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Hercules (Disney)

Hercules (Disney)

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Pretty good
Review: "Hercules" was better that Hunchback for few reasons, and also had its flaws. First, this "suggestion" of a new Hercules version is not as inventive as Aladdin. But it doesn't fit as well as in Aladdin, simply because Aladdin was not a legend or a greek myth. And if you'll try to notice there aren't any differences between the story crafting of both films. Also, one strong point that stands to Hercules is its villain. Hades is well drown and sophisticated, also very funny. One of the things Disney has been lacking in the past few years is a good villain. Ratcliff wasn't even near to perfection, Frollo was TOO scary, no funny jokes or sophisticated lines. Simply a turn to Ursula and Gaston's perfections! The animation in Hercules is not impressive or breathtaking, it's very abstract and doesn't follow The Hunchback of Notre Dame's beautiful backgrounds. Another thing, the characters aren't remarkable and look very strange, Herc's ears look like cookies. Overall, the movie is pretty good, unfortunately it was not a huge financial success like The Lion King.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I LOVED IT... but
Review: this was a great movie but the accuracy is what makes this movie not so good! There were a lot of things that werent true in the plot! the music was great but they need to correct the problems with the accuracy! like hades wasnt evil and hera wasnt the mom...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: heni
Review: This is thebest movie I ever see >

Thank yo

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Spanish language version has a special guest voice!
Review: Although this one is clearly not one of the all-time best Disney films, and the content is mor haphazardly put together than the hair on Hades' head, there are some razzle dazzle moments and sentimental scenes to warrant a few viewings. But more interestingly, this DVD does include exclusive alternate language versions of the film (in Spanish and French). No one seems to have noticed that in the Spanish version of Hercules, the speaking voice of the adult Herc is provided by none other than singer Ricky Martin! In essence, we are paying essentially for 3 different versions of the movie, and while Martin is still hot, an exclusive collector's item! I am also glad that the alternate versions took enough care in duplicating the voices as closely as possible. It's hard to recommend this film on its own merits, as there are few. But these little extras make the Special Edition DVD worthwhile.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Letterboxing makes picture too small
Review: This title does not give viewers a choice between standard and letterboxed formats. You are stuck with the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen. While it is nice to see the movie as originally intended, the picture is too small on my TV to enjoy.

I have a 27" TV and letterboxing can make it look like I'm watching a 13" picture. I bought a fairly large TV to see a larger picture, not two big black bars.

The extra money paid for DVD players and digital discs should afford viewers a choice.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Sad, Really Sad
Review: Hercules, the latest animated future from the folks at Disney, valiantly does it fair share to further ruin what had been, back in the days of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, a pretty good track record.

I'm probably lost here, but when did a Kid Film become an excuse to to toss off any piece of crap and claim it's great because it serves a purpose? Does anybody remember Beauty and the Beast? Kid film or no, it was a fine film and perhaps the greatest musical Hollywood's produced since Cabaret. Aladdin was, for kids and adults alike, easily one of the funniest films for its year. Hercules, for all its hype and Pied Piper marketing, is a long way down from those two flicks.

Hercules has much more music than any Disney film in recent history, and that's something the viewer has to suffer through. The quality of the songs continues to decline since the death of Howard Ashman, the song writer whose talent made the musical numbers in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and half of Aladdin (he died while working on the film, and you can pick out with your eyes closed the songs he worked on from the other lousy songs in that film) such a dazzling delight. Hercules uses a gospel-oriented canvas to paint its songs on, but even great voices can't disguise the terrible material. Why Disney chose to cram so many songs into this particular film can only be understood by glancing at their profit statement from album sales, which will probably soar. They know they can rely on kids to swoop up the stuff. Hey, Barney records sell into the millions, and even The Lion King's soundtrack, sad as it was, visited the record charts for an extended stay.

If the wonderful musical score helped nudge Beauty and the Beast into the classic category, the humor in Aladdin made the case for its beloved status. Hercules has plenty of comedy, just not many laughs. The writing is tired and the jokes are predictable. When Hercules becomes a celebrity in Thebes, Air-Hercs become the sneaker of choice. Ha. The animals fall through predictable prat falls and almost make the older viewers forget they once were the highlight of many a Disney film (Remember the parrot from Aladdin? Thumper? Dumbo, even?). More than not, the jokes here are lifeless and numbing.

So, let's see, what else can save a Disney flick? Animation! Well, Hercules here draws a C+. Some of the work, especially the scenes in Hades that remind one of the terrific demons near the end of Fantasia, is breath-taking. Some, like much of the computer animation that is overused here, either looks incredibly lame (there's a scene where pillars collapse under seemingly new laws of gravity) or is not integrated into the normal animation to create an entire work. Remember how the computerized ballroom in B & the B looked beautiful and completely natural? Remember how fake and completely unreal the new creatures in the "enhanced" Star Wars looked against the grainy desert backdrops of Tatooine? We're talking the the later here.

Most of the voice work is strictly mediocre, so that leaves us with the love story. Happily, it manages to play out well here. Meg's voice, a little unsteady at first, blossoms into the best element going in this film, and it helps the romance hold one's interest throughout the flick. Hercules is Disney's typically bland main hero, but Meg's interaction with our hunk helps him be much more interesting. Maybe Meg should have taken over the film and steered the plot in a promising Amazon direction...

But she doesn't, and that's too bad. The cracks in Disney's animated kingdom are showing, and a few more like Hercules might bring the whole darn castle tumbling.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This movie has some mildly sexist content.
Review: The VHS video isn't currently available, but I nevertheless saw it in the theaters a few years before. Though the animation is really colorful and eye-popping as usual, there are some things in it that I don't immediately approve of, nor will the families of younger kids. Megan is supposed to be a sex symbol for this film, yes - but she acts a little like a prostitute around Hercules as well as that pink winged horse trying to seduce Pegasus. This has a little sexual undertone and it is kind of sleazy. In addition, there's that really creepy part about Megan dying and her spirit being swept away into the underworld. Most adults who are in gothic fantasy would appreciate this scene, but parents who haven't yet exposed young kids to the very concept of death may be spooked away. But overall, it is a very visually enthralling tour of an animated Ancient Greece ever since the centaurs-and-centaurettes part in the 1940's "Fantasia".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's Only A Cartoon!
Review: People, please try to remember the spirit of Disney movies . . . ENTERTAINMENT! Children learn about history in school and they learn how to decide which is fact and which is fiction. Give the children the benefit of the doubt and let them enjoy the movie for what it is! For you adults who are overanalyzing this movie, get a grip! IT IS PURE FANTASY! If you have lost sight of that then perhaps you need to go back to school! Bottom line . . . it is only a movie, to learn historically accurate information, go to your library!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: WHAT A WATSE OF TIME AND MONEY
Review: Disney can most certainly do beter than this. True, I DID like it to some extent...and giving creift where its due, it WAS good, but Disney could have done better than this!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What am I, talking to hyperspace - hello?
Review: Hercules has to be another Disney classic. I think Alan Menken has done a fantastic job on the score for this picture. People say Disney isn't getting the historical facts right or they aren't making pictures with an impact. Anyone who has half a brain with an understanding of dramatic theory would understand, Hercules is a lesson in DRAMATIC ACTION. They appear one after another during the close of the picture. Some which make you smile happily or feel great emotion for the characters. The script is very clever, and who can argue with Meg's song "I won't say (I'm in love)". Well, quite a few people probably but take it from a music grad. it's good! The use of animation is fantastic and the content is brilliant. As soon as you see 'young Hercules' knock down an entire city at the beginning of the picture, there is an instant sympathy felt for him. Then that stays with him all the way through, even though he is the strongest bravest (truest!) hero ever! Hence, making the final scenes very gripping indeed. This picture is a must! Well done Disney!


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