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Like many nerdy children, I went through a Greek mythology phase in my youth, which is perhaps why I find Disney’s Hercules so… well, it’s not bad, exactly, there are definitely parts I like: the gospel choir muses, the pegasus (I’m weak for pegasi), Meg. All these things are fun. The movie is not unpleasant. A reasonably agreeable way to spend an evening, even. It’s just underwhelming.
I have to admit that I’ve always found the Hercules stories maybe the least interesting part of Greek mythology, which also gave this movie an uphill battle. But even though he was never my favorite, it always seemed weird that the movie does so little with his labors from mythology in favor of a fairly standard Disney story with Hades as Big Bad. It’s not that I expect a Disney movie to be faithful to its source material, but in this case it just seems like throwing away so much potential.
Also, the idea that Hercules is the baby of Zeus and his wife Hera… well, even for Disney, “Zeus is a faithful husband” just feels like A Bridge Too Far.
I was devastated to learn from the Hercules page on Wikipedia that Disney briefly had an animated adaptation of The Odyssey in the works. That would have been LIT. Obviously you would have to change the ending so Odysseus doesn’t murder twelve girls in cold blood, but again, it’s a Disney adaptation! It has no need to be faithful to any of the awkward bits.
I have to admit that I’ve always found the Hercules stories maybe the least interesting part of Greek mythology, which also gave this movie an uphill battle. But even though he was never my favorite, it always seemed weird that the movie does so little with his labors from mythology in favor of a fairly standard Disney story with Hades as Big Bad. It’s not that I expect a Disney movie to be faithful to its source material, but in this case it just seems like throwing away so much potential.
Also, the idea that Hercules is the baby of Zeus and his wife Hera… well, even for Disney, “Zeus is a faithful husband” just feels like A Bridge Too Far.
I was devastated to learn from the Hercules page on Wikipedia that Disney briefly had an animated adaptation of The Odyssey in the works. That would have been LIT. Obviously you would have to change the ending so Odysseus doesn’t murder twelve girls in cold blood, but again, it’s a Disney adaptation! It has no need to be faithful to any of the awkward bits.
