Voices of Tate Donovan, Danny DiVito, James Woods, and Susan Egan
Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by David Zippel
By the late 90's, Disney and their movies were nothing less than gods at the box office. Even with the underperformace of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney remained on top, thanks to their earlier successes and the popularity of the theme parks. Reacting to complaints that Hunchback and Pocahontas were beautiful to look at but lacked humor, they opted to turn the myths of the Greek strongman into a wacky action musical not far removed from Aladdin. Does that approach still work today, or should it be knocked into the River Styx? Let's begin with the Muses, the singing guardians of the arts, who prepare us for Hercules' story and the comic tone, and find out...
The Story: There's much rejoicing on Mount Olympus when Hercules is born, by everyone except God of the Underworld Hades (Woods). In 18 years, a planetary alignment will allow him to release former Olympus adversaries the Titans, but only if there's no interference. He orders his minions Pain (Bobcat Golthwait) and Panic (Matt Frewer) to give the baby a potion that'll make him mortal and kill him. Hercules doesn't drink the last drop, and is able to retain his strength and get rid of the minions. They leave him to be adopted by a mortal couple.
Teen Hercules (Josh Keaton) can't control his great strength and doesn't fit in among the residents of the Greek countryside. After his parents reveal his Olympus origins, he travels to the arena of Philocetes (DiVito) to be trained. Phil isn't thrilled at first, until he sees what Hercules can do. He's so impressed, he takes him to the city of Thebes, where Hercules proceeds to smash through every monster Hades puts up against him.
Phil and the citizens of Thebes aren't the only ones who are impressed. Meg (Egan) is another one of Hades' minions, but she was forced into his services after she sold her soul to him to save her lover who abandoned her. To her surprise, she ends up falling for this sweet muscle man. Hades, however, still has his own plans, and Zeus won't let Hercules into Mount Olympus until he proves he can do more than sell merchandise. It'll take an act of true sacrifice - from Meg and Hercules - to prove that being a real hero comes from what's inside of you.
The Animation: Sharp and edgy, it obviously has its basis in the Greek urns used as stone newspapers throughout the film. Some early CGI sticks out like sore thumbs, notably when Hercules fights the Hydra and in the finale with the Titans. On the other hand, the spare style allows for a nice flow and terrific character movements - check out the dances from the Muses during "Zero to Hero" and "I Won't Say I'm In Love."
The Song and Dance: Oh boy, did Disney have fun with this one. This is one of the funniest movies they ever did, and second to Aladdin as the funniest film of the Disney Renaissance Era. Special kudos to Egan as Disney's most sarcastic anti-heroine, and Woods as one of their best villains. Hades comes off as the fast-talking, overly-ambitious used car salesman you love to hate. Woods' vocal dexterity and his hilarious expressions makes him one of the most popular bad guys in any Disney animated feature. Broadway favorite Egan more than matches him as the mouthy femme fatale who learns that there are some guys out there who really will say they're in love...and prove it, too.
Favorite Number: We open with the Muses narrating "The Gospel Truth," showing Hercules birth and how he ended up on Earth. "Go the Distance" is Hercules' big "I Want Song" as he sings to his desire to find his place to the Gods. We get a hilarious training montage as Phil tells Hercules how he's his "One Last Hope" to hit the big time, and see howHerc grows from a skinny teen into a strapping man. "Zero to Hero" is the Muses' big uptempo number, another montage depicting how Hercules destroyed the monsters Hades sent and won the heart of everyone in Thebes. The Muses return to prove how "A Star Is Born" in the finale and reveal Hercules literally ascending to heaven.
My favorite number is the other big ballad. Meg thinks "I Won't Say I'm In Love" with Hercules, but the Muses know better. They appear as various statuary and details on outdoor decorations, encouraging Meg to give in to her feelings.
Trivia: Woods' Hades got such good reviews, he's considered to be the second-most-popular Disney villain after Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. He's turned up in countless cartoons and Disney media since then, always with Woods playing him.
The movie had a hard time competing with Men In Black at the summer box office in 1997 and was considered a disappointment. It did much better when released on video that fall, well enough to inspire a direct-to-video midquel Hercules: Zero to Hero and a Saturday morning TV show with Hercules as a student at Prometheus Academy, Hercules: The Animated Series. An actual direct-to-video sequel was scrapped when John Lasseter ended production on all animated sequels.
Their stage version debuted in Central Park in 2019 as part of their Shakespeare in the Park festival. A revised version is scheduled to play the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in February 2023.
Disney has announced they're currently developing a live-action version.
What I Don't Like: The Greeks were really offended by how this plays fast and loose with their mythology. I'll start with Hercules wasn't entirely heroic and actually killed his wife Megara (accidentally), and end with Zeus' many affairs Disney naturally wasn't willing to discuss. Obviously, this isn't for mythology purists or those who might likewise not appreciate the film's distorting of history. The goofy tone also lacks some of the more majestic qualities of their earlier films like Beauty and the Beast, and some of the CGI hasn't dated well. Not to mention, for all of the build-up on how much of a hero he is, Hercules can seem like a standard pretty boy to a lot of people, especially compared to the far more interesting Hades and Meg.
The Big Finale: I consider this to be one of Disney's most underrated films, and their second-most underrated film of the 90's after Hunchback of Notre Dame. If you're looking for a good action comedy and don't mind the mythological fudging or are looking for a fun film for pre-teen boys, you'll have a great time with the biggest hero in Greece.
Home Media: Easy to find on DVD. Even its original "Limited Edition" release from 2000 can often be found for cheap. It's on Disney Plus with a subscription.
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