Hercules was probably my favourite Disney movie next to Aladdin. Why? Because it was a fresh take on something old and it had a male lead. Now to refresh everyone’s memories, Hercules was a movie that was made back in 1997 by Walt Disney Pictures which was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The story was based on a popular mythical demigod named Hercules (or Heracles) who was an illegitimate child of the god of sky and thunder, Zeus and mortal woman Alceme. The real Greek mythology story is different from what Disney showed its audience, although it still captured the hearts of people (especially kids) from all around the globe.
In Disney's version of Hercules' story, it was shown that he was the son of Zeus and Hera (goddess of marriage, women and birth). Mount Olympus had a celebration of his birth but only his uncle Hades (god of the dead and riches, king of the underworld) was not pleased by the news. He discovered through The Fates that in 18 years, the planets will align and show where Zeus had locked up the Titans and he will be able to overthrow his brother and be the king of all the gods. That is... if Hercules doesn’t stop him. He formulated a plan and had his minions, Pain and Panic, steal him from his crib. Since gods cannot be killed, they made Hercules drink a potion that will turn him human, but will only succeed if not a drop was missed. The minions failed to do the job properly which turned Hercules into a demigod--and out of fear, they never informed Hades of what happened. He was adopted by a mortal couple who could not bear children and raised him as their own. Through the years, he eventually found out that he was the son of Zeus and he seeked to take revenge on Hades and stop him from taking over Mount Olympus. It wasn’t easy for him, but his experiences through the journey made him learn the value of friendship, love and loyalty.
A lot of people liked the movie so much that it actually grossed thrice of what the company spent in the making of the film. It also inspired the makers to make a video game out of it for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows 1997 so that all the fans could enjoy the story and relate even more to it through a first person experience. Not only did they make a video game based on it, but also a Disney TV series which showed the story (that was not in Greek mythology) of Hercules as a teenager and how he grew up, trained and learned everything that he knows that made him who he was in the movie.
Hercules' Step Brother,
Vieo
Sources:
Hercules official movie poster, Retrieved October 3 http://www.logoi.com/pastimages/img/hercules_3.jpg
Hercules Official Disney Art, Retrieved October 3 http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100606075231/disney/images/c/cc/Disney-hercules-lithograph.jpg
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