Aren't you a damsel in distress?

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2016)

Hercules visibly diverges from the darkness of its Greek mythology source material for a brighter, more hopeful tale. It posits that a hero is not just someone who does heroic deeds but can also place himself in front of others and sacrifice his own well-being for those who need it more. Pretty simply, sappy Hollywood stuff. But it works marvellously. Disney do not ever hold back on the camp, which is perhaps why it is able to be digested and enjoyed so easily. The gods of the Olympus are all clearly drawn, multicoloured caricatures - not withholding the power couple themselves, Zeus with his hulking, bulging muscles and the stick-thin, bright pink Hera. The sarcastic yet sultry Megara is animated in a way that is not subtle about each exaggerated swing of her hips, and it is enough to make Herc and other young boys' jaws drop. The scene-stealer is James Woods' Hades, who could have been brooding and muttering darkly from the shadows, but bursts into fits of rage and quips like a comedian gone mad. Too many adaptations have made Hades into a dark, humourless character, a baddie played straight. Woods brings attitude, and a fiery temper matched only by his quick wit.
The same subversion is applied to the opening narration. Of course Disney would never let this be a mopey, grim story with dark undercurrents and pessimistic endeavours. The regularly employ the bait and stitch, drawing on the audience's knowledge of these tales and then pulling the rug from right under us. The best and funniest example of this happens at the climatic sacrifice on Hercules' part; he dives into Styx, wading through dead souls and withering away right before our eyes. Quiet a shock from the ever-grinning, bouncing action figure that has dominated much of the film. This is intercut with the Fates inching closer and closer to his life-line, the music ominously building...until they actually try to cut it and it just won't snap and they descend into mayhem in forcing the issue. A less inspired example would be the glowing Hercules abruptly caving in Hades' face without the slightest acknowledgement of the slapstick manner of the moment.
Of course, nostalgia plays his part. I find myself noticing things that I had not previously. The film could have used another half hour; stretch out his young, fish-out-of-water existence, or the training montage that leads him to become an over-excited action figure. The CGI Hydra is an unavoidable element, and clashes so horribly with the rest of the clean-cut animation (though they have merged some of Herc's sword swings well). And there is one thing that most kids would not notice. The animation of the facial expressions is at times quite bizarre; it is like when you pause a video and inexplicably create a funny, morphed face, only these don't need pausing to pop up. It does not take too much away because the film's zaniness never slows down enough to be sensible. And the songs are still great. Go the Distance is intimate enough for Hercules, but targets a universal feeling that we all know too well.