Hercules

"The man. The myth. The movie."

1997 1h 33m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 8,147

AnimationFamilyFantasyAdventureComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Bestowed with superhuman strength, a young mortal named Hercules sets out to prove himself a hero in the eyes of his father, the great god Zeus. Along with his friends Pegasus, a flying horse, and Phil, a personal trainer, Hercules is tricked by the hilarious, hotheaded villain Hades, who's plotting to take over Mount Olympus!

“The man. The myth. The movie.”

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Cast

Tate Donovan
Hercules (voice)
Josh Keaton
Young Hercules (voice)
Roger Bart
Young Hercules (singing voice)
Danny DeVito
Philoctetes (voice)
James Woods
Hades (voice)
Susan Egan
Meg (voice)
Bobcat Goldthwait
Pain (voice)
Matt Frewer
Panic (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Musker
Writers: John Musker, Ron Clements, Don McEnery
Languages: English, Spanish, Greek
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $85M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Spanish, Greek.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Hercules (Disney) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alan Menken. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tom Finan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tate Donovan and Josh Keaton and Roger Bart carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The man. The myth. The movie.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Musker directs. Alan Menken scores. Tom Finan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish, Greek.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $85M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Spanish, Greek.
4Part of the "Hercules (Disney) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Original score by Alan Menken. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Tom Finan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Tate Donovan and Josh Keaton and Roger Bart carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The man. The myth. The movie.".
9IMDB entry: tt0119282 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "peasant", "hades", "cartoon", "villain".

The technical file

Original score: Alan Menken
Editing: Tom Finan
Production design: Gerald Scarfe
Costume design: Kate Bergh
VFX supervisor: Mauro Maressa
Sound: Gary Rydstrom
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $85,000,000
Box office: $252,712,101
Return: 297% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Hercules (1997)

Awards

Annie Award

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Hercules (Disney) Collection

The adventures of the son of Zeus.

Also by

John Musker

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-07-01
★ 6/10
The definition of a meh film, at least for me. <em>'Hercules'</em> doesn't stick a connection, I felt very unfulfilled throughout. I have little negatives, yet there isn't much the other way either. I like the cast, but that's honestly about it. James Woods, Danny DeVito and Rip Torn all give noteworthy performances in the roles of Hades, Phil and Zeus. However, Tate Donovan as the titular character is forgettable, as is Roger Bart's voice when Hercules sings. Bart isn't helped by the very average music, none of which is memorable to me. The plot is mild, one that is quite easy to predict and doesn't produce any thrilling moments. The animation is actually OK, satisfactory for sure. I can see this is very well rated by others, which I respect. For me, though, it isn't any good.
CinemaSerf2023-08-27
★ 7/10
Undoubtedly one of the better 1990s Disney films. The story and animation are very much centre stage with the music much less important - no big power ballads! It is a fun take on the Herculean mythology of ancient Greece. Beginning with a suitably grand opening narrative from Charlton Heston, no less, we learn that Hades is desperate to avenge himself on Zeus - who tricked him into ruling the underworld after he and his brothers defeated the Titans. Meantime Zeus is celebrating the birth of a baby boy. Hades decides to strike back, but his augurs (the "Fates" but think more "Stygian witches") advise that this little boy - Hercules - is the fly in the ointment who must be neutralised if his grand design is to succeed. Hades tricks him firstly into mortality and then cons him out of his great strength - but will that be enough to defeat the determination of our hero? It is a bit of a slow starter; but once it gets into the swing there are some good performances from James Woods (superb as Hades), Rip Torn (Zeus) and Danny DeVito as the long-suffering demi-god trainer "Phil" that keep this fantasy adventure moving along nicely. Don't expect to see any of his twelve labours...