Hard to believe – film classics like “Inception” or “The Lion King” have some amazing similarities to other films. To what extent is there anything to the allegations of plagiarism? We have examined them for you.
“The Lion King”, “Inception” and “Alien” are just three of the films that appear to be based on other productions. Be it the plot, the set design or both, the similarities can often hardly be dismissed out of hand. But can one speak of theft in these cases or is it simply a coincidence? We tracked down the supposed copies.
“The Lion King” and “Kimba”
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The lion cloud shape in particular should look familiar to some
It is officially said that “The Lion King”, published in 1994, is the first Disney film not based on a template. But starting with the name, the two are very similar: the lion “Simba” is just one Copy of “Kimba”?
Kimba the White Lion was an anime series created by Osami Tezuka that aired from 1965 to 1989. In the history the lion cub Kimba loses his father and has to win back his successor in the African jungle. Sound familiar? The similarities to Disney’s “The Lion King” go even further: Kimba has an evil uncle whose entourage consists of hyenas. A wild boar and a meerkat stand by Kimba’s side, and the little lion also has a nala by his side in the Japanese version. Also visually, some scenes are the same down to the last detail.
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To this day, the company denies having known anything about “Kimba”. The spokesman for the adult Simba However, Matthew Broderick admitted in the interview Austin American Statesman that he initially assumed that the “Lion King” was about a Kimba remake. “I thought they meant Kimba, the white lion from TV when I was a little kid. So I did told everyone that I’m going to play Kimba.”
There is even a hint in the Simpsons: like in the Disney film, a cloudy Mufasa appears who says: “You must avenge my death, Kimba, I mean Simba.” But despite the broad discussion: There was never a lawsuit against Disney.
“Inception” and “Peppers”
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“Paprika” looks confusingly similar to “Inception”.
Even with “Inception” it was a Animewhich appeared four years earlier, and possibly the Inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s film delivered. This is due to the many similarities here, starting with the topic. But unlike “The Lion King”, the plots are not particularly similar: Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role in “Inception”. Dream-stealing contract thief Dominick Cobb to plant an idea in the subconscious of a man named Fisher. In “Paprika”, on the other hand, a psychotherapist develops a device with which dreams can be examined in detail. When this is stolen, it comes to Mixture of reality and dream.
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Apparently, Christopher Nolan took ‘a little’ inspiration
What they have in common is that the film finds a way to intervene dreaming subconscious. This creates a dream world that makes it almost impossible to recognize the actual reality. There are some too Scenes that look really similar. However, whether there can really be talk of a theft is rather questionable. “Lose inspiration” is probably more accurate. “Inception” isn’t the only film said to be inspired by the works of filmmaker Satoshi Kon. Parallels between his and Hollywood films keep popping up, be it visual or thematic.
“Alien” and “Planet of the Vampires”
The “Alien”-film series, which has since grown into a massive franchise, is said to be heavily involved in one Genre predecessor oriented have. We’re talking about “Planet of the Vampires”, which was released in 1965. Land in both movies Spaceships on alien planets, some for an emergency landing, others because they received an emergency signal. Both are controlled by those ruling on the planets attacked by foreign powersagainst which it must be defended.
Even if it seems like an open secret that “Alien” is strongly based on “Planet of the Vampires”, both were considered cult films of their genre. Both received particular praise for their atmosphere, advanced visual effects for the time, and suspense. One and only The difference is in the aftermath: Alien got quite a few sequels and spin-offs and could be so different from its ‘original’ long term success to generate. “Planet of the Vampires” has largely been forgotten today.
“For a Fistful of Dollars” and “Yojimbo”
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“Yojimbo – The Bodyguard” takes place in Japan – The protagonist is a samurai
The spaghetti western “For a Fistful of Dollars” is considered unofficial remake of the Japanese film “Yojimbo – The Bodyguard” from 1961. The The content of the two films overlaps almost completely: They are about a stranger who comes to a town ruled by rival families. He tries to play the families off against each other in his favor. The only difference: The 1964 film starring Clint Eastwood was moved to the Wild West.
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Clint Eastwood was largely unknown in A Fistful of Dollars
However, this “theft” did not take place quite so conflict-free either. Akira Kurosawa, creator of “Yojimbo”, reportedly contacted the brains behind “For a Fistful of Dollars”. and Sergio Leone because of it have made a point of speaking. It finally came to one out-of-court settlement. Kurosawa was allowed to market “A Fistful of Dollars” in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea and received a 15% profit share of worldwide sales. Not a bad deal considering the impact and consequences “For a Fistful of Dollars” was supposed to have.
“Harry Potter” and “Mio, my Mio”
Harry Potter, probably the most famous magician in the world, a theft? There are a number of parallels between his and Mio’s story from “Mio, mein Mio” that suggest exactly that. Astrid Lindgren’s 1954 book, which was later followed by the film of the same name, is about Mio, an orphan boy who has to live with his mean foster family. He receives a magical letter that tells him Entry into a magical world grantedwhere he makes great friends. He turns out to be the chosen one who against the wicked one whose name must not be said, must fight. A cloak that makes him invisible and a magic sword should help him.
Although the story Similarities to Harry Potter’s plot has is this one Structure typical of heroic stories. There is an everyday world and a magical world where the protagonist is drawn to fight a villain. Stories like “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “Alice in Wonderland” also follow this pattern. Even if it seems as if JK Rowling took a strong cue from “Mio, mein Mio”, this is more likely due to the genre Coincidence.
“Reservoir Dogs” and “City on Fire”
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In “City on Fire” everyone ends up blaming everyone else
“It’s a tribute. DePalma did it. Lucas did it. Tarantino wasn’t pioneering then,” it says on Reddit for discussionto what extent “Reservoir Dogs” a Copy of the film released in 1987 “City on FireTarantino is said to have repeatedly spoken publicly about being inspired by this film. So is it okay to take on the plot of a film as long as you don’t deny that there’s a connection? No, thinks another Fan responding to the above comment “This is not a tribute. Tarantino steals a whole movie” replies.
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There are very similar scenes in “Reservoir Dogs”.
In 1992 Quentin Tarantino’s film “Reservoir Dogs” was released beginning of his career marked. The content, however, is nothing new: a Group of jewel thieveswho band together for a big robbery. They all have aliases and nobody knows anything about the others. There’s a snitch among them, one undercover police officers and before long they’re all blaming each other. Even if the films are not the same down to the last detailit becomes clear: Tarantino has himself intensely inspire permit.
“Frozen” and “Yentl”
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Barbara Streisand sings “Papa Can You Hear Me”
The music is characteristic of Disney films, including “Frozen”. “Do you want to build a snowman” is one of the most recognizable songs from the film. However, it is similar to another famous song in film history more than a little. None other than Barbra Streisand sings the song “Dad Can You Hear Me?“. After the release of Frozen on the big screen in 2010, some voices were raised that pointed to the resemblance of music pointed out. There were never any official investigations or complaints, and the discussion never reached the general public.
But the case caused one Running gag in Marvel’s “Deadpool 2”. The protagonists of the film represent the Similarity of the songs and make fun of it over and over again throughout the film. This punchline came about by accident after Josh Brolin, who stepson of Barbra Streisandwho was also involved in the film, heard the Frozen song on set and initially thought someone was making a joke at his expense. It wasn’t, but it was promptly used in the film. Sometimes something is created from supposed thefts unexpected new.
