Spotlight on Fandoms: Disney's Hercules
Take some Greek mythology, add a little Disney, some odd design styles, some memorable characters and voila, you have a movie - Disney's Hercules.
The movie spawned a video game, an okay TV series and the usual amount of Disney merchandise. You can also see the characters in the Olympus Coliseum world in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II.
But this particular spotlight is about the movie.
The Story
Hercules is the wee infant son of Zeus (voiced by Rip Torn) and Hera. His big ol' crotchety uncle Hades (voiced by James Woods) learns from three creepy old witches that in 18 years' time he (Hades) will have the power to unleash the Titans (big demon monster things) and conquer Mount Olympus (where most of the Greek gods live) and rock this joint. This joint being Earth, and 'rock' being rule over all and probably make everyone's life a living hell. Only catch is that if Herc's around, he's the one who's going to defeat Hades and the big H will be screwed.
So Hades has a plan. He sends his two demon minions, Pain and Panic (who are woefully absent in Fandom), to give the dorky kid a potion that will take away his godliness and make him mortal. It only kinda works. Herc's brought down to Earth all mortal-like (but with the super-strength of a god) and his real parents have to leave him to mortal parents to be raised.
Jump ahead some years and here's a scrawny kid with super-strength. Yes, it's Herc! But he's not exactly hero material. He leaves home and meets a faun, Phil (Danny DeVito) who he convinces to train him as a hero. He also learns that his real father is Zeus. Cue some trials and voila, he works his way up to being a big shot.
But then, as always, there's the complication. Megara. Meg to some. Herc falls for her. Meg falls for him. The catch is that Meg's soul belongs to Hades, who fully intends to use her services to bring Wonderboy down. Long story short? Big fighty, big angsty with Meg, Hades gets his ass kicked, Wonderboy proves himself to be a true hero and regains his godly powers so he can go home, but chooses to stay with Meg on Earth. Aww. And Hades is left to fall through a pit of souls in the Underworld for eternity.
The Characters
THE GOOD GUYS
Hercules (Tate Donovan)
Herc is your typical hero boy wonder. Wonderboy (to Meg), has a genuinely good heart and is desperate to prove himself as a hero to win the approval of others, to show others he's more than capable (he got picked on as a kid for being clumsy) and to get his real father's attention. He's naive and a total dork, but packs a punch and he's not Kevin Sorbo. That goes a long way in my book.
Megara (Susan Egan)
Meg is a smart ass woman who knows what she wants. Unfortunately, she wanted a particular guy and traded her soul to Hades in exchange for that guy's life. The guy? Ditched her. Bastard. So now she doesn't get the guy and she has to serve Hades for however many years the contract was for. She's sarcastic and skeptical of the world, but found herself falling for the big, dumb hero guy. Not exactly your typical damsel in distress, but definitely finds herself in trouble.
Phil (Danny DeVito)
Philocetes, to be more accurate. He's a pudgy little faun who used to train all the great heroes. Then they screwed up or died or left him and he went into retirement. Herc convinced him to train him and while he's a surly, smart-mouthed guy (think any of Danny DeVito's roles, really), he's really a big softy underneath. Also, two words: he can't count.
Zeus (Rip Torn)
Big Papa, the head honcho, the big cheese. Zeus is the leader of all of the Greek gods (well, those around at the time). He's Herc's father, Hades' younger brother and a big, jovial, belly-laughing kind of guy. Disney decided to leave out the parts about screwing humans while in animal form and all the nasty stuff he did from mythology. He's there as the Dad, the guy who lost his son and desperately wants him back, giving Herc something to strive for.
Pegasus
FLYING HORSIE. With attitude. Pegasus is Herc's childhood friend who he lost contact with and then was able to have back once he found out about being the son of two gods. He struts. He preens. He kicks ass.
The Muses
Would-be narrators, these sassy singers appear to sing about Hercules as he grows up and does all his heroic deeds. Often making some snarky commentary about what's going on at the time. They're great fun and really liven things up.
THE BAD GUYS
Hades (James Woods)
Lord of the Underworld, God of the Dead, guy in the grey robes, blue, flaming hair. Can't miss him. He's Zeus' older brother and is a little pissed about getting sent to look after the Underworld for his whole eternal existence. He's snide, petty, devious, cunning and talks like a used-car salesman. That's because he IS a used-car salesman, only with souls. He makes deals with mortals for their eternal soul (it's good to have more numbers than expected for the monthly quota) and generally just loves to mess with them. He also really, really, REALLY likes to win. Awesome villain, hates his family and wants to rule over everything just for the fun of being in charge for once. Definitely the black sheep of the family, to say the least.
Pain and Panic
Hades' demonic minions who can make themselves look like whatever they want pretty much. They're snivelling around Hades, but otherwise pretty clueless sidekicks who often get things wrong, thwarting Hades' plan. But as with the sidekicks of most Disney villains, they're hilarious.
Why Should I Watch?
The pacing is good, it's colourful, lively and fun. It doesn't take itself seriously, you get a vast array of interesting characters, some songs, some cool fight scenes (this is when they were first getting into using more computer animation without making it look plastic) and, well, Hades. I'm biased there, but James Woods' portrayal of a classic villain in a very non-classical way (USED SOUL SALESMAN) is just great. Also, flying horsie.
Where Can I Get It?
Pretty much everywhere that sells Disney DVDs. It's not in the vault yet (where Disney locks a movie away and won't sell it for ten years), but it could be soon, so you can get it for $20 at Amazon.com. Could probably find it cheaper elsewhere. You should also be able to get it at the local video store in the Family or Kids section.
The movie spawned a video game, an okay TV series and the usual amount of Disney merchandise. You can also see the characters in the Olympus Coliseum world in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II.
But this particular spotlight is about the movie.
The Story
Hercules is the wee infant son of Zeus (voiced by Rip Torn) and Hera. His big ol' crotchety uncle Hades (voiced by James Woods) learns from three creepy old witches that in 18 years' time he (Hades) will have the power to unleash the Titans (big demon monster things) and conquer Mount Olympus (where most of the Greek gods live) and rock this joint. This joint being Earth, and 'rock' being rule over all and probably make everyone's life a living hell. Only catch is that if Herc's around, he's the one who's going to defeat Hades and the big H will be screwed.
So Hades has a plan. He sends his two demon minions, Pain and Panic (who are woefully absent in Fandom), to give the dorky kid a potion that will take away his godliness and make him mortal. It only kinda works. Herc's brought down to Earth all mortal-like (but with the super-strength of a god) and his real parents have to leave him to mortal parents to be raised.
Jump ahead some years and here's a scrawny kid with super-strength. Yes, it's Herc! But he's not exactly hero material. He leaves home and meets a faun, Phil (Danny DeVito) who he convinces to train him as a hero. He also learns that his real father is Zeus. Cue some trials and voila, he works his way up to being a big shot.
But then, as always, there's the complication. Megara. Meg to some. Herc falls for her. Meg falls for him. The catch is that Meg's soul belongs to Hades, who fully intends to use her services to bring Wonderboy down. Long story short? Big fighty, big angsty with Meg, Hades gets his ass kicked, Wonderboy proves himself to be a true hero and regains his godly powers so he can go home, but chooses to stay with Meg on Earth. Aww. And Hades is left to fall through a pit of souls in the Underworld for eternity.
The Characters
THE GOOD GUYS
Hercules (Tate Donovan)
Herc is your typical hero boy wonder. Wonderboy (to Meg), has a genuinely good heart and is desperate to prove himself as a hero to win the approval of others, to show others he's more than capable (he got picked on as a kid for being clumsy) and to get his real father's attention. He's naive and a total dork, but packs a punch and he's not Kevin Sorbo. That goes a long way in my book.
Megara (Susan Egan)
Meg is a smart ass woman who knows what she wants. Unfortunately, she wanted a particular guy and traded her soul to Hades in exchange for that guy's life. The guy? Ditched her. Bastard. So now she doesn't get the guy and she has to serve Hades for however many years the contract was for. She's sarcastic and skeptical of the world, but found herself falling for the big, dumb hero guy. Not exactly your typical damsel in distress, but definitely finds herself in trouble.
Phil (Danny DeVito)
Philocetes, to be more accurate. He's a pudgy little faun who used to train all the great heroes. Then they screwed up or died or left him and he went into retirement. Herc convinced him to train him and while he's a surly, smart-mouthed guy (think any of Danny DeVito's roles, really), he's really a big softy underneath. Also, two words: he can't count.
Zeus (Rip Torn)
Big Papa, the head honcho, the big cheese. Zeus is the leader of all of the Greek gods (well, those around at the time). He's Herc's father, Hades' younger brother and a big, jovial, belly-laughing kind of guy. Disney decided to leave out the parts about screwing humans while in animal form and all the nasty stuff he did from mythology. He's there as the Dad, the guy who lost his son and desperately wants him back, giving Herc something to strive for.
Pegasus
FLYING HORSIE. With attitude. Pegasus is Herc's childhood friend who he lost contact with and then was able to have back once he found out about being the son of two gods. He struts. He preens. He kicks ass.
The Muses
Would-be narrators, these sassy singers appear to sing about Hercules as he grows up and does all his heroic deeds. Often making some snarky commentary about what's going on at the time. They're great fun and really liven things up.
THE BAD GUYS
Hades (James Woods)
Lord of the Underworld, God of the Dead, guy in the grey robes, blue, flaming hair. Can't miss him. He's Zeus' older brother and is a little pissed about getting sent to look after the Underworld for his whole eternal existence. He's snide, petty, devious, cunning and talks like a used-car salesman. That's because he IS a used-car salesman, only with souls. He makes deals with mortals for their eternal soul (it's good to have more numbers than expected for the monthly quota) and generally just loves to mess with them. He also really, really, REALLY likes to win. Awesome villain, hates his family and wants to rule over everything just for the fun of being in charge for once. Definitely the black sheep of the family, to say the least.
Pain and Panic
Hades' demonic minions who can make themselves look like whatever they want pretty much. They're snivelling around Hades, but otherwise pretty clueless sidekicks who often get things wrong, thwarting Hades' plan. But as with the sidekicks of most Disney villains, they're hilarious.
Why Should I Watch?
The pacing is good, it's colourful, lively and fun. It doesn't take itself seriously, you get a vast array of interesting characters, some songs, some cool fight scenes (this is when they were first getting into using more computer animation without making it look plastic) and, well, Hades. I'm biased there, but James Woods' portrayal of a classic villain in a very non-classical way (USED SOUL SALESMAN) is just great. Also, flying horsie.
Where Can I Get It?
Pretty much everywhere that sells Disney DVDs. It's not in the vault yet (where Disney locks a movie away and won't sell it for ten years), but it could be soon, so you can get it for $20 at Amazon.com. Could probably find it cheaper elsewhere. You should also be able to get it at the local video store in the Family or Kids section.