Hercules (1997)

Directed by: Ron Clements, John Musker | 92 minutes | comedy, animation, adventure, fantasy, musical | Original voice cast: Tate Donovan, Josh Keaton, Roger Bart, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Susan Egan, Bob Goldthwait, Matt Frewer, Rip Torn, Samantha Eggar, Barbara Barri, Hal Holbrook, Paul Shaffer, Amanda Plummer, Carole Shelley | Dutch voice cast: Tony Neef, Rolf Kosten, Jannemien Cnossen, Kees van Lier, Pierre Bohne, Coen Flink, Hero Muller, Jon van Eerd, Reindert van der Naalt, Lucretia van der Vloot, Laura Vlasblom, Ingrid Simons, Daniëlle Mulder, Babette Labeij , Mariëlle Fiolet, Jan Anne Drenth, Frans van Deursen, Bert van Dool, Marijke Mertens, Maria Lindes, Sylvia de Leur, Hetty Blok

In 1997 Disney took a different path with the making of ‘Hercules’. This time not a recount of a fairy tale, but one of a Greek myth. In short, what is the story of Hercules (or rather ‘Herakles’, his original Greek name)? Well, he is the son of supreme god Zeus and the mortal queen Alcmene (Zeus was quite fond of cheating). This makes Heracles neither god nor man, but demigod. Many times stronger than the ‘ordinary’ people, but less powerful than the gods. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was naturally savage and jealous of the illegitimate son Herakles and eager for revenge. After several failed schemes, she sent him to King Eurystheus, who needed a good slave. This led to the well-known ‘twelve labors of Herakles’; among other things, he defeated a multi-headed Hydra, cleaned Augias’ stables by moving the Alpheus River, and captured Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of the underworld. A pretty impressive resume.

What did Disney make of that? In this Disney story, Hercules is the love baby of Zeus and Hera, illegitimate babies are of course not done in the Disney world. In this story, Hades, the god of the underworld, is the jealous evildoer who causes Hercules to become a demigod. Dan Alcmene and her husband Amphitryon; they are not princes but simple peasants, and the foster parents of the young Hercules.

Hercules grows up lovingly, but is known in Athens as a big klutz. He literally does not know his own powers and in doing so he does not particularly endear himself to his fellow townspeople. When he finds out that Zeus and Hera are his real parents, everything falls into place. He therefore wants to do everything he can to be included among the gods on Olympus. He must first perform the necessary heroic deeds and that is not so easy. Fortunately, he gets help from the quirky, grumpy Philoctetes (voiced by, yes, Danny DeVito, who also lent part of his appearance) and his faithful flying horse Pegasus. The beautiful Megara cannot of course be forgotten, without her there would have been no story. Because what’s a story without love?

For this adaptation one has to put aside one’s (possible) knowledge of the ancient Greek myths & legends, if one really wants to appreciate the film. The necessary changes have ensured that the story (and the representations of some gods) is no longer completely accurate. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to watch. The modernizations are very witty, as are the references (seven in all, nice search) to previous Disney films. The Hercules merchandise includes ‘Air Hercs’ and a ‘Herculade’ cup, so popular that even his enemies can’t resist buying it. What completes the beautiful picture are the songs (by the famous Alan Menken), without the music the end result would have been much less. Especially the choir, the four ‘Fates’ who tell the story, have beautiful voices, ideal for their role. Hercules goes from Zero to Hero, but this movie starts already at its peak, and then doesn’t fall down.