My Movie Review on Hercules (1997)

Yo, what's up, peoples?

This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, I'm gonna give you guys my take of Disney's "Hercules".

Here's the summary of this tale:

Hercules is a person with unimaginable strength beyond compare. But, despite how many great things he could do, he is treated as an outcast and a freak by others because of how much trouble he has controlling his strength.

After his parents tell him that he's not their son by birth, Hercules travels to the Temple of Zeus to seek answers on where he came from. There, he learns that he is the son of Zeus and Her, but was stolen from Mount Olympus as a boy and turned mortal.

Believing that he truly belongs on Mount Olympus with his biological family and the rest of the gods, Hercules makes haste to prove himself worthy by being a hero. A true hero. With Philocetes "Phil" to coach and train him all the while.

Meanwhile, Hades, Zeus's younger brother and ruler of the Underworld, plots to overthrow Zeus and become ruler of Mount Olympus. The only one standing in his way...is Hercules, even if he isn't entirely immortal.

Will Hercules have what it takes to be a true hero and stop Hades? Or not?

I'd like to be front about this, Disney's "Hercules" is another movie that I've been wanting to review for quite some time. I fondly grew up with it since childhood, and even now...I find it to be one of the most enjoyable Disney films ever. One of the most unique too.

For instance, the direction by John Musker and Ron Clements, the story by Randy Cartwright, Francis Glebas, Kaan Kalyon, Kelly Wightman, John Ramirez, Jeff Snow, Vance Gerry, Kirk Hanson, Mark Kennedy, Bruce M. Morris, Don Dougherty, and Thom Enriquez, and the screenplay by Musker, Clements, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Meechi, were fantastic!

One of my favorite parts about this movie was that the filmmakers incorporated a remarkable sense of fun that hardly stopped itself. It carried this incredible vibe that they were having a great time working on the project and were very passionate about it, and that's something I admire about it.

When it came to making a wonderful film, Clements and Musker never cease to impress me. The narrative was awesomely well-worked and intriguing, and the humor they gave the movie was hilarious. To top it all off, the film had heart and emotion that filled it to the brim with life, and its morals about love and being a true hero were brilliant. Clements and Musker's knack for character-driven plotting and dialogue was also as awesome as ever.

The animation was astonishing, if I may add. I definitely don't get why some critics gave mixed reactions on the animation when it was released in theaters, that's for sure.

When I watched this movie again not too long ago, I couldn't help but note that it had a unique visual look and style different from other Disney animated films before it. It was like seeing a comic book made by a Greek artist come to life, and the computer-generated elements mixed beautifully with the hand-drawn animated world. The hydra was what I found to be the best of the computer-animated elements, of course. To top it all off, it looked like the directors and animators weren't afraid of taking risks and experimenting, which was enjoyable to see.

The music by Alan Menken, and the songs by David Zippel, were likewise quite the showstoppers. Why they too received a mixed response from critics upon being released in theaters is something I'll never know, I'll tell you guys that.

For me, the special thing about the songs was that they were not only witty and aided the film in being something worthwhile, but they carried something that's surprisingly uncommon too: Personality. It was like Menken and Zippel incorporated something genuinely human in the songs, and they each fit the individual characters nicely and were hardly out of place. Plus, the overall score helped the movie have feeling and heart.

Finally, the performances of the cast, casting, characters, and character development were incredible.

I'm not gonna lie, James Woods KILLED it with his portrayal of Hades. Having read multiple times who previously tried out for the character, among them being Jack Nicholson, John Lithgow, and Kevin Spacey, I can honestly say that the role was something for no one but Woods. He gave the character a personality and sense of humor that made Hades an incredibly fresh Disney villain, and the way he got so emotionally and physically invested in portraying the part was amazing. Hades himself is undeniably one of my all-time favorite Disney villains. His character development was top-notch, he made me laugh no matter what, and he’s surprisingly relatable. Heck, whenever I think about Hades, I’d realize that he’s basically an evil version of myself.

The performances of Tate Donavan, Josh Keaton, Danny DeVito, and Susan Egan as Adult Hercules, Teenage Hercules, Philocetes "Phil", and Megara "Meg" were wonderful as well. And so were the characters themselves.

The special thing about Hercules himself was that he's someone that I believe all sorts of people can relate to and connect with. He's someone who wants to be loved for who he is as a person no matter how flawed he is, he has dreams and goals that he's willing to reach for, and he wants to do great things for the world. I loved the vast amount of honesty and innocence that he had too, as well as how much Keaton and Donavan's performances were able to deeply capture the character's personality. DeVito and Egan were likewise literally perfect for the roles of Phil and Meg, and their portrayals were both witty and helped the characters be instantly three-dimensional and lovable. The three characters themselves had fantastic development throughout the movie.

I'd also like to add that the Muses stole the show every chance they had, and Rip Torn did a terrific job voicing Zeus.

In conclusion, "Hercules (1997)" is what I'd like to call another gem of a Disney film, and perhaps one of the company's most underrated too. Everything about it is extremely pleasurable, and it's something that people of all ages can enjoy too.

So, I rate Disney's "Hercules (1997)" a solid five out of five stars.