Hercules

***Hercules*** is an upcoming live action musical comedy fantasy adventure film producing by Disney Studios and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The movie is an American fantasy tale very loosely based on Ancient Greco-Roman mythology, more specifically the adventures of Heracles (known in the movie by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus.

## Hercules

### Written by

Dave Callaham
Ron Clements
Don McEnery

### Produced by

Lewis Cosgrove
Anthony Russo
Joe Russo

## 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 satyr 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 centaur 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.

Meanwhile Hercules arrives to Thebes and tries to prove himself a hero, though 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 ran for cover while Hercules bravely fights the Hydra with just his sword and his wits. Hercules scrambles to defeat the monster until it flipped him into the air and swallowed 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. 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.

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. 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 wasn'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.

## Cast

* To-be-announced actor as Hercules
* To-be-announced actress as Megara
* To-be-announced actor as Philoctetes
* To-be-announced actor as Hades
* To-be-announced actor as Pain
* To-be-announced actor as Panic
* To-be-announced actor as Zeus
* Maverick Rian as Young Hercules
* To-be-announced actress as Hera
* To-be-announced actress as Calliope
* To-be-announced actress as Melpomene
* To-be-announced actress as Terpsichore
* To-be-announced actress as Thalia
* To-be-announced actress as Clio

## Production

In the film, Hercules is the son of Zeus and Hera. In the Greek myth, Heracles (or Herakles) is the son of Zeus and a mortal, earth-born woman, Alcmene. Alcmene and her husband, Amphitryon, 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 stereotypes 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 Moirae as demonic hags (merging them with the Graeae), 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 Dionysus 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.
* Amphitryon 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, Amphitryon 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 ''Adesmeftos 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 Bellerophon, from which was taken the winged horse Pegasus and the scene where Hercules is swallowed by the Hydra (for Perseus it was the dragon Cetus) and cuts his way out. Another is the myth of Orpheus, who goes to the underworld to try to bring back his love, Eurydice. 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 Argonauts, Pandora's box, the Trojan War, and the Gorgons (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.

## 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.

## 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 Nemean Lion 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 Phantom Five 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*.

## References

1. ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Template:Cite magazine
2. ↑ "Some thoughts on that whole Avengers: EMH dubbing thing" (June 3, 2012). Retrieved on December 14, 2015.

## External links

* Hercules (1997 film) on Wikipedia
* Hercules (film) on Disney.com