Hercules is the best, at least he certainly thinks so, but someone else got to be king so he complains a lot about it then does some horrible labors to get his mind off his mother.
Hercules (Goodtimes)
Hercules is the best, at least he certainly thinks so, but someone else got to be king so he complains a lot about it then does some horrible labors to get his mind off his mother.
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Herkaleez Herkaleez!
Did they have to make me hate Greek Mythology, one of my favorite settings for film and video games too?
Oh Goodtimes…I know it’s a Disney cash-in, but what in the name of Zoose?
Umm, I think you mean Zeus?
Or did you want to mis-spell it on purpose?
Nice touch with the ring from the old Hercules cartoon.
OLYMPIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Old Hercules Cartoon?
Yeah, an old animated series from the sixties called The Mighty Hercules. Not a terribly faithful adaptation of the original myths; Herc was basically a Superman stand-in, and he got his superhuman strength from a magic ring. He had a centaur named Newton for a sidekick, and his archenemy was Daedalus. It used to be on Canadian TV all the time back in the 80s, which is where most of us Canucks remember it and its gloriously cheesy theme song from. Here’s a video of the opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laoBvt9CcQo
Oh geez… I remember watching that as a kid.
I kinda feel old now.
I wouldn’t quite describe Hercules in mythology as an “ass of a character,” it’s not his fault he was born with God-genes.
He’s humble, seeks forgiveness when he’s done wrong (even when he didn’t really do it and was manipulated into it), he’s an honorable warrior, he seeks to right wrongs etc. Sure, he gets up to some nasty stuff on occasion and cheats on his wife, but then pretty much every mythological figure ever did that. By Greek legend status, he’s one of the nicer ones. He didn’t have to atone for his actions through labours, or through servitude, but he chose to go through indignities to make up for mistakes.
This Hercules on the other hand…. euchh, what a dull, boring mess.
Zeus DID get to decide the name, but “Herakles” means “Hera’s glory”, in an attempt to prevent her wrath. It only partially worked, since at least Alcmene was spared (even if her maid did get turned into a weasel in one version).
Cerebus? :3
I love it when adaptations are set in Greece but still use Heracles’ Roman name. & of course they’ll never mention his other 3 wives, 7+ boyfriends, or all of his other extramarital affairs. Alexander the Great gets the same treatment; Never acknowledge his more-than-friends relationship with Hephaestion, never mention his 2 other wives, never call him Alexandros.
Not gonna lie… The character designs are pretty pleasing. I’ll take these facial designs over both modern cartoons & modern anime any day.
Hercules just couldn’t wait to be king, so he killed Mufasa.
Old man: “HerculEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
Blonde haired idiot with dead blue eyes?
Is Hercules the ancestor of Alice?
Yeah, if you read into the ancient Greek gods and heroes, they were all kind of terrible people. Though it did make for interesting tragedy plays, especially the ones by Euripides.
At least in the Disney version, they realized that a character like Hercules requires a point in the story arc where he is humbled so that he is able to build himself back up to the top. In this one though, nope, nothing really bad ever happens to him. He is on top and stays there, which of course makes for a less interesting character.
Though at least this one is closer to the source material…sort of. They didn’t make Hades the villain in this one, though Hera still isn’t as vindictive in this as she is in the original myth.
If he doesn’t like Hercules being a jerk all the time, I feel like Phelous would like the very underrated anime Heroic Age because the Hercules stand-in in the series (Age) is likable with his care-free and curious child-like attitude. For those who are wondering, yes, Heroic Age is a loose sci-fi re-imagining/adaptation of the Hercules myth with mecha, aliens (or in the main character Age’s case, humans) that turn into giant Ultraman-esque Kaiju monsters, & epic space battles and a good one at that. Fun fact: Heroic Age was the first anime I watched all the way through back in 2015 so it naturally has a special place in my heart.
Another Fun Fact: Heroic Age was made by the same studio who made Fafner and the Rockman EXE anime (Xebec).
Judging by his muscular build and a Hamon-esque set of superpowers, we can assume that Hercules might possibly be the original JoJo/Joestar. Trust me, only those who’ve heard of/watched/read JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure will get the joke.
Given how long it takes for an animated movie to be made – at least from a GOOD studio – it’s probable they heard about Disney’s Hercules and rushed this into production just to get the drop on them. You know, this story where the conflict is driven by spite…
Well, it’s technically easier to write this because the story is all ready there. They’re just sticking to the old myths. Of course, when you stick with the old stories, you starting having to deal with the problems associated with them that this review shows.