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[[File:HerculesCoverArt.jpg|frame|''I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong'']]
After Zeus fights and sends the Titans to the Underworld, he becomes the ruler of Mount Olympus, home of all Greek gods. Hades is sent to rule the underworld, but he makes plans to throw Zeus out of Mount Olympus with the Titans' help. The three Fates warn him that his plans would be endangered if '''Hercules''', Zeus and Hera's newborn child, is still around by the time he tries to take over Mount Olympus. Hades sends his minions Pain and Panic to turn Hercules into a mortal and kill him, but they fail in their attempt and leave him on earth with his divine strength to be raised as a human. Hercules grows up but later learns he is the son of Gods, and in order to return to Mt. Olympus he must turn into a "true hero". He is trained by Phil the Satyr and becomes the most famous hero in ancient Greece after battling monsters of all kinds. He even saves Mt. Olympus from being taken over by Hades, but he only becomes a god again after he offers to exchange his life in order to save Megara, his love, from Hades' underworld and shows that a true hero must have a strong heart and not only physical strength.▼
While the film is considerably [[Bowdlerization|Bowdlerized]] from the original myths, there [[Pragmatic Adaptation|really was no alternative]] if you want to make a family film out of [[Greek Mythology]]. The result was a widely praised film, which despite not reaching the critical success of ''[[The Lion King]]'' or ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'', is considered by many to be one of the [[Disney Animated Canon|Canon's]] [[Funny Moments|funniest films]] along with ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', ''[[The Emperor's New Groove|The Emperors New Groove]]'' and ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]''. Plus, it's one of the only times [[Everyone Hates Hades]] has improved a work rather than dragging it down, mainly due to how genuinely [[Affably Evil|likeable]] and [[Deadpan Snarker|funny]] he is. For myth buffs, keep the [[MST3K Mantra]] in mind, and you'll find a solid, [[Rule of Funny|funny]] film with a lot of literal [[Mythology Gag
▲After Zeus fights and sends the Titans to the Underworld, he becomes the ruler of Mount Olympus, home of all Greek gods. Hades is sent to rule the underworld, but he makes plans to throw Zeus out of Mount Olympus with the Titans' help. The three Fates warn him that his plans would be endangered if Hercules, Zeus and Hera's newborn child, is still around by the time he tries to take over Mount Olympus. Hades sends his minions Pain and Panic to turn Hercules into a mortal and kill him, but they fail in their attempt and leave him on earth with his divine strength to be raised as a human. Hercules grows up but later learns he is the son of Gods, and in order to return to Mt. Olympus he must turn into a "true hero". He is trained by Phil the Satyr and becomes the most famous hero in ancient Greece after battling monsters of all kinds. He even saves Mt. Olympus from being taken over by Hades, but he only becomes a god again after he offers to exchange his life in order to save Megara, his love, from Hades' underworld and shows that a true hero must have a strong heart and not only physical strength.
Over a year after its release, the film [[Recycled: the Series|spawned a cartoon]] that ran both in syndication and on Disney's One Saturday Morning on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], from 1998 to 1999. It was a Midquel series that presented Herc's life in High School and had him hanging out with fellow Greek characters Icarus and Cassandra. It also presented a plot hole in that Hades was still trying to get him killed, despite the fact that in the movie he didn't know Herc was still alive until he was an adult, but that didn't seem to matter much to the viewers.▼
▲While the film is considerably [[Bowdlerization|Bowdlerized]] from the original myths, there [[Pragmatic Adaptation|really was no alternative]] if you want to make a family film out of [[Greek Mythology]]. The result was a widely praised film, which despite not reaching the critical success of ''[[The Lion King]]'' or ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'', is considered by many to be one of the [[Disney Animated Canon|Canon's]] [[Funny Moments|funniest films]] along with ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', ''[[The Emperor's New Groove|The Emperors New Groove]]'' and ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]''. Plus, it's one of the only times [[Everyone Hates Hades]] has improved a work rather than dragging it down, mainly due to how genuinely [[Affably Evil|likeable]] and [[Deadpan Snarker|funny]] he is. For myth buffs, keep the [[MST3K Mantra]] in mind, and you'll find a solid, [[Rule of Funny|funny]] film with a lot of literal [[Mythology Gag|Mythology Gags]] that show that they did, in fact, [[Shown Their Work|do the research]] - they just couldn't make said research work in a G-rated family film without bumping the rating up a few notches. After all, in what other animated film is [[Oedipus Rex|Oedipus]] mentioned as a passing gag?
▲Over a year after its release, the film [[Recycled: the Series|spawned a cartoon]] that ran both in syndication and on Disney's One Saturday Morning on [[ABC]], from 1998 to 1999. It was a Midquel series that presented Herc's life in High School and had him hanging out with fellow Greek characters Icarus and Cassandra. It also presented a plot hole in that Hades was still trying to get him killed, despite the fact that in the movie he didn't know Herc was still alive until he was an adult, but that didn't seem to matter much to the viewers.
----
{{tropelist}}
== Original Film ==
* [[Abusive Precursors]]: The Titans, the portrayal of which was in some ways very close to ancient Greek Theology (ancient beings defeated by Zeus and imprisoned in the Underworld, their powers were very broad as well) and in some ways very different (the original Titans were deities [[Not So Different]] from the Olympians and the parents of several of them, rather than near mindless elemental monsters).
* [[Actor Allusion]]: Not sure if this was on purpose, but as Phil is an Expy (or at the very least an [[Affectionate Parody]]) of Mickey from the Rocky films, [[Batman Returns|this isn't the first time [[Danny DeVito]] has played a character made popular by Burgess Meredith...]]
* [[
* [[Adorkable]]: Herc himself fits this, especially as a youngster. Even as an adult, he's still sorta awkward.
* [[Adult Fear]]: Surprising? Check Zeus and Hera's reaction when they discover baby Hercules is no longer in his crib and they have to watch another couple raise him from afar at the beginning.
* [[Affably Evil]]: [[Big Bad|Hades]] is a [[Deadpan Snarker]] and general comedian, who is voiced by James Woods.
** [[Word of God|The crew of the movie said]] that Hades ''was'' going to be dark, scary, and menacing, but Woods took a different route than the other auditions and the original plan, and they loved it so much they rewrote the character (though Pain and Panic do still fear him) and, by extension, the script.
* [[All Animals Are Dogs]]: Pegasus. Especially when he's younger.
* [[All of the Other Reindeer]]: Hercules is a [[Cute Clumsy Girl|Cute Clumsy Guy]] with [[Super Strength]]. Guess how well it goes...
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* [[Big Bad]]: Hades.
* [[Big Beautiful Woman]]: The plumpest (and funniest) muse, Thalia.
* [[Big No]]: Done by Hercules {{spoiler|when Meg is
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: "Someone call IX-I-I!" It's 911.
* [[Blessed with Suck]]: Herc's super-strength, when combined with an adolescent's typical clumsiness.
* [[Bond Villain Stupidity]]: It's never really mentioned why Hades doesn't just open a can of divine whoopass on Hercules himself. He's clearly shown to be powerful enough and seemingly immune to any physical attack Hercules can throw at him while he's still mortal. Maybe he's worried Zeus will suspect him, but that doesn't hold up at the end of the movie when he's still trying to get Hercules out of his hair literally minutes before he mounts an attack against Zeus.
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* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Phil, Megara, Hades... you get the general picture.
* [[Deal with the Devil]]: Megara - she sold her soul to save her boyfriend... who promptly dumped her. Also, Hercules. He gave up his [[Super Strength]] to set Meg free. This worked out for him just about as well as could be expected...
* [[Death by Cameo]]: Sort of. [[The Lion King|Scar]] makes a cameo [[Nemean Skinning|as the skin of the Nemean Lion Hercules wears]] for a <ref>
* [[Death's Hourglass]]: This film has one with the Fate Sisters and the threads of life: if the person is close to death and the thread of life gets cut, said person dies, and their listless soul ends up on the River Styx.
* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Megara again.
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* [[Disneyfication]]: A crapload. Most noticeably, Herc's original [[Big Bad]] was Hera trying to kill him because he was the product of Zeus' adultery with a mortal.
** Then again, if they didn't remove/change that part, how on Earth would the script as a whole pass?
* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Megara. She is literally crushed by a pillar before Hercules lifts it up to free her}}, and as he returns after saving Mount Olympus, we see her [[Death's Hourglass|thread of life]] get cut and her hand goes limp; and this is one of the rare times Disney has ever shown an actual dead body on screen, as Herc weeps over her pale, limp, lifeless, and yet totally undamaged corpse, cradling it in his arms.
** [[Justified Trope]] because {{spoiler|Hercules reverses it by going to the Underworld and reclaiming her soul, thus proving himself a true hero, restoring his godhood.}}
** And before that, in the middle of the film, it happens ''twice'' in the same scene during the epic fight between Hercules and the Hydra; once the audience within the film thinks he's swallowed, the next time they think he's crushed.
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'''Panic:''' ''If''. ''If'' is good.]] }}
** Played straight with the Cyclops.
* [[
{{quote|'''Hercules:''' Aren't you a damsel in distress?
'''Megara:''' I'm a damsel, I'm in distress, I can handle it. Have a nice day! }}
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* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]?: Hades and Megara's interaction really makes you think of an abusive boyfriend with a girlfriend who is having trouble getting away from him.
* [[The Dulcinea Effect]]: Invoked, since according to Phil it ''is'' a hero's job to save a [[Damsel in Distress]].
* [[Eagleland Osmosis]]: [[Played for Laughs]], and actually adds a [[Genius Bonus]].
{{quote|"SOMEBODY CALL I X I I !" }}
* [[Eaten Alive]]: Hercules. The hydra eats him. It's clear he's still alive because A) he cuts off its head from inside and B) the film's only about halfway through.
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: The Titans, pretty much.
* [[Elemental Powers]]: The Titans:
{{quote|'''[[Dishing Out Dirt|Rock Titan]]:''' CRUSH ZEUS!
'''[[An Ice Person|Ice Titan]]:''' [[Kill It with Ice|FREEZE HIM!]]
'''[[Magma Man|Lava Titan]]:''' [[I'm Melting|MELT ZEUS!]]
'''[[Blow You Away|Tornado Titan]]:''' BLOW HIM AWAY!
'''Hades:''' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Uh, guys? Olympus would be]] ''[[The Exit Is That Way|that]]'' [[The Exit Is That Way|way]].
...'''[[Beat]].'''
'''Rock Titan:'''[[Large Ham|ZEEEEEUUUUUSSS!!!]] }}
** Then there's Zeus' [[Shock and Awe|thunderbolts.]] "''Now'' watch your old man work!"
* [[Everybody Hates Hades]]: Although, in fact, the fans ''love'' him.
** In actuality; Disney actually got something right but heavily exaggerated. Hades certainly wasn't the [[Big Bad]] like in this film; but he wasn't regarded with the same amount of respect as his siblings. (See the article)
* [[The Exit Is That Way]]: Or rather, Mt. Olympus.
* [[Evil Plan]]: Hades is of the [[Take Over the World]] variety, because he doesn't like ruling in Hades.
* [[Expy]]: The Muses are very close to Expies of the 3 black chorus girls from Menken and Ashman's non-Disney musical, ''[[Little Shop of Horrors]]''.
** Also, compare the Fates to the witches in [[The Film of the Book|Disney's version of]] ''[[The Black Cauldron]]''.
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'''Hades:''' He's a guy!
'''Meg:''' [smugly] Besides, O Oneness, you can't beat him. He has no weaknesses! He's gonna...
''[she turns and sees [[Explain, Explain, Oh Crap|Hades smirking at her]]]''
'''Hades:''' I think he does, Meg. I truly think he does. }}
* [[Gorn]]: By Disney's standards, the part where Hercules slices the Hydra's head off and you actually get to see the bleeding stump (it bleeds a transluscent green liquid though, so it's not quite as gory as it sounds).
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* [[Hair On Fire]]: Hades is probably the [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Hair-Trigger Temper]]: Hades, who over the course of the movie has constant difficulty keeping his smooth demeanor with his generally-annoyed-at-everything attitude leading to a tendency to snap into a rage at the slightest provocation. Minor explosions are common, major meltdowns are a sight to behold. Bonus points for having his hair literally go off when he gets angry.
* [[Happily Married]]: Unlike the mythology, Zeus and Hera are quite happy together, and Zeus apparently never cheats on her. Incidentally, they don't seem to be siblings in this one. Hercules' human parents qualify as well.
* [[Harpo Does Something Funny]]: After James Woods was cast, the script was essentially re-written to allow for his ad-libbing. Most of the dialogue between Hades and Megara was simply made up.
* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: Numerous examples. For starters, [[Danny
* [[Heroic Build]]: Hercules, following his training with Phil. Just look at the picture!
* [[Hijacked by Jesus]]
* [[Hold Your Hippogriffs]]:
** "Holy <ref>
** Thebes is called the "[[Big Applesauce]]
** "Wanna buy a <ref>
** "Somebody call <ref>
** "Keep your <ref>
** "This is the honest-to-<ref>
** "Is this an audience or <ref>
** "That's it, I'm moving to <ref>
** "He's just another <ref>
** "...but I could see through ''that'' in a <ref>
* [[Honest John's Dealership]]: Literal (the man who tries to sell sundials to Herc) and figurative (James Woods modeled Hades after a used-car salesmen).
* [[Honey Trap]]:
{{quote|'''Megara:''' Wonderboy is hitting every curve you throw at him.
'''Hades:''' Oh, yeah... I wonder if maybe I haven't been throwing the ''right curves'' at him... }}
* [[Horsing Around]]: Pegasus is usually gentle with Herc. Megara, on the other hand...
* [[I Know You Know I Know]]: Between Hades and the Fates.
* [[Impossible Hourglass Figure]]: Four of muses and Aphrodite, especially Aphrodite given that she's the goddess of love and has a waist so tiny she could practically wrap one hand around. Artemis and Megara have [[Hartman Hips]].
* [[Ink Suit Actor]]: In addition to short, portly
* [["I Want" Song]]: ''Go The Distance'', which also became an [[Award Bait Song]].
* [[It Can Think]]: While the titans don't know where Mount Olympus is until Hades points it out to them, they're smart enough to work together. The Rock Titan breaks open the gates to Olympus, the Wind Titan captures everyone who tries to stop them, and the Lava Titan and Ice Titan work together to imprison Zeus in a mountain like he imprisoned them. It's not so scary when the Rock Titan realizes that he's in danger.
* [[Kaleidoscope Hair]]: Hades's hair turns from blue to bright orange whenever he is angry. Since his hair is made of fire, this is justified.
* [[Kubrick Stare]]: Herc's [[Moment of Awesome (Sugar Wiki)|Moment of Awesome]] ensues.
* [[Large Ham]]: Hades. Being a Disney villain, not unexpected at all.
** Also Zeus: "I NEED MORE ''THUNDERBOLTS''!!!"
*** It's probably a Greek God thing, though it's left ambiguous if Poseidon is, even though he is brothers with Zeus and Hades.
* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: Zeus. On his free time, he's a loving father and husband, spends time joking with everyone and attempts to be a good big bro for Hades; in fact, he's ''much'' more lovable than the original Zeus (though he ''was'' lovable by Greek standards), but once the Titans attack and Hades proved to be a backstabber, we quickly see where Hercules' strength come from and ''why'' you don't mess with the King of the Gods.
* [[Lighter and Softer]]: This followed on the heels of ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]''. Essentially, we went from the dark, gritty streets of Paris with a brooding and depraved judge to James Woods as one of the most funny Disney villains of all time and the green fields and colourful cities of Greece. Perhaps they got tired of the grit.
** Well, after this was ''[[Mulan]]'' and ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]'', two relatively dark films, so it was more of a [[Breather Episode]] than a full rest.
** The take on Greek mythology present in the film, in addition to being [[Sadly Mythtaken]], is ''much'' lighter and more family-friendly, probably to get it a lower rating.
* [[Love Makes You Crazy]]: Portrayed positively here.
** "People always do crazy things when they're in love."
* [[Midword Rhyme]]: In the Spanish dub.
* [[A Million Is a Statistic]]: It's very easy to miss, but it's implied thousands of people start dying horribly once Hades releases the Titans.
* [[Minion Maracas]]: Happens repeatedly to Pain and Panic.
* [[Mortality Ensues]]: Hercules gives up his demigod status to save Megara. Although not technically immortality, it comes close.
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* [[Oh My Gods]]: [[Trope Namer]]
* [[Only Sane Man|Only Sane God]]: Hades.
* [[Opposite Gender Protagonists]]: Meg and Hercules, where Meg serves to motivate the titular character. She often gets kidnapped, requiring Hercules to save her, advancing the plot. The two initially start out disliking each other, but slowly warm up over the course of the runtime. She is used by Hades as a bargaining tool, knowing that Hercules will come to her rescue at some point.
* [[Orphean Rescue]]/[[To Hell and Back|To Hades and Back]]: {{spoiler|Hercules travels to the Underworld in order to rescue Meg's spirit and reunite it with her body, thus getting his godhood back.}}
* [[Papa Wolf]]: Zeus tries to be this, but it is to no avail the first try.
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* [[Phosphor Essence]]: The gods glow. At the end, {{spoiler|Hercules starts glowing when he regains godhood}}.
* [[Physical God]]: It's Greek Mythology, what do you expect?
* [[
* [[Pig Latin]]:
{{quote|'''Herc:''' ''(meeting the Hydra)'' Uh, Phil? What do you call that thing?
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{{quote|'''Fates:''' In 18 years, precisely, the planets will align, ever so nicely...
'''Hades:''' [[Yiddish as a Second Language|Oy]], ''verse''. }}
* [[Punctuated!
* [[Redheaded Hero]]: Hercules.
* [[Refusing Paradise]] - {{spoiler|At the end, Hercules chooses to remain on earth with Meg instead of returning to Olympus.}}
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* [[Shown Their Work]]: The sheer number of references to ''actual'' Ancient Greek Religion makes it clear that the writers ''did'', in fact, do the research.
* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Swiftly delivered to Hades from Herc after climbing out of the pool.
* [[Silk Hiding Steel]]: Though crossed with [[Femme Fatale]] and [[Broken Bird]], Meg fullfills the trope in her ability to manipulate like a damsel and her [[Heroic Sacrifice]] inner steel.
* [[Slave Mooks]]: Meg (by contract) and Pain and Panic (implied) to Hades.
* [[The Snark Knight]]: "Megara. My friends call me Meg. At least, they would if I had any friends."
* [[Soul Cutting Blade]]: The Fates' scissors.
* [[Stealth Pun]]: Gospel is a genre related to praise and worship of a higher power. What better way to augment the story of Hercules than with a set of [[Gospel Revival Number
* [[The Stinger]]: Stick around after the credits and hear the lamentations of Hades.
* [[Surrounded by Idiots]]: Hades; And to a lower extent, Phil.
* [[Tailor-Made Prison]]: The Titans are imprisoned in an undersea vault.
* [[Terms of Endangerment]]: Hades: " Meg, my sweet, my flower, my little ''nut'' Meg."
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* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Phil {{spoiler|calls out Hercules for being too distracted by love to see that Meg is using him. Hercules takes a flying leap to avoid the hint, takes his rage out on Phil and disowns him as his trainer, leaving Phil to mumble one last admonishment and leave him to his darkest hour.}}
* [[Win Your Freedom]]: Megara.
* [[World of Snark]]: The only other Disney Canon entry that rivals this film in the amount of [[Deadpan Snarker
* [[X Meets Y]]: The movie is basically the [[Theme Park Version]] of Greek mythology meets the origin story of ''[[Superman]].''
* [[Yiddish as a Second Language]]: Phil and Hades. We're aware that that doesn't really make any sense. [[Rule of Funny|Most of us don't care]].
* [[You Got Spunk]]:
{{quote|'''Nessus the centaur:''' (to Meg) "I like 'em ''fiery''."}}
* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]: Blue, fiery hair.
* [[Younger Than They Look]]: The film begins with Hercules's birth, and the Fates inform Hades that he can release the Titans in 18 years.
== TV Series ==
* [[Actor Allusion]]: In one episode, [[Dan Castellaneta]] voices a [[Odyssey|certain reporter]] named [[The Simpsons (animation)|Homer]].
** And Helen of Troy, voiced by [[The Little Mermaid|Jodi Benson]] is dressed as a mermaid in a homecoming parade
** In "Hercules and the Kids", that wouldn't be the first time Ryan O'Donohue, Pamela Segal, and Courtland Mead [[Recess|voiced a group of kids on a Disney cartoon]].
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* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]/[[Noodle Incident]]: "She lost her left buttock."
* [[Godly Sidestep]]: At the end of one episode, Zeus is about to give the meaning of life on a chat show. However, they run out of airtime just before he states it.
* [[Gorgeous Gorgon]]: Medusa is portrayed as a lonely teenage girl who just wants friends.
* [[The Gump]]: Most of the episodes dumped Hercules into various Greek myths, such as replacing Phaeton (Apollo's son, who failed miserably at driving the sun chariot) and facing the Minotaur alongside Theseus (which he actually did in some versions of the myths). Thus, Hercules became responsible for practically everything in Greek mythology before he even became famous. [[It Makes Sense in Context]].
* [[She Is Not My Girlfriend|He Is Not My Boyfriend]]: What Cassandra says about Icarus.
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** How sad... because in [[Greek Mythology]], Icarus, son of Daedalus, flew too close to the sun using artificial wings of wax and feathers, and fell to his death. It's mentioned that he ''did'' fly too close to the sun, thus the hairstyle and (purportedly) the general loopiness.
* [[Never Heard That One Before]]: During the ''Aladdin'' crossover, Al calls him "Jerkules" during their fight. "You know, everyone thinks they're being clever when they call me that..."
* [[Old Superhero]]: Achilles' death was [[
* [[Parental Bonus]]: It's DISNEY.
{{quote|(Glass case next to Zeus's throne holding Thunderbolts): "In Case of Insurgency Break Glass" (also a [[Continuity Nod]])}}
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:The Nineties]]▼
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Disney Animated Canon]]
[[Category:Wang Film Productions]]
[[Category:Tama Productions]]
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[[Category:Saturday Morning Cartoon]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:Western Animation of the 1990s]]▼
[[Category:Sword and Sandal]]
[[Category:One Saturday Morning]]
▲[[Category:Western Animation]]
[[Category:Disney]]
[[Category:The Disney Afternoon]]
▲[[Category:The Nineties]]
[[Category:The Renaissance Age of Animation]]
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