Hercules (1997)

In the past year or so, I've increased my viewing of animated features from the late '90s and early 2000s, when Disney had taken a dive in popularity, not counting collaborations with Pixar. Why? Well, sometimes I want to see something not only short but colorful, whimsical, and unchallenging, and I've already seen the bulk of the most esteemed fare in that category. Oddly enough, I tend to like the "middling" stuff almost equally; it must be a matter of expectations and backlash.

As you may recall, Hercules came out after the double whammy of underachievers Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. One of their alleged problems was working with darker stories than the target audience was used to watching. So someone had the bright idea of turning to Greco-Roman tragedy for something more uplifting! OK, if you remember anything from the trailer and your own studies of ancient history and mythology, you know that Disney took possibly even more liberties with the source material than ever before or since, as if nobody bothered to review what they learned in junior high. (Kudos to the ad makers for conveying the feeling accurately while not giving away the best moments.)

For starters, Hercules isn't Zeus's half-mortal bastard son drawing the wrath of Hera; he's the son of Zeus and Hera. In fact, in contrast to the "Pastoral" segment of Fantasia, all the Olympian gods behave themselves rather nicely. Only the mindlessly rampaging Titans and the enviously ambitious Hades ever bring trouble. Indeed, by Hades's machinations (which would be harder to pull on his other enemies), baby Hercules loses his divinity, albeit retaining his strength, and therefore is physically incapable of living on Olympus. Only after about 18 years as an accidentally destructive misfit in Greece does he learn where he came from and get a hint of how to return.

The Twelve Tasks, you say? Believe it or not, they rate nothing more than casual mentions among his many deeds, not even enumerated. (His signature lion skin does look familiar, tho.) Zeus never tells him exactly how much heroism it takes to re-become a god. Ironically, the very god trying to kill him keeps taking him further along the path by providing more opportunities. Hades especially shoots himself in the foot by enlisting the aid of Mae West-channeling Megara, who would never fit in with the Disney princess, er, pantheon but gives the hero something more centralized to care about than the general population of Thebes. By the climax, Hades and his loyal Titans are overpowering the rest of the gods, leaving us to wonder both how the gods took care of the Titans the first time around and how one strong mortal could turn the tide.

Almost all the characters try to be funny at times, not least the main villain for a change. James Woods clearly has fun as Hades, tho he's no Robin Williams. Other comic roles include his two bumbling chief minions, Pain and Panic, who continually feel their namesakes. Their shape-shifting lends itself to some possible self-mockery on Disney's part (gentle as always): Whenever you see something cute other than baby Herc or his pet Pegasus, you can bet it's them. Then there's Danny DeVito as Philoctetes, or Phil, a satyr and trainer who combines elements of Burgess Meredith and Jimmy Durante.

The music? Obviously they weren't going to make anything that sounded authentically ancient or Greek. They pretty much announced the movie's silliness with the style of the opening number, in which five muses sound kinda like they're auditioning for The Princess and the Frog more than a decade too soon. ("And that's the gospel truth," really? Wrong religion, ladies.) The muses, acting as a Greek chorus in the loosest sense, account for about half the songs; the rest have a more standard sound for modern Disney. And yes, we hear DeVito sing. Offhand, nothing you're likely to find in a new YouTube video.

The art? I may be wrong, but it struck me as a little more brilliantly colored than usual, outside of the underworld of course. Maybe simpler in line work, which would suit the inherent corniness. Only the hydra makes use of anything advanced. I needn't tell you how '97 computer graphics looked.

The movie came out a little more than halfway between Aladdin and The Emperor's New Groove. I'd say it's also halfway between them in attitude, humor, and overall quality. In other words, not bad. I didn't come close to laughing out loud, but there are enough madcap antics and anachronistic cultural references that I'd expect to get fresh amusement out of a second viewing.