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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

My Top Disney Films #7

#7 Hercules
"Aren't you...a damsel in distress?"
"I'm a damsel, I'm in distress, I can handle this. Have a nice day."

In Greek mythology one character stands out above the rest, Hercules (Donovan). Herc is born with incredible strength and impressive parentage: Zeus (Torn) and Hera (Samantha Eggar), the king and queen of the gods. However, his jealous uncle Hades (Woods) sends his imbecilic, shape shifting cronies Pain (Goldthwait) and Panic (Frewer) to get rid of the infant. They end up making him mortal (although he is still incredibly strong) and is raised by mortals.
Growing up with incredible strength that he can't control, Herc learns about his true parentage and sets out to become a hero so he can go home. With his winged horse Pegasus and satyr Philoctetes (DeVito), takes hero training. As Greece watches, he is able to face and defeat every foe he encounters...but he has one weakness: (see below)

Megara (Egan). Meg works for Hades, who is still trying to get rid of Herc.

Reason I chose this film:
This is the first in a long line of Disney films that openly mocks itself and Disney in general...and it works. The characters are entertaining, especially James Woods as Hades. And the music is amazing! The muses, who essentially tell the story, sing most of the songs and are voiced by Broadway stars...making their songs even more powerful and entertaining, although the best song is Meg's "I Won't Say I'm in Love." It isn't like any other Disney film...and it changed the look of Disney, although it doesn't receive as much recognition as other Disney films.

Hercules (1997) 92 minutes
Director: Ron Clements and John Musker
Starring: Tate Donovan as Hercules
Danny DeVito as Philoctetes
James Woods as Hades
Susan Egan as Megara
Bob Goldthwait as Pain
Matt Frewer as Panic
Rip Torn as Zeus
Charlton Heston as the Narrator

The Muses
Lillia White as Calliope the Muse of Epics (Lead Muse)
Vaneese Y. Thomas as Clio the Muse of History (Muse with ponytail)
Cheryl Freeman as Melpomene the Muse of Tragedy (Muse with long hair)
La Chanze as Terpsichore the Muse of Dance (Muse with frizzy hair)
Roz Ryan as Thalia the Muse of Comedy (short Muse)

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