surprisingly witty

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2016)

I first saw this as a child and didn't remember much. After I saw it for the second time with fellow college freshmen, I realized that Disney put so many puns and references in its version of the Greek myth we know as Hercules. Of course my mind screamed out at me all of the contradictions with the actual mythology -- like there were more than just 4 Titans and they weren't elemental creatures that could easily take down the Olympians. Anyways, the movie is very funny, I laughed a lot, like when some character says "call IXII" and you realize that it's 911 in Roman numerals. I feel like many Disney movies, in the same way, make modern references that are anachronistic with their settings; like especially for Hades, who does not talk like an ancient god of the underworld but is very sardonic and speaks like we modern folk. As a whole, Hercules is not a super well-made film, it's a cliché love at first sight story and a journey to find oneself. After all, so much of fiction is about finding one's identity. It's also about heroism. What does it mean to be a hero? If you've read the Percy Jackson series, which by the way is a great way to learn about the Greek myths, then most likely you'll see so many flaws in this movie but still, it's hilarious, the soundtrack (kudos to Alan Menken) is amazing and nice to sing along to if you know the words, and you leave with a nice warm feeling. Go the distance!