Movies - Hercules

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Hercules is the thirty-fifth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, directed by Ron Clemons and John Musker, and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on June 14, 1997. 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 Superman: 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 Hercules: Zero to Hero, a direct-to-video movie.

Tagline: Yes, indeed.

Overview

In the movie, Hercules is the son of Zeus and Hera . The myths had him as 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, 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 myth of Hercules, since some of the original material and characters were 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 Greek gods, such as making Poseidon into a fish.

The Disney version of Hercules has almost nothing to do with the myth of Heracles, and should not be regarded as a true legend about the mythological hero. Rather it is a spin on the character and the culture of ancient Greece. (Note however that the film does contain a brief reference to The Twelve Labours and other myths pertaining to the character, such as the Hydra and the Erymanthian Boar. However, Hades sends these monsters to him.)

Voice cast

Singing voices

Production

Character design was by noted British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe, and as a result the film has a quirky visual style unusual in recent Disney films.

Trivia

The movie received one Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Go the Distance". The lyrics were written by David Zippel and the music was written by Alan Menken.

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.

In the Disney/Square Enix Kingdom Hearts series, there is a world named Olympus Coliseum that is loosely based off of this movie. In Kingdom Hearts, Hades hires Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife to kill Hercules, but this plan fails. A similar event takes place in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, but this is only a part of Sora's (the main character) memory and never physically took place. Strangely enough, Hercules doesn't become Sora's ally in battle, much like the protagonists of some of the other worlds in the game. However, that role is taken by Final Fantasy X's Auron in the sequel Kingdom Hearts II. Much like Cloud, Auron was summoned by Hades to do away with Hercules, but he refuses to do so and attacks Hades instead. Throughout the series, not only does Sora and co. battle against Hades himself, they also fight the Ice Titan, Rock Titan, Cerberus, the Hydra, and in the Coliseum Hercules tournament, Hercules himself.
In one sequence from the Muses Dance, 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

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."
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
.

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