• An outrageous odyssey of fun, fantasy and adventure unfolds in the hilarious hit film, Hercules - Disney's 35th animated triumph "brimming with comic surprise!" (Entertainment Weekly) Taken from the gods as a newborn, adopted on Earth, Hercules becomes an awkward, teenage pillar of strength. Trying to fit in, he discovers his dad is Zeus and home is Mount Olympus - if he can move from "zero

The son of Zeus must prove he's a hero to regain his place among the other gods on Mt. Olympus.

Story wise we've seen this a million times before, especially in all the recent Disney films. That said though, I still enjoy this film more than Aladdin, it's competitor for the funniest Disney film ever (that was until The Emperor's New Groove knocked them both out of the park). Children are sure to love the outragous humor, bright colors, music and light tone as well as the comical sidekicks (Pain and Panic) and monsters. Frankly, I'm confounded by the negative reviews here. Everything is done top notch except for the predictable Disney formula plot.

The DVD presentation is fantastic. The film is presented in widescreen, the colors are bright, blacks are deep and dark and the sound is crisp and clear. You couldn't ask for a better presentation. However, it lacks for extras. There is a 12 minute making of short that is somewhat insightful and a music video of Ricky Martin's Spanish version of "Go The Distance". Also included are a simple triva game and the storybook mode that's found on most Disney DVD's.

The crisp bright look of the DVD is enough to warrant a buy for a Disney fan, but add in the gospel music, humor, fantastical setting and daring animation style and you've got yourself a winner for anyone!

46 of 54 found the following review helpful:


Disney lover and history graduate student  Dec 03, 1999 By Nick Alimonos
I am in graduate school for my masters in history and I know just about EVERYTHING there is to know about mythology and Greek culture and let me tell you, I LOVED this movie! All the people who hated it because of its inaccuracies should know that not ONE Disney movie has EVER been accurate. Cinderella's step-sisters cut their toes off to fit into the glass slipper. The Little Mermaid is supposed to DIE in the end. There is NO Gaston or dancing pots and pans in Beauty and the Beast. There is no wise-cracking genie in Aladdin. Hercules is NO different. But unlike those movies, the "true" story of Hercules is just plain awful. The story goes like this: Hercules is born after Zeus cheats on his wife. Zeus then has the baby feed on Hera's breast when she is sleeping. Then Hercules in a fit of anger kills his whole family, and spends his whole life killing monsters for his cousin as penance. In the end his second wife gives him a magic coat with which he burns himself to death because he cheated on her. Oh, what a great movie that would make! Honestly, the revamped story is VASTLY superior, and Disney did everything right as far as the geology of Greece, the architecture, the clothing, and many other little anecdotes. That's much more than I can say for any other version of Hercules including that god-awful Kevin Sorbo show. I see the movie more as a humorous look at ALL Greek myths. I think any student of Greek myths would agree. Sure the Gospel music was a bit much, but it fit the story beautifully.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Greek Mythology the Disney Way  Dec 01, 2001 By Monty Moonlight
Born to Zeus and Hera on Mt. Olympus, Hercules was a prince among gods, and he would have stayed one too, if evil Uncle Hades hadn't sent his imps to steal him, turn him human, and kill him. They fail in their task though, and Hercules is left human but with god-like strength, to be raised by human parents. As Herc grows up, Hades believes he is dead, which is a bit funny since, being ruler of the underworld, he ought to know who's dead and who isn't. Though, Hades really isn't that into his work. As a young man, Herc discovers his true roots and wishes to restore his godhood, but in order to do that he must prove himself a true hero. Hercules seeks out Philoctetes, the hero-coaching satyr, and begins his monster fighting career upon his winged horse, Pegasus. Meanwhile, Hades pursues his plan to take over...well, everything, by releasing the titans to help him fight Zeus. Now, it's up to Hercules to save everyone, if his new infatuation, the lovely but cynical Megara, doesn't screw things up! In the end, we learn the meaning of a true hero and have the makings of a hilarious animated TV series to boot!

The story may seem to have more in common with Superman 1 and 2 or the New Testament of the King James Bible than the actual Greek myths it is based upon, but Hercules really is a wonderful addition to the Disney classics! And it's a musical comedy, so get over yourself if you have a problem with it not being a perfect adaptation of the original Heracles stuff! Why would you turn to a Disney animated feature for something like that? What it is, is a musical, mythical good time worth revisiting again and again! You can't go wrong with Disney legend Alan Menken behind the soulful and upbeat music and masters Ron Clements and John Musker at the wheel! The voice cast is excellent, including Tate Donovan as Herc, Danny Devito as Phil, Susan Egan as Meg, Rip Torn as Zeus, Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer as Pain and Panic, Paul Shaffer as Hermes, Charlton Heston as the Narrator, and many more. Of course, James Woods is the voice that really steals the show as the hilariously evil Hades! The animation and design are Disney at its best, and even though this is a comedy, there's no shortage of drama, romance, action, or heart!

Long overdue for a much more spectacular release, this Gold Collection DVD lacks the oomph such an excellent film deserves. The picture and sound are fine, but the widescreen is non-anamorphic and there are only two extras. One is a much appreciated and charmingly dated Behind-the-Scenes featurette, and the other is a Ricky Martin music video for the Spanish version of "Go the Distance" ("No importa la distancia"). I find it very odd that they included that video and not the Michael Bolton English version. And, yes, I like Michael Bolton's music. Nevertheless, since this is the only release available and there's been no sign of a Special Edition coming anytime soon, I highly recommend this edition for every DVD collection. Hopefully, and all the more likely now that Blu-Ray has come along, a more appropriate release full of design sketches, trailers, commentary, and all that good stuff will come about in the future. I also would love to see the Disney animated TV series make its way to DVD (though not one 3 or 4 episode disc at a time). It was an excellent follow-up to the film, telling the tales of Herc's teen years having to deal with both Phil's training and the rigors of high school. You can sample a bit of it on the VHS release "Hercules: Zero to Hero". One of Disney's "fake sequels", Zero to Hero ties select episodes of the wonderful animated series together with some badly drawn new animation. Of course, being a completist, I want that one to come to DVD too. The linking animation gives us our only view of Herc and Meg after the events of the film.

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:


Great teaching tool  Jul 02, 2004 By HMS
Precisely BECAUSE of the complete disregard for the original mythology, this movie is a superb teaching tool for middle schoolers. After a unit on Mythology, the kids can identify for themselves the many creative changes Disney opted to make, and even better, they can figure out for themselves why Disney made those choices. It makes the kids savvier media consumers, they enjoy spotting the "mistakes," and the music is terrific and holds their attention. We all enjoy the fact that nearly every time the Muses sing "and that's the Gospel truth!" they're referencing something completely FALSE. And the group scene at the christening makes a great "test" of those symbolic identifiers--the kids like being able to identify the gods and goddesses based on the clues in their appearance.

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