MovieChat Forums > Hercules (1997) Discussion > Besides innaccuracies of Greek myth, why...

Besides innaccuracies of Greek myth, why do people hate this movie?

posted 9 years ago by BlazeTheMovieFan
43 replies | jump to latest

I know many people do hate this movie, but so far the only arguments I've heard is the fact that it's inaccurate to the Greek myth.

I'm sorry but that's not a good reason for hating a movie. A movie is supposed to stand on its own.

I really would like to know other reasons people might hate this movie.

I mean I have some problems with it myself.

It makes no sense that the potion only works if the entire bottle is drank, since most of the times only one sip of a potion does its job. And I also don't like how Zeus didn't see that his son was a true hero despite the fact he's done heroic things for months. His standards on what makes a true hero are beyond ridiculous.

But I don't hate the movie for these two flaws, I still think it's an awesome movie for the most part.

Maybe one of these could be why people hate it, but I don't hate it for that.

So yeah, I hope you guys can tell me why people hate it besides the fact that it's not accurate to Greek myth.

[–] furienna 9 years ago

It makes no sense that the potion only works if the entire bottle is drank, since most of the times only one sip of a potion does its job.

My theory is that Hercules needed much more than one sip to become mortal. Since he didn't drink the last drop, he was turned into a demi-god.

And I also don't like how Zeus didn't see that his son was a true hero despite the fact he's done heroic things for months. His standards on what makes a true hero are beyond ridiculous.

Hercules seemed to believe that he was a hero just because he was famous, and that is what Zeus objected to.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] BlazeTheMovieFan 9 years ago

Hercules seemed to believe that he was a hero just because he was famous, and that is what Zeus objected to.

But he didn't become famous for being an entertainer or anything like that. He became famous for risking his life to fight powerful monsters.

That to me makes him a true hero because these monsters were gonna harm innocent people.

[–] furienna 9 years ago

I really don't think Hercules had risked his life until he plunged himself into that whirlpool after Megara's soul. But yes, I see what you mean. He had become a hero before that.

To be fair to Zeus though, I wonder if it was his decision who became a god or not... Because in real mythology, I believe that was up to the Fates.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] Cristianos 9 years ago

Hate may not be the term you want to use here since the film came at #26 (out of the 54 films in the canon) on an animation poll taken last month. (http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000049/thread/241612736) It's middle-tier Disney at best, if you ask me. So, while I can't speak for everyone, the most common criticisms towards this film were the stylized Greek-inspired animation design lacking the look and feel of the previous Disney animated films and having an overall cheap quality to it, the songs and musical score not on par with Alan Menken's best, the rushed romance between Hercules and Meg, and the overtly comedic mood sprinkled with topical pop culture references (Herculade, Air Herc, etc.) that date the film when the film could have been more serious and epic.

What we do in life, echoes in eternity.

[–] hickshotel 9 years ago

I get what you are saying Cristianos about the pop culture references dating the film, making it less epic- why do you think people don't have the same complaint about Aladdin, one of Disney's most popular films?

[–] Cristianos 9 years ago

Aladdin avoids that complaint because since the Genie is a magical character, it makes sense he can break the laws of nature and shape-shift into anything he wants. Here in Hercules, it didn't work for some people for some reason.

What we do in life, echoes in eternity.

[–] hickshotel 9 years ago

Thanks that's makes sense, I like Aladdin better myself, I think Hercules is good, but not great.

[–] furienna 9 years ago

But I've seen people complain at the pop culture references in "Aladdin" too. But I was never bothered by them, as I just took them as a part of the movie's comedy.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] merbrat2u 9 years ago

The Genie's pop culture references worked because of Robin Williams. The problem with them is their "shelf life". Younger people may not get some references. Think Capt America, hearing stuff that he doesn't understand.
Disney movies were always timeless, telling stories using humor that fits in the time of the story. It didn't usually matter when you watched, years later, it still fit in.
I just finally watched Hercules (for the first time) and enjoyed it. But the tourist souvenir stuff, while funny, put you out of the story. Unless you watched David Letterman, you wouldn't "get" Hermes' (the messenger) in-jokes because he was voiced by Paul Shaffer (with his ever-present shades)and those jokes would make no sense otherwise.

[–] kya1 8 years ago

The songs in Aladdin were of much higher quality. I think that could be partly it.

_________________________
http://youtu.be/GAIJ3Rh5Qxs

[–] tjlynne1982 9 years ago

The main problem I have with this movie is the "weak ankles" scene where Meg seems to be trying to seduce Hercules. Overall Meg seems overly "sensualized" (I know that's not a real word btw). This is supposed kids movie and it was too much for me and I'm grown

[–] Moonlighty 9 years ago

-For one I did f think Hercules was that likeable. He wants to be a god because he feels entitled to it. He wants to be a hero for accolades and to be a god. Not to help people. He's training like an athlete hoping to win a prize. Plus he's just kind of dull. Don't know if it's he voice actor. Most the good guys are pretty boring. There isn't a lot to describe about Herc or Zeus or any of the other guys. They are basically just nice.

-the songs aren't very catchy or memorable. The only one I liked was I Wont Say I'm in Love. The muses made for a nice back and forth with Meg, but otherwise I don't think they added anything. I think if there was less chorus singing about Hercules we could have seen more of him, more show over tell.

The poison thing you mentioned bothered me, plus it seemed really plot convenient to have a bottle to turn a god mortal without describing how he made it or why he didn't give any to Zeus or the other gods. It just seems incredibly useful and only used on a baby without explanation. Then the mission. It would be difficult to believe ANY smart villain wouldn't check to see the plan worked. But on top of that, Hades is lord of the underworld and never thought to check if baby Hercules was in his realm? He had too much else to do? It seems like Zeus and Hades interact occasionally. Hades never heard from anyone Zeus's son was kidnapped and living on Earth? Seems like it would have been a pretty big deal.

-stuff about planets aligning just seems so arbitrary and then it's mentioned so many times.

I don't hate the movie I just think it's a bit mediocre. I thought James Woods was hilarious and Meg was a pretty complex character,cespecially for a Disney lady. She wasn't an innocent beloved by animal friends. It was interesting having a love interest originally aligned with the villain. So I don't hate the movie but those are the reasons I think it's not that impressive to me.

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Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that I'll be over here looking through your stuff.

[–] furienna 9 years ago

Those are some fair points, I guess, but I don't completely agree with you.

You have to remember that Hercules was a bullied outcast, who had become desperate to "belong" somewhere. So when he then found out that he had once been a god, he was bound to want to return to his biological family. And yes, maybe it can looks like Hercules became a hero just to get all those accolades. But we also had Zeus tell him straight out that being famous was not enough to make him a real hero, and he only could become a god after he risked his life to get Megara back. And also, we must remember that Hercules still was only eighteen years old. So he was still a teenager and only barely an adult, and I guess that he still had some maturing to do.

And I personally like three songs from this movie: "The gospel truth", "Zero to hero" & "I won't say I'm in love". And I also really like the muses, especially Thalia (the funny short and fat one).

But you're so right that the potion only was a plot device, that the script writers used to get around the problem that in this version, Hercules was Hera's son and still "just" a demi-god. But here is my theory about this: I guess that we can assume that it was hard to get your hands on this mortality potion, so that even Hades could only get enough to use it on a baby god. Only one little bottle wouldn't have the same effect on a grown-up god like Zeus, and even a baby like Hercules kept his god-like strength because he didn't drink the last drop.

And I just find it very interesting that even when people don't really like this movie that much (or even at all), they will so often agree that Hades and Meg were the only good things about it. So I guess that those two just happen to be the characters in this movie, which somehow "clicked" with the most people.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] CaptainHowdy1987 9 years ago

I went to see this film at the pictures with my sister as ten year old kid. I loved it then. I'm watching it now on Blu-Ray as I type this and I still love this film!!!

[–] Darwinskid 9 years ago

Not that I think the movie is bad, but I think the art style is a little all over the place, particularly when we're in Olympus and when Hercules becomes popular. Beyond that, and the changes to the myths, I think the film is fine, it's watchable and James Woods is a delight as Hades.

[–] dyer89 9 years ago

It makes no sense that the potion only works if the entire bottle is drank, since most of the times only one sip of a potion does its job.

Imagine your doctor prescribed antibiotics for your ailments (whatever you want it to be). You must complete the entire bottle in order for it to work- if not then the whole thing is pointless.

Same can be said here- if he didn't drink the whole thing then it doesn't have the intended effect on him.

This movie is absolutely awesome.

[–] furienna 9 years ago

But I don't think it's fair to compare a magical potion in a fantasy movie to a real medicine, that a doctor might prescribe you in real life. Maybe it makes no sense to you, but you have to watch the movie and go along with it.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] dyer89 9 years ago

Please read my post correctly.
The writing between the darkened bars is from the original commentator and I am simply replying therefore, it does make sense to me that all of the potion would have to be consumed for it to work. The first sentence between those bars is not my opinion or writing.

It is fair to compare a round of antibiotics to the potion because the only way antibiotics will completely work is if the individual taking them completes the full round of the medicine. In this case he had to drink all of the concoction for it to have a full effect. I believe this comparison is accurate.

[–] matthieus2 9 years ago

I thought Hercules was a great film as a kid and still do.

I do remember reading however it wasn't as well received compared with other of the classic Disney musicals.

I think I read one reason of this was the music. Some weren't as much a fan of the Motown sound compared to catchier Disney songs in earlier films.

With what some have some above about Meg being too sexualised, I think that could also be a reason.
I'm sure I remember some saying they noticed Hercules seemed to be a Disney making fun of itself at points with some jokes adults would get.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 5 years ago

Antibiotics still work even if you didn't completely finish everything the doctor prescribed.

[–] LordQwert 8 years ago

Inaccuracy to the source material is a perfectly fine reason to hate a movie. For myself, the differences were jarring to the point of making the film initially incomprehensible. They're not even differences at that point, because the only common point between the movie and mythology are the names they used... and even that's not 100% true. (Hercules is the Romanization of the Greek Heracles, whereas the original Greek names were used for everyone else.)

In fairness, I doubt you could make anything like an accurate Disney version of Hercules, but no attempt to do so was even made.

Alright, playing the game as presented now. Why the hate despite the differences:

1. The romance was very shallow. This is a function of the run time of the film, in part, but could have been alleviated by some kind of montage indicating that Herc and Meg had met more than three times. Without that sort of context, his final declaration of love is painfully naive sounding. It basically comes down to "I'm giving up godhood for a girl I've known a total of four hours."

2. The fight scenes felt severely lacking, especially towards the end. Hercules' dispatch of the Titans came across as "Oh, the prophecy is fulfilled, so now I guess we should be easy to defeat." He doesn't do anything particularly heroic, do anything any of the other gods couldn't have done, or have any kind of dramatic fight. He just beats them because he's the one that's supposed to and it was time for them to be defeated.

3. The movie cheats a bit. Herc has supposedly lost his power for 24 hours, so we expect him to have to defeat the cyclops (not a Titan, by the way) with his wits and heroism. Instead he takes a beating that should have killed a normal person ten times over, then clearly has enough super strength in him still to hog tie the cyclops. It felt cheap and uncreative.

4. Herc seems really eager to ditch his foster parents. No mention of them from the time he meets Zeus until the very end.

5. Phil's a bit rapey. Not as bad as Nessus, but still pretty bad.

6. Lastly, while I'm ignoring that they failed to make Hercules into a Greek myth, I'm not ignoring that they instead turned Hades into the Christian devil, complete with bargaining for souls and demon sidekicks.

[–] 8 years ago

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