Gods and Monsters: HERCULES is one of Disney's funniest.

Rating: 10/10 (3 January 2009)

My Take: The typical masterpiece Disney is capable of. Pure magic!
The gods must be funny in this hilarious animated smash from the ever-talented animation artists at Disney. HERCULES, which was released after the studio dared to venture into darker territory with THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, returns to the kind of light, fun-loving musical adventure. Despite being a magnificent instant classic of its own, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME proved to be too dark for the usual Disney routine. If that case so, HERCULES is a good throwback to the days of ALADDIN and THE LITTLE MERMAID. It may just be their funniest yet.
The movie is a twist on the tales of Greek Mythology, namely the story of the title character (voiced by Tate Donovan), who happens to be the son of the great god Zeus (voiced by Rip Torn) who is robbed of his godly powers and turned mortal... sort of by the evil Lord Hades (voiced with maniacal glee by James Woods). Unfortunate for the hot-headed, comical Lord of the Underworld, Hercules maintained his god-like strength, making him look like a freak in the eyes of everyone else. So young "Herc" set on a voyage to find his true identity and reclaim his destiny as a god on Mount Olympus. Aiding as his mentor is a tough-mouthed satyr named Phil (voiced by Danny DeVito) and his magical bird-brained Pegasus, while also tempted by a lovely maiden named Meg (voiced by Susan Egan), short for Megara, who may just have a weakness for his "Wonder Boy"'s charms.
The magic of Disney's timeless animation is still stirring and imaginative, but the voice cast have never been more appropriate. James Woods was born to play the villain Hades. He basically steals the scenes he's in, if not the whole movie. He may be the bad guy, but you'll like hims so much, he's good! Other than Woods is Danny DeVito, who imbues his familiar voice and personality to his character Phil and comes up with a character that even adults will love. Then there are the lovely singing muses, who tells the series of events through winning musical numbers (reminiscent to the Greek Chorus from LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS). The songs by the way are written none other than brilliant lyricist Alan Menken (ALADDIN), here whipping yet another magnificent strain of brilliant songs. Mythology fans, film fans and musical fans rejoice! Here's the gods to deliver all your requests. Gather the family together!
Rating: ***** out of 5.