Somewhat flawed and superfluous, but still has that Disney spark of magic

Rating: Null/10 (15 November 2015)

Disney's Hercules is an odd mix of elements. It takes Ancient Greek mythology, completely twists it around while still retaining enough to keep it recognizable, adds painfully bright pastel colour palette, throws in some CGI and simpering sidekicks, and crowns it all off with a soundtrack that takes all of its inspiration from American gospel music. Interesting choices, if nothing else.
Now, some of that I'm completely okay with. I don't really care that there are only five muses, instead of nine like there are in the original mythology. I don't think nine would have been too much, seeing that they're usually the ones singing and gospel music is well-equipped to large crowds singing it, but it's okay. Though it is a bit strange that they dropped Euterpe, the muse of song and music (and elegiac poetry), from the lineup. The use of CGI is also a bit jarring nowadays, because it hasn't aged that well, but I can see that they wanted to experiment with a new technology. Disney has always done that, though usually with better results. What is a bit harder for me to understand is the fact that they made Hades the villain instead of Hera, who was Hercules's main nemesis in the original myths, seeing as she was jealous that her husband Zeus had slept with a mortal woman, siring Hercules in the process. Or Heracles, as he should be called, because this is the Greek version of the myth. Then again, Disney is all about family values, so it's not that surprising. And James Woods does brilliant as the voice actor of Hades.
What really keeps me from liking this film more is the main hero, unfortunately. Hercules just isn't all that interesting of a guy, especially when compared to the ones that came just before him. Simba, Belle, Aladdin, Quasimodo, all of these deep, tragic main characters. And yeah, Hercules has his problems, but he still comes across as that perfect high school jock. You know, the nice one, who could have starred in any breakfast cereal commercial he wanted, was the homecoming king, went on to have a successful career in sports, founded a perfect family and died at the age of one hundred, surrounded by grandkids. You have nothing against the guy, but you're also not really all that interested in the details of his life.
Then again, Megara is great, Hades is excellent, Zeus is enjoyably over the top and boisterous, Phil and Pegasus are alright and the rest of the cast do their jobs. The animation is also very nice, though personally I'm not a fan of the colour palette, but that's a pet peeve of mine and not a fault of the film in any way. And while the songs and the music style are not outright classics like so many other Disney soundtracks of the 90s, there are some decent songs in the mix. Though couldn't you have given Hades a villain song? It would have been glorious.
Ultimately Hercules is one of the weaker Renaissance films, but still lands somewhere in the middle as far as the overall quality of Disney films is to be considered. It has its flaws, but is still an enjoyable experience for kids and adults alike. Give it a try if you haven't already.