Even though Herc is very brave, he can still be sensitive, with strong but gentle features. Whether he was the scrawny teenager or the muscular hero, Hercules is affable, earnest, compassionate and polite. His "fearless and proud" heroism and "daring deeds" are especially appreciated in a world with constant turmoil around every corner, be it by the hands of a man or beast, or the Lord of the Dead himself. While his strength is well above average, Hercules isn't all that intelligent, but what the starry-eyed hero lacks in outstanding brains and wits, the more he makes up for it in his compassion and the desire to do good. As such, Phil and Pegasus did everything in their power to help the klutzy boy turn from a "zero" to hero, though he would unknowingly become the pawn of schemes from Hades, who sought to destroy Hercules for his own personal gain. After learning the truth about his true parentage and godhood, Hercules's head began to fill with dreams of becoming a true hero. Hercules searched the sky with the shooting star as if he might find the answer somewhere among the clouds. He'd go the distance, walk every mile without complaining, and go almost anywhere to feel that he belonged. Sometimes he felt like hitting the road to search for that place. Hercules had often dreamed of a far-off place where crowds would cheer when they saw him, instead of running in the opposite direction. His insecurity stemmed from how hard it was for him to find his place in the world because of how alone and out of place he was. Among his tics, Herc has an energy and a sort of naïveté quality, having been raised as a polite, hardworking farmer in the country. Throughout his life, Hercules is portrayed as gawky and awkward, but mostly clumsy because of not having control of his godly strength which tends to accidentally cause destruction. Hercules maybe a demigod, but after drinking a mortal potion, he was still considered a mortal. But, as Zeus (Rip Torn) explains, "being famous is- n't the same as being a true hero.“ A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.” ―Zeus to Herculesīorn on Mount Olympus, Hercules is the vibrant, tenacious and optimistic son of Zeus. Hercules smites all comers - a Hydra, a sea serpent and a Minotaur, among others - and he becomes the toast of Thebes, the Big Olive. He's being trained by a satyr named Phil and voiced by Danny DeVito (think Louie DePalma with a goat's body), who's still smarting from the failure of his last big-name client, Achilles. He's got to prove himself a hero in order to have his godliness restored. "He comes on with this big innocent farm boy routine," Meg says after meeting Hercules and unexpectedly falling for him, "but I can see through that in a Peloponnesian minute." For the first time, Disney has created a female heroine with a past, a girl (Susan Egan, Tony nominated as Belle in Broadway's "Beauty and the Beast") who's been around the Parthenon. Reluctantly helping Hades is one of Disney's most original female characters, Meg, a curvy, Veronica Lake look-alike with the sauciness of Barbara Stanwyck. It's perfect material for Michael Bolton, who has recorded the pop version. The gospel numbers are sassy (and risky for a Greek myth), and Menken comes closer to rock than he has in years in a number called "Zero to Hero," but overall the music lacks the inventiveness and zest of the best of Disney's recent films, "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast." And the signature song, Hercules' "Go the Distance," is pure sap. Hercules' music, by multiple Oscar winner and Disney veteran Alan Menken, with lyrics by Tony Award-winner David Zippel ("City of Angels"), doesn't quite measure up. Like Disney's previous films, a combination of animation and computer graphics makes all the movement fluid and natural, most remarkably in Hercules' fight against a hydra that sprouts new heads like kernels of corn popping. The character drawings are in the sharp, angular style of design supervisor Gerald Scarfe, an English political cartoonist whose work appears in the New Yorker. Hades' underworld is dark and macabre, with lost spirits floating through the air, a sea of Jacob Marleys. The film's pastel colors are luminous, practically neon on Mount Olympus.
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