Hercules (1997 film)

In Ancient Greece, the gods Zeus and Hera have a son named Hercules. While the other gods are joyful, Zeus's wicked brother Hades plots to overthrow Zeus and rule Mount Olympus. Through the Fates, Hades learns that in eighteen years, a planetary alignment will allow him to free the Titans to conquer Olympus, but only if Hercules does not interfere. Hades sends his minions, Pain and Panic, to murder Hercules, providing them with a potion that can strip a god of immortality. The two kidnap the baby and feed him the potion, but a married farmer couple pass nearby, causing the demons to flee before Hercules could drink every last drop; therefore he is only stripped of immortality but retains his god-like strength. The couple adopt Hercules, and Pain and Panic decide not to report their failure to Hades. Years later, the teenage Hercules is ridiculed for his inability to control his strength while inadvertently causing destruction to a building. Wondering about his origins, he decides to visit the Temple of Zeus for answers. There, a statue of Zeus comes to life and reveals all to Hercules, telling him that he can earn back his godhood by becoming a "true hero." Zeus sends Hercules and his forgotten childhood friend Pegasus to the satyr Philoctetes ("Phil") who is known for training heroes. After completing the training, Phil and Hercules travel to Thebes, so he can prove himself there as a hero. On the way, they meet Megara ("Meg"), a sarcastic damsel whom Hercules saves from the centaur Nessus. Unbeknownst to Hercules, Meg is Hades' slave due to selling her soul to him to save her boyfriend, who eventually left her for another woman. When Meg mentions Hercules to Hades, he realizes Pain and Panic's failure and plots to finish off Hercules properly. Hades stages an accident with the disguised Pain and Panic to trick Hercules into fighting with the Hydra. Hercules defeats the monster, earning the Thebans' respect and admiration. He defeats many other monsters afterward, each of them sent by Hades, and becomes a celebrated hero. However, Zeus tells him that he is not yet a "true" hero but refuses to explain what that means. Saddened and frustrated, Hercules spends a day out with Meg, during which they fall in love with each other. Realizing this, Hades, on the eve of his takeover, holds Meg hostage and offers her freedom in exchange for Hercules surrendering his strength. On the condition that Meg will be unharmed, Hercules accepts but is heartbroken after learning that Meg was working for Hades all along. Hades unleashes the Titans, who defeat the gods on Olympus, while the Cyclops goes to Thebes to kill Hercules. Hercules uses his wits to defeat the Cyclops. During the battle, Meg is mortally injured while saving Hercules from a falling pillar. This breaks Hades's deal, so Hercules regains his strength. Hercules and Pegasus fly to Olympus, free the gods and vanquish the Titans, but Meg dies from her injuries. To recover Meg's soul, Hercules goes to the underworld and risks his life by leaping into the River Styx. This act restores his godhood and immortality, so he is able to reach Meg's soul and climb out alive. Hercules punches Hades into the Styx, and he is dragged to its depths by vengeful souls. After Hercules revives Meg, he is summoned to Olympus, where Zeus and Hera welcome him home, saying he has proven himself a "true hero" through the "strength of his heart". However, rather than joining the gods, Hercules chooses to remain with Meg, living on Earth as a demigod. Returning to Thebes, they watch Zeus form a constellation in Hercules's honor, much to Phil's happiness. ==Voice cast==

• Tate Donovan as Hercules, a powerful demigod based on the mythological deity Heracles. • Josh Keaton provided the speaking voice of Hercules as a teenager, while Roger Bart provided his singing voice. • Danny DeVito as Philoctetes/Phil, a crotchety, old Satyr (half-man, half-goat) who served as a trainer of heroes in Ancient Greece, most notably Achilles and the powerful demigod, Hercules. • James Woods as Hades, Hercules's uncle and Zeus's brother who is the ruler of the Underworld. • Susan Egan as Megara, Hercules's love interest and Hades' former servant. • Rip Torn as Zeus, king of the gods and Hercules's birth father. • Samantha Eggar as Hera, queen of the gods and Hercules's birth mother. • Lillias White, Cheryl Freeman, LaChanze, Roz Ryan and Vaneese Thomas as the Muses (Calliope, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Thalia and Clio respectively), the narrators of the film's story. • Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer as Pain and Panic, Hades' henchmen. • Patrick Pinney as the Cyclops. • Hal Holbrook and Barbara Barrie as Amphitryon and Alcmene, Hercules's adoptive parents. • Amanda Plummer, Carole Shelley and Paddi Edwards as Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, the three Fates who predict Hades' failed attempt to conquer Olympus. • Paul Shaffer as Hermes. • Jim Cummings as Nessus. • Cummings also voiced the Tall Theban and the Elderly Theban. • Wayne Knight as Demetrius • Mary Kay Bergman as the Earthquake Lady • Corey Burton as the Burnt Man • Kathleen Freeman as the Heavyset Woman • Keith David as Apollo • Charlton Heston has a cameo role as the opening narrator. • Frank Welker as Pegasus. ==Production==

Development In early 1992, thirty artists, writers, and animators pitched their ideas for potential animated features, each given a limited time of two minutes. The Odyssey was pitched first and by the summer of 1992, Disney announced it was in development. Katzenberg later struck a deal with the directors to produce another commercially viable film before he would green-light Treasure Planet. with vocals performed by Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Roger Bart, Danny DeVito, and Susan Egan among others. The album also includes the single version of "Go the Distance" by Michael Bolton. This was the last Disney Renaissance film for which Alan Menken composed music. ==Release==

Marketing On February 4, 1997, Disney began its marketing campaign by starting a five-month promotional traveling tour called ''Disney's Hercules Mega Mall Tour. Sponsored by Chevy Venture, the tour traveled throughout 20 cities, which began in Atlanta, Georgia. Previously used for the marketing campaigns for Pocahontas (1995) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), the tour featured eleven attractions including a multimedia stage show, a miniature carousel themed to Baby Pegasus, a carnival with Hercules''–themed game booths, and a ten-minute animation workshop hosted by animator Andreas Deja where visitors would try their hand at drawing Hercules. On June 14, 1997, the premiere of the film was screened at the newly-renovated New Amsterdam Theatre. Afterwards, a Hercules–themed performance of Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade was held in Times Square, one of only two times the parade appeared outside of a Disney Park. The parade of electrified floats, which was broadcast live on the Disney Channel as part of a program involving the making of Hercules, traveled from 42nd Street to Fifth Avenue. The parade also included attendees such as Lauren Hutton, Harvey Keitel, Andy Garcia, Barbara Walters, Michael Bolton, and Marilu Henner, as well as Olympic athletes who rode on thirty floats. The media event was heavily criticized as former New York Mayor Ed Koch objected to the Disney premiere. Koch stated, "Ten movies open up every Friday. Why don't you shut down every avenue between Fifth and Twelfth? [...] We should be nice to Disney but not be silly – a movie doesn't deserve this." Critics also raised questions to what extent U.S. politicians were willing to give a private firm in return for investment. Also, nearly 100 members of National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET) used the premiere to strike for a new contract from Disney/ABC. The union's president Tony Capitano complained: "I think the Mayor gave away the city to Disneyland." Furthermore, 5,000 businesses and residents within the city felt uncomfortable at being asked to dim their electricity as the parade passed by. After the parade, a private party was held at the Chelsea Piers complex, where dinner guests were served to a performance of Susan Egan singing songs from the movie along the Hudson River, and ten minutes of fireworks display. Additionally, the film was accompanied by a marketing campaign with promotional tie-ins with 85 licensees including McDonald's, Mattel, Nestlé, Hallmark, and various merchandise. A tie-in video game, titled Hercules Action Game, was developed by Eurocom and released in July 1997 for the PC and PlayStation. Another tie-in game was developed by Tiertex Design Studios and was released for the Game Boy by THQ the same month. Hercules was also the first Disney on Ice adaptation before the film was theatrically released. Home media Hercules was first released on VHS and widescreen LaserDisc in the United States on February 3, 1998, included as an installment of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection series. By the summer of 1998, the operating income of the VHS release had accumulated to $165 million in worldwide sales. Released on November 9, 1999, Hercules was released in a "Limited Issue" DVD for a limited sixty-day time period before going into moratorium. Hercules was reissued on August 1, 2001, as part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection series on VHS and DVD. The THX-certified DVD contained the film in its 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The DVD contained special features such as "The Making of Hercules" documentary video and the "Go The Distance" music video sung by Ricky Martin, along with an "Animals of the Outback" activity booklet. The early DVD issues utilized a 35 mm print of the film, rather than encoded the movie digitally through the computer. The film was released on a Special Edition Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD on June 10, 2014. On September 1, 2017, Hercules began streaming on Netflix. ==Reception==

Box office Wall Street analysts estimated that Hercules could bring in between $125 and $150 million in the United States, on the basis of the extensive marketing campaign and the movie's light, humorous tone similar to that of Aladdin. The Greek newspaper Adesmevtos Typos called it "another case of foreigners distorting our history and culture just to suit their commercial interests". Accolades ==Legacy==

Cancelled sequel The sequel Hercules II: The Trojan War was planned. It would have been about Hercules now living in Athens with Megara and their daughter, Hebe. However, when an old friend named Helen is captured by the evil Paris of Troy, Hercules joins the united Greek army as they head out to war. However, this war will create revelations, and Hercules finds an old friend who eventually goes missing. The project was cancelled when John Lasseter was named Disney's new chief creative officer in 2006, after which he cancelled all direct-to-video sequels that Disney had planned. Stage adaptation On February 6, 2019, it was announced that a theatrical adaptation of the film would premiere at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park as part of its annual Shakespeare in the Park festival from August 31 until September 8. Menken and Zippel returned to compose and write the songs, while Kristoffer Diaz wrote the book, Lear deBessonet directed and Chase Brock will choreograph. Live-action remake On April 29, 2020, it was reported that a live-action remake of Hercules is under development at Walt Disney Pictures, with the producers of the CGI remake of The Lion King (Jeffrey Silver and Karen Gilchrist) set to produce the film. Joe and Anthony Russo were to serve as producers on the film through their AGBO banner, with Dave Callaham as screenwriter. On May 7, 2020, the Russo brothers stated that the remake would not be a "literal translation" as they want the film to have new elements yet still being "something that's in the vein of the original and inspired by it". In June 2022, it was announced that Guy Ritchie, who had previously directed Disney's live-action Aladdin remake, had signed on to direct the film. Joe Russo told GamesRadar+ that the remake would pay homage to the original with a more modern spin on it and revealed that it would also be a modern musical inspired by TikTok. ==See also==