Hercules

The animated musical fantasy cartoon about the Greek hero Hercules was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1997 and is among the most famous cartoon adaptations from the house of Disney.

The movie is a fantasy tale based on the ancient Greek-Roman mythology and more specifically the adventures of Heracles who is in the movie with his  Roman name, Hercules, the son of Zeus.

The Characters

  • Hercules (voiced by Tate Donovan) is our hero, son of the god Zeus, who was raised on earth by mortals.
  • Megara or Meg (Susan Egan) a young woman, who is kidnapped by a mythical centaur that Hercules defeats to save her.
  • Hades (James Woods), king of the underworld who tries to kidnap Hercules.
  • Phil (Danny DeVito), a satyr and "trainer of heroes" and finally
  • Pegasus, a winged horse that Zeus gave to his son Hercules.

The Plot

Hercules is kidnapped after birth by the god Hades, who plans to reign over the world instead of his brother Zeus and his son can be a problem for his intentions. Hades orders to kill the baby Hercules but his henchmen who steal the baby from the Mountain Olympus decide to abandon it in the forest. There it is found by mortals and Hercules is raised amongst them, yet he possesses the strength of a god, which he uses to became a hero in the world of men. Later he understands that he is not a mortal and wants to go back to the Mountain Olympus, but he meets Meg and falls in love of her. With her Hercules will live through a very difficult, yet amazing romantic love story.

The movie contains a lot of influences of Greek mythology: For example when Hercules goes to the temple of Zeus because he thinks he is not from this world it is a reminiscence to the Oedipus myth. There is another reminiscence to Orpheus and his pure love against the death, when Hercules is able to save Meg from the river of the death. This interesting film mentions also The Greek heroes Perseus and Theseus.

The Music

The music that appear in the movie is an Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack. It includes the successful single version of "Go the Distance" by Michael Bolton. The Spanish version of the film, "Go the Distance" was redone by Ricky Martin and released as a single under the title "No Importa La Distancia" and was also very successful.

"Go the Distance" was nominated for both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, but ultimately lost both to Celine Dion's monumental hit "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic.

Track list:

  1. "Long Ago..." - Charlton Heston
  2. The Gospel Truth/Main Title - Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Cheryl Freeman, and Vanéese Y. Thomas
  3. The Gospel Truth II - Roz Ryan
  4. The Gospel Truth III - Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Cheryl Freeman, and Vanéese Y. Thomas
  5. "Go the Distance" - Roger Bart
  6. Oh Mighty Zeus (Score)
  7. "Go the Distance (Reprise)" - Roger Bart
  8. "One Last Hope" - Danny DeVito
  9. "Zero to Hero" - Tawatha Agee, Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Cheryl Freeman, and Vanéese Y. Thomas
  10. "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" - Susan Egan, Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Cheryl Freeman, and Vanéese Y. Thomas
  11. "A Star Is Born" - Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Cheryl Freeman, and Vanéese Y. Thomas
  12. "Go the Distance (Single)" - Michael Bolton
  13. The Big Olive (Score)
  14. The Prophecy (Score)
  15. Destruction of the Agora (Score)
  16. Phil's Island (Score)
  17. Rodeo (Score)
  18. Speak of the Devil (Score)
  19. The Hydra Battle (Score)
  20. Meg's Garden (Score)
  21. Hercules' Villa (Score)
  22. All Time Chump (Score)
  23. Cutting the Thread (Score)
  24. A True Hero/A Star Is Born (End Title) - Lillias White, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, Cheryl Freeman, and Vanéese Y. Thomas

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