Rating: 
Summary: From Zero to Hero
Review: Hercules is a total knockout - for the first half of the movie. The second half falls flat. Hercules has one of the best animated film scores ever. To promote the film, Disney had a traveling "troupe" of singers in Greek costume perform at malls around the country. The executives apparently even appreciated the incredibly orignal gospel-style songs with witty and joyful lyrics. The rollicking songs get a big "Amen!" The fabulous Muses are wonderful creations.The story involves Hercules as an awkward boy trying to fit in with the humans who have adopted him. After he inadvertently causes a disaster at the marketplace, Herc strikes out on his own, and is shocked to discover his Mt. Olympus heritage. Megara, the female romantic interest, is not very likeable as a fallen woman redeemed by love. You feel Herc deserves better. Since Aladdin, Disney has used celebrities as character voices. Hercules in particular benefits from this, with James Woods ad libbing hilariously as Hades, lord of the underworld, and Danny DeVito, who brings heart and laughs as "Phil" the Satyr.
Rating: 
Summary: Great teaching tool
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Zero to Hero
Review: When the evil Hades, god of the underworld, learns that if Zeus and Hera's newborn son Hercules fights his world takeover plan, he will fail, Hades' idiotic helpers Pain and Panic kidnap the tyke in an attempt to turn him mortal and kill him. But before baby Herc could drink the last drop of the potion, a middle aged couple intersept. They take young Hercules in and raise him as their own. The only problem Hercules has is his god like strength, which he retained because he did not drink the last drop of the potion. Hercules grows up feeling like he doesn't belong and goes on a journey to find his true identity. When he discovers that he is the son of Zeus, he is told that the only way he can regain entry to Mount Olympus is to become a true hero. So with the help of Phil, a satyr, and Pegasus he begins training to become a hero. He ends up meeting Meg, a young woman who sold her soul to Hades, and falling in love with her. Meg is torn between loyalty to Hades and her growing love for "Wonder Boy". When Hades strikes a deal with Hercules to give up his strength for 24 hours, Hades frees the Titans to take over Olympus. Due to one technicality in the deal, Hercules regains his strength and defeats Hades. But when he learns of Meg's death, he strikes a deal with Hades to rescue her and take her place in the underworld. A little bit too modern for a story set in Ancient Greece but this movie contains all the essential elements of a true Disney classic.
Rating:
Summary: Witty Disney
Review: An unusually clever and satisfying movie, suitable for both children and literate adults. The plot is a Disney template: Hercules must discover his identity, learn the true nature of heroism, do his parents proud, and win the girl, all of which he achieves by an act of self sacrifice. A run of the mill coming of age story, then, but several things make the film more than a boring rip-off of ancient themes. First, the drawing has an elegantly fresh look to it, with many witty visual references to Greek vase paintings, sculpture, architectural lines and so forth. There are also quite a few quips and puns for grownups (Thebes is the Big Olive, for example, its residents speaking in New York accents) including plenty of cute jokes about the classics. Pedants can enjoy cataloguing the allusions and "mistakes". The music is pleasant, a lot of it sung by an updated "chorus" of gospel singers. Finally, the characters are vividly sketched, with Hades really stealing the show. Some of the animated figures amusingly caricature their real life voice actors. (See The Making Of supplement.) The rich background of the myths gives the story more depth and darkness than it would otherwise have. Bottom line: appeals to a different audience than some Disney favorites, but a very smart production with many original aspects. Too much neglected.
Rating:
Summary: Funny
Review: I really enjoyed this movie and so did my pre-teens and toddlers. The toddlers are watching it right now. It's funny and bright. You have to watch it at least twice to catch all the funny stuff.
Rating:
Summary: A Walt Disney Masterpiece HERCULES
Review: Disney's 35th animated flick which isn't the best but its but it's pretty good.@ x's funny & it can be boring but it has a great score with great songs.I think Alan Menken is one of the best composers ever.Buy this Limited Issue!
Rating:
Summary: GOOD MOVIE BUT WEAK DVD RELEASE
Review: Well Disney definitely has a class system when it comes to their DVD releases. At the top of the heap is their platinum editions, loaded with outstanding extras and at the bottom is the Gold collection....which doesn't.
Too bad. I actually thought Hercules was a pretty fun movie. Technically, and given the financial constraints of modern animation, this is a good movie. Of course the Disney people fiddled with the story line and the character names, but name me the last Disney film that stayed "true" to its origins.
Production values were up to Disney standards (which means a lot), and the story is guaranteed not to offend anyone's sense of PC. You can feel safe tossing this into the VCR and plunking the kids in front of it for a hour or so. They'll enjoy it, even if they miss a lot of the "adult"-level humor.
The approach is fresh and interesting - recasting the story of Hercules as if he was a modern day sports hero with his own 'Air-Herc' sandals and 'Herculade' soft-drink. The Greek Chorus, a Dreamgirl-style lineup who move the plot along, was a wonderful touch. Tate Donovan is effective, earnest and yet naive as Hercules. James Wood's Hades is one of the best performances in any Disney film since Robin Williams as the genie in Aladdin and Robby Benson as the Beast in Beauty & The Beast. He adds to every scene and is a terrific villain. Kudos also to the animators of Pegasus - without being annoying he manages to be expressive, funny, and a terrific sidekick. They must have had a lot of fun doing him.
It may take great liberties with Greek Mythology but it'sstill a fun movie and deserved better treatment on DVD
Rating:
Summary: good but not great
Review: It is not easy to actually come to a conclusion about this movie. It does lack the enchantment that it could have had, given the material it was dealing with.
But the first movie in the Disney series to substitute enchantment for cheap humor, peppering in jokes and modern references, was The Sword In The Stone (1963).
The complaints about Hercules are similar to what can be said about The Sword The Stone.
This was not Disney's best offering, but the kids do love it, and they do laugh a lot wile watching it.
The music is good, if not quite like classics such as The Lion King, Prince of Egypt and Anastasia.
The scenes of the battle against the hydra and the Titans, and the singing gospel girls on the vases, where superb. Hercules (Tate Donovan) and Megara (Susan Egan) and Philoctetes (Danny De Vito) where not bad. Zeus, Hera and Hades where portrayed badly. Though that is not the fault of those who read their parts, Rip Torn, Samantha Eggar and James Woods respectively but rather the script and animation.
And I did like the way those three witches with the one eye between them (Hades' minions) where done.
Rating:
Summary: Hercules
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: From Zero to Hero
Review: Hercules is a total knockout - for the first half of the movie. The second half falls flat. Hercules has one of the best animated film scores ever. To promote the film, Disney had a traveling "troupe" of singers in Greek costume perform at malls around the country. The executives apparently even appreciated the incredibly orignal gospel-style songs with witty and joyful lyrics. The rollicking songs get a big "Amen!" The fabulous Muses are wonderful creations. The story involves Hercules as an awkward boy trying to fit in with the humans who have adopted him. After he inadvertently causes a disaster at the marketplace, Herc strikes out on his own, and is shocked to discover his Mt. Olympus heritage. Megara, the female romantic interest, is not very likeable as a fallen woman redeemed by love. You feel Herc deserves better. Since Aladdin, Disney has used celebrities as character voices. Hercules in particular benefits from this, with James Woods ad libbing hilariously as Hades, lord of the underworld, and Danny DeVito, who brings heart and laughs as "Phil" the Satyr.
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