Hercules Reviews

Esta es una de las películas de Disney que en definitiva rompe la fuente original. O sea, no solo hace pequeños cambios (siempre los ha hecho), si no que directamente contradice aspectos de la mitología Griega. En algo como La Sirenita queda tan mal que directamente pareciera querer invertir el mensaje clásico. Pero en Hércules me parece que es fantástico porque, si bien sus elementos no tienen veracidad con su fuente, por lo menos sí lo tienen en mensaje.

Quizá, Hades no actúa como Hades o los Dioses son más chistes que lo que realmente eran, pero en esencia sigue siendo la historia de superación de Hércules descubriendo qué es lo que le hará un héroe verdadero. Por eso mismo es una película preciosa.

Toma algunos elementos del mito original y construye algo completamente diferente, lo cual por cierto, le sale bien. El villano es unidimensional pero carismático, inicia todo el conflicto y aún así como la historia no se centra en Hércules descubriendo por qué pasó lo que pasó, si no mas bien, el como ser un héroe verdadero, el tema del villano termina por ser un error de poco peso.

Disfrutable película con canciones memorables y personajes agradables que da un bonito mensaje.

If I'm not mistaken, I think I saw this movie in the movie theater when it was released. Anyway, even though it is definitely not one of the greatest classics delivered by Disney, I have to admit that I always had a weak spot for the damned thing. Basically, it is one of these Disney animated features dealing with a very old tale and they gave it a comedic twist but, in this genre, I have seen much better (in my opinion, the best one is by far 'The Emperor's New Groove'  which is easily their most underrated feature). Indeed, in my opinion, the Gospel songs didn't mix at all with the Greek theme, in fact, none of the songs did appeal to me. Furthermore, in spite of focusing on Hercules's Labors which would have made for a great adventure, they focused on something quite similar but not really thrilling. And yet, I still liked the damned thing. Indeed, first of all, Megara was easily one of the most interesting female characters ever created by those guys but, above all, I just loved Hades. Indeed, James Woods was just pitch-perfect and this character is simply one of the very best Disney villains ever made. At least, he must be the most hilarious one. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I think it is actually a fun watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Doing to Greek mythology what the studio has long done to Grimm’s fairy tales, Hercules takes a few names and recasts them into an original story. Strange that instead of leaning into the mythic, operatic workings of the original story, Disney is happier to play it all as laughs. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s very fun and very funny, but it’s the slightest film of the Renaissance since The Rescuers Down Under.

 

It’s easier to see Disney re-crafting the pieces of the story into something happier, the original Greek myth goes dark but still ends with Hercules regaining his immortality. Yet other choices have always bothered me. This film came out when I was ten, and in the middle of an obsession with learning all about the Greek myths so I was wildly looking forward to it. I’ve always enjoyed it, but my appreciation for it has always been somewhat complicated.

 

Hades never seemed like the obvious choice for a villain, and he remains somewhat unsatisfying. Turning Zeus and Hera into a functional couple, and Zeus a goofy loving dad type is just strange. Some of the natural drama and psychological complexity has been cut off at the knee. Any depth in Hercules comes purely from Megara, who is one of the most pleasing leading ladies to come across in some time. Even then, so much of the film has played for slapstick, laughs, satire, and low-stakes that its third act rush for some depth feels somehow unearned.

 

Very little territory is mined from the father-son dynamics, and the romance between Hercules and Megara is rushed, to say the least, so her about-face feels like the plot mechanics loudly whirring by instead of an organic growth of their relationship. Where Hercules shines is as a satire of merchandising blitzes, overnight stardom, and pop culture references. This is probably as close to eating its own tail as Disney will ever get.

 

Yes, there’s something self-aware about Hercules in these moments. With the opening narration of Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur himself, something of a pointed tongue-in-cheek nod to where we’re headed. He then hands off the narration to a literal Greek chorus, the Muses, who complain that he was making the story sound more dramatic and tragic than it really is. The Muses are the brightest spot in Hercules, even when the film gets flabby or weird, they swoop up in with a gospel-tinged musical number to liven up the proceedings.

 

Hercules actually has a stronger cast of female characters than male ones. Granted, Hera is rendered practically mute, but Megara and the Muses are far more memorable than the dumb-but-sweet hero. Their duet, “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love),” rekindles some of the group harmonies and old-fashioned pop brilliance of The Little Mermaid’s “Kiss the Girl.” Oh, Megara, how I love your sardonic nature. She’s like Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve to Hercules’ Henry Fonda. She could probably do better than this guy, but what he lacks in brains he makes up for in heart and tenderness. So I guess she could do much worse.  

 

When you scrub out the sexuality from Greek mythology, what you’re left with is a lot of violence. Hercules doesn’t shy away from showing him beating up or killing various foes. The battle with the hydra is memorable, but the finale is even better. The rolling fat and jiggly bits of the Cyclops as he takes on Hercules are hypnotic to watch. I mean this as a compliment, as the animators have created a fluidity of movement with the character that is almost graceful. In fact, I found all of the Titans to be among some of the best animation the studio has produced during the Renaissance. They’re strange, frightening creations that tower so large they can’t be contained within the frame. Shame that they last for so brief a time in the film.

 

Perhaps that’s another problem with Hercules, as there’s a bounty of odd creatures and gorgeous sets to visit, and the film tries to cram them all in. The Underworld is appropriately atmospheric and creepy, with the large looming skull, river of souls, and a Cerberus that is truly menacing looking. Mount Olympus doesn’t do as well in this translation, as it is all swirling clouds and nothing more. Frankly, I’d rather hang out in the Underworld. And the trials of Hercules make a brief appearances – there’s a centaur, a caged bird, a lion (Scar in a cameo), mentions of the Amazons and the stables – but aside from one or two, nothing much is done with them.

This is probably my biggest frustration with Hercules. Yes, it's funny and charming, and I find the art direction to be stellar, it borrows liberally from Greek vase painting to create an interesting new wrinkle in Disney's house style; yet, it doesn't engage with the source material in any meaningful way. It is, in fact, highly entertaining, but it's a comedown from the lofty ambitions of the three prior films, regardless of their quality.

A Disney musical revolving around Greek mythology seems like a great idea. And in Disney's Hercules, the house of mouse makes great use of the famous characters and setting of Greek mythology. There's some hip, gospel songs and plenty of successful humor. So much works in this movie, but it's all sadly counter-balanced by everything that doesn't work.

Hercules is born to the god and goddess, Zeus and Hera respectively. And while there is joy at his arrival, Hades wishes to do away with the baby, as his fortune reveals Hercules as a potential threat. Hades sends his two dim-witted minions, Pain and Panic to turn Hercules mortal, and then kill him. Unfortunately for Hades, Pain and Panic slip up when Hercules transformation from god to mortal gets stopped part way through, causing Hercules to retain his supernatural strength, but remain mortal. Hercules longs to be reunited with his parents and the other gods, though he cannot until he becomes a hero, which will then allow him to be turned back into a god.

The set up for this story is extremely rushed, and feels almost tacked on. It's like Disney didn't want to spend much time developing the opening, and were more interested in cutting to the action. As a result, there isn't much at the beginning that's of interest, with the exception of one excellent gospel-style song, but I'll get to that later.

The characters are mostly uninteresting. Hercules and the romantic interest, Megara (known as Meg) are almost completely personality-less, while Philoctetes (known as Phil), Hercules' trainer, is just a big grump. Only the villain, Hades, is at all interesting, even if he's basically just a hipper version of Jafar or Scar.

Focusing less on story, Hercules relies on humor to get by. And while most of the humor is successful and funny, there aren't many big laughs here. Disney's next attempt at a hip comedy (The Emperor's New Groove) is a much more successful and enjoyable film.

There's some curious character oversights, and some muddled messages here and there. There are dull stretches, and the action at the end is a bit excessive. Flaws are not hard to find.

The songs are of ranging success. The majority of the songs are jazzy gospel tunes, complete with a group of African-American women singing the lyrics. Not only are these songs an innovative and refreshing concept, but the songs are fun and energetic too. It's hard to suppress a smile during these delightful numbers.

And yet, there are two songs that don't fit into the gospel theme. They are entitled "Go the Distance" and "Our Last Hope." Both are relatively terrible and instantly forgettable. "Go the Distance" exists only to explain Hercules' desire to go home. This is the kind of song that could've been written in 5 minutes over lunch. "Our Last Hope" has a terrible rhythm and bland lyrics and is ultimately, a mess.

It surprises me that a song was not provided for the villain, Hades. Just about every Disney films has had a song for the villain, so why did Hades have to miss out? His slick and sly personality would've been perfect for a nice jazzy beat.

The voice cast is a mixed bag. Tate Donovan provides a bland voice for Hercules, and Danny DeVito does the same for Phil. Susan Egan's voice for Meg is much more unique. It's a shame there wasn't an interesting character to go with it. James Wood is wonderful as Hades, providing a perfectly sly and confident voice for the villain.

The animation is detailed enough, but the animation style is a bit of a problem. The flat, geometric look just makes the animation appear cheap and lazy. CGI is occasionally integrated into the animation, and it looks great.

Alan Menken's score is superb, if a little shy of his work in other Disney films of the time. Grand melodies and exciting action music make this score a success, even though it sounds a bit familiar to Menken's score for Aladdin.

Sometimes funny, but riddled with flaws, Hercules is a disappointing Disney feature. As much as I wanted to like Hercules, there's just so much that doesn't work here. I felt uninterested in the characters and the story, and for most of the film, I was just waiting for the next toe-tapping gospel tune. The 90's was a great time for Disney, but Hercules may not be the best example of such success.

Hercules, released near the end of the 20th century, was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, two of the best driving forces in Disney. However, seeing as how brilliant The Great Mouse Detective, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid were, Hercules was a bit of a disappointment. Even though it had all the qualities from their previous works, Hercules lacked in that certain charm which is reeling the audience to the characters and the scenes. The animation is gorgeous and the voice-over, just like in their other works, was simply top-notch. Seriously, James Woods as Hades was as crucial to this movie as Robin Williams was to Aladdin. I really enjoyed all V.O's but I thoroughly enjoyed Danny DeVito's V.O. as Phil. If you're familiar with DeVito's works then you will see that Phil is just Danny DeVito in cartoon form, with horns and I think that his line "Come on Kid, concentrate" to be one of the immortal lines in Disney-history!

Anyway, the film opens with Charlton Heston narrating which I think was the perfect way to open a feature (come on, he was known as Mr. Epic, right?) and then the Muses step in. They play a semi-important role in the film and I loved their screen-time. Although mythologically it's not 100% correct, it's near there. However I do like the fact that they made Hercules a very human character, not the typical cliche-filled who gets high with power and popularity. Despite the fame and popularity, he is still missing something from the inside. That was a good thing right there and he had a perfect balance of humor, anger, disappointment, happiness etc... all rolled in one.

All in all in conclusion I would like to say is that if you haven't seen many Disney productions, then you will end up liking this but, if like me, you have seen almost all, you will agree with me that it's not better than the ones that predecessed this one. I mean, the Musker/Clements team is legendary and I was expecting a little more better than this!

7.7/10

I like Hercules, Meg, Hercules's Dad and Pegasus.

I saw this movie in theatres, and have seen it a couple of times on video....just watched it on DVD for the first time, and I must say, I have enjoyed this movie every time I have watched it.

It's not the best animated Disney movie, but it certainly isn't the worst. It's got some great songs to go with the mythological story.

I guess I enjoy the music because I am a big fan of "Little Shop of Horrors" and the music in that (both movies having their music done by Alan Menken).

It's just a fun movie, good for the entertainment value and---as usual in so many Disney movies---the one-liners and cultural references that appeal to adults.