William Shakespeare

**William Shakespeare** (April 26, 1564 - April 23, 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". Although he never existed during the time of movies or television, his name and works were used in some Disney movies and characters.

Shakespeare's works have been adapted several times by Disney: *Hamlet* was adapted by Disney in *The Lion King*, whilst *Romeo and Juliet* has been adapted as *The Lion King II: Simba's Pride* and *Gnomeo & Juliet*. *A Midsummer Night's Dream* was adapted into *Strange Magic*, and various elements of his plays were added into *Gargoyles*.

## Disney films based on his plays

* *The Lion King* (*Hamlet*)
* *The Lion King II: Simba's Pride* (*Romeo and Juliet*)
* *Ten Things I Hate About You* (*The Taming of the Shrew*)
* *Gnomeo & Juliet* (*Romeo and Juliet*)
* *Strange Magic* (*A Midsummer Night's Dream*)

## Appearances in Disney productions

### Short films

* In the Donald Duck cartoon, *Trick or Treat*, Hazel the Witch says one of the famous lines in Shakespeare's *Macbeth* while making the witch's brew: "Double, bubble, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble."

### Animated features

* In *Oliver & Company*, Francis is seen watching the grainy TV and a theatrical production of *Macbeth*, one of Shakespeare's most famous plays and which he apparently knows by heart. The part shown was from Act V, Scene 5 of *Macbeth.*
* In *Gnomeo & Juliet*, the characters were based on his most famous play, *Romeo and Juliet*. Also, a statue of Shakespeare appears saying that the story is similar to his own, and thinks that it will have the same ending.
* In *Beauty and the Beast*, during "The Mob Song", Gaston briefly quotes Shakespeare by saying "Screw your courage in the sticking place!" In addition, the Special Edition of the same film, during the song "Human Again", had Beast and Belle reading *Romeo and Juliet*.
* In *Tarzan*, a portrait of Shakespeare is on one of the many slides Tarzan views on the projector during "Strangers Like Me".
* In *Aladdin*, Iago was named after the villain, Iago in his play, *Othello*, as evidenced by mention in the TV series revealing that he has a twin brother called Othello. In the Aladdin episode; "The Return of Malcho", he was spoofed by Genie. In "Smells Like Trouble", Genie transformed into the 3 witches from *Macbeth* while making a witch's brew "Double, Bubble, Toil and Trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble". In "SandSwitch", Genie (as a gondolier under Sadira's spell) mentioned having once "set up Anthony and Cleopatra... Shame it didn't work out." when Sadira suggests to marry Aladdin (under her spell too) one night. In "Night of the Living Mud", Genie was seen turning into Julius Caesar himself one night. In "Snowman is an Island", Genie was seen turning into William Shakespeare again and Hamlet from *Hamlet*. In "That Stinking Feeling", Genie spoofed Shakespeare again. In the third *Aladdin* movie, Caesar and Cleopatra were seen walking through the crowd while bringing gifts for Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding.
* At the end of *Toy Story 3*, the toys were performing Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet*, and they suggested either doing *Cats* or Shakespeare's *Hamlet*.

* In *Pocahontas II*, Shakespeare made a small cameo appearance, where he is seen singing with the townspeople and after holding a skull, he is seen writing something, probably the plot for his next masterpiece, *Hamlet*. However, in real life, Shakespeare died two months before Pocahontas came to England for the first time.
* In *Soul*, during the part where Joe Gardner and 22 arrive in the Lost Souls area at the Great Before, 22 throws a ball of dust at the soul of a theatre actress reciting her line for the *Romeo and Juliet* play, thus, causing the latter to forget her line and ask the director what her line is again.

### Animated television shows

* The *Pepper Ann* episode, "Romeo and Juliet" is about the titular character and her friends putting on the play.
* In the *House of Mouse* episode "Goofy for a Day"'s short, *How to Be a Waiter*, Goofy and Clarabelle were seen dressed and acting as Romeo and Juliet in a film production based on Shakespeare's play.
* In an *American Dragon* episode, Jake Long and Rose were about to perform Shakespeare's *Marc Anthony and Cleopatra* until Rose was replaced by Spud, due to Rose's foot injury from a fight between Jake as the American Dragon and Rose as the Huntsgirl.
* Penny Proud and Kwok Wong were performing Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet* in *The Proud Family* episode, "Romeo Must Wed".
* In *The Weekenders*, Tish is a fan of Shakespeare and his works; she even has a bust of him. In "Talent Show", the bust tells her not to be envious of Lor and help her out.
* In the *DuckTales* episode, "Much Ado About Scrooge", Scrooge McDuck and Huey, Dewey, and Louie track down the lost play written by the famous playwright and parody of Shakespeare, William Drakespeare.
* In the *Quack Pack* episode, "Heavy Dental", Donald Duck (under hypnosis) performed *Hamlet's* title character. In "Snow Place to Hide", the Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy mentioned Romeo and Juliet/Anthony and Cleopatra when trying to convince Donald that Daisy was having Kent Powers for "another boyfriend".
* In the *Mighty Ducks* episode, "The First Face-Off", Chameleon was seen transforming into Hamlet while carrying a duck skull.
* *Gargoyles*featured numerous references to Shakespeare's works, ranging from characters named after Shakespearean characters to storylines adapting elements from various plays.
	+ Macbeth is a recurring villain in the series, having gained immortality from the Weird Sisters in the form of a pact with Demona that ensures neither of them can die while the other one lives, with the implication that this inspired the play's prophecy. In the present, Macbeth has two henchmen named Banquo and Fleance.
	+ Oberon, Titania, Puck, and the rest of the fairy court from *A Midsummer's Night Dream* serve as the basis of the "Children of Oberon", a race of magical folk linked to numerous mythological characters around the world in the series.
	+ The character Coldstone was a cyborg comprised of three Gargoyles named Othello (the main personality), Desdemona and Iago, after the main characters of the play *Othello,* with these three souls wrestling over control of the body*.* In the episode "Legion", a flashback sequence adapts the events of the play with Iago convincing Othello that his mate Desdemona is having an affair with Goliath. The other two souls are eventually given their own robotic bodies, Coldfire and Coldsteel.
	+ The comic book spinoff "Bad Guys" featured a character based on *Henry IV'*s Falstaff as a member of the Illuminati.
* In the *Gravity Falls* episode, "Headhunters", one of the wax figures, named "Wax William Shakespeare", is based on him.
* In *The Legend of Tarzan* episode, "Tarzan and the Silver Screen", Stanley Obrowski quotes Shakespeare's *Hamlet*: "To be or not to be?"
* The plot of the *Mickey Mouse Works* short "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is based loosely on the Shakespeare play of the same name.
* In the *House of Mouse* episode, "Everybody Loves Mickey", a picture of Donald Duck portraying Duckspeare in a play called Duckspeare in Love is shown on the screen.
* In the *Hercules* episode, "Hercules and the Drama Festival", Icarus playing Hades quotes: "To be evil or not to be evil?"; a reference to the line "To be or not to be?" from *Hamlet*.
* In *The Emperor's New School* episode, "The Emperor's New School Musical", a picture of Yzma is seen holding a skull in her hand like Hamlet from *Hamlet*.
* In *Big Hero 6: The Series*, two of Shakespeare's plays are referenced in two episodes.
	+ "Kentucky Kaiju": Obake quotes from  *Measure for Measure* "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt"
	+ "Big Problem": Orso Knox/Monster is a fan of Shakespeare, and quotes three lines from *The Tempest*. Liv Amara's company is also called "Sycorax" who was the mentioned witch and mother of Caliban from the same play.
		- "What's past is prologue!"
		- "This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine!"
		- "All the devil's are here!"
* In the *Dave the Barbarian* episode, "King for A Day or Two", Dave is performing his musical Pastry, where he's dressed up like Hamlet and in one scene he is kneeling and holding a Danish, similar to how Hamlet holds Yorrick's skull.
* The *Once Upon a Time* episode "Murder Most Foul" is based on Hamlet.
* In the *Big City Greens* episode "Wild Side", Cricket and Remy disrupt a Shakespeare in the Park performance of *Romeo and Juliet*.
	+ In the episode "A Caravan Named Desire" during the scene where Renee Frodgers takes Anne and the Plantars to the caravan, one of the background frog actors briefly recites the lines, "To be or not to be" from ''Hamlet''.

### Live-action TV shows

* The two-part season 7 of *The Golden Girls* "A MidWinter's Night Dream" takes its name from *A Midsummer's Night Dream*. In the end, Dorothy compares the episode's event to the Shakespeare play and quotes Puck's closing lines.
* The season 2 episode of *Jessie* "To Be Me or Not To Be Me" takes its name from the famous Hamlet line "To be or not to be", in the episode Jessie performs Macbeth in a Shakespeare in the Park play.
* In *The Book of Pooh* episode, "Honey Glazed Hamlet", Owl has memories of Shakespeare from his days at Oxford.
* Bear quotes William Shakespeare in the episode "Words, Words, Words", and comments "I hear he was pretty good with words." The lines quoted by Bear are from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.
* The *Once Upon a Time* episode, "Murder Most Foul" is based on *Hamlet*.
* He was mentioned in two episodes of *K.C. Undercover*, an episode of *Once Upon a Time*, an episode of *Bizaardvark* and two episodes of *Stuck in the Middle*.

### Live-action features

* In *The Absent-Minded Professor*, Elliot Reid quotes from *Hamlet*: "That he's mad, 'tis true, 'tis true 'tis pity, And pity 'tis, 'tis true".
* In *Dead Poet's Society*, Neill played Puck in a performance of *A Midsummer's Night Dream*.
* In *George of the Jungle*, during the scene where George saves a parasailor from trouble on the bridge, he quotes: "To swing or not to swing?"; a reference to the line "To be or not to be?" from *Hamlet*.
* In 2019 live-action remake Dumbo, The talking monkey in the circus appeared says "To be or not to be, That is a question".
* The "Double, bubble, toil and trouble" line was also used in *Halloweentown* by Agatha Cromwell while turning on the microwave making the Witch's Brew. It is also revealed in *Halloweentown High* that Agatha was one of Shakespeare's actresses.
* Shakespeare was caricatured as one of the schoolroom busts in *The Muppet Christmas Carol*.
* The film *Shakespeare in Love* presents a fictionalized version of Shakespeare.

### *The Muppets*

* In *The Muppet Show* episode 323, William Shakespeare is called upon by Sam the Eagle to provide commentary for the play that the Muppets are putting on, *Robin Hood*. He was performed by Richard Hunt. Of course, this gentleman doesn't actually claim to be the **William Shakespeare** -- he's just *a* William Shakespeare. Sam gushes that he's seen *The Sound of Music* at least a dozen times, before Shakespeare stops him short by telling him that the real William Shakespeare is dead. Sam is horrified, and asks if he left a wife and children. It turns out this Shakespeare isn't even actually named William Shakespeare; he's just using it as his "nom de plum" (sic), to keep something of Shakespeare's legend alive -- "principally, his royalties". Sam asks to hear a portion of one of Shakespeare's masterpieces, and "Shakespeare" looks around for an actor. He grabs the Swedish Chef as he passes by, and hands him the famous soliloquy from *Hamlet* to recite ("To be, or not to be..."). It goes about as well as one might expect.
* Shakespeare himself was caricatured as one of the schoolroom busts in *The Muppet Christmas Carol*.
* The Panel Discussions for episode 107 of *The Muppet Show* poses the question, "Was William Shakespeare, in fact, Bacon?" Episode 213's Veterinarian's Hospital involves a series of puns on the writer and his famous plays. Statler is offended at the lack of respect, claiming to be a student of Shakespeare. Waldorf notes that he was a student *with* Shakespeare.
* When Spike Milligan assists Sam the Eagle in episode 317, Sam gets so frustrated that he says he wishes they had gotten Lawrence Olivier instead. Milligan quotes Shakespeare to point out that Olivier, a Brit, only spoke as clearly as he did so that Americans could understand him.
* Christopher Reeve, Fozzie Bear, Link Hogthrob, and a skull named Yorick sing "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" as part of a "Hamlet" sketch in episode 418. After the number, Waldorf comments that he always regretted not studying Shakespeare as a boy. Statler replies that he could have at least talked to Shakespeare.
* In *The Muppet Show Diary 1979*, Link Hogthrob appears as Hamlet to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday (listed as April 23 along with his date of death, although the date is disputed).
* Garth Brooks and Miss Piggy try to perform the balcony scene from *Romeo and Juliet* in episode 102 of *Muppets Tonight*, but Piggy's nephews, Andy and Randy Pig (playing "The Two Men from Bologna"), ruin the number. Statler notes that Shakespeare would've hated the performance. Waldorf says that Statler should know about that, because he dated one of Shakespeare's sisters. Statler responds "Boy, was she ugly."
* Bear quotes William Shakespeare in the episode "Words, Words, Words", and comments "I hear he was pretty good with words." The lines quoted by Bear are from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18.
* Shakespeare's *The Two Gentlemen of Verona* is spoofed in episode 205 of *Muppets Tonight* with the sketch "The Two Homies of Verona".

## Gallery

### William Shakespeare

Genie as William Shakespeare in "The Return of Malcho"Genie as William Shakespeare again in "Snowman is an Island"As William Shakespeare again in "That Stinking Feeling"A Statue of William Shakespeare in *Gnomeo and Juliet*William Shakespeare's bust in *The Muppet Christmas Carol*"Hey, it's Frank Oz!" Gonzo and Rizzo spot a familiar face in the blooper reel from *The Muppet Christmas Carol*.Tish's Shakespeare bust has a talk with herWilliam Shakespeare in *Gravity Falls*Shakespeare's portrait in *Big Hero 6: The Series*
### Shakespearean roles

Francis watching *Macbeth*Genie as Hamlet from *Hamlet* in "Snowman is an Island"Genie as the 3 witches from *Macbeth* in "Smells Like Trouble""Reminds me of the time I set up Anthony and Cleopatra... Shame it didn't work out."Genie as Julius Caesar in "Night of the Living Mud"Caesar and Cleopatra in *Aladdin and the King of Thieves*Jake and Rose as Marc Anthony and CleopatraGoofy and Clarabelle as Romeo and JulietMiss Piggy and Kermit portray Titania and Bottom from *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, photographed for a 1982 calendar.Gonzo recites lines from *The Merchant of Venice* while hanging by his nose from a feather boa.Kwok Wong and Penny Proud as Romeo and Juliet in "Romeo Must Wed"Donald Duck as Hamlet in "Heavy Dental""Would you look at that? Seems like all the great love scenes are playing on balconies. *Romeo and Juliet*. *Anthony and Cleopatra*."Duckspeare in Love in *House of Mouse*"To be evil or not to be evil?"Chameleon as Hamlet"A Midsummer Night's Dream"Yzma as Hamlet from "The Emperor's New School Musical""To be or not to be?"Mr. Pricklepants as RomeoLGM as Juliet