Greek mythology has proved fertile ground for screenwriters and filmmakers to mine for material over the years, and with good reason: many of its most iconic characters and stories have become baked into our culture over time, so that names like Odysseus, Achilles, and Hercules need no introduction. In addition, the lack of a definitive telling of these stories leaves them wide open to interpretation. One would think, then, that with all of Greek mythology to draw upon, Disney could produce something fun and exciting, something like Clash of the Titans by way of Aladdin. Instead, we got Hercules, one of Disney's more frustrating ventures, precisely because of how much wasted potential it represents.
To start with, the plot of Hercules runs very thin. We start off with Hades (voiced by James Woods, whose fast-talking, sarcastic performance is easily the best thing about the film) learning that Hercules will one day defeat his plan to free the Titans and conquer the world. This presents us with our first problem, an unoriginal motivation for the villain. Scar wanted to seize control of the Pride Lands because he was jealous of his brother; Frollo wanted to kill Esmeralda because he was confused by a combination of racism and lust; Hades just wants to rule everything because, well, he's the villain and of course he does. The plan to kill the baby Hercules goes awry, and Hercules is raised by mortal parents. Of course, he becomes a "misfit" who "isn't like other people," which the film conveys in the most unsubtle manner possible, by having the characters straight-up tell this to the audience. Eventually, Hercules discovers his identity as the son of Zeus, who tells him that to join the Gods at Mount Olympus, he must prove himself to be a "true hero."
It's here that the real problem of the plot develops, which is that "becoming a true hero" or "proving oneself" is simply not a compelling basis for a plot, chiefly because it lacks a definitive goal or endpoint. Hercules then spends a good deal of time training with the Satyr Philoctetes (voiced by Danny DeVito, who, it should be noted, should never be allowed to sing on film again), then goes to Thebes to find a chance "to prove himself," before defeating a Hydra that, if nothing else, is an impressive piece of animation. By this point, we are nearly halfway through the film, and the audience has only just now witnessed Hercules, the legendary hero of Greek myth, actually do something heroic. Immediately afterward, the audience is treated to a montage of Hercules' adventures and heroic deeds, by the end of which he is a celebrity and an established hero. This is perhaps the film's biggest sin, that all of the adventuring that would actually allow the audience to see Hercules develop into a hero happens essentially offscreen, in an egregious violation of "show, don't tell."
And speaking of "show, don't tell," we have Hercules' relationship with Megara, surely the most chemistry-deficient pairing in all of Disney. While Meg has a potentially compelling background, as a woman who sold herself to Hades in exchange for her lover, her characterization falls flat and Susan Egan's performance comes off as grating. It doesn't help that Hercules himself isn't that likable of a character either, being given a cliched misfit characterization at first, then frequently coming off as whining. Apparently, the film also hopes the audience won't notice that Hercules and Megara are only officially together for less than 24 hours before the climax picks up and they're willing to lay down their lives for each other. Even for the studio that frequently gives us teenagers falling in undying love at first sight, this is pushing plausibility a bit too far.
The truly frustrating thing about Hercules, though, is that it definitely could have and should have been a better movie than it is. With all of Greek mythology to pull from, why produce such a bland story? Why not tell the story of Hercules' Twelve Labors, or the voyage of the Argo, which Hercules was a part of? Or, if you want to tell an original story, why not pair Hercules with Pandora, a well-known mythical figure with a compelling backstory? If nothing else, Hercules was certainly evidence that the Disney Renaissance was on the downswing by 1997 - though the streak would not be broken just yet.
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