is used as a guide to go to the Elephant Graveyard Mufasa is the protective figure, who rescues him from the hyenas. Supernatural Aid

6. The adventurer leaves the ordinary world to the next world After Scar kills Simba’s father in the wildebeest stampede, he tells Simba to run away from Pride Rock and never return Scar’s hyenas threaten to kill him if he ever comes back. After he faints in the desert, Timon (meerkat) and Pumbaa (warthog) take him to where they live in the jungle. Simba likes his care-free home in the jungle. Crossing the Threshold

7. The hero, rather than passing a threshold, passes into the new zone by means of rebirth. Appearing to have died by being swallowed or having their flesh scattered, the hero is transformed and becomes ready for the adventure ahead. Simba is at Timon and Pumbaa’s home. He’s trying to adapt to their customs. His lifestyle is transformed into being care-free. In the Belly of the Whale

8. Initiation

9. Once past the threshold, the hero encounters a dream landscape of ambiguous and fluid forms. The hero is challenged to survive a succession of obstacles and, in so doing, amplifies his consciousness. The hero is helped covertly by the supernatural helper or may discover a benign power supporting him in his passage. He is being taught a worry-free philosophy- Hakuna Matata He is changing is diet by eating insects and saying slimey yet satisfying. Road of Trials

10. The ultimate trial is often represented as a marriage between the hero and a queen-like, or mother-like figure. This represents the hero's mastery of life (represented by the feminine) as well as the totality of what can be known. When the hero is female, this becomes a male figure. When Simba and Nala reunite, she inspires him to go back by telling him that Pride Rock was destroyed and he needed to take over the throne. Meeting with the Goddess

11. His awareness expanded, the hero may fixate on the disunity between truth and his subjective outlook, inherently tainted by the flesh. This is often represented with revulsion or rejection of a female figure. Initially, Simba rejected Nala’s please to return. Woman as Temptress

12. When the hero reconciles the tyrannical and merciful aspects of the father-like authority figure, he understand himself this figure. When Simba left Pride Rock after his father’s death, he is visited by Mufasa’s ghost in the clouds. Simba remembers who he is and atones with his father. Atonement with the Father

13. The hero's ego is changed in a breakthrough expansion of consciousness. The hero's idea of reality is changed. He may find an ability to do new things or to see a larger point of view, allowing the hero to sacrifice himself. Simba sees the new Pride Rock as a deserted post-apocalyptic world when Scar is in reign. He feels he needs to fight Scar and take his position as king. Apotheosis

14. The hero is now ready to obtain that which he has set out, an item or new awareness that, once he returns, will benefit the society that he has left. Simba earns his reign to replace the evil Scar Ultimate Boon

15. Return

16. Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man. After reuniting with Nala, Simba tells her he is not going back to Pride Rock because he is enjoying the peaceful life. Refusal to Return

17. When the boon's acquisition (or the hero's return to the world) comes against opposition, a chase or pursuit may ensue before the hero returns. Simba battles with Scar and makes him confess that he killed Mufasa. Magic Flight

18. The hero may need to be rescued by forces from the ordinary world. This may be because the hero has refused to return or because he is successfully blocked from returning with the boon. The hero loses his ego. The hyenas try to block Simba and the lionesses, Timon, Pumbaa, and Rafiki came to his aid in a climax battle. Scar dies by being eaten by his starving hyenas. Rescue From Without

19. The hero returns to the world of common day and must accept it as real. Simba takes the throne of Pride Rock and things turn back to normal. Crossing the Return Threshold

20. Because of the boon or due to his experience, the hero may now perceive both the divine and human worlds. He realizes that his destiny is to be king of Pride Rock. Master of Two Worlds

21. The hero bestows the boon to his fellow man. Because of Simba return to the throne, The animals of Pride Rock thrive. Life is how nature intended it to be. Freedom to Live