Hercules (film)

Hercules is a 1997 animated musical comedy fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 35th film in the Disney Animated Canon and the eighth entry of the Disney Renaissance, Hercules was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The movie is very loosely based on Ancient Greco-Roman mythology, more specifically the adventures of (known in the movie by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of .
Released on June 27, 1997, Hercules underperformed expectations during its theatrical release, only taking $252,712,101 at the box office worldwide. This was mainly due to competition from other studios. Though Hercules did not match its predecessors, it did receive positive reviews.
==Plot==
The film begins with the five muses, "Goddesses of the arts and pro-claimers of heroes", telling the story of how Zeus came to power and prevented the monstrous Titans from ruling the world. This leads to the day Hercules is born to Zeus and Hera, much to the pleasure of the other gods except Hades, who receives word from the Fates that Hercules will one day rise to power and prevent him from taking control of the world. He sends his minions, Pain and Panic, to kidnap Hercules and feed him a potion that will strip him of his immortality; however, they are interrupted by Amphitryon and Alcmene and, while Hercules becomes mortal, he retains his superhuman strength (for the potion to fully work, Hercules had to drink every last drop, but missed one when they were interrupted).
Years later, Hercules grows up to be a misfit, having difficulty being accepted by others, due to not being able to control his own strength and his clumsiness which leads to him accidentally destroying a marketplace. Shortly after, his adoptive parents finally tell Hercules that he is adopted, and they found a medal with his name on it when they found him. Hercules then decides to travel to the temple of Zeus. Lightning comes down bringing the statue of Zeus to life and tells Hercules that he is his father and someone stole him from his parents (Hera and Zeus). Zeus tells him that he must prove himself a true hero before he can join the other gods on Mount Olympus. Along with his flying horse Pegasus, Hercules goes to Philoctetes, an unhappy who has failed to train a true hero yet; he decides to take on Hercules as his final attempt.
After training with Phil, the three of them attempt to save the beautiful Megara, a damsel in distress, from a named Nessus. A smitten Hercules barely succeeds and Meg returns to the forest, where she is revealed to be a minion for Hades, having sold her soul in order to save her lover's life; her lover abandoned her and now Meg must do favors for Hades in order to avoid an eternity in the underworld. When Hades learns that Hercules is alive, he is enraged and plots to murder him again. So he threatens Pain and Panic about it and furiously screams out his explosion, destroying the entire forest.
Meanwhile Hercules arrives to Thebes and tries to prove himself a hero. Though Phil gets angry at them, when a burnt man recalls him the "goat man" who trained Achilles, and a tall Theban mocks him about his heel, which he beats him up and bites him. Then a group of citizens doubt and ridicule him as an amateur. After freeing two boys (Pain and Panic in disguise) from under a boulder, Hercules unintentionally releases the Hydra, a serpent-like monster, an unintended consequence of a seemingly virtuous act which has been set up as a fixed contest by Hades to kill the young hero. Phil runs for cover while Hercules bravely fights the monster with just his sword and his wits. Hercules scrambles to defeat the monster until it flips him into the air and swallows him whole. But after a moment, Hercules cuts his way out by decapitation, only for more heads to grow back and gang up to attack him. Finally, Hercules prevails by using his strength to cause a landslide, crushing the multi-headed monster while he survives, but badly bruised and wounded. Hades furiously loses his cool and squeezes Pain and Panic's faces in his burning. Having accomplished the unsavory yet heroic task of defeating the Hydra, Hercules earns newfound fame and adoration from the citizens of Thebes as well as the anger of Hades.
As Hades is watching Hercules in anger, he notices Pain wearing his Air-Herc sandals and gets furiously enraged that he is wearing Hercules' merchandise, then he and Pain hears a slurping sound, which is Panic drinking his Herculade. Hades furiously screams about it and lets out an explosion. Now having the respect and support of the people of Thebes, Hercules soon becomes a national celebrity as a result. Realizing that his plans are jeopardized, Hades sends Meg out to discover Hercules' weakness, promising her freedom in return. Hercules is disappointed to learn from his father Zeus that he has yet to become a true hero and spends the day with Meg, who finds herself developing strong romantic feelings for Hercules. When Hades intervenes, she turns against him, finally accepting she has fallen in love with Hercules, much to Hades' dismay, but plots to use Meg, realizing she is Hercules' weakness.
Phil learns of Meg's involvement with Hades and, thinking she willingly desires to work for him, tries to warn Hercules, who ignores Phil and knocks him to the ground in an outrage. Discouraged, Phil leaves for home. Hades arrives, interrupting Hercules' training, talks a lot, then snaps his fingers, making Meg appear. Before she can finish her sentence, Hades snaps his fingers and she disappears, tied up and gagged by smoke, then reappears with another snap of Hades' fingers. He uses Meg to try to get Hercules to give up his God-like superhuman strength for twenty-four hours, though Hercules adds the condition that Meg will be safe from any harm. Meg shakes her head frantically, trying to convince Hercules not to make the deal, but he does not listen. So Hades shakes his hand, draining his superhuman strength. When Hades sets Meg free, Hades spitefully reveals that she was working for him all along. Deeply heartbroken and crushed, and now realizing Phil had been telling him the truth, but he didn't believe him, the now-weakened Hercules loses the will to fight the Cyclops that Hades unleashes upon him when he frees the Titans from Tartarus. Meg finds and unties Pegasus and battles her fear of heights to find Phil, persuading him to come back and help Hercules regain his confidence. He finishes off the Cyclops, but just as a pillar is about to crush Hercules, Meg pushes him out of the way and takes the hit, saving him because "people always do crazy things when they're in love."
As a result, the deal is broken, and Hercules' god-like superhuman strength is returned. Hercules, along with Pegasus and Phil, saves Olympus from certain doom, and Hades returns to the underworld.
Meanwhile, Meg dies of her injuries, her thread of life having been cut by the Fates. Hercules arrives and demands Meg to be revived, but Hades shows him that she is currently trapped in the River Styx, a river of souls where all the dead go. Hades allows Hercules to trade his own spirit for Meg's, hoping to return Meg's body to the surface of the river before he is killed. Hercules jumps in and as his lifeline is about to be cut by the Fates, his amazing courage and willingness to ultimately sacrifice his life for others prove him a true hero, restoring all of his godly powers and rendering him immortal, leaving the Fates shocked when they can't cut his thread of life as Hercules was immortal again. As he successfully returns Meg to the surface, Hades tries to talk his way out of the situation. After Hades triggers Hercules by touching Meg's soul, Hercules punches him, knocking him into the River Styx. The other souls grab Hades and pull him down into the stream. Hercules revives Meg and they both head to Olympus, but when Meg's entrance is denied as she isn't immortal like the Olympian Gods, Hercules chooses to become mortal and stay on Earth with her, which Zeus and Hera grant. Hercules is acclaimed a hero on both Earth and Olympus alike, Zeus creates a constellation in his image, and Phil is remembered for being the one to train him.
In a post-credits audio sequence, Hades is heard complaining about no one listening to him.
==Production==
In the film, Hercules is the son of Zeus and Hera. In the Greek myth, (or Herakles) is the son of Zeus and a mortal, earth-born woman, . Alcmene and her husband, , appear in the film as Hercules' "foster parents".
Hades, voiced by James Woods, is cast as the villain. This idea is similar to that of the Hades of the Marvel Universe (and to a lesser extent, Loki of the Thor series), who wanted to overthrow Zeus and was an ambitious, evil scheming god. In the movie, Hades is a fast-talking, manipulative deal maker with a fiery (literally) temper, who hates his job as lord of the underworld and plots to overthrow Zeus.
Disney took considerable liberties with the "Hercules" myths since most of the original material and characters who are associated with Greek Mythology were deemed inappropriate for family viewers by the Disney studios moral standards, such as Hercules being conceived through a god posing as a mortal woman's husband, and of his stepmother Hera's attempts to kill him. Disney also made use of when designing the look of the characters, such as depicting Hercules as a more of a crime-fighting superhero than a god (to the point that Hercules physically resembles Superman), the gods as laid-back American types, the as demonic hags (merging them with the ), the Muses as five gospel-singing divas, and the Titans as brutish giants.
Due to the name's prominence in Western culture, they went with the Latin Hercules rather than the actual Greek Herakles. In the series, the god was also portrayed with his Roman name, Bacchus.
The Disney version of Hercules has little relation to the Heracles myths and should not be regarded as the actual stories about the mythological hero; rather, it is a spin on the character and the culture of Ancient Greece, but using elements from DC comics' Superman, particularly 1978's Superman, 1980's Superman II and the three-part pilot episode of Superman: The Animated Series, "The Last Son of Krypton", with the following notable similarities almost to the point of plagiarism:
*Like Superman, Hercules is separated from his parents as a baby and grows up on Earth as an outcast because of his super strength. When he discovers his true origins, he evolves into the local superhero/crime fighter/protector of the people, right down to wearing a cape, sporting an S-curl on his forehead, and even adopting similar postures to Superman.
*Hades appears to be an amalgamation of four of Superman's enemies in his rogues gallery: Lex Luthor, General Zod, Brainiac, and Darkseid. Luthor is obsessed with destroying Superman out of pure spite and jealousy; Zod and Brainiac are also from or related to Krypton; and Darkseid is the ruler of Apokolips. Hades shares traits with all four characters, and the Underworld greatly resembles Apokolips. Coincidentally, James Woods voices Lex Luthor in the Justice League Action animated television series.
*Megara appears to be an amalgamation of Lois Lane, Superman's love interest, and Mercy Graves and Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor's right-hand women in Superman: The Animated Series and the 1978 film, respectively; Megara's sassy and often sarcastic attitude is similar to Lois, while Megara falling in love with Hercules to the point of betraying Hades in order to be with him mirrors Eve saving and even kissing Superman so that he will save her mother's life despite knowing Luthor will likely kill her for it. Megara's life-debt to Hades mirrors Mercy's life-debt to Luthor, who once caught her breaking into his apartment to rob his fortune but took her under his wing instead of reporting her to the authorities.
*Megara often refers to Hercules as "Wonderboy", which itself sounds similar to "Superboy", an identity adopted by a young Superman, or by other superheroes in the DC Universe, such as Superman's clone, Kon-El, or Superman's son with Lois Lane, Jonathan Kent. The name also mirrors Lois' nickname for Clark Kent, "Smallville".
*Philoctetes, as Hercules' mentor, has a very similar demeanor to Perry White, the employer of Clark Kent (Superman's civilian disguise): strict on the outside but who cares deeply for his friends.
*Pain and Panic, Hades' clumsy minions, are characterized in a very similar way to Otis, Lex Luthor's bumbling henchman in Superman and Superman II.
*In the comics, Superman's powers manifest during his youth, but he does not discover his ability to fly until much later. The same applies with Hercules: though he cannot physically fly, he is reunited with Pegasus during his youth, who he uses for flight.
*Pegasus himself also shares traits with Krypto the Superdog.
*Amphytrion and Alcmene are depicted as a farmer couple who stumble across a baby Hercules, decide to adopt him, and wait until his adolescence to tell him of his true origins with physical evidence to prove it, like Jonathan and Martha Kent did with Superman; in the myth, Amphytrion was a Theban general, and Alcmene was the biological mother of Hercules as a result of an affair with Zeus.
*Zeus speaks with an American accent while Hera speaks with a British one, similar to Jor-El and Lara's accents in "The Last Son of Krypton".
*The Temple of Zeus has a similar purpose to the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman "communicates" with his father, who offers him advice and wisdom.
*Thebes, where Hercules operates, is referred to as the Big Olive; Metropolis, Superman's home city, is placed within the state of New York (Delaware when it is revealed that Gotham and Metropolis are located to that state and New Jersey in the comics) and New York City is known as the Big Apple. Additionally, Pain and Panic call for someone to "call IX I I" while pretending to be trapped under the boulder: IX I I are the Roman numerals for 911, which is the emergency telephone number in the United States, while in Greece and the rest of Europe, the number is 112, which would be I I II, further emphasizing that the film takes place in a comical Ancient Greek version of Metropolis instead of the actual Ancient Greece. (Besides the obviously anachronistic reference to the "911" telephone emergency service, the ancient Greeks did not use the Roman system of numerals, but rather the first nine Greek alphabet letters, though if the boys had said, "Call Ι-Α-Α [Iota-Alpha-Alpha]!" the joke would have been practically incomprehensible.)
*Hercules briefly gives up his powers to save Megara from Hades, an action which leads Hades to unleash the Titans to take Olympus while sending the Cyclops to wreak havoc on Thebes and lure out Hercules to kill him, similar to Superman II when Superman's benevolent actions inadvertently lead to General Zod, Ursa, and Non being freed from the Phantom Zone and traveling to Earth, where Lex Luthor allies with them in order to get his revenge on Superman.
*The Titans also play a similar role to Zod, Ursa, and Non; in the opening of the film, Zeus imprisons the Titans, but they are later freed by Hades to take their revenge on him, while one, the Cyclops, goes after Hercules, Zeus's son. In Superman, Jor-El sentences Zod, Ursa and Non to the Phantom Zone, and when they are freed in Superman II, with help from Lex Luthor, they go after Superman, who is Jor-El's son, Kal-El, as Jor-El is long dead.
*The Cyclops appears to be a goofy parody of Doomsday, one of Superman's more dangerous enemies: due to Hercules losing his powers, he is very nearly killed by the Cyclops, while Doomsday is the only villain in the comics to have successfully (though temporarily) killed Superman in battle. Hercules' battle-weary appearance also resembles that of Superman after his death at Doomsday's hands. In addition, the Cyclops is sent personally by Hades to kill Hercules to stop him interfering with his invasion of Olympus, while in the comic storyline "The Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen", it is revealed that Doomsday was sent by Darkseid to kill Superman and the Justice League to weaken Earth's defenses in preparation for his coming invasion.
*Near the film's climax, Megara is killed by falling debris, but Hercules finds a way to bring her back from the dead despite Hades warning him of the risks, similar to the 1978 Superman movie, in which Lois Lane dies but Superman brings her back through time travel even though Jor-El warns him of the consequences.
*At the end of the film, Hercules ultimately gives up his godhood in order to lead a normal life on Earth with Megara, a choice that Superman briefly makes in 1980's Superman II to live with Lois after she admits she is in love with him. Megara's life being placed in danger is what leads to Hercules' powers being restored, similar to when General Zod takes Lois hostage in Superman II and Superman chooses to restore his powers to save her.
Because of this, the movie was widely panned in Greece by the media and the public, which led to the Greek government refusing the film an open air premiere on Pnyx hill. A Greek newspaper called Adesmevtos Typos denounced the film as "another case of foreigners distorting our history and culture just to suit their commercial interests".
The movie got a subtitle in Greece calling it Ηρακλής: Πέρα από το μύθο (Hercules: Beyond the myth). The film does contain a brief reference to The Twelve Labors and other myths pertaining to the character, however, such as the Erymanthian Boar. In the movie, Hades sends these monsters to him, rather than their being encountered as they are in the myths. Some other Greek myths are appropriated, as well. One is the myth of , from which was taken the winged horse Pegasus and the scene where Hercules is swallowed by the Hydra (for Perseus it was the dragon ) and cuts his way out. Another is the myth of , who goes to the underworld to try to bring back his love, . The most obvious is when Hercules is fighting a titanic battle with the Hydra, a lizard-like monster who regrows three heads for every one severed. According to Apollodorus, it regrows two heads instead of three. Many other myths are mentioned, like the ones of the , Pandora's box, the , and the (which Hercules says he had slayed).
Because noted British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe (who contributed the animated segments for the film adaptation of Pink Floyd's album "The Wall") designed the characters, the film has a quirky visual style unusual in recent Disney films. CGI was also used to create the Hydra and the clouds in Olympus.
==Cast==
*Tate Donovan as Hercules
**Josh Keaton as Young Hercules
**Roger Bart as Young Hercules (singing)
*Danny DeVito as Philoctetes/Phil
*James Woods as Hades
*Susan Egan as Megara
*Frank Welker as Pegasus
*Rip Torn as Zeus
*Samantha Eggar as Hera
*Lillias White as Calliope
*Cheryl Freeman as Melpomene
*LaChanze as Terpsichore
*Roz Ryan as Thalia
*Vanéese Y. Thomas as Clio
*Bobcat Goldthwait as Pain
*Matt Frewer as Panic
*Patrick Pinney as the Arges, Black Marketeer
*Hal Holbrook as Amphitryon
*Barbara Barrie as Alcmene
*Amanda Plummer as Clotho
*Carole Shelley as Lachesis
*Paddi Edwards as Atropos
*Paul Shaffer as Hermes
*Jim Cummings as Nessus
*Wayne Knight as Demetrius
*Keith David as Apollo
*Charlton Heston as Narrator
*Jack Angel as Builder
*Rodger Bumpass as Man pointing at Hercules
*Corey Burton as Cab Driver, End-of-the-World Man, Rock Titan, Tour Bus Guide
*Jim Cummings as Elderly Theban, Lava Titan, Tall Theban
*Jim Ward as Ice Titan
*Bill Farmer as Builder
*Mickie McGowan as Fat Party Lady
*Phil Proctor as Boat Captain, Snowball the Cat
*Jan Rabson as Driver
*Erik von Detten as Boy
===Additional voices===
*Tawatha Agee
*Shelton Becton
*Bob Bergen
*Jennifer Darling
*Debi Derryberry
*Milt Grayson
*Sherry Lynn
*Denise Pickering
*Riley Steiner
*Ken Williams
==Crew==
Crew Position 	
Directed by 	John MuskerRon Clements
Produced by 	John MuskerRon ClementsAlice Dewey
Written by 	John MuskerRon ClementsBob ShawDon McEneryIrene Mecchi
Songs by 	Alan MenkenDavid Zippel
Original Score by 	Alan Menken
Associate Producer 	Kendra Haaland
Art Director 	Andy Gaskill
Production Designer 	Gerald Scarfe
Film Editor 	Tom Finan
Artistic Supervisors	Barry Johnson (Story supervisor)Rasoul Azadani (Layout supervisor)Thomas Cardone (Background supervisor)Nancy Kniep (Clean-up supervisor)Mauro Maressa (Effects supervisor)Roger L. Gould (Computer Graphics supervisor)
Artistic Coordinator	Dan Hansen
Supervising Animator	Andreas Deja (Adult Hercules)Randy Haycock (Young & Baby Hercules)Eric Goldberg (Phil)Nik Ranieri (Hades)Ken Duncan (Meg)Ellen Woodbury (Pegasus)Anthony DeRosa (Zeus & Hera)James Lopez (Pain)Brian Ferguson (Panic)Michael Show (The Muses)Dominique Monfery (Titans & Cyclops)Richard Bazley (Alcmene & Amphitryon)Nancy Beiman (The Fates/Thebans)Oskar Urretabizkaia (Hydra)
Production Manager 	Peter Del Vecho
==Soundtrack==
*On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, "One Last Hope" is included on the purple disc, and "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" is on the orange disc.
*Disney's Greatest Hits also includes "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" on the blue disc and "Go the Distance" on the green disc.
*"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" was also used in the short-lived Disney musical revue On the Record.
===Awards and nominations===
*"Go the Distance" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, but lost both to Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On".
==Annie Awards==
Award 	Winner/Nominee Recipient(s) 	Result
Animated Theatrical Feature 	 	
Individual Achievement in Producing 	Alice Dewey (Producer)John Musker (Producer)Ron Clements (Producer)	rowspan=2
Individual Achievement in Directing 	John Musker (Director)Ron Clements (Director) 	
Individual Achievement in Character Animation	Ken Duncan (Supervising Animator - Meg) 	
Individual Achievement in Character Animation	Nik Ranieri (Supervising Animator - Hades) 	rowspan=2
Individual Achievement in Effects Animation 	Mauro Maressa (Effects Supervisor) 	
==Anachronisms==
Many events of Greek mythology are mentioned by the various divine characters within the film in the past tense, either explaining the events to Hercules or referencing an example. However, several of the events mentioned occurred either during or after the life of the mythological Hercules. These include:
*: The quest for the Golden Fleece, featuring and the , took place during the life of Hercules and featured him as a member of the Argonauts. However, the itself has apparently been disassembled and Hercules has no first-person knowledge of its adventures.
*: In the beginning of the movie, Hermes flies in and says that Orpheus made the floral arrangement in the bouquet he is carrying. However, Orpheus was a renowned artisan who was a contemporary of Hercules.
*: The war occurred a generation after the life of Hercules, and in fact featured his son as a participant, but Hades makes a reference to the defeat of the Trojans with the .
*Achilles: In addition to referencing the Trojan War, several characters mention the mythological figure of Achilles, who lived a generation after Hercules and took part in the Trojan War. This is also true of , who is mentioned as having lived before Hercules, and, as is additionally implied, dying after Achilles.
*: Hercules says to Zeus that he defeated a Gorgon (which was shown during the song Zero to Hero along with the Minotaur and a griffin), although only one of the Gorgons could be killed (), and she was already slain by Perseus at about the same time as Hercules' Twelve Labors.
*Titans: In the movie, the Titans were demons that embodied forces of nature (earth, water, fire and air) and had no relation to the gods. In the original, the Titans were the parents of several of the gods and had similar powers to them.
*Hydra: In the original myth, the Hydra was actually a large water snake that lived in a swamp that grew two heads when one was severed. In the film, the Hydra is a gargantuan, dragon-like monster that grew three heads when one was severed. It was also seen apparently sealed under a boulder, which was actually the place Hercules hid the Hydra's immortal head.
*: Phil references Hippolyta while briefing Hercules of his duties, by saying that he had to get "some girdle from some Amazons." In mythology, Hippolyta was an Amazonian queen who possessed an enchanted girdle which Hercules was ordered to retrieve as part of his labors.
*: Phil also references King Augeas, by saying that he had "a problem with his stables." This refers to the Augean stables, which housed a herd of immortal cattle that produced an enormous quantity of dung. Hercules was ordered to clean the structure as part of his labors.
*: Hades mentions Pandora during a conversation with Meg, in which he references her weakness as being a box. In mythology, Pandora was the first woman created by the gods, who inadvertently unleashed every evil in the world by opening a jar out of curiosity.
*Nessus: In the movie, the centaur Nessus was harassing Meg prior to being knocked out by Hercules. In mythology, Nessus was the last creature that Hercules defeated before ascending to Olympus when Hercules fired arrows at him (which were tipped with the Hydra's poisonous blood) in order to stop him from harming his wife Deianira. Prior to his death, Nessus tricked Deianira into thinking that his blood would make Hercules faithful to her forever. When Hercules came into contact with the centaur's blood, which was as poisonous as the Hydra's, it ultimately led to his death as the blood burned his skin, forcing him to cremate himself.
*Also Pain and Panic are shown holding a Hercules cup which takes the appearance of a plastic merch cup. These wouldn’t be invented for thousands of years to come.
==Videos==
Hercules - Sneak Peek -1 (October 29, 1996)|1997 Sneak Peek Trailer
Hercules - Sneak Peek -2 (February 4, 1997)|1997 Original Theatrical Trailer 1
Hercules - Sneak Peek -3 (April 15, 1997)|1997 Original Theatrical Trailer 2
File:Hercules - 1998 VHS Trailer|1998 Home Video Trailer
Hades Character Insights|1998 Home Video Trailer
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*This is the first Disney hand-drawn animated film to feature Skywalker Sound.
*When Hercules walks into Phil's house on the island, he hits his head on the mast of the Argo. Phil tells him to be careful. This is a reference to Jason of the legends of Jason and the Argonauts, who died when the mast of the Argo fell on him.
*During Hercules' training, he practices a form of karate. This is a reference to the 1984 film The Karate Kid.
*The animators spent 6 to 14 hours to render a frame of the Hydra depending on how many heads it had.
*After Hercules defeats Nessus and saves Meg, Phil tells him "Next time, don't let your guard down because of a pair of big goo-goo eyes." Phil's original line was "Next time, don't let your guard down because of a pair of big blue eyes," which was heard in the teaser trailer on the 1996 VHS of Toy Story. However, by the time the scene was in color, Meg's eyes were purple.
*The movie is featured in a world, Olympus Coliseum, in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. Hades, while trying to take over Olympus, uses several Final Fantasy characters (Cloud, Auron, and Zack) to aid him by controlling them to kill Hercules or the series protagonists (such as Sora and Terra).
*Hercules, Megara, Philoctetes, Pegasus, Zeus, Hera, Hermes, and the Fates were featured as guests on House of Mouse, and Hades was one of the villains in Mickey's House of Villains.
*The Wilhelm scream is heard.
*Susan Egan would later go on to do the singing voice for Angel in Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure. Roger Bart would go on to do the singing voice for Scamp in the same movie.
*Even though Susan Egan and Roger Bart both worked on Hercules, they did not meet each other until working together in Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure by providing the singing voices for the two main characters.
*Unlike the original myths, in which Hera was the main antagonist, Hera is actually allied to Zeus and Hercules.
*Hercules is so far one of two movies from the Disney Renaissance that doesn't have a chronological sequel that takes place after the events of the first movie. However, Disney did have plans for one.
*The Spice Girls were originally considered for the roles of the Muses due to their massive popularity and worldwide success at the time.
*This is Alan Menken's last project within the Disney Renaissance. Of his next projects, Home on the Range was released in the Post-Renaissance (aka the second Dark Age), and Tangled was released in the Revival.
*This was the first Disney film on VHS to have a url address on the back of the case while being part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, which is www.disneyvideos.com.
==Allusions==
*Caricatures of directors John Musker and Ron Clements can be spotted working on the archway that Hercules smashes into at the beginning of the Agora scene.
*Scar from The Lion King makes a cameo appearance as the dead worn by Hercules while his portrait is being painted.
*Megara calls Pain and Panic (in disguise) "a couple of rodents looking for a theme park," which alludes Mickey, Minnie, and the Disney Parks.
*During the song "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)", the Muses appear as the Singing Busts from the Haunted Mansion's graveyard scene.
*Hades says, "It's a small Underworld after all," parodying both the ride and song "It's a Small World".
*The tornado titan destroying a temple and a sheep flying through him is a reference to the 1996 disaster film Twister.
==External links==
*
*
*Disney's Hercules Wiki
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