Hercules

Name: Hercules
Director: Ron Clements
Released: 1997

Ron Clements,
John Musker

1997

4.00

Synopsis

Bestowed with superhuman strength, a young mortal named Hercules sets out to prove himself a hero in the eyes of his father, the great god Zeus. Along with his friends Pegasus, a flying horse, and Phil, a personal trainer, Hercules is tricked by the hilarious, hotheaded villain Hades, who's plotting to take over Mount Olympus!

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Cast

Tate DonovanHercules (voice)
Josh KeatonYoung Hercules (voice)
Roger BartYoung Hercules (singing voice)
Danny DeVitoPhiloctetes (voice)
James WoodsHades (voice)
Susan EganMeg (voice)
Bobcat GoldthwaitPain (voice)
Matt FrewerPanic (voice)
Rip TornZeus (voice)
Samantha EggarHera (voice)

Recommendations

91
Entertainment Weekly
Hercules, like Aladdin, zips Disney’s house animation style past sentimentality and into an age of ironic media-wise overload. That’s not a bad place for it to be.
90
The New York Times
On any level, earthly or otherwise, the ingenious new animated Hercules is pretty divine. With inspired intuition, Hercules brings together ancient lore, gospel singing, girl-group choreography and lots of free-floating mischief into a jubilant pastiche of classical references.
88
Chicago Sun-Times
The wonder is that it took Disney so long to get to the gods of Greek mythology. Hercules jumps into the ancient legends feet-first, cheerfully tossing out what won't fit and combining what's left into a new look and a lighthearted style.
80
Variety
Directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who’ve collaborated on Mermaid and Aladdin, here combine smooth, state-of-the-art animation with a funky razzledazzle. They bring Hercules the vitality and insouciance that make Disney an undisputed champ in the arena.
75
ReelViews
Let me start by saying that Hercules, Walt Disney Pictures' 35th animated feature, makes for good family entertainment. Good, not great. While this film is capable of providing a ninety minute diversion for both kids and adults, it's a far cry from such recent classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
They fractured Greek myth but slapped mountains of comic muscle on the hunky hero in Hercules. What fun! The great old Greek is turned into a '90s-style athlete who gets endorsements, sandals named after him and a chance to stand tall among nymphs and muses after whipping the villainous lord of the underworld, Hades, personified as a Hollywood movie mogul type.
75
San Francisco Examiner
DeVito, whose singing sounds like a cross between coughing and Jimmy Durante on a good day, is a gruff and lovable mentor with a Brooklyn accent and a New Yorker's intolerance for sentimentality. Egan's Meg is a fiery dame with lots of gall. Tate Donovan gives voice to the adult Hercules, and he is just right as an almost Dudley Doright-ish lug who thinks heroics have more to do with physical daring than with big-heartedness. Alan Mencken's original score is boisterous and hummable, and lyrics by David Zippel perfectly suit the story and Disney's recent style for cleverness.
50
Washington Post
Chock-full of celeb cameos, puns and contemporary camp, the movie is annoyingly hip. It wants to belong even more desperately than its title character, who yearns to be a god almost as much as Pinocchio wanted to be just plain human. Hercules, alas, is hardly in the same class with the emotionally compelling Pinocchio -- although on many occasions its hulking hero seems just as wooden.

Hercules

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