90s Movie Review - Hercules

Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Genre: Adventure/ Animation/ Musical/ Family/ Fantasy
Runtime: 92 minutes
Year: 1997
Starring: Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Bob Goldthwait, Rip Torn, Paul Shaffer, Hal Holbrook

Description: The son of Zeus and Hera is stripped of his immortality as an infant and must become a true hero in order to reclaim it.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 17: A MUSICAL
 
Review: “Hercules”, in 1997, was on of the last films to fall within what is known as the Disney Renaissance. The Disney Renaissance was the period from 1989 to 1999 when Disney returned to making successful films based on well-known stories. In 1997 Disney came up not with a fairy tale, but with the Greek myth of Hercules.
It is a typical Disney film in which the story is completely different from what is actually is. In the Greek myth, Hercules is actually a baby from an extramarital relationship. Not so much a Disney theme. So, this film begins with the welcoming of Hercules into the family.
Everyone is happy about the birth of Hercules, except for Hades; the God of the underworld. Hades wants to seize power on Olympus, but he us afraid Hercules will interfere with these plans. To prevent this he sends his henchmen Pain and Panic in the middle of the night. They must make Hercules immortal and then kill him. They succeed in making him immortal, but fail in killing him.
We jump in time and see that Hercules has continued to grow up with the farm couple that found him as a baby. Because he cannot handle his own powers, everyone is afraid of Hercules. In fact, he is known as a big klutz who only brings back luck and breaks stuff. Hercules struggles, but after finding out he is the son of Zeus he is told he can regain his divinity when he proves that he is a true hero. Zeus sends Hercules to Phil, to train him to become a hero.
You don’t need any knowledge of Greek myths to watch this film. I think it’s best, because the story is anything but accurate and the “Disney-fied” the hell out of it. It’s a stunning film, with great songs, especially “Go the Distance”. Perhaps not one of Disney’s very best, but certainly entertaining.

Rating: 3,5/ 5