Movie #5: A more recent movie to come out that was based on a Shakespeare play is the zombie love story, “Warm Bodies”, which was based on Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet.” See how they do the not-so-subtle play on names? In “She’s the Man” Viola’s love interest is Duke Orsino, who plays soccer at Illyria, and in Shakespeare’s version he is Duke of Illyria, Orsino.

Viola, who is played by Amanda Bynes in “She’s the Man”, disguises herself as her brother Sebastian, which also happens in “Twelfth Night'. In both “She’s the Man” and the Twelfth Night” the main character's name is Viola. Movie #4: Another popular teen movie that was based off of a Shakespeare play is “She’s the Man.” “She’s the Man” is based off of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Lucentio and Cameron both disguise themselves as tutors to get closer to Bianca. The shrewish older sister Katherina, played by Julia Stiles, needs to start dating so her younger sister Bianca (played by Larisa Olynik) can date Cameron (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Katherina is Katherina, Bianca is Bianca, Cameron is Lucentio, and Katherina’s love interest bad boy Patrick (played by Heath Ledger) is Petruchio. This one is a lot more literal in it’s presentation. Movie #3: The popular teen movie, “10 Things I Hate About You,” was based off of “Taming of the Shrew.” Also, Scar killing his brother Mufasa in order to become king is directly from Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet’s friends, are undeniably substitutes for Timon and Pumbaa. It’s crazy to think that one of the most popular Disney movies of all time, “The Lion King”, got it’s premise from “Hamlet” and the biblical stories of Moses and Joseph. Movie #2: Disney’s famous movie “The Lion King” was based on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet. He keeps a protective hold over his daughter Alta, played by Anne Francis, who would be Miranda in “The Tempest'. Morbius, played by Walter Pidgeon, covers the part of Prospero, or the father. Similarly to “The Tempest” storyline, the daughter falls in love with an outsider despite her father’s objections.

In Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” the characters get stranded on an island, whereas in “Forbidden Planet” the space crew ends up on a seemingly uninhabited planet. Movie #1: The 1956 movie “Forbidden Planet” was based on Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest.” In the spirit of the Yorkshire Playhouse putting on the production of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) ” we have compiled a list of movies throughout the years that you may not have known were based off of Shakespeare’s plays.

Hamlet full movie by shakespeare