Hercules
3/4
Starring (voices): Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Susan Egan, Rip Torn
Rated G
In 1989, Disney ushered in the new Golden Age of Animation with "The Little Mermaid." It wowed both critics and audiences alike. Two years later, "Beauty and the Beast" became the first animated film ever to receive a Best Picture nod. In 1994, "The Lion King" became one of the most successful films of all time (the 14th as of 2012), and grossing nearly a billion dollars worldwide. Sadly, that's when the films tapered off. They're still good movies, but Pixar took over most of the thunder a year later with "Toy Story," and hand drawn animation went out of vogue a few years later. "Hercules," release in 1997, was definitely profitable, but didn't reverse the trend in quality. Actually, next to "Pocahantas," it's the closest Disney Animation has come to a misfire.
Hades (Woods) is steaming mad. When his brother Zeus defeated the Titans eons ago, he was stuck as guardian of the underworld while the rest of the gods lounged about on Mount Olympus. Now, he has a plan to take over, but there is a not-so-tiny hitch in his plan: Zeus' son, Hercules, will defeat him. In order to prevent this, Hades has his minions, Pain (Bobcat Goldthwait) and Panic (Matt Frewer) feed the baby a potion that will take away his immortality then kill him. But the plan fails; Hercules is mortal, but he keeps his godlike strength. He grows up to be an outcast as a teen (voiced by Josh Keaton with singing by Roger Bart), and the only way for him to rejoin the gods is to become a true hero. To that end, he seeks out hero trainer, Philoctetes (DeVito) to help. Meanwhile, Hades throws everything he has at Hercules in order to stop him.
The story bears nothing to any myth in Greek mythology. Historians will have an apoplexy over what Disney has done to the Greek hero. Disney can't really be faulted for this however, since the actual myth is hardly that of "family film" material. To appease the scholars, they have thrown in dozens of references to Greek mythology, some of which are highly amusing. Actually, the story is pretty fun as long as you don't think too hard about it. Or try to find which myth it's based off of (there isn't one).
The voice acting is effective. Josh Keaton makes for a good self-conscious Hercules; he's an average teenager with the awkwardness exaggerated. Roger Bart also has a lovely singing voice. As the older Hercules, Tate Donovan is also good as the adult Hercules; his muscles have grown considerably, but his maturity has not. Danny DeVito is perfectly cast as the skirt-chasing Phil. He's a good coach and mentor, and has a lot of fun with the role. Rip Torn is also good as the mighty Zeus, and he doesn't choke on the clunky dialogue he is given. Susan Egan is wonderful as the sarcastic Meg, Hercules' love interest. Egan has a great voice (and is a wonderful singer), and few actresses can throw off one-liners like her (and she has plenty of them).
But the most interesting character by far is Hades. James Woods is hilarious as the motormouth villain, and is able to both chill the spine and make us laugh. Critics have likened him to Robin Williams voice acting in "Aladdin," and while there are some similarities, I kept thinking of Paul Giamatti in "Shoot 'Em Up." Both of them grow increasingly irritated with their run-ins with Murphy's Law, and their throbbing veins (or in Hades' case, bursting into flames) are hilarious. Woods enjoyed himself so much that he agreed to voice the character whenever he could, be it in TV or video games.
The problem with the film is the script is paper thin, and the dialogue is at times jaw-droppingly bad. The former is easy enough to overcome; directors John Clements and Ron Musker throw so many details at us that it's hard to notice. The latter, not so much. Zeus's dialogue in particular is bad; he is often relegated to a plot device rather than an actual character.
The animation is also subpar. Like all the Disney movies, the animation is inspired from its script (Greek art, in this case). Those drawings are naturally edgy and linear, but the animation here is little better than a Saturday morning cartoon. And the mixture of hand drawn animation and computer imagery is hardly seamless (even for 1997).
Still, I like this movie. It's fun, and it's got some very catchy songs, most of which are sung by the gospel-like Muses. Genius.
Starring (voices): Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Susan Egan, Rip Torn
Rated G
In 1989, Disney ushered in the new Golden Age of Animation with "The Little Mermaid." It wowed both critics and audiences alike. Two years later, "Beauty and the Beast" became the first animated film ever to receive a Best Picture nod. In 1994, "The Lion King" became one of the most successful films of all time (the 14th as of 2012), and grossing nearly a billion dollars worldwide. Sadly, that's when the films tapered off. They're still good movies, but Pixar took over most of the thunder a year later with "Toy Story," and hand drawn animation went out of vogue a few years later. "Hercules," release in 1997, was definitely profitable, but didn't reverse the trend in quality. Actually, next to "Pocahantas," it's the closest Disney Animation has come to a misfire.
Hades (Woods) is steaming mad. When his brother Zeus defeated the Titans eons ago, he was stuck as guardian of the underworld while the rest of the gods lounged about on Mount Olympus. Now, he has a plan to take over, but there is a not-so-tiny hitch in his plan: Zeus' son, Hercules, will defeat him. In order to prevent this, Hades has his minions, Pain (Bobcat Goldthwait) and Panic (Matt Frewer) feed the baby a potion that will take away his immortality then kill him. But the plan fails; Hercules is mortal, but he keeps his godlike strength. He grows up to be an outcast as a teen (voiced by Josh Keaton with singing by Roger Bart), and the only way for him to rejoin the gods is to become a true hero. To that end, he seeks out hero trainer, Philoctetes (DeVito) to help. Meanwhile, Hades throws everything he has at Hercules in order to stop him.
The story bears nothing to any myth in Greek mythology. Historians will have an apoplexy over what Disney has done to the Greek hero. Disney can't really be faulted for this however, since the actual myth is hardly that of "family film" material. To appease the scholars, they have thrown in dozens of references to Greek mythology, some of which are highly amusing. Actually, the story is pretty fun as long as you don't think too hard about it. Or try to find which myth it's based off of (there isn't one).
The voice acting is effective. Josh Keaton makes for a good self-conscious Hercules; he's an average teenager with the awkwardness exaggerated. Roger Bart also has a lovely singing voice. As the older Hercules, Tate Donovan is also good as the adult Hercules; his muscles have grown considerably, but his maturity has not. Danny DeVito is perfectly cast as the skirt-chasing Phil. He's a good coach and mentor, and has a lot of fun with the role. Rip Torn is also good as the mighty Zeus, and he doesn't choke on the clunky dialogue he is given. Susan Egan is wonderful as the sarcastic Meg, Hercules' love interest. Egan has a great voice (and is a wonderful singer), and few actresses can throw off one-liners like her (and she has plenty of them).
But the most interesting character by far is Hades. James Woods is hilarious as the motormouth villain, and is able to both chill the spine and make us laugh. Critics have likened him to Robin Williams voice acting in "Aladdin," and while there are some similarities, I kept thinking of Paul Giamatti in "Shoot 'Em Up." Both of them grow increasingly irritated with their run-ins with Murphy's Law, and their throbbing veins (or in Hades' case, bursting into flames) are hilarious. Woods enjoyed himself so much that he agreed to voice the character whenever he could, be it in TV or video games.
The problem with the film is the script is paper thin, and the dialogue is at times jaw-droppingly bad. The former is easy enough to overcome; directors John Clements and Ron Musker throw so many details at us that it's hard to notice. The latter, not so much. Zeus's dialogue in particular is bad; he is often relegated to a plot device rather than an actual character.
The animation is also subpar. Like all the Disney movies, the animation is inspired from its script (Greek art, in this case). Those drawings are naturally edgy and linear, but the animation here is little better than a Saturday morning cartoon. And the mixture of hand drawn animation and computer imagery is hardly seamless (even for 1997).
Still, I like this movie. It's fun, and it's got some very catchy songs, most of which are sung by the gospel-like Muses. Genius.
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