Hercules (1997 film)

Hercules is the thirty-fifth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on June 14, 1997. The film starring the voices of Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Bobcat Goldthwait, Matt Frewer, Rip Torn, Samantha Eggar, Josh Keaton, Lillias White, Paul Shaffer and Charlton Heston. The movie depicts the adventures of Heracles (known in the movie by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology. The storyline also draws much of its inspiration from The Movie, as well as The Karate Kid and Rocky. The film was followed by an animated television series based on the movie characters, and Zero to Hero, a direct-to-video movie.

Overview

In the film, Hercules is the son of Zeus and Hera. In the Greek myth, he is the son of Zeus and a mortal, earth-born woman, Alcmene. Alcmene and her husband, Amphitryon, appear in the Disney's Hercules version, as Hercules' "foster parents", like Jonathan and Martha Kent to Superman.

Hades is cast as the villain, although he more closely resembles the Christian devil than the Greek god of the underworld (who has never been depicted as particularly evil, but more as cold and unfeeling, feared by gods and men alike, yet still just). In the movie Hades is a fast-talking, manipulative dealmaker with a fiery temper, who hates his job as lord of the underworld and plots to overthrow Zeus. He is voiced by James Woods.

Disney took considerable liberties with the "Hercules" myths, since some of the original material and characters were deemed inappropriate for younger viewers, such as Hercules being conceived through a god posing as a mortal woman's husband, and of his stepmother Hera's attempts to kill him. Disney also made use of stereotypes when designing the look of the characters, particularly the gods, such as depicting the Moirae as demonic hags (merging them with the Graeae), the Muses as divas, and the Titans as brutish giants. Needless to say the movie was no big success in Greece, as the Greeks did not like what they viewed as the mutilation of their cultural heritage.

Due to the name's prominence in Western culture, they went with the Latin Hercules rather than the actual Greek Heracles().

The film fared considerably worse than other Disney productions in all of Europe.

The Disney version of Hercules has almost nothing to do with the Heracles myths, and should not be regarded as the actual stories about the mythological hero; rather, it is a spin on the character and the culture of ancient Greece. (The film does contain a brief reference to The Twelve Labours and other myths pertaining to the character, however, such as the Hydra and the Erymanthian Boar. In the movie, Hades sends these monsters to him, rather than their being encountered as they are in the myths). Some other Greek myths are appropriated, as well. One is the myth of Bellerophon, from which was taken the winged horse Pegasus and the scene where Hercules is swallowed by the Hydra (for Perseus it was the dragon Cetus) and cuts his way out. Another is the myth of Orpheus, who goes to the underworld to try to bring back his love, Eurydice.

Production

The film has a quirky visual style unusual in recent Disney films because noted British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe designed the characters.

Credits

Voice cast

Actor	Role
Tate Donovan	Hercules
Danny DeVito	Philoctetes
James Woods	Hades
Susan Egan	Megara
Rip Torn	Zeus
Bobcat Goldthwait	Pain
Matt Frewer	Panic
Josh Keaton	Young Hercules
John DiMaggio	Nessus
Lilias White	Calliope, Muse of Epics
Vanéese Y. Thomas	Clio, Muse of History
Cheryl Freeman	Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy
La Chanze	Terpsichore, Muse of Dance
Roz Ryan	Thalia, Muse of Comedy
Charlton Heston	The Narrator
Wayne Knight	The Pottery Salesman
Jim Cummings	Additional Voices

Singing voices

Singer	Role
Roger Bart	Young Hercules

Trivia

Disney's Hercules and some of the other major characters have also been used in Disney's House of Mouse. There is a brief cameo appearance by Scar, the villain of The Lion King, as the Nemean Lion, whose skin is worn by Hercules in one scene. Note: Andreas Deja, the animator who animated Adult Hercules, also animated Scar for The Lion King.
When Hercules walks into Phil's house on the island, he hits his head on the mast of the Argo. Phil tells him to be careful. This is a reference to Jason of Jason and the Argonauts who died when the mast of the Argo fell on him. (In the actual Grek myths, Hercules couldn't have seen the mast of Argo, because the Argonauts have set sail after Hercules has become a hero; Hercules was an Argonaut himself, but left the crew of Argo because the journey proved to be too easy for him(.
The Pillars of Hercules were spotted on Phil's Island.
In Greek mythology, Hades, though the god of the Underworld, was not the personification of the devil as he is portrayed in the film. He ruled both the good AND the bad, and was a just and fair god. This idea is seemingly taken from the Hades of the Marvel Universe who wanted to overthrow Zeus and was an ambitious, scheming god.
Hercules was not the son of both Zeus and Hera, but rather the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. Hera was spiteful against both, and vexed Hercules until his death. (Disney felt that the original myth of Hercules, with its story of infidelity and spousal jealousy, was inappropriate for its movie, and therefore made Hades the villain instead.)
Hades was originally scripted as a slow, menacing character until James Wood auditioned for the role and impressed the casting directors with his rapid-fire style.
In the sequence where Hades takes over Olympus, he yells down to Zeus "Zeusy, I'm Home." This is a reference to Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy.
The characters from this film appear in the video game Kingdom Hearts.
A direct-to-video sequel, Hercules II: The Trojan War, was once planned but later cancelled.
Hercules' short attention span can be seen in * the character of Marvels' Hercules.
After Hercules saves Meg from Nessus the Centaur, Phil tells him, "Next time, don't let your guard down because of a pair of big goo-goo eyes". The line originally came out as, "Next time, don't let your guard down because of a pair of big, blue eyes". But, by the time the scene was in colour, Meg's eyes were purple.

Pop-culture references

Hades refers to Zeus as Mister "Hey You, Get Off My Cloud", which is a reference to the Rolling Stones song, "Get Off My Cloud," as well as the opening line to the song "M.E.T.H.O.D. Man" by The Wu-Tang Clan.
Hermes gives Hera a bouquet of flowers, a play on F.T.D. Florists, who use him as their mascot.
"Go The Distance" is a term from boxing, meaning to last all fifteen rounds. It is also a quote from Rocky.
A beverage that Hercules sponsors is named "Herculade", a spoof of Gatorade.
"Air Herc", a brand of sandal seen throughout the film are a spoof of the shoe brand Air Jordan.
During the song "I Won't Say I'm in Love," the Muses are portrayed as singing busts with one bust laying broken on the ground. This is a direct reference to Disneyland's The Haunted Mansion.
During the same sequence, a constellation of Marilyn Monroe can be seen. However, in the original trailer, it was Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.
During the scene in the movie where Hercules is rescuing two children from a cave-in in a gorge (which was actually a staged calamity to lure Hercules into danger,) one of the children can be heard saying; "Someone call IX I I", which are the Roman numerals for 9-1-1.
During the final number, "A Star is Born", Hermes can be seen playing the piano, a reference to Paul Shaffer, who is the voice of the character and the piano player on The Late Show With David Letterman.

External links

The Big Cartoon DataBase entry for Hercules

1997 films | Disney animated features canon | Best Song Academy Award nominees | Films based on Greco-Roman mythology