The movie has been directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who inaugurated the modern era of Disney animation with the inspired "Little Mermaid" (1989) and also made "Aladdin" (1992). Another one of Hades' weapons is the curvaceous Megara ( Susan Egan), known as Meg, who is assigned to seduce Herc but ends up falling in love with the lug. Hades is assisted by the two little form-shifting sidekicks Pain and Panic ( Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer), who are able to disguise themselves in many different shapes while meddling with Herc's well-being. Playing on the other team is Hades, Lord of the Underworld, voiced by James Woods with diabolical glee and something of the same verbal inventiveness that Robin Williams brought to " Aladdin" (Hades to Fate: "You look like a fate worse than death"). His tutor will be the satyr Philoctetes ( Danny DeVito), who like all the best movie trainers advises his student to do as he says and not as he does. Herc stumbles through adolescence as the clumsy "Jerkules" before a statue of his father comes to life and reads him the rules. Certainly they can care about Herc (voice by Tate Donovan), child of a god and a human, who must leave his father, Zeus ( Rip Torn), in heaven and toil among the mortals to earn his ticket back to paradise. Is Disney repeating a formula? No more than mythology always repeats itself as Joseph Campbell taught George Lucas, many of the eternal human myths have the same buried structures, and Disney's annual animated features are the myths of our time.Īlthough I thought last summer's " The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was a more original and challenging film, "Hercules" is lighter, brighter and more cheerful, with more for kids to identify with. And there's a sexy dame who winds up in the hero's arms, although not without difficulties. There are trusted sidekicks and advisers (not only the faithful Pegasus, but also a little satyr named Phil who signs up as a personal trainer). There are two twirpy little characters who do a double act (in " The Lion King," they were the friendly Timon and Pumbaa here they're the scheming Pain and Panic). There is a colorful villain who schemes against him. It's getting to be an in-joke, how Disney shapes the story in every new animated feature to match its time-tested underlying formula.
In fact, as film critic Jack Mathews has pointed out, the Disney storytellers have merged the Hercules of myth with the modern-day superhero, Superman: In both "Hercules" and the Superman story, the hero has otherworldly origins, is separated from his parents, is adopted by humble earthlings, and feels like a weirdo as a kid before finally finding his true strength and calling. Here he's a big cute hunk who's so clumsy he knocks over temples by accident, but you gotta love the guy. Hercules, known as Herc, is a rather different character here than in the pages of "Bullfinch's Mythology." There, you may recall, he murdered his wife and children.
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