Connection of Cambell to Lion King

      The call to adventure in The Lion King has a strong correlation to Joseph Cambell's idea of a hero being someone from whom something has been taken. In The Lion King the loss of Mufasa is the thing that has been taken from Simba. "The usual hero adventure begins with someone from whom something has been taken."(Campbell 152) Cambell is speaking about the start of the adventure, or the call in which something has been taken. After the death of Mufasa Simba has had something taken from him; he then must go off on the adventure to fill the void that the loss of Mufasa has left. The loss of Mufasa is a good illustration of the thing which is taken away from heroes during the call.
       Cambell's theory of trials testing the hero for his worthiness of being a hero closely relates to the crossing of the threshold in The Lion King. Simba's crossing of the threshold when he admits he must face his past is only after the test of facing his father and Rafiki; in which he proves that he is ready to face his past and become king by showing Rafiki, the ghost of his father, and himself that he has grown up and matured."The trials are designed to see to it that the intending hero should really be a hero. Is he really a match for the task? Can he overcome the dangers? Does he have the courage, the knowledge, the capacity, to enable him to serve?" (Campbell 154)When Simba is tested his father and Rafiki show him verbally that he has the courage, confidence ,and readiness for the confrontation with his past and Scar. The test was mostly seeing if Simba was mature and ready to stop hiding from his past, the result of this test showed Simba that he was ready rather than any outside entity. The tests that Simba undertook demonstrate Cambell's notion of trials testing a hero's warrant or readiness for the deed that must be done.
       The concept of the physical deed in battle being the climax that Campbell articulates reflects The Lion King accurately. The ordeal in the Lion King is the fight between the hero (Simba) and Scar, the antagonist. "There are two types of deed. One act is the physical deed, in which the hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves a life. The other kind is the spiritual deed, in which the hero learns to experience the supernormal range of human life and then comes back with a message." (Campbell152). The quote is about the kinds of deeds that are commonly performed that are considered heroic. Simba's fight with Scar where he acts courageously to defeat him and subsequently rights the wrongs that happened to the kingdom and complete his adventure is a great example of a courageous act in battle that is considered heroic. It's heroic because Simba deed accomplished something for his kingdom which is bigger than himself. The ordeal in The Lion King between Simba and Scar is a good illustration of Campbell's idea of a courageous act in battle being heroic.