Hercules (1997)

The Worst Film Ever

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I know it isn't long that I watched it for, but it already annoyed me. If you want to watch this to increase your Greek mythology knowledge, please... Don't. There are actually 9 muses, not 5. They think that Hades is a "villian" when in Greek mythology, he is just... the god of the Underworld. He is a nice guy from what I have read. The muses say that Hades is someone you don't want to get angry. Of course, for the story, no you might not want to. I say that you don't want to get onto Zeus' or Ares' bad side.The Underworld has souls in the "ocean" in the Underworld. They actually roam around on the lands. -While on the topic of the Underworld, they think of it as an evil place which is completely wrong. It's a place for the dead to go, and for sadness. Cerebrus is not an evil dog, he jsut guards the Underworld. -The 3 fates aren't evil either. They just decided on how long your life is going to be. -They sum up everything that is associated with death is evil. From what I have seen from other reviews, I can see it being a good, funny movie. But the Greek infomation isn't true (or some of it). I would love to have been true, because I was really looking forward to it.

Part of my later childhood and I'll never forget Disney's Hercules, I also liked the video game of Hercules, used to play it on the original PlayStation.Disney took a well known Ancient Greek tale and made it their own, Hercules never looked better than he does here in animation; the colour of the whole film is vibrant, striking and oh so pleasing..., perfect for kids and probably a secret pleasure for some adults too hehe! Tate Donovan isn't exactly the most well-known film star out there, but he does a marvellous job of voicing the titular hero, he brings an innocent, childlike quality to the Greek warrior, making him more realistic and relatable compared to other portrayals of the same character.Susan Egan has a wonderfully sweet voice making the character Meg seem vulnerable and generating an awful lot of empathy towards her, she is the ultimate damsel in distress and you just now she's going to end up with big Herc at the end of the film (well of course, durr...) James Woods, an acclaimed actor toned it down considerably for his portrayal of Hades, the God of the underworld and the film's antagonist, it's probably the most camp and least threatening version of the character ever, oh but again perfect for kids!My favourite though has to be Phil, voiced by the legendary Danny DeVito..., the little guy is like Herc's mentor, his guardian angel if you will, he provides a lot of comedy relief and elevates his portions of the film considerably. Hercules contains a brilliant musical score, typical of Disney films, evoking the correct emotions and tying into the action appropriately, Herc is a hero is the defining song and sheds a perfect amount of light on the Hercules character. The film was released during the period when Pixar was beginning to find its feet, Toy Story was released two years prior and A Bugs Life and Toy Story 2 released in the coming years, with classic animation in less of a demand and computer imagery starting to take over, Hercules did well to succeed and garner the critically great reception it did. Disney always knows what it's doing and you can always count on them, and Hercules is no different, a lovely film albeit tame and you shouldn't let it slip through your fingers.

Hercules is just another Disney movie where generally the positives edge out the negatives. While plenty of moments seemed dull to me, the music was killer (as is expected from almost anything composed by the formidable team of Disney and Alan Menken), plenty of the characters are likable or sufferable, the humor is good, the action is present and stimulating, and it offers new insight to little children about Heracles himself. It is one that I re-watched before considering the challenge of watching all animated Disney movies (which got into theaters), and both times, I enjoyed the concept and execution of the story. I would most definitely say that this film is around 7.2, because there are a few dull moments and strange references that would more fit 1997 Greece than Ancient Greece (including a Scar pelt and two men who resemble John Musker and Ron Clements, who directed this film). See it if you covet the trio of Musker, Clements and Menken, because they can make some excellent stuff (including The Little Mermaid, from what I've heard, and Aladdin).

Hercules is a 1997 animated feature film and the 35th full-length animated feature in the Walt Disney Animation Studios Canon. The film stars James Woods, Charlton Heston, Danny Devito, Tate Donovan, Rip Torn, Matt Frewer, and Bobcat Goldthwait. Loosely adapted from the Grecian legend Heracles, son of Zeus and Alcmene and great-grandson/half-brother of Perseus, this incarnation of the Greek hero is given a hip, modern-day, 90s Disney vibe to it! The plot of the film starts on Mount Olympus, where all of the legendary Greek gods live. Hercules (voiced by Joshua Keaton/Tate Donovan), the son of Zeus and Herra, is born possessing god-like strength as a young toddler. In fact, he is so strong that when Hades (voiced by James Woods from "Any Given Sunday"), lord of the Underworld visits Olympus bearing a gift, he gets his finger crushed by Hercules. This infuriates Hades so much that he, along with his hilarious and loyal henchmen Pain and Panic (voiced by stand-up comic Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"), devise a plan to kill the immortal Hercules by turning him into a mortal human being after Hades gets insight from three bizarre and grotesque characters known as the Fates who can reveal the past, present, and future that Hercules could prove to be a threat to Hades taking over Mount Olympus in the future. While they were successful in turning him mortal, they didn't kill him as Hades wanted so as he was planning his uprising, Hercules lived his life on earth after being rescued and taken in by two humans, where he would grow up. After various circumstances caused Hercules to realize that he was different than everyone he was around, he, along with his trusty friend and sidekick since birth Pegasus, seek out Zeus, who then tells him to find Phil (voiced by Danny Devito from "Batman Returns"), the trainer of a lot of "would-be" heroes so he can prove himself to be a true hero and rejoin Zeus on Olympus. Once he does this, he then goes out to prove to Zeus and everyone else that he has what it takes to become a true hero. Along the way, he meets the snarky, sarcastic, and free-spirited Meg (voiced by Susan Egan), who goes on to become Hercules' eventual love interest and will later cause our hero to have to make a critical decision and prove that a "true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart." From the opening narration by the legendary Charlton Heston to the rapid fire comedy delivered by James Woods' portrayal of Hades to the gospel-like numbers written by Academy-Award Winning Composer Alan Menken ("Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin") and David Zippel and sung by the Muses, this movie is a worthy addition to the Disney Renaissance and a more light-hearted themed departure from the dark and grim themes seen in The Hunchback of Notre Dame the previous year. I honestly don't see why this movie gets so much flack for being the weakest film of the Disney Renaissance when personally I think that Pocahontas was the weakest film of the Disney Renaissance because of the lack of a strong story and strong antagonist (which are two things that Hercules has). The characters are great (my favorite is Hades) and the animation, story, and music done in a way that can only be done in the grand tradition and innovation of Walt Disney. If you haven't seen this movie and you're looking for a good movie to watch for family movie night, go to your local movie store or Netflix and watch it! You won't be disappointed! This was released during Disney's most profitable era to date and I still pop this in the VCR every once in a while! My rating: Two thumbs way, way up!!! 10/10!!!