The Daring Deed That Made Great Theatre
After the heavy subject matter of Pocahontas and the Hunchback of Notre Dame respectively, plus the animation therein that reached for the prospects of high art and Oscar glory, Disney seemed to abandon both of those concepts with their next film. Hercules had been floating around the studio for years and seemed like the next great commercial hope, with merchandise - friendly characters and a screenplay heavy with comedy. But the film would end up continuing Disney’s box office decline and ultimately start the studio’s financial regression.
The idea for an animated film of Greece’s most famous mythical hero Hercules began in early 1992 when animtor Joe Haidar pitched the project at the annual Gong Show. His pitch focused on the Trojan War with Hercules, the bastard love child of Zeus, the king of the Ancient Greek gods and mortal queen Alcmene, forced to choose sides in the ten year long war and learning humility through the consequences of his actions. Chairman Katzenberg approved the project with Haidar crafting a page - and - a - half outline before handing it over to the story development team. At the time, Musker and Clements were riding high on the respective successes of the Little Mermaid and Aladdin. For twelve years, they had been desperately seeking approval from Katzenberg to produce a project they dubbed Treasure Island in Space. And after continually rejecting the idea, Katzenberg promised they could work on the project after they delivered one more commercial hit for the studio.
After being presented with pitch proposals for animated films based on Don Quixote, the Odyssey and Around the World in Eighty Days, the guys learned of Haidar’s Hercules concept and begrudgingly agreed to do it for their next project. With their bizarre passion project hanging in the balance, Musker and Clements wrote the screenplay personally, determined to craft the most commercially viable project possible. So, they abandoned the Trojan War setting and reworked the character as a naive half - god/half - mortal caught between those two worlds, determined to prove himself worthy to return to Olympus. Musker and Clements felt the project wrked better as a bubbly comedy that echoed Aladdin and sought inspiration from Frank Capra screwball comedies of old. Bolstered by their includion of a gruff sidekick to train Hercules and a sarcastic, wise - cracking villain to balance Hercules’ idealism with cynicism.
As Musker and Clements researched extesively into the mythology of Hercules, they concluded that an accurate interpretation wouldn’t be exactly family - friendly. Because in Greek mythology, Hercules immediately incurs the hatred and wrath of his stepmother, Hera. And in numerous Greek stories, she conspires against him as revenge for her husband’s infidelity, including sending two snakes to kill him while he was a baby. The idea of adultery and a vengeful stepmother didn’t sit well with the comedic angle the two were taking. The characterisation of Hercules was also partly based on the concept of sports athlete becoming major celebrities, namely Michael Jordan, who was at his peak, as well as the peak of popularity in the mid 90s. In essence, Hercules was the Jordan of his era, standing as a beloved icon celebrated in stories and his likeness appearing on pottery discovered in the ruins of Ancient Greece.
THE STORY
Hercules is born on Mount Olympus to Zeus and Hera, and every god comes to meet him, including Hades, the god of the underworld. After making a brief appearance, Hades retreats to the underworld to consult the three Fates who reveal to him that in eighteen years, the planets will align and he can release the Titans from the underground prison in which Zeus locked them eons ago, and he can use them to imprison the gods and rule Olympus himself. However, if Hercules should fight against him, he will fail. So, he sends his simpleton minions, Pain and Panic, to kidnap Hercules with a potion to make him mortal and kill him. They succeed at the first two parts, but before Hercules can finish the last drop, they are interrupted by two peasants, Amphytrion and Alcmene, who find Hercules and adopt him. Pain and Panic turn themselves into snakes and try to finish their job, but since Hercules didn’t finish the potion, he still keeps his divine strength, so he’s able to tie them both in a knot and throw them far away. He grows up with his mortal parents, can’t control his strength and is considered a freak. After his latest accident, his parents tell him he is a foundling with a medallion of the gods around him, so he goes to the temple of Zeus, where he is told everything about who he is, where he comes from and that if he can prove himself a true hero, he will become a god again.
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In the animated film, as Hercules’ fame rises, with it rises a huge line of merchandise, public appearances, giddy fangirls and a LOT of money, just like modern - day celebrities. After nine months of production meetings and sgtory conferences with key figures of the animation studio, Musker and Clements made their first draft script, but soon realised it was lacking humour it needed to truly mirror the funniest parts of Aladdin, so comedy writers Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw and Irene Mecchi were enlisted to add more humour to the script and rework the key comedic characters of Hades, and Hercules’ trainer Philoctetes.
Donny Osmond was initially considered to voice the title role, but Tate Donovan won that privledge after a very long audition process. For his love interest Megar, the production team went through dozens of performers, eventually casting Susan Egan, who had auditioned for ever Disney female lead since Beauty and the Beast. Funnily enough, she did win the role of Belle on Broadway, but still wanted Megara. The people were hesitant to let her audition, since Megara was the complete opposite of Belle, but wouldn’t you know it, she blew them all away at her audition. That’s because, in the paraphrased words of Laurence Olivier “gentlemen, it’s called ACTING”.
While Musker and Clements were creating the role of Phil, they always had Danny DeVito in mind. But Danny refused to audition, leaving the team to test several other people, including Ed Asner, Ernest Borgnine and Red Buttons. After Red's audition, he remarked “I know what you’re gonna do, you’re gonna give this part to Danny DeVito, right?”. He was correct, and Danny signed on without even having to audition.
Casting the role of Hades, however, would lead to some big headaches for the production team. When DeVito was discussing the project, he asked who they cast for the villain role. But Musker and Clements hadn’t got that far yet, so Danny said “Why don’t you ask Jack?”. Naturally Danny had directed Jack in Hoffa and thought he’d be good. But Jack demanded a paycheck more in line with his usual fee, plus and 50% share of any merchandise featuring Hades. At the time, Disney would never share the profits of their merchandise, so they counter - offered with a higher salary, but rejected the demands for a share of merchandise sales. So, Jack bluntly passed on the project.
Musker and Clements ended up auditioning dozens of actors, including James Coburn, Kevin Spacey, Phil Hartmann, Rob Steiger, Terrence Mann, Jerry Lewis and Martin Landau before finally choosing John Lithgow. But Lithgow’s performance ended up lacking the energy and comedy it needed, so Lithgow was released. At last, in October ’95, James Woods was invited to read for the role, ad stunned the directors with his blend of comedy and menace. Like Robin Williams, James Woods happened to be an excellent ad - libber and, in his performance, combined Hollywood agent and used car salesman. That blend allowed him to float between slimy suaveness and cataclysmic rage, which, apparently is exactly what Musker and Clements had in mind and Woods was hired immediately.
MY VERDICT
Like Hunchback of Notre Dame, this film has the problem of an inconsistent tone which is matched by the visual aesthetic, which looks unfinished, and character designs which look hurried and garish. But, also like Hunchback of Notre Dame, the music and songs, while inconsistent, are the piece de resistance of the film. The five Muses remain one of the most enjoyable musical creations in Disney history. And they own the film. As the main character, Hercules is something of a wet mop, which is a problem for the main character in the film. But, luckily, the supporting cast is on hand to divert attention onto themselves. To say nothing of James Woods as Hades, who is one of the funniest villains in Disney history. While it’s impossible to forget that James Woods is the supporter of a man I truly believe to be the son of the Devil, his performance has stood the test of time even thirteen years later.
Again, this is one of the first Disney films I saw in the cinema, so it always has a place in my heart. It certainly lacks the style and substance of many other Disney films, but it’s enough fun that you can watch again and again without getting bored. And sometimes that’s all you need, because not everything has to be the Lion King. And luckily there are several more of those coming up in Disney pipeline anyway.
Is Hercules a Disney Classic? Fun? Yes. Entertaining? Definitely. Disney Classic? Not quite.
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