Disney Movie Challenge
Hercules (1997)
After facing criticism for themes of racism in Pocahontas and murder, lust, and discrimination in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney decided to go back to making family friendly lighthearted comedies with Hercules. The story of Zeus’ son isn’t quite like how the Greeks told it (they took out the part that Hera is Zeus’ sister and that Zeus tricked a mortal into having sex with him and Hercules is the result of their tryst) but it’s what you expect from a Disney film.
The movie starts with Zeus and Hera having a birthday party for their baby Hercules. But uninvited guest Hades shows up and makes a scene. Hades is determined to take over Mount Olympus and after consulting the Fates decides the only way to have that happen is to kill Hercules as a baby. Hades has his two sidekicks, Pain and Panic, kidnap Hercules and give him a poison that will kill him. But due to their incompetence they don’t give him all of the poison and it takes away his immortality but leaves him with his god-like strength. Not being immortal gets him kicked out of Mount Olympus because apparently you have to be immortal to live there. Abandoned to Earth an elderly human couple adopts him. Feeling like he doesn’t fit in he eventually learns that he is a descendent of the Gods and to regain his place on Mount Olympus he must prove he is a true hero. He heads out to find Philoctetes who can train him to be a hero. After a training montage they set out to Thebes to put all his training to the test. It’s there he meets Megara who he saves but really foiled her con. It turns out Meg is working for Hades and when Hades finds out Hercules is not really dead he sets out to use Meg as a trap for Hercules. While Hercules does a lot of hero work he is not considered a true hero till he risks his own life to save Meg.
For a fairly simple movie that recap seemed to go on really long and I left out a lot of detail. But what it boils down to is a love story between Meg and Hercules. Meg initially was used by Hades to trick Hercules but of course she falls in love with him and must prove she isn’t really evil (oddly enough The Hunchback of Notre Dame II steals the exact same plot). Most of the set up goes by pretty fast and is entertaining. Actually the whole movie feels breezy, light, and short. The standout in the film is James Woods as Hades. He seems to be having the most fun. If I would have to categorize the film I would say it’s an action comedy with more emphasis on the comedy. You got the antics of Pain and Panic (Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer), Danny Devito provides great comedy as Phil, and Susan Egan plays a fun Meg. The action scenes are ok but besides the fight with a hydra there not really memorable.
When developing the film the writers looked to combine screwball comedies of the 30’s and 40’s with modern pop culture references. Screwball comedies were known for their witty dialogue and strong headed females. Directors Musker and Clements cited movies like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Lady Eve, and Meet John Doe(1941) as influences for the film. As odd as that sounds it worked really well and you can see that as part of the DNA of the film.
Overall: If you had to split Disney films into categories of Great, Good, Fine, and Bad this would be at the lower end of good. It’s a fun movie but also predictable and unoriginal. Best part of the film is James Wood having a blast as Hades. Also be warned you might get "Go the Distance" stuck in your head. It's not a great song but it's catchy and couldn't get it out of my head for 3 days.
Random Facts
The Spice Girls were originally thought of to play the Muses
Ricky Martin does the voice and singing of Hercules for the Latin American dub.
The last Disney Film that composer Alan Menken worked on till Home on the Range (2004)
Jack Nicholson was offered the role of Hades but because he wanted too much money and a cut from the merchandising Disney went with James Woods.
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