Modern stories you didn’t know were based on Shakespeare’s plays

William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest writer of all time.

The Bard – who was born on 23 April 1564 and died on the same day in 1616 – was a prolific writer, creating some 39 plays and more than 150 sonnets.

But while his works are more than 400 years old, the stories he created still hold relevance today, forming the basis of many modern films.

BBC Bitesize takes a look at some retellings of classic Shakespeare plays.

The Lion King and Hamlet

The Lion King's tale of young cub Simba, avenging the murder of his father by his uncle, has delighted audiences worldwide in both the 1994 original version and the photorealistic remake of 2019.

But the story shares many parallels with Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

This retelling wasn’t the original plan for Disney in the writing phase of The Lion King. Initially, they were looking to tell a Bambi-style story, but set in Africa.

Timon, the meercat from the Lion King, is sat on the head of Pumbaa, a warthog. Pumbaa is stood on a log and has a stick in his mouth. — Image caption,
Both Hamlet and the Lion King have a pair of wise-cracking friends. Timon and Pumbaa help Simba once he's been exiled and the three form a firm bond, unlike Hamlet's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who Claudius recruits in his plan to have the prince killed

But the writers realised that many of their plot-points held a crossover with Hamlet and decided to lean further into the storylines.

Both Hamlet and The Lion King feature a murderous uncle (Claudius, in Hamlet and Scar in The Lion King), who kill the king and force the son into exile so they can assume the throne.

No spoilers here – but both have similar, although not identical, endings too. And while Shakespeare would never have imagined his work being repurposed in a cartoon about lions, the story eventually went full circle – returning to the stage with The Lion King musical, one of the most successful musicals of all time.

Warm Bodies and Romeo and Juliet

Nothing quite says romance like a zombie apocalypse.

The 2013 rom-zom-com Warm Bodies, based on Isaac Marion’s 2010 novel of the same name, shows a burgeoning relationship between Nicholas Hoult’s R, a zombie, and Teresa Palmer’s Julie.

R and Julie slowly develop feelings for each other, but know that a relationship between the two is impossible because they’re from opposing worlds.

Nicholas Hoult is sat centrally, holding a copy of the book Warm Bodies. He is surrounded by actors wearing zombie makeup pretending to grab him. — Image caption,
Warm Bodies is one of a small number of films in the exclusive rom-zom-com genre

If the plotline sounds familiar, that’s because the story was loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The clue is there with the characters’ names – R and Julie and the film even features a balcony scene as per the play, albeit slightly less poetic given one of the characters is technically dead.

Romeo and Juliet has provided the inspiration for several films throughout the years. West Side Story – originally a stage musical before being adapted for screen – replaces the Montague and Capulet families with the rival gangs the Sharks and the Jets. 2011’s animated film Gnomeo and Juliet also borrows themes from the Shakespeare play, with gnomes from two different rival ‘families’ falling in love with each other.

10 Things I Hate About You and The Taming of the Shrew

The late 20th Century and early 21st Century saw a spate of American teen movies that adapted storylines from Shakespeare plays.

2001 saw the release of O, based upon Othello, and Get Over It, which took inspiration from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Five years later, She’s The Man took both themes and character names from Twelfth Night.

But it was 10 Things I Hate About You that kicked off the trend in 1999 with its reimagining of The Taming of the Shrew.

Heath Ledger, playing Patrick, holds hands with Julia Styles' Kat, who is sat on a swing, in a scene from 10 Things I Hate About You — Image caption,
10 Things I Hate About You's Patrick, played by the late Heath Ledger, talks to Kat, played by Julia Styles

The film follows the play’s basic plot. It features two sisters, Kat (Katherina in the play) and Bianca - Kat is considered to be a shrew, or somewhat difficult, while Bianca is thought to be highly desirable. As in the play, their father decides that Bianca cannot date until Kat does – leading to Patrick being paid to date Kat, so that others can attempt to court Bianca.

This is where the play and the film part ways. Shakespeare’s play has been heavily criticised for its misogyny, with themes of gender stereotypes, oppression and abusive behaviour. The film remake gives much more power to the female characters, who maintain independence and free will. While Kat and Bianca’s father establishes the dating rule, he does so out of an overly-cautious desire to protect them and ultimately gives his daughters the space to make big decisions themselves.

There is, however, an obvious link to Shakespeare in the form of a homework task set to Kat’s class. Their teacher encourages them to write their own version of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 141 – which Kat does, writing a piece that she calls 10 Things I Hate About You.

This article was published in April 2024