Hercules

Name: Hercules
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Animation
Released: June 27, 1997
Duration: 93 min
Rating: 74
Cast: Bobcat Goldthwait, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Josh Keaton, Matt Frewer

1997

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 98 Ratings

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7.4

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7.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 98 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: June 27, 1997 | G

Starring: Bobcat Goldthwait, Danny DeVito, James Woods, Josh Keaton, Matt Frewer, Rip Torn, Roger Bart, Samantha Eggar, Susan Egan, Tate Donovan

Summary: In order to return home to Mount Olympus, Hercules needs to prove he can move from "zero" to true hero with Pegasus, the flying stallion, and Phil -- a feisty personal trainer. Along the way, Hercules must match wits with Grecian beauty Meg and a comical hothead named Hades who, with the help of Pain and Panic, plans to take over the Universe.

Director: John Musker and Ron Clements

Genre(s): Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Animation, Family, Musical

Rating: G

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman

Hercules, like Aladdin, zips Disney’s house animation style past sentimentality and into an age of ironic media-wise overload. That’s not a bad place for it to be. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

Disney's smashing new mythological feature cartoon, is one of funniest and most purely entertaining of all the recent Disney animated efforts. Read full review

Roger Ebert

The wonder is that it took Disney so long to get to the gods of Greek mythology. Hercules jumps into the ancient legends feet-first, cheerfully tossing out what won't fit and combining what's left into a new look and a lighthearted style. Read full review

John Hartl

It's light and fizzy and fun without once calling attention to the fact that a lot of hard work went into it (Gerald Scarfe's sharp production design keeps it from looking quite like any other Disney cartoon). [27 June 1997, p.F1]

James Berardinelli

Let me start by saying that Hercules, Walt Disney Pictures' 35th animated feature, makes for good family entertainment. Good, not great. While this film is capable of providing a ninety minute diversion for both kids and adults, it's a far cry from such recent classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Read full review

Barbara Shulgasser

DeVito, whose singing sounds like a cross between coughing and Jimmy Durante on a good day, is a gruff and lovable mentor with a Brooklyn accent and a New Yorker's intolerance for sentimentality. Egan's Meg is a fiery dame with lots of gall. Tate Donovan gives voice to the adult Hercules, and he is just right as an almost Dudley Doright-ish lug who thinks heroics have more to do with physical daring than with big-heartedness. Alan Mencken's original score is boisterous and hummable, and lyrics by David Zippel perfectly suit the story and Disney's recent style for cleverness. Read full review

Desson Thomson

The story behind Hercules, Walt Disney’s insipid, lifeless, animated feature, is hardly the stuff of children’s entertainment. Read full review

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User Reviews

timone

May 1, 2019

Well, after The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which I absolutely love) got well with the critics and audience so Disney decides to do a movie which is in Roman Empire about a hero called Hercules. I absolutely love this film! It's just everything. You know the rest, the songs, the characters, theWell, after The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which I absolutely love) got well with the critics and audience so Disney decides to do a movie which is in Roman Empire about a hero called Hercules. I absolutely love this film! It's just everything. You know the rest, the songs, the characters, the music and the animation which you can't really go wrong. From the creators of Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. It's the one, the only, by the famous name of all, Hercules! i actually like the song which is sung by Michael Bolton, Go The Distance. I love the characters. Oh god, I can say it all the time while I'm doing reviews by Disney. I can't explain this much enough. The characters from every Disney movie is just Nostalgic and fun to like. I especially like Philoctetes played by Danny DeVito and James Woods playing Hades, Lord of the Underworld. There's also other characters like the female damsel in distress Megara. Zeus, Hercules's father, Pegasus, Hercules's pet, Pain and Panic, Hades Henchmen and then wonder boy ( which Meg called him) Hercules. I love the songs in it, I can't remember what they're called apart from Go The Distance, Zero to Hero sung by black people and One Last Hope which I love. The animation, what can I say? It's by the same guys who did Aladdin and The Little Mermaid which they wanted to make it so smooth and colourful like the other Disney films. I can't say more about the story because you know the story already from years so I'm gonna have to leave it there. Yes! Disney has done it again making the movies go to renaissance to brilliance. Filled with awesome scenes for audience to enjoy like myself.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Michaelzac

Jun 24, 2020

The soundtrack of this movie is just sublime; one of the all time great Disney soundtracks. Add to that a compelling story of a fallen God who must prove himself a true hero to return to Mt Olympus, this movie is the perfect blend of action, love, deceit and beating the odds!