Hercules: Zero to Hero

***Hercules: Zero to Hero*** (known as ***Hercules II: Zero to Hero***) is a 1999 American direct-to-video fantasy comedy-drama adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Walt Disney Video Premiere with animation production by Walt Disney Animation Australia, Toon City Animation, Inc., Manila, Philippines and Walt Disney Animation Japan. The film is a direct-to-video sequel to 1997 animated feature *Hercules*. It was released on August 17, 1999. The film serves as a package film combining three episodes of *Hercules: The Animated Series* as flashback segments.

The film casts James Woods as Hades, Corey Burton as Zeus, Tate Donovan as Hercules, Susan Egan as Megara, Robert Costanzo as Philoctetes, Frank Welker as Pegasus, Bobcat Goldthwait as Pain and Matt Frewer as Panic.

## Plot

The film briefly gives Hercules' history after defeating Hades for good, in which he marries Meg and revisits his teenage years. In particular, it shows an adolescent Hercules's enrollment and the beginning of his adventures at the Prometheus Academy, a school for gods and mortals, which Hercules supposedly attended during the time when he was training to be a hero with his mentor, the satyr Philoctetes.

## Voice cast

The TV series reunited most of the original voice cast from the 1997 film. This was Paddi Edwards' last film, in which she provided the voice of Atropos.

* James Woods as Hades
* Corey Burton as Zeus
* Tate Donovan as Hercules
* Susan Egan as Megara
* Robert Costanzo as Philoctetes
* Frank Welker as Pegasus
* Bobcat Goldthwait as Pain
* Matt Frewer as Panic
* Paul Shaffer as Hermes
* Eric Stoltz as Theseus
* Richard Simmons as Physedipus
* Eric Idle as Parenthesis
* Sandra Bernhard as Cassandra
* French Stewart as Icarus
* Diedrich Bader as Adonis
* Jodi Benson as Helen of Troy
* Michael Dorn as Minotaur
* Paddi Edwards as Atropos
* Bill Fagerbakke as Cyclops Head#1
* Wayne Knight as Cyclops Head#2
* Cheryl Freeman as Melpomene
* Brad Garrett as Orthus
* Kathie Lee Gifford as Echidna

## Releases

*Hercules: Zero to Hero* was first released on home video on August 17, 1999.

## Critical reception

Michelle Erica Green of LittleReview gave the film a rating of B+, writing that while the film "lacks the dazzling visuals of the feature film upon which it is based...it's hard not to be charmed", adding "the characters are all clever and original despite their mythic origins".[2] Conversely, Antagony & Ecstasy gave a scathing review, writing that as the film "was assembled of four episodes of the Hercules cartoon that had already aired in 1998 and 1999", it was "perhaps the single grubbiest cash-in of [all the direct-to-video released]", adding "Zero to Hero was already going to be at such a low level of accomplishment even relative to other DTV projects".[3]

In a review, Vern Perry of the Orange County Register described the Disney formula as "Just give 'em what they like. And keep it up.", noting that's what the company has done with these two 1998/1999 releases. He added that this film benefited greatly from the return of some of the original voice cast including Tate Donovan and James Woods.[4]

**Television:** TV series (Episode list) (Aladdin crossover) • *House of Mouse*
**Video games:** *Video game* • *Kingdom Hearts* • *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories* • *Kingdom Hearts II* • *Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days* • *Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep* • *Kingdom Hearts coded* •  *Kingdom Hearts χ* •  *Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ/Union χ* • *Kingdom Hearts III* • *Disney Emoji Blitz* • *Disney Heroes: Battle Mode*
**Music:** Soundtrack
**Books:** Classic Storybook • Disney's Wonderful World of Reading • Little Golden Book

**Entertainment:** Animazment: The Musical • Disney's Dreams: An Enchanted Classic • Disney's Wishes • Hercules: The Muse-ical • Once Upon a Mouse • Villains Tonight!
**Parade:** Disney Stars and Motorcars Parade • Hercules Victory Parade • The Hercules Electrical Parade • The Wonderful World of Disney Parade
**Firework:** HarmoniUS • Happily Ever After • Wishes • Wonderful World of Animation
**Halloween:** Disney's Not So Spooky Spectacular • Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular • Maze of Madness: The Nightmare Experiment Continues • Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade • Re-Villains! Halloween Parade • Rock on With The Disney Villains • Scream and Shout Halloween Parade • The Villains World • Villains Night Out! • World of Color: Villainous!

**TV Series:** Icarus • Cassandra • Adonis • Helen of Troy • Tempest • Circe • Triton • Galatea • Pandora • Medusa • Echidna • Typhon • Echidna's Children • Hecate • Nemesis • Mr. Parentheses • Homer • Fear and Terror • Ibid • Antaeus • Prometheus • Daedelus • Morpheus • Kronos • Gaia • Amphitrite • Achilles • Theseus • Orion • Nestor & Meleager • King Midas • Melampus • Lavina • Ajax • Andromeda • Syrinx • Electra • Mr. Griff • King Minos • Tivius • Orthos • Queen Hippolyte

**TV series songs:** Send My Boy to School • My Town • Promethean Ditty • The Agora • The Bacchanal • The Man That I Love • Pucker Up or Let Him Snooze • That's How the Story Goes • Aphrodesia Dance • Love Is In The Air • Since the Light Went Away • Ain't Life a Beach • Can-Do King • Kronos Stone • What's a Mother to Do? • Sreamin' Grecian Teenage Blues • Lethe Water on the Brain! • One Good Man • You're My Hero