Hercules (1997 film)
| Hercules | |
|---|---|
| File:Hercules poster 1997.png Promotional poster for Hercules | |
| Directed by | Ron Clements John Musker |
| Written by | Ron Clements John Musker Barry Johnson |
| Produced by | Ron Clements John Musker |
| Starring | Tate Donovan Danny DeVito James Woods Susan Egan Rip Torn |
| Music by | Alan Menken David Zippel |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures |
Release date | June 27, 1997 |
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70,000,000 |
| Box office | $252,712,101 |
Hercules is a Template:Fy American animated feature film, produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 27, 1997 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fifth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Noted British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe contributed the original designs for each key characters, the fundamentals of which were used throughout the film. This movie was based on the legendary Greek mythology hero Heracles (known in the film by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology. This is the second Disney film to be based off Greek Mythology, the first one being the Symphony no. 6 (Beethoven) segment from 1940's Fantasia. The storyline also draws inspiration from The Karate Kid, Rocky, Superman: The Movie, Superman II, and most notably, Hercules in New York. Though Hercules did not match the financial success of Disney's early-1990s releases, the film made $99 million in revenue in the United States during its theatrical release [1] and $252,700,000 worldwide. The film is part of the Disney Renaissance that started in 1989 and ended in 1999.
Hercules was later followed by the direct-to-video prequel Hercules: Zero to Hero, which served as a prequel to Hercules: The Animated Series, a syndicated Disney TV series focusing on Hercules during his time at the Prometheus academy.
The film was rated G by the MPAA.
Plot
The film begins in ancient Greece with a mock-epic spoken narration beginning by Charlton Heston, but dissolves into the musical narration by the five Muses. The Muses tell the tale ("The Gospel Truth") of how Zeus came to power and prevented the monstrous Titans from ruling the world. This leads to the day Hercules is born to Zeus and Hera, much to the pleasure of all the other gods except Hades, who receives word from the Fates that though he will release the Titans in eighteen years, Hercules will one day rise to power and prevent him from taking control of the world. Hades sends his minions, Pain and Panic, to kidnap Hercules and feed him a potion that will strip him of his immortality; however, they are interrupted and, while Hercules becomes mortal, he retains his god-like strength because he didn't drink the last drop.
Hercules grows up to be a misfit, challenged by his incredible strength and inability to fit in with other people. His adoptive parents Amphitryon and Alcemene finally tell him they found him with the symbol of the gods around his neck. Hercules believes the gods may have the answers behind his past and decides to go to the Temple of Zeus ("Go the Distance"). Zeus manifests as his statue and tells him that he is Hercules' father, and that he must prove himself a true hero before he can rejoin the other gods on Mount Olympus. Hercules rides on Pegasus and leaves the temple to seek out Philoctetes ("Phil" for short), an unhappy satyr and trainer of heroes. Phil has failed to train a true hero yet; but after some "persuasion" from Zeus, Phil decides to take on Hercules as his final attempt ("One Last Hope").
After completing his training, Hercules, Phil, and Pegasus set out to establish Hercules as a hero. En route to the city of Thebes, Hercules sees the beautiful Megara (or Meg, as she identifies herself), who is being threatened by Nessus, a centaur. A smitten Hercules barely succeeds in rescuing Meg, and she thanks him before leaving to enter the forest, and here it is revealed that she is conspiring with Hades. She had sold her soul to Hades in order to save her former lover's life, but her lover then abandoned her for another woman. Now, Meg must do favors for Hades in order to avoid an eternity in the underworld. When Hades learns that Hercules is alive, he is enraged and plots to murder him again.
When Hercules tries to prove himself a hero at Thebes, Hades sends the Hydra to kill him. After a lengthy battle, Hercules finally prevails. Hades then sends one monster after another to destroy Hercules, but he defeats them all easily ("Zero to Hero" and "Hercules"). Hercules becomes a celebrity because of his exploits. Hades, realizing that his plans are jeopardized, sends Meg out to discover Hercules' weakness, promising her freedom in return. Meanwhile, Hercules is disappointed to learn from his father Zeus that he has yet to become a true hero, with the latter saying that defeating monsters and saving people is not enough; a true hero is "something more than that". Hercules then spends the day with Meg, who finds herself falling in love with him ("I Won't Say (I'm in Love)"). When Hades intervenes, she turns on him and tells him that Hercules has no weaknesses; but Hades realizes that Meg herself is Hercules' one weakness.
Phil learns of Meg's involvement with Hades and tries to warn Hercules, but Hercules refuses to believe him and knocks him to the ground in anger. Discouraged, Phil leaves for home. Meanwhile, Pegasus has been captured by Pain and Panic, who disguised themselves as his mare. Hades arrives with a captured Meg and proposes a deal: if Hercules surrenders his strength for the next twenty-four hours, Meg will remain free from harm. After Hercules agrees, Hades frees the Titans from their prison and sends them to attack Olympus and imprison the other gods, while one Titan, the Cyclops, is sent to kill Hercules. Disheartened by Meg's involvement with Hades, Hercules takes a severe beating. Meg, regretting having played her part in Hades' plans, frees Pegasus and gets Phil to come back and help Hercules. Phil convinces Hercules to fight back, and Hercules uses his wits to defeat the Titan and save the city of Thebes. Hercules is able to defeat the Titan, but a pillar behind him becomes loose. Meg notices this and pushes him out of the way, but is unable to save herself and takes the blow. With Meg mortally injured, the deal is broken, and Hercules' strength is returned. Hercules promises Meg that he will save her as he heads to Olympus to stop Hades and the other Titans. Hercules and Pegasus save Mount Olympus, but as Hades retreats for the underworld after the Titans are thrown into the sky by Hercules and explode, he taunts Hercules despite his defeat, revealing that Meg is dying.
Hercules and Pegasus get back to Phil and Meg too late and Hercules heads to the Underworld and demands for Meg to be revived, but Hades shows him that she is trapped in the River Styx. Hercules trades his soul for Meg's, and Hades agrees on the condition that Hercules must get her soul out himself. Hercules jumps into the river, but given that one must be dead to enter the river, he ages rapidly as he swims toward Meg. The Fates try to cut Hercules' lifeline, but they find that they couldn't, for Hercules has become a true hero through his selfless actions, thereby restoring his godhood and immortality. As Hercules successfully returns Meg to the surface, Hades tries to talk his way out of the situation, but Hercules punches him, knocking him into the River Styx. The other souls grab Hades and pull him down into the river. Hercules revives Meg and returns to Olympus. Meg's entrance is denied because she is mortal, but Hercules chooses to become mortal again and stay with her. Hercules is acclaimed a hero on Earth and Olympus alike. Zeus creates a constellation in his image, and Phil is remembered for being the one to train him. Hercules and his mortal friends and family are all shown happily together on earth, while Zeus and the other Olympians rejoice above. ("A Star is Born")
Production
 |
Disney took considerable liberties with the "Hercules" myths, because some of the original material and characters were deemed inappropriate for younger viewers by the Disney studio's moral standards, such as Hercules being conceived through a god posing as a mortal woman's husband, and of his stepmother Hera's attempts to kill him resulting Disney changing Hera into Hercules' mother to avoid referencing infidelity. Disney also made use of stereotypes when designing the look of the characters, such as depicting Hercules as a more of a monster-fighting superhero than a warrior, the gods as laid-back American types, the Moirae as demonic hags (merging them with the Greek), the Muses as five gospel-singing divas, the Titans as brutish giants, and Ancient Greece as an Ancient Greek-styled United States of America.
Due to the name's prominence in Western culture, they went with the Latin Hercules rather than the actual Greek Herakles (Ἡρακλῆς). In the later animated series, the god Dionysus was also portrayed with his Roman name, Bacchus. Because noted British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe (who contributed the animated segments for the film adaptation of Pink Floyd's album "The Wall") designed the characters, the film has a quirky visual style unusual in recent Disney films.
Cast
- Tate Donovan as Hercules, the protagonist of the story and the son of Zeus and Hera. After he is kidnapped and made to drink a potion that robbed him of his godhood, a human couple take him in and raise him. He eventually finds out about his origins and attempts to establish himself a hero on earth to regain his godhood.
- James Woods as Hades, Zeus' brother, uncle of Hercules and ruler of the Underworld. Hades serves as the film's primary antagonist who tries to destroy Hercules after hearing that he will thwart Hades' plans of taking over Mount Olympus.
- Susan Egan as Megara, a mortal woman serving Hades after she gives him her soul in exchange for a man's life. After he left her, Megara is left with bitter feelings about falling in love.
- Danny DeVito as Phil, a hero trainer who had yet to produce a true hero. He had already given up on hero training when Hercules approached him, but eventually decides to train Hercules.
- Rip Torn as Zeus, the ruler of Mount Olympus and Hercules' father.
- Frank Welker as Pegasus, a winged horse and Hercules' companion who was given to him by Zeus as a present.
- Samantha Eggar as Hera, Zeus' wife and Hercules' mother.
- Bobcat Goldthwait as Pain, one of Hades' minions.
- Matt Frewer as Panic, one of Hades' minions.
- Josh Keaton as Young Hercules, singing voice provided by Roger Bart
- Jim Cummings as Nessus, a centaur whom Hades wanted to recruit into his army, but is defeated by Hercules after the latter sees him man-handling Megara.
- Hal Holbrook as Amphitryon, a mortal farmer and Hercules' foster father.
- Barbara Barrie as Alcmene, Amphitryon's wife and Hercules' foster mother.
- Paul Shaffer as Hermes
- Amanda Plummer as Clotho
- Carole Shelley as Lachesis
- Paddi Edwards as Atropos
- Keith David as Apollo
- Lillias White as Calliope
- Vanéese Y. Thomas as Clio
- Cheryl Freeman as Melpomene
- LaChanze as Terpsichore
- Roz Ryan as Thalia
- Charlton Heston as The Narrator
- Wayne Knight as Demetrius, a pottery salesman whose shop is accidentally destroyed by Hercules.
Crew
| Crew Position | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John Musker Ron Clements |
| Produced by | John Musker Ron Clements Alice Dewey |
| Written by | John Musker Ron Clements Bob Shaw Don McEnery Irene Mecchi |
| Songs by | Alan Menken David Zippel |
| Original Score by | Alan Menken |
| Associate Producer | Kendra Haaland |
| Art Director | Andy Gaskill |
| Production Designer | Gerald Scarfe |
| Film Editor | Tom Finan |
| Artistic Supervisors | Barry Johnson (Story supervisor) Rasoul Azadani (Layout supervisor) Thomas Cardone (Background supervisor) Nancy Kniep (Clean-up supervisor) Mauro Maressa (Effects supervisor) Roger L. Gould (Computer Graphics supervisor) |
| Artistic Coordinator | Dan Hansen |
| Supervising Animator | Andreas Deja (Adult Hercules) Randy Haycock (Young & Baby Hercules) Eric Goldberg (Phil) Nik Ranieri (Hades) Ken Duncan (Meg) Ellen Woodbury (Pegasus) Anthony DeRosa (Zeus & Hera) James Lopez (Pain) Brian Ferguson (Panic) Michael Show (The Muses) Dominique Monfrey (Titans & Cyclops) Richard Bazley (Alcmene & Amphitryon) Nancy Beiman (The Fates/Thebans) Oskar Urretabizkaia (Hydra) |
| Production Manager | Peter Del Vecho |
Music
Soundtrack
- On Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic, this includes One Last Hope on the purple disc, and I Won't Say (I'm in Love) on the orange disc.
- Disney's Greatest Hits includes I Won't Say (I'm in Love) on the blue disc and Go the Distance, by Michael Bolton on the green disc. I Won't Say (I'm in Love) was also used in the short-lived Disney musical revue, On the Record.
Release
Promotion
Marketing and promotion for Hercules began even before the film's theatrical release. Several Hercules toys, books, and other merchandise were produced,[2] and a parade was held at Times Square during the film's premiere two weeks prior to its theatrical run.[3]
Theatrical Release
Canada 27 June 1997
USA 27 June 1997
Argentina 3 July 1997
Brazil 4 July 1997
Mexico 4 July 1997
South Korea 5 July 1997
Hong Kong 10 July 1997
Japan 26 July 1997
Singapore 20 August 1997 (premiere)
Singapore 4 September 1997
New Zealand 11 September 1997
Philippines 12 September 1997
Australia 18 September 1997
UK 10 October 1997
Denmark 14 November 1997 (Danish dubbed version)
Sweden 14 November 1997
Spain 17 November 1997
Germany 20 November 1997
Netherlands 20 November 1997
Poland 21 November 1997
Switzerland 21 November 1997 (German speaking region)
Iceland 22 November 1997
Belgium 26 November 1997
France 26 November 1997
Hungary 27 November 1997
Estonia 28 November 1997
Portugal 28 November 1997
South Africa 28 November 1997
Finland 5 December 1997
Italy 5 December 1997
Norway 5 December 1997
Slovenia 11 December 1997
Mexico 12 December 1997 (re-release)
Turkey 26 December 1997
Norway 3 July 2004 (Kristiansand International Children's Film Festival)
Home media
Hercules was last VHS releases in the United States on February 3, 1998 in the Walt Disney Classics series.
Reception
On its opening weekend, it had a limited release and grossed $249,567 in one theater.[4] The film didn't receive a wide release until its third weekend when the film opened in second place grossing $21 million. The film saw a sharp decline in later weekends, much like its predecessor, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. An anonymous Disney executive cites the amount of competition during the film's release as a primary cause for the film's performance.[5] However, the film grossed $99 million in the United States and $153 million in foreign countries with $252 million worldwide. It was later outgrossed by the performance of Titanic (1997 film).
Disney intended for the film to have an open-air premiere at Pnyx hill, but the Greek government declined after Greek media and public responded negatively to the proposal. A Greek newspaper entitled Adsmevtos Typos called it "another case of foreigners distorting our history and culture just to suit their commercial interests".[6]
Critical Reaction
As of 2008, Rotten Tomatoes reported that 89% of critics gave positive reviews based on 44 reviews[7]. Rita Kempley of Washington Post described the film as "annoyingly hip" based on its "celeb cameos, puns and contemporary camp".[8]
Awards and nominations
- Academy Award for Best Original Song - "Go the Distance" (Nominated, lost to Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On")
- Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song - "Go the Distance" (Nominated, lost to "My Heart Will Go On")
- Best Fantasy Film (Nominated, lost to Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery)
- Blockbuster Entertainment Awards[12]
- Favorite Animated Family Movie (Nominated lost to Anastasia)
- Favorite Song from a Movie - "Go the Distance" (Nominated, lost to Evita's Don't Cry for Me Argentina)
- Best Performance in a Voice Over Role - Young Actor Josh Keaton for Young Hercules's voice (Nominated, lost to Mathew Valencia's voice in The New Batman Adventures for Tim Drake / Robin
| Result | Award | Winner/Nominee Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominated | Animated Theatrical Feature | |
| Won | Individual Achievement in Producing | Alice Dewey (Producer) John Musker (Producer) Ron Clements (Producer) |
| Won | Individual Achievement in Directing | John Musker (Director) Ron Clements (Director) |
| Nominated | Individual Achievement in Character Animation | Ken Duncan (Supervising Animator - Meg) |
| Won | Individual Achievement in Character Animation | Nik Ranieri (Supervising Animator - Hades) |
| Won | Individual Achievement in Effects Animation | Mauro Maressa (Effects Supervisor) |
References
- ^ "Box Office Mojo's entry on Hercules". Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ Grossman, Wendy (June 26, 1997). "Disney flexes marketing muscle for 'Hercules'". chronicle.augusta.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ Gest, Emily (June 10, 1997). "DISNEY'S READY TO ROLL WITH HERCULEAN LABOR". www.nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office of Hercules". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (July 10), Hercules Is Too Weak to Lift Disney Stock, retrieved 2009-01-09
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - ^ Byrne, Ciaran; Smith, Julia Llewelyn (October 9), "Greeks put Hercules on trial", The Nation, pp. C6, C8
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - ^ "Hercules (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes accessdate=2008-09-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing pipe in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Kempley, Rita (June 27), Disney's 'Hercules': Myth for the Masses, retrieved 2009-01-09
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - ^ "1997 (70th)". awardsdatabase.oscars.org. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "HFPA Awards Search". www.goldenglobes.org. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: 1998". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: 1998". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Nineteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards 1996-1997". www.youngartistawards.org. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 39 (help)
External links
