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.

[–] adamnichols 8 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.

Umm, you know potions aren't real, right?

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.

Zeus had very little to do with it. If it were up to Zeus, he would have made Hercules a God again, no problem. It was more like a natural law and Hercules had to do something to prove himself a hero, which didn't happen until he sacrificed himself to save Meg.

[–] mlaiuppa 7 years ago

I find the art inferior to other movies. It just looks cheap. Worse than some Saturday morning cartoons. They may have been trying for some sort of different style but it was a major fail. Forgettable songs. And yes, the bastardization of classic Greek myths that those who should have paid attention in school should know.

I watched this right after Hunchback of Notre Dame and the difference in quality was so obvious.

Hercules was NOT the son of Zeus and Hera.

Hercules didn't have Pegasus.

Meg? Really? Sounds so GREEK.

James Woods pretty much stole this picture.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12450) 6 years ago

You are correct in all these things.

Herakles was the son of Zeus and Aclemene (ah-kluh-meen), a woman whom prophecy said would give birth to the strongest man ever to live, and Zeus helped that prophecy along.

It was BELLEROPHON who had Pegasus, NOT Herakles or Perseus. These Hollywood writers never can get these myths straight. They always want the ancient Greek hero riding a winged horse, when most of them didn't need or use one.

Her name was short for "Megara," and they don't say so in the film, beyond having her wear a purple dress, but she was a Princess.

And you're right, James Woods stole the show and his character gave me nightmares.

[–] Cristianos (268) 6 years ago

Her name was short for "Megara," and they don't say so in the film, beyond having her wear a purple dress, but she was a Princess.

Meg did say her full name was Megara. When Meg was washing her hair after being rescued by Hercules, she introduced herself: "Megara. My friends call me Meg; at least they would if I had any friends."

[–] Macnickster (33) 6 years ago

Because Hades was a dark character that could scare kids and the sex jokes were non stop. Went back and watched this for the first time and forever and couldn't stop laughing, but I can understand why my overprotective aunt wont let her kids watch this. 😆😆

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12450) 6 years ago

Well.....I've been reluctant to say because my reasons are numerous enough to fill a paperback novel, but I'll try to keep it brief.

1.) Yes, it is an EXTREMELY inaccurate to the original myths about this guy.

2.) Relating to the reason above, this was NOT a story made for children. In fact, it was during this time in Disney history when Michael Eisner was in charge of the studio and deranged enough to allow several stories that were totally unfit for children to be made into Disney films, including "Pocahontas," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and this film. The ancient myths of HERAKLES, not Hercules, had elements in them that you do NOT want kids to learn about at too young an age, such as incest, rape, tricking someone into adultery, attempted infanticide, murder of one's family, and a number of other difficult subjects.

3.) They made the extreme mistake of Anglicizing the myths, trying to draw parallels between this and Christianity, and frankly, they did a terrible job. While I come from an Anglo-Saxon Christian background, I also enjoy learning about other myths, and frankly, if you look into many ancient myths and religions versus Christianity, (and I mean the WHOLE thing, not just an overview) you'll find they actually have NOTHING in common, whatsoever. In fact, the fake parallels they were drawing in this film were extremely lazy ones some idiot in America would do after reading a children's guide to ancient Greek mythology.

4.) Relating to Reason #2, to clean up the story a bit, they stole the plot lines of "Rocky" and "Superman," (The 1970s film with Christopher Reeve). Talk about more lazy writing. On some levels it's creative, but from veteran story-tellers' point of view, it was a cheap road to take in script-writing.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12450) 6 years ago

Okay, these replies are apparently kinda limited in characters, so I'll continue in other posts.

5.) Relating to Reason #3, they painted the various Greek gods as black and white, and that is NOT how the ancient Greeks viewed them. In fact, many of the myths actually painted the Olympians as being flawed characters, having both good and bad traits, just like mortals. The only major differences were that the gods were immortal and had magic powers. The Disney film paints Zeus as an all-good guy, living up on Mt. Olympus in "heaven" with the other gods, while Hades is the all-evil guy, ruling in "hell" under the earth. But the thing was, Hades was not exactly the ancient Greek version of Satan. He wasn't the one who slept with a ton of mortal women to fulfill various schemes, nor did he ruin their lives by angering his wife into going after them; that was all Zeus. 90% of the Greek myths are due to Zeus being unable to keep it in his pants. Hades also (ironic as this sounds) didn't kill the most mortals. That was Poseidon and his angry seas that did that. However, he did have to kidnap Persephone in order to have a wife, and he did have demons and dark spirits working for him. That was accurate. However, there was NEVER a myth that stated that he despised his job and wanted something more. In fact, there's more evidence to suggest that he did it because he knew no other god would. I'm not saying that he himself was better than his brothers, but to say he was 100% evil in the myths was not accurate either.

6.) Relating to Reason #5 above, they really had no reason to involve Hades at all in the story, and frankly, I was angry that he tried to steal the show. He was barely involved at all in the myths of Herakles, though he did allow the guy to borrow Cerberus in the last Task, but only briefly. The Disney version of Hades gave me nightmares for years after seeing that movie.

[–] Furienna (3322) 4 years ago

It is tragic that people keep saying that they "know" Greek mythology, so they can complain about this movie.
But they miss that the portrayal of Hades in this movie is much more correct than what they'd want to admit.
While he wasn't more evil than any other god, he still came to be one of the most disliked gods.
After all, he had been linked to death and was considered awfully scary.
There were no temples, which were built in his honor.
People would even avoid speaking his name.
So it was no stretch for modern storytellers to portray him as a kind of Satan figure.
Actually, Disney did exactly that already in the 1930s.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12450) 4 years ago

I took an actual mythology class in school and read several books where the research was done very well. I don't need to repeat my reasons for hating this movie over again.

[–] Furienna (3322) 4 years ago

I too have done a lot of studying about Greek mythology.
But that is also how I know that Disney couldn't do this movie differently.
Most of the old myths just aren't family-friendly by modern standards.
Besides, I see that you didn't even reply about what I said about Hades.

[–] Stratego (29320) 2 years ago

Well yeah, Disney probably wasn't the right company to do a movie based on Greek mythology. I advise older kids and even adults to watch the far superior tv series The Storyteller: Greek Myths. Perhaps not 100% accurate, but it respects the source.

[–] Furienna (3322) 2 years ago

That might be true, but I for one have always loved Disney's version.
It is not meant to be a faithful re-telling of Greek mythology, but a new interpretation of it.

[–] Stratego (29320) 2 years ago

And their "new interpretation" is pretty awful, in my opinion.

[–] Furienna (3322) 2 years ago

Fine, but I don't feel that it deserves to be hated just for not being faithful enough.
It is meant to be seen as its own thing.

[–] Stratego (29320) 2 years ago

But that's the problem, if it's based on something it's not "its own thing".

[–] Furienna (3322) 2 years ago

It is not first or last time, that Disney took liberties with a story though.
So I don't see why "Hercules" should get so much hate.

[–] Stratego (29320) 2 years ago

Because most of the time the result isn't as awful.🤷‍♀️

[–] Furienna (3322) 2 years ago

But that is just your opinion.
I don't feel that Disney's "Hercules" is awful.

[–] Stratego (29320) 2 years ago

And that's your opinion as well, so why do you take such issue with people disliking this movie for whatever reason?

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Well this thread is an eye-opener, I had no idea that people actively hated this bit of fluff!

Sure, it's nonsensical, but it's funny and silly, the music is enjoyable even if it's not as memorable as some Disney scores, Meg and Hades are a couple of funny bitches, and if it's far from the ancient source material that it's actually hilarious to see Zeus acting like a devoted husband! How can anyone hate this movie? It's purest fluff! How can anyone hate fluff!

[–] Furienna (3322) 2 years ago

Some people can't stand fluff, I guess.