Hercules (1997)
Trivia
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Spoilers (7)
The role of Hades is one of James Woods' all-time favorite characters. So much so, any time Disney needs him to reprise the character for any cartoon show and video game, such as Hercules (1998) or Kingdom Hearts, he has agreed to do so. When this film was about to go over-budget, he offered to refund his salary and finish the film for free. Disney decided against this, and finished the film anyway.
Hades was scripted as a slow, menacing character until James Woods took the role and impressed the crew with his rapid-fire style. Even after the script was rewritten, Woods ad-libbed many lines.
When Phil and Hercules first enter Phil's hut, Hercules bangs his head on what Phil tells him is the mast of the Argo. In Greek mythology, Jason, the captain of the Argo, was killed when the mast hit his head. In the myths, Hercules was one of the heroes/sailors on the Argo.
In Greek mythology, there were nine Muses. The five shown here are: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dance), and Thalia (comedy).
While the movie is about Greek myths, Hercules is actually the protagonist's Roman name. Heracles is his Greek name.
Animator Andreas Deja, who is best known for animating villains like Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (1991), Jafar in Aladdin (1992), and Scar in The Lion King (1994), requested the task of animating Adult Hercules, the hero.
James Woods ate a watermelon while recording to make the slurping sounds more authentic in the scene where Hades is eating worms.
On his way to Thebes, Hercules meets Megara after he saves her from the River Guardian, Nessos. While this is not the story of how Hercules came to know Megara in Greek legend, it IS (almost exactly) how he came to know his second wife, Deianira.
During the song "Zero to Hero" the muses talk about Hercules doing things like endorsing products and making personal appearances for money. It may seem anachronistic to the point of being silly on purpose, but even back in ancient Greece and Rome, famous athletes pretty much did all those things and were paid very well for them.
In the movie, Pain and Panic take the shape of two snakes in order to kill infant Hercules, but he simply grabs and tosses them about. This is another reference to the Herculean myths, where goddess Hera sent two snakes to kill infant Hercules, who simply grabbed and choked them.
Phil cleans himself up using a lion's skin. The skin once belonged to Scar from The Lion King (1994).
Phil's physical appearance was partly inspired by Danny DeVito's.
In the scene where Pain and Panic (disguised as kids) are trapped under a boulder, they say "someone call IXII". Though pronounced as letters, this is a reference to the Roman numerals IX, I, I, or 911 - the emergency phone number in the United States.
Leaving aside the 'Pastoral' segment of Fantasia (1940), this was the first Disney animated feature to be completely inspired by mythology rather than a fairy tale.
The Spice Girls were originally approached to portray the Muses following an invitation to sing one of the songs, but declined the offer due to scheduling conflicts.
The "Air Herc" sandals brand is a reference to the Air Jordan footwear line. Moreover, the Hercules mosaic showing Hercules running resembles an actual Nike print ad. Nike was the Greek goddess who personified triumph and inspired the shoe company's name.
The animators spent 6 to 14 hours to render a frame of the Hydra, depending on how many heads it had.
The film's interpretation of the character of Hades is said to be based on Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, who left the Walt Disney Company on bad terms to form DreamWorks Pictures.
Pain and Panic are named for two of the four minions of Ares, "Phobos" and "Deimos", which roughly translate to "Pain" and "Panic". Phobos and Deimos are also the names given to the two moons of the planet Mars. Mars is the Roman name for Ares.
During "Zero to Hero" they show Hercules and Pegasus making concrete handprints. There are multiple complete handprints around them including Achilles and Aphrodite. Each block also references a "Sid". This is Sid Grauman, the creator of the Chinese Theater that showcases celebrity handprints in real life.
There are many references to the Tragedy of Oedipus: Philoctetes decides to take Hercules to Thebes, so that he can be the new hero of the city. There's also a group of Thebians complaining about fires, floods, monsters, and other disasters. This refers to the fact that after Oedipus married his mother Jocasta and became king of Thebes, a plague struck the city. When Hercules spent the day with Meg and says: "And then that, that play, that, that, that Oedipus thing...Man, I thought I had problems."
Early into production, the filmmakers decided the Hydra would ultimately have thirty heads by which the animators created one master head, and the computer could multiply the heads to their desired scale. Overall, thirteen animators and technical directors spent nearly a year-and-a-half creating the four-minute battle sequence.
Susan Egan, who voices Meg, recreated the role of Belle in the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast (1991).
At one point during "I Won't Say I'm In Love", the Muses sing while appearing as marble busts. The busts are in the same arrangement as the singing busts in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
Four of the Titans in the film are shown as personifications of wind, fire, ice, and earth, the classic Four Elements. This is rather different from how they appear in Greek mythology, but is remarkably similar to the Jötun of Norse mythology, who personify fire, wind, and ice among other things.
During production, Meg was originally given a ballad titled "I Can't Believe My Heart", but Ken Duncan, the supervising animator of Meg, pointed out the song was out of character for Meg. Alan Menken and David Zippel would later compose "I Won't Say I'm In Love" instead.
When Hercules and Phil first meet, Phil says "Two words: I am retired," much to the confusion of Hercules. However, in Greek, "I am retired" translates as "Eímai syntaxioúchos", which is actually only two words.
Jack Nicholson, Willem Dafoe, and David Bowie were all considered for the voice of Hades. John Lithgow was originally cast as Hades and recorded all of the dialogue, but was ultimately replaced with James Woods in the final film. Willem Dafoe would later voice Gil in Finding Nemo.
In the version for Latin America, the voice of Hercules is played by Ricky Martin and Megara is voiced by singer Tatiana.
Danny DeVito declined to audition for Phil, so Ed Asner, Ernest Borgnine, Bob Hoskins, Joe Pesci, Martin Scorsese, John Rhys-Davies, Ray Winstone, Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole, Jerry Stiller, John Cusack, Mel Brooks, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Jason Alexander, Al Pacino, and Dick Latessa were brought in to read for the part. After Red Buttons had auditioned, he left stating "I know what you're gonna do. You're gonna give this part to Danny DeVito!" Shortly after, the directors and producer Alice Dewey Goldstone approached DeVito at a pasta lunch during the filming of Matilda (1996), where DeVito signed on to the role.
The role of Pain was written with Bobcat Goldthwait in mind, although the actor confessed he still had to audition for the role despite playing himself.
Phil's line "Don't let your guard down because of a pair of big goo-goo eyes" (heard in the ads) was originally "Don't let your guard down because of a pair of big, blue eyes". By the time the scene was in color, Meg's eyes were purple.
The Greek god Hades was not evil - in fact, he was one of the more personable deities of Ancient Greece, despite his job as lord of the dead. However, many other versions (for instance Clash of Titans) depict him as a villain, like the Disney version. While in Rick Riordan's novels like Percy Jackson and the Olympians, he is adept to bargains and holds a slight, brotherly spite over Zeus that he does not act upon at least not in an villainous fashion. Another detail regarding Hades that was left out of the film was that he was married to Persephone, the goddess of spring. In addition to this, Hades and Persephone were said to genuinely love one another; Persephone helped govern the job of ruling the Underworld when she was with him and in turn Hades was fiercely loyal to her and hated seeing her sad.
The film was released due to backlash against the previous two Disney releases of Pocahontas (1995) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). The major criticisms of the two films where that they were "too dark" and dealt with "serious issues" that Disney shouldn't be addressing in their animated films. Hercules (1997) was released to lighten things up.
Thebes is portrayed very similarly to New York City. For example, Phil calls it "The Big Olive." New York is commonly referred to as "The Big Apple," but Greece is known for its olives. Also, when almost run over by a chariot, Phil says," Hey, I'm walkin' here!". This is a reference to Dustin Hoffman's line in Midnight Cowboy (1969) when he is nearly run over by a New York City taxi.
When Hermes delivers the floral arrangement to Zeus and Hera, it is a direct parody of the logo for the floral delivery company FTD Florists, who uses Mercury, the Roman name for Hermes.
Megara is essentially a merge between all four of Hercules' wives in the mythology.
She shares her name with Hercules' first wife, the daughter of King Creon, Princess Megara (who was killed when Hera cursed Hercules), and like Princess Megara, Megara dies, although unlike her namesake.
Like Hercules' second wife, Omphale, in the animated TV series it's revealed that Megara once hired Hercules to help her (whereas Omphale actually owned him) and began to develop romantic feelings for him, and in the film (like Omphale) Megara is Hercules' love interest during the 12 Labours, Megara's sense of independence also links her to Omphale.
Like the third wife Deianira, who in mythology was the one who killed Hercules, Megara inadvertently almost causes Hercules' death several times in the film: the first being when she told him about the Hydra, the second when Hades uses Megara to make Hercules give up his strength and the third being when Hercules almost dies in the River of Souls while trying to rescue Meg's soul. Also the first meeting between Meg and Hercules, where he saves her from Nessus, is taken directly from Deianira's mythology.
The trait Megara shares with Hebe, Hercules final and permanent wife, who despite being a goddess, was essentially a servant to the other major gods, is paralleled by the fact that Megara was a servant to Hades.
There's also the fact that like several other mortal brides of gods, in the Disney-verse Megara herself was implied to have become immortal through her marriage to Hercules, due to the fact that there was originally a planned sequel where Hebe, the goddess of youth, was their daughter.
She shares her name with Hercules' first wife, the daughter of King Creon, Princess Megara (who was killed when Hera cursed Hercules), and like Princess Megara, Megara dies, although unlike her namesake.
Like Hercules' second wife, Omphale, in the animated TV series it's revealed that Megara once hired Hercules to help her (whereas Omphale actually owned him) and began to develop romantic feelings for him, and in the film (like Omphale) Megara is Hercules' love interest during the 12 Labours, Megara's sense of independence also links her to Omphale.
Like the third wife Deianira, who in mythology was the one who killed Hercules, Megara inadvertently almost causes Hercules' death several times in the film: the first being when she told him about the Hydra, the second when Hades uses Megara to make Hercules give up his strength and the third being when Hercules almost dies in the River of Souls while trying to rescue Meg's soul. Also the first meeting between Meg and Hercules, where he saves her from Nessus, is taken directly from Deianira's mythology.
The trait Megara shares with Hebe, Hercules final and permanent wife, who despite being a goddess, was essentially a servant to the other major gods, is paralleled by the fact that Megara was a servant to Hades.
There's also the fact that like several other mortal brides of gods, in the Disney-verse Megara herself was implied to have become immortal through her marriage to Hercules, due to the fact that there was originally a planned sequel where Hebe, the goddess of youth, was their daughter.
At the end of the song "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)," the muses can be heard singing the tune to "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid (1989).
While the story of Hercules' birth and adoption in the film is not true to the myth, it does mirror the story of Oedipus, who is referenced several other times throughout the film. Oedipus was abandoned on a mountain side, much like the scenery of where Hercules is left: and baby Oedipus is found by a local farmer, who gives the baby to his master, and is raised by him and his wife, who had been unable to concieve. Hercules' adopted parents are portrayed more-or-less as farmers, and his mother comments about Hercules being 'the baby they had prayed for', implying they had been unable to concieve.
During Hercules' training montage, Phil, Pegasus, and Hercules balance on logs at a beach. This is a reference to a training exercise used by Mr Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984).
Hercules' Credit Card is shown as: "VI V XI XIV XV XVI IV, ex IV M BC, member since I M BC" or "6511 14 1516 4, expires Apr 1000 BC, member since Jan 1000 BC"
In mythology, Heracles (the Greek name of Hercules) is the son of Zeus. Zeus is the brother of Poseidon. Poseidon has a son named Triton. In The Little Mermaid (1989) one of Triton's children is Ariel, making the two Disney heroes first cousins once removed. This also applies to Ariel and Mal from Descendants as Mal is the daughter of Hades, Zeus's niece, and Hercules cousin in said franchise.
The Hydra is a rare instance of blood and gore shown onscreen in a Disney movie, as it visibly bleeds green blood after its heads are cut off.
The Hydra is based on the Lernaean Hydra, a serpent-like water monster of Greek mythology. It originally had nine heads that would replace each other in the same manner as the Hydra in Hercules, and was killed by Hercules as the second part of his Twelve Labors after The Nemean Lion.
When the Fates tell Hades the planets will align in 18 years precisely, the picture they create shows six planets aligning. This corresponds to the Ancient Greek understanding of astronomy, since besides Earth, there are only five planets ( Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) that are clearly visible in the night sky with the naked eye. While the sixth star in the picture could be Uranus, it is barely visible on extremely clear nights and was only officially discovered in the 18th century, so it is more likely that their divine viewpoint let them see Earth included in the alignment.
Pain calls the potion that turns Hercules mortal Grecian Formula. Grecian Formula is an actual product used to color graying hair.
In the original mythology, Pegasus is born after Perseus cut off Medusa's head and was the child of Medusa and Poseidon. In the Disney version, Pegasus is created by Zeus.
Production designer Gerald Scarfe, who designed nearly all the characters, worked with Pink Floyd multiple times and is best known for his artwork and animations for Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982).
It is unclear as to why Hades wasn't aware that Hercules hadn't been killed by Pain and Panic back when Hercules was a baby, seeing that he is the Lord of the Dead; the most likely explanation is that he doesn't keep track of specific details about his role and simply assumed that all had gone according to plan. But in the series Hades claimed that if someone was dead, he would know about it.
Walt Disney Pictures debuted Hercules (1997) in a two week exclusive run for the grand re-opening of the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street, New York City, preceding it with a stage revue. The opening promoted the theater, which subsequently hosted long runs of theatrical versions of The Lion King (1994) and Mary Poppins (1964).
The statue Hercules hits while skipping stones is the famous Venus de Milo (or Aphrodite of Milos) which can be seen at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
The Hydra is rendered in CGI, unlike the rest of the movie which is in hand-drawn animation. This was done as it would have been incredibly difficult to draw each head individually.
The first full-length Disney animated feature film since Oliver & Company (1988) to feature the main antagonist/villain who does not sing. McLeach, the villain of The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (which isn't a musical) didn't have a musical number like the films that followed, but did sing a rendition of "Home on the Range"
The wall painting in Alcmene and Amphitryon's bedroom is the famous "Spring Fresco" from the Greek island of Thera and can be seen at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Phil's line, "If you can make it there you can make it anywhere," is part of the lyrics of the Frank Sinatra song "New York, New York."
In the scene where Hercules rushes into the town with a carriage containing Amphitryon, Penelope, and a tall bale of hay, the bale hits the top of the entrance to the town, and two men carrying a stone block fall off the top. These two men are caricatures of the directors John Musker and Ron Clements.
Originally when Hades has the Titans trap Zeus in ice and lava, after he says "Hades you're behind this!" Hades was going to reply "And speaking of behind no one's going to save yours" while doing a Groucho Marx impression, it was cut for pacing.
The directors sought inspiration from classic screwball comedy films directed by Preston Sturges and Frank Capra with "Hercules as the young Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Musker explained, and "Meg is modeled on Barbara Stanwyck, especially the characters she played in The Lady Eve (1941) and Meet John Doe (1941)."
Hades is one of the few classic villains without a memorable song. However, he does have an recurring instrumental theme, which may be found as "Speak of the Devil" on the Hercules Soundtrack, and in the Hercules tv series, he sings "My Town" when he takes over Athens. His depiction in the Descendants franchise also sings a duet with his daughter Mal titled Do What You Gotta Do.
When Hermes delivers the flowers to Hera, he says, "I had Orpheus do the arrangement. Isn't that too nutty?" The joke here is in the double use for the word "arrangement" - as in "floral arrangement" and "musical arrangement". The voice for Hermes is bandleader Paul Shaffer, and in Greek mythology, Orpheus is known as "the father of songs", so he would be the perfect choice to do an "arrangement".
Directors John Musker and Ron Clements envisioned Mount Olympus as a city composed of clouds. In order for the animators to achieve the directors' vision, the painted backgrounds of clouds and cloud-like imagery were blended with hand-drawn effects animation to create a morphing technique that were used for baby Hercules' cradle and Zeus' reclining chair.
Hades is probably the oldest of the Disney Villains due to his immortality. Mother Gothel, however, would probably be the oldest human villain so far, due to her using the Power of a Golden Flower to keep her alive/prevent her from getting to an elderly state.
Scar makes a cameo in this film as a pelt. This is could be a built in joke from The Lion King as Zazu joked Scar would make a good throw rug.
When Phil eavesdrops on Hades confronting Meg, the way he sticks his nose on the corner of the wall is similar to how the Seven Dwarfs react when they first meet Snow White, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).
John Goodman, Jim Belushi, Jeffrey Tambor, Gregory Peck, and Patrick Stewart were all considered for the role of Zeus. All of them but Gregory Peck would later however star in Future Disney Animated Films: - John Goodman would voice Pacha in The Emperor's New Groove (2000), James P. Sullivan in Monsters, Inc. (2001), Baloo in The Jungle Book 2 (2003), and Big Daddy in The Princess and the Frog (2009) which is also directed by John Musker & Ron Clements. - Patrick Stewart would voice Mr. Woolensworth the Sheep in Chicken Little (2005). - Jeffrey Tambor would voice the Big Nose Thug in Tangled (2010). John Goodman and Tate Donovan (voice of Hercules) would appear together in Argo (2012).
In the Greek Myths, the Hydra when one head is cut off, two more grow back, not three as seen in the movie. Also in the Myths, Heracles is the Greek version while Hercules is Roman. The name Heracles is given to him to try and please Hera.
At the Pecs and Flex gift shop near Hercules villa, you can pick up a 30-minute workout scroll called "Buns of Bronze".
When Danny DeVito asked directors John Musker and Ron Clements who had in mind to play Hades, they responded by saying they hadn't selected an appropriate actor for the role, yet. In response, DeVito blurted, "Why don't you ask Jack Nicholson?" After DeVito notified Nicholson of the project, the next week, the Walt Disney Studios was willing to pay Nicholson $500,000 for the role, but Nicholson demanded roughly a paycheck of $10-15 million, plus a 50% cut of all the proceeds from Hades merchandise. Unwilling to share merchandising proceeds with the actor, Disney came back with a counter offer that was significantly less than what Nicholson had asked for. Therefore, Nicholson decided to pass on the project.
The project was originally going to be an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey. It got scrapped because it didn't fit the animated-comedy formula Disney had in mind for Hercules.
When Phil tells Hercules he always dreamed of training the greatest hero there ever was a star constellation of Hercules appears on the roll of sheet Phil rolls out foreshadowing the end of the film where a constellation of Hercules is created by Zeus.
The musical number "Zero to Hero" shows Hercules riding Pegasus through the nighttime sky with constellations looking at him, and it shows a woman in a dress that flies up and she holds it down. This is a reference to the famous scene from The Seven Year Itch (1955) starring Marilyn Monroe.
In addition to Gerald Scarfe's designs, much of the film's style is drawn from Ancient Greek artwork, especially during the Muses songs. Several Disney artists had urged Walt Disney to use this style for the Pastoral Symphony segment of 'Fantasia (1940)' but Disney rejected the idea, believing the style was too experimental for audiences.
Eric Goldberg, the supervising animator for Philoctetes, cited Grumpy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bacchus in Fantasia (1940) as the inspirations for the character's design.
After Hercules appears to be defeated by the hydra, Hades, sensing victory, lights a cigar. Legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach would light a cigar when victory seemed assured.
Currently this is the only Disney Animated Feature Film released in the 1990s and of the Renaissance Era to not have any Sequels, Prequels or Midquels (not counting The Rescuers Down Under (1990) which itself is a Sequel to The Rescuers (1977)). Although a sequel was planned starring the children of Hercules and Meg, which was scrapped along with many other sequels after John Lasseter became CEO of both Disney and Pixar. Nonetheless the film justified a straight to video follow up titled Hercules: Zero to Hero (1999) which was the pilot episode to the Hercules (1998)s.
In the song "Zero to Hero", the line "he could tell you 'What's a Grecian earn?'" is a pun on "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by the English Romantic poet John Keats, published in 1820.
Hades is depicted in the Disney movie with control over fire, pyromancy, where the fire is actually an element not related with Hades, being earth and gold, actually the closest element to Hades; the fire is probably to give him some association with the common idea of the Devil, augmenting the ideal of villain and comically with his "hot-head" personality. Because blue flame burns at higher temperature than red/orange flame, the implication that when Hades gets angry he "heats-up" and turns red is inaccurate. Technically, Hades is hotter when he is calm than when he is angry. However, blue means calm and red means angry, so it could simply be the color scheme.
According to the Disney Read-Along story of Hercules, the Hydra grew a total of 30 heads. However, the math shows if Hercules removed 1 head and 3 more were added up to 14 times, the result would be 29.
Hades' minions 'Pain' and 'Panic' are simplified versions of the Greek names 'Phobos' and 'Deimos' which mean 'Fear' and 'Terror' respectively. From Phobos is derived the suffix '-phobia' meaning 'fear of'
When the Hydra was seen as a baby being fed by Echidna, it already has three heads even though it started with only one. As stated in the myth, Hercules slew the Hydra by slicing off its heads, then using a torch to cauterize the stumps left.
The sound effect used for the Hydra sounds very much like the sounds of the trolls in the movie Willow (1988).
"Hades' line "...hey, you, get off my cloud', when telling the Sisters of Fate about Zeus, is part of the chorus off The Rolling Stones'' single, "Get off My Cloud" It is also the very first line in Wu-Tang Clan's single, "Method Man".
Tate Donovan (Hercules) once told his family he got a role, they all felt sorry for him and believe he was going to work on the television series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995).
Hades seems to have a strong hatred for the Goddess of the Night, Hecate, calling her a "witch" at the conference of the Olympians. She in turn wants his throne and steals his power.
Donny Osmond originally auditioned as the speaking voice of the title character, but he was turned down because his voice was considered too deep. He'd later perform the signing voice to Shang in Mulan the following year.
James Woods' first time voice acting in a theatrically released animated film. Later he'd go onto voice General Hein in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), The Evil Falcon in Stuart Little 2 (2002), Reggie the Otter in Surf's Up (2007), and Victor in Bling (2016).
Was the result of two separate pitches being rejected in the late-80s: specifically The Little Mermaid (1989) and Treasure Planet (2002).
According to Disney's official press kit for the movie, animation started in late 1995, with a team of an unprecedented number of 906 artists, animators and technicians ultimately contributing to the finished film. Disney's animation facility in Paris joined in the effort (as they had on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)) and provided nearly 10 minutes of animation, including the film's finale with the rampaging Titans and Hercules' descent into the Underworld.
The directors decided from the inception not to use the obvious choice of traditional Greek instrumentation or musical themes, but rather to incorporate pop and gospel influences into the songs, as reported in Disney's official press kit. Ron Clements explains, "Gospel music is very exhilarating and is often associated with hope, idealism and larger-than-life things. This seemed to be the perfect kind of music for our Muses because their traditional role is to tell of the gods' heroic accounts."
In the movie, Hercules is shown as the son of Zeus and Hera, whereas in Greek mythology he was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, the woman who is seen raising him in the film, but the idea of presenting Hercules as the son of Zeus and Hera actually has ancient mythological roots as seen with Etruscan mythology. The Etruscans, like the later Romans, inspired their gods on the figures of Greek tradition. In Etruscan mythology, Heracles was called Hercle and he was presented as the immortal, godly son of Tinia and Uni, who were the Etruscan versions of Zeus and Hera. In other versions Hercle was the son of an unnamed mortal woman, but was adopted and raised by Uni; who grants Hercle immortality, making him the first mortal elevated to a godhood through his deeds.
The first theatrically released animated film for Wayne Knight. Later he'd go onto voice Tantor the Elephant in Tarzan (1999), Al McWhiggin in Toy Story 2 (1999), the Gang Boss in Kung Fu Panda (2008), and a panda in Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016).
Prior to "Go the Distance", Alan Menken and David Zippel had written a song called "Shooting Star" and it was recorded by Roger Bart (Hercules's singing voice). But the song was cut from the film and was not featured in the US version of the movie and it was heard in the UK edition of the movie, which was sung by Irish boy-band, Boyzone at the ending credits of the film.
Max von Sydow provided the voice of Zeus in the Swedish dub, this ended up being his last Swedish speaking role as he subsequently only performed in English and French.
Wayne Knight's cameo appearance makes him the second Seinfeld (1989) cast member to do a voice work in an animated Disney film following Jason Alexander as Hugo in Hunchback of Notre Dame. He'd later voice Tantor in Disney's Tarzan.
Marks the 2nd Fully Animated Film for Danny DeVito, following My Little Pony: The Movie (1986) released 11 years prior. Two of his previous other films that had him doing voice over work (Look Who's Talking Now (1993) and Space Jam (1996)) had been voice acting performances in Live Action films.
On July 5, 2019, it was reported that Walt Disney Pictures is developing a live-action remake of Hercules, with the studio reportedly considering Alexander Skarsgård for the title role, and considering "outside the box" directors and writers for the film, based on the box office success of Guy Ritchie's Aladdin (2019).
James Coburn, Kelsey Grammer, Bill Maher, Gene Hackman, Jim Carrey, Christopher Walken, Al Pacino, Jeff Goldblum, Donald Sutherland, Robert De Niro, John Malkovich, Stephen Lang, Woody Harrelson, Vince Vaughn, John Travolta, Chris Rock, Johnny Depp, Kevin Costner, Steve Carell, Kevin Bacon, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Buscemi, Jason Lee, Phil Hartman, Michael Keaton, Michael Ironside, Benjamin Bratt, Martin Landau, Ned Beatty, Terrence Mann, Christopher Plummer, Ron Silver, Kevin Spacey, Bill Hunter, and Rod Steiger auditioned for Hades. Ten of these actors that auditioned would later get the parts of villains in Pixar Films, Spacey as Hopper in A Bug's Life (1998), Grammer as Stinky Pete the Prospector in Toy Story 2 (1999), Coburn and Buscemi as Henry J. Waternoose and Randall Boggs in Monsters, Inc. (2001) (Buscemi would reprise his role in Monsters University (2013)), Hunter as Phillip Sherman in Finding Nemo (2003) (though said character was technically a neutral character), Lee as Syndrome In The Incredibles (2004), Keaton as Chick Hicks in Cars (2006) and Ken in Toy Story 3 (2010) (though his Toy Story 3 (2010) role was a secondary villain role and said character was later reformed), Plummer as Charles Muntz in Up (2009), Beatty as Lotso in Toy Story 3 (2010), and Bratt as Ernesto De La Cruz in Coco (2017). Furthermore Kelsey Grammer was originally intended the inherit the role of Waternoose in Monsters University (2013) as James Coburn had passed away in 2002 before the character's speaking role was cut and reduced to a cameo appearance in a photo.
Hades is also the only deity that lacks the shining aura in his body (all others have an aura with the color matching their skin's) so as the only one with that smoke aspect; this may be because the others are not evil in any way.
Disney's official press kit states that, to find inspiration for the movie, producers Alice Dewey Goldstone, John Musker and Ron Clements went on a tour of Greece and Turkey with a group of their key department heads in the spring of 1995. They took in the ancient sites and scenery, consulted classical experts, and made extensive sketches, photos and videos.
According to the official press kit, Alan Menken composed the song "One Last Hope" as a lively, comedic vaudeville-type tune, contrasting with the general gospel theme of the movie, to suit the skeptical character of Phil. Danny DeVito had never sung professionally before, so Menken asked him to sing it in the half-spoken style of Jimmy Durante, which came out just right.
Zeus is voiced by Rip Torn, who is the husband of Geraldine Page, the voice of Madame Medusa in The Rescuers (1977), another Disney animated film released 20 years prior.
The promotional ads featured Hades saying "Two thumbs way way up". Film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel complained, pointing out that "Two Thumbs Up" is a phrase uniquely invented and trademarked by them, and the use of it in promotional ads implied that the film had received "Two Thumbs Up" when only Ebert gave it a favorable review. Ebert thought the ad was misleading and unfair and asked that the line be removed from the ads (which it was), Siskel quipped that they ought to make it "Two Thumbs Down."
After Pegasus refuses to give Meg a ride, she says, "I don't think your pinto likes me very much." A pinto is a type of horse. Pinto is also the name of a Ford subcompact car which has received much criticism, so it serves as a negative comment towards Pegasus.
Director Ron Clements, in the official press kit, defended the many deviations from the original, classical myth of Hercules: "We discovered that there wasn't just one definitive version of the Hercules legend, but many, many different stories. He became such an incredibly popular hero that, in fact, a lot of other stories about other heroes got turned into Hercules stories. He was so popular that they took the earlier myths and reinvented them."
When Hades opens his display to ask Megara about the River Guardian, there are two other figurines visible on it: a giant boar and a gorgon, that are both later sent against Hercules in "Zero to Hero".
When Pain and Panic bow and cry "We are worms! Worthless worms!" and transform into worms after Hades yells at them for not reminding him of the Fates' arrival, this could be a reference to Wayne's World (1992) where Wayne and Garth bow to Alice Cooper and say, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"
Philoctetes laughs at the idea of Hercules being Zeus' son, but in the original Greek myths, Perseus was another son of Zeus.
Michael Keaton auditioned for the role of Hades. He would later get cast as villainous roles in other Disney films including Ray Peyton Sr. in Herbie Fully Loaded (2005), Chick Hicks in Cars (2006), Ken in Toy Story 3 (2010) (said character later redeemed), and V. A. Vandemere in Dumbo (2019), which also starred Danny DeVito.
John Goodman auditioned for the role of Zeus while Steve Buscemi auditioned for Hades. Both actors appeared together in Monsters Inc, Monster University, Barton Fink, and The Big Lebowski.
It is also unknown why Hades himself didn't go to convince Nessus himself and sent Megara instead even though Hades must have a high authority; most likely he preferred to delegate.
Terrence Mann, Nicolas Cage, Mike Myers, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Malcolm McDowell, Tim Curry, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Christopher Lloyd, Eugene Levy, Dennis Hopper, George Clooney, Tim Roth, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Denis Leary, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Steve Carell, Michael Ironside, Jon Lovitz, and Martin Landau auditioned for the role of Hades.
After training with Phil, Hercules can be seen wearing the gold medallion that was found with him by his parents in the center of his belt.
James Woods had previously been considered for the role of the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman before the role was given to Jack Nicholson. Whereas Jack Nicholson turned down the role of Hades which eventually went to James Woods.
The first theatrically released animated film for Keith David. Later he'd go onto voice one of the council members in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), the cat in Coraline (2009), Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Chief Broadbeak the Turkey in Free Birds (2013).
Directors John Musker and Ron Clements selected Hercules (1997) as a project in the fall of 1993, after considering nearly 30 ideas in various stages of development at the studio, as is explained in Disney's official press kit. They were attracted to the mythological aspects of the story, and felt that not only hadn't it been done before at Disney (except briefly in the Pastoral segment of Fantasia (1940)), but it would be great for animation because of its fantasy elements, larger-than-life characters and strong potential for anachronisms and satirical humor. Most importantly, they saw Hercules as a "common man's hero" with exciting possibilities because of his demigod (half-man, half-god) status.
John Musker and Ron Clements' last directorial effort to receive direct-to-video sequels, a TV series, and (to date) the last to be featured in the Kingdom Hearts series.
As stated by Disney's official press kit, director John Musker was a long-time fan of British artist/political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe's work for the The London Sunday Times, The New Yorker and other publications, so he signed him, initially just to assist with the character design. During production, his role as a conceptual artist was expanded to function as an ongoing artistic advisor to the animators. Scarfe also worked closely with art director Andy Gaskill and production stylist Sue C. Nichols to incorporate "Scarfisms" (swooping lines with sharp, pointed edges) into almost every aspect of the production from backgrounds to effects and layout, and also provided a bridge from Greek vase paintings to Disney animation. As a result, even the usually amorphous clouds were given spikes. Musker praised Scarfe's bold, expressive linear designs for having "an innate and anarchic energy that seems to explode off the page. He draws from the shoulder with big swoops, so there are these big, strong shapes which have a bold and immediate impact."
Over a period of three years, production designer Gerald Scarfe actually created thousands of drawings for the movie, many as large as 3 x 3 ft (90 cm x 90 cm). As reported in the official press kit, Scarfe's approach was very instinctive: he tried to imagine and act out what all the characters looked like, felt and should do, and would slap his designs on paper as fast as he could so as not to lose inspiration. Afterwards, Scarfe would regularly meet with the animators and supervisors, draw over their drawings, and exchange faxes from his home, to make sure his style was incorporated into all aspects of the movie design and animation.
In "Zero to Hero," one of the Muses sings, "Who put the glad in Gladiator?" However, gladiators were a Roman invention, not Greek.
Two boys trapped under a rock shout for someone to "call IXII" - the obvious joke is that this means 9-1-1, However, it could also be 1-12 (112), the emergency number for Greece.
The cast features one Oscar winner (Charlton Heston) and six Oscar nominees (Danny DeVito, James Woods, Rip Torn, Samantha Eggar, Barbara Barrie, and Hal Holbrook).
Charlton Heston is the seventh Oscar winner to provide a voice for a Disney film. The first six are George Sanders (The Jungle Book (1967)), Sir Peter Ustinov (Robin Hood (1973)), Jack Albertson (The Fox and the Hound (1981)), Jeremy Irons and Whoopi Goldberg (The Lion King (1994)), and Kevin Kline (The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)).
Young Hercules hitting his head on the mast of The Argo could be seen as a foreshadow to his "death" later in the film seeing as Jason died from having the mast of The Argo fall on him.
When Zeus is creating Pegasus as a gift to Hercules, he is using "clouds" to create Pegasus - Cirrus, Nimbostratus and Cumulus are different types of clouds.
Due to his birth from various types of clouds being combined together, it is unknown whether there are any other members of his race besides him (other than Hades' winged creature pulling his cart) in existence. Additionally, it is also unknown whether it was Pegasus' first time to see a female winged horse when Pain and Panic disguised as it to trap him and why he was attracted (this could possibly mean that there are other winged horses in the universe).
The official press kit states that, at the Disney Studios in Burbank, 41 background artists created 1,601 hand painted backgrounds for the film. A team of 108 visual effects animators was responsible for putting the glow into the gods and the fire into Hades' hair, as well as creating the whirlwind of the four elements surrounding the various Titans, Zeus' lightning bolts, rain, wind, flames and the trails of pixie dust left by Hermes.
When the two "boys" are "trapped", you can hear a slight hissing at the end of their last under-rock sentence.
In traditional Greek mythology, the Muses were also children of Zeus (his daughters by the minor goddess Mnemosyne), making them Hercules's half-sisters--and also making the one Muse's comment at the start of the movie about calling him "Hunk-ules" and wanting to "make sweet music" with him a tad awkward.
Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, who were both considered for the role of Hades, had previously costarred in Batman (1989) as Batman (Keaton) and Joker (Nicholson). Coincidentally, James Woods was also a candidate for the role of the Joker. Danny DeVito played the Penguin in the sequel Batman Returns (1992).
The Muses during "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" are depicted as busts that are arranged like the singing busts in Disney's Haunted Mansion Ride.
Susan Egan (Meg) and Roger Bart (Young Hercules-Singing Voice) appeared on Broadway together in the musical "Triumph of Love", which opened October 23rd, 1997 at the Royale Theater.
Susan Egan (Megara) would later voice Rose Quartz in Steven Universe (2013).
Pretty much like Robin Williams, James Woods ad libbed most of his lines in this case as Hades. In contrast to Robin Williams who played a Disney protagonist namely Genie, Woods was the voice of a Disney villain namely Hades.
Coincidentally, Phil Hartman who was offered the role of Hades previously did a Jack Nicholson (who was also offered the role) impression through his role of the Air Conditioner in Brave Little Toaster.
When Meg takes Herc to the garden, she is surprised and truly flattered by Herc's sincere compliments towards her. Then she backs into the statue of Cupid's arrow. Then they nearly kiss before Phil interrupts and berates Herc for ditching him. Before leaving, Herc, picks a flower from a tree and gives it to Meg and kisses her. The entire garden scene is what foreshadows the song I Won't Say I'm in Love.
Bobcat Goldthwait, who voices Pain, later requested that Disney not use his voice in the upcoming park attraction based on the film, out of protest with Disney firing director James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), after some of Gunn's old and controversial Tweets were published. Goldthwait noted that he had done his share of "sarcastically shocking and offensive jokes", and said that he "would hate for [Disney] to come off as hypocritical" (while also reminding Disney that they had distributed Powder (1995) despite its director Victor Salva being a convicted child molester).
Some parts of the film resemble the Star Wars original trilogy. For example Hercules being raised by a farmer and his wife similarly happened in A New Hope with Luke Skywalker living with his aunt and uncle on Tatooine. Hercules learning Zeus is his real father also occurred in Empire Strikes Back when Vader tells Luke he is is his father. Likewise Phil like Yoda trains the main hero though not before they get hit by lighting bolt and a pep talk from Obi Wan Kenobi respectively.
Spoilers
There are many differences between the film and the original myths. Among them are:
- 1. Hera wasn't actually Hercules' mother. While Zeus was his father, his mother was a mortal named Alcmene, which made him a demigod. Hercules was conceived when Zeus disguised himself as Alcmene's husband Amphitryon, who was away to fight in a war. Zeus' wife Hera, furious over her husband's adultery, swore vengeance, and bestowed misfortune over Hercules wherever and whenever she could. In the movie, Alcmene and her husband adopt Baby Hercules.
- 2. The Fates do not share an eye. The Graeae, perpetually old women who helped Perseus find Medusa, shared an eye.
- 3. Pegasus was created by the blood of Medusa, not clouds (as seen in the film) on Olympus.
- 4. Zeus did not bestow the underworld on Hades but the two, along with Poseidon, drew lots.
- 5. In the movie, Hades releases the Titans from a place at the bottom of the ocean, but in the original myth they were banished to Tartarus, which is in the deepest and worst section of the underworld.
- 6. The Cyclops, although brother to the Titans, was not a Titan.
- 7. The Titans say Zeus put them there, but Zeus's grandfather Uranus did. Zeus freed the Cyclops along with Giants and creatures called Hundred-Handed Ones, and he was given the gift of thunder and lightning as a token of appreciation.
- 8. Narcissus is not a Greek God, and therefore would not be on Mount Olympus.
- 9. Megara was Hercules' first wife, with whom he had children; however, Hera induced a fit of rage and madness in him, during which he killed them all. To repent for these sins, Hercules performed all of his heroic deeds (most of them are seen, mentioned or referred to in the movie). It is his later wife Deianara who Hercules saves from the river guardian Nessos; in revenge, Nessos gives Deianara a poisonous shirt, saying it will make Hercules love her more. Unsuspecting, she later gives him the shirt, believing his love for her is waning. The shirt clings to Hercules' skin and causes him agonizing pains. He builds a funeral pyre and sits on top of it, begging his friends to set it on fire and end his misery. No one can bring himself to do it, except for Philoctetes (who was a man and not a satyr). Upon death, Zeus deifies Hercules and admits him onto Olympus.
The movie makes many references to the epic poem of the 12 Labors of Hercules including the mid-movie battle with the Lernaean Hydra (2nd Labor). The Nemean Lion (1st Labor), Erymanthian Boar (4th Labor), Stymphalian Bird (6th Labor) are featured in the 'Zero to Hero' scene, and the capturing of Cerberus (12th Labor) at the end of the film. Phil also mentions the task of cleaning Augean's stables (5th Labor) and retrieving a Girdle from 'some Amazons' (9th Labor) while Hercules was posing for the painter.
Due to him being immortal, Hades, along with Governor Ratcliffe (who is a human), are the only Disney Renaissance villains that do not die at the end of his film, meaning he'd be able to find a way out of his fate. Jafar, although he did not die at the end of Aladdin (1992), actually dies at the end of the Straight to Video/DVD Sequel The Return of Jafar (1994).
Hermes, the Messenger, is shown during the ending of the film playing the keyboard. Paul Shaffer, who provides the voice and inspired the look for Hermes, played the keyboard as his primary instrument on the Late Show with David Letterman (1993).
Despite what is implied in the film, Hercules didn't actually give up his immortality, he's simply shown as choosing to remain with Megara. In mythology Hercules was a gatekeeper of Olympus, the divine protector of mankind, as well as being the God of strength, heroes, sports, athletes, health, agriculture, fertility, trade, and oracles. His role as a protector of mankind helps to explain why he chose to remain on earth. Not only that, but several gods in mythology were known to live among mortals, so Disney was making a subtle nod to mythology by making Hercules remain on Earth.
After Meg and Hercules go on a date, they are seen walking into a garden-like area. Hercules mentions a play called Oedipus, which is about a man who kills the king of a Greek city, who turns out to be his father, and marries and has children with the queen, who is his mother. Hercules then makes the remark, "Man! I thought I had problems."
