Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek demigod Heracles, the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. Both cultures admired his strength, courage and ingenuity; his iconographic attributes were the club and Lion skin. In the Disney tale, Hercules is the full child of Zeus and Hera, born on Mt. Olympus with all godly powers, and Hera is portrayed as loving mother, not spiteful step-mother. In the beginning, it is explained that the world was terrorized by the Titans, but Zeus imprisoned them. With the birth of Hercules, all of the Gods seemed pleased except Hades, Zeus’s brother lord of the underworld.

Hades wants to control Mt. Olympus and the world, but realizes that if Hercules chooses to fight when he gets older, he will never succeed. He is informed by the fates that in eighteen years a planetary alignment will reveal the location of the Titans that Zeus imprisoned; allowing Hades to free them and defeat Zeus. So Hades sends his two minions, Pain and Panic to kidnap Hercules and force him to drink a potion that will make him mortal. Although they succeed in bringing Hercules down to earth, he fails to finish the last drop of potion which falls to the ground. Although no longer a God, he still retains his superhuman strength, which he uses to beat back Pain and Panic. His is then discovered by mortals Amphytryon and Alcmene who adopt him, themselves being childless. (Note that in the original myth, Alcmene is the mortal mother of Hercules). However Zeus and the rest of the Gods discover the kidnapping too late, Hercules in now a mortal and cannot be returned to Mt. Olympus.

As Hercules grows into manhood, his amazing strength and clumsiness always seem to get him into trouble. One time while throwing the discus, he destroys the village marketplace. His adoptive parents decide to tell him of his adoption and show him a necklace he had around his neck; with the lightning bolt of Zeus. Hercules decides to leave and find the truth about himself and goes into the temple of Zeus for answers. His father comes to life in a statue and says that Hercules can become a god again if he becomes a true hero. He is directed to the satyr Philocetes, or Phil for short, a trainer of heroes. Phil has stopped training because of repeated failures, but is convinced to train Hercules.

After his training, Zeus sends Hercules his winged horse Pegasus, and they and Phil travel to Thebes. On the way, they encounter Megara, Meg for short, a Greek woman pestered by a Centaur. Both men don’t know Meg works for Hades. Hercules defeats the Centaur. After arriving in Thebes, Hades sends a Hydra to battle him and Hercules defeats him also. He is treated by the citizens of Thebes as a hero, but Zeus informs him he has not yet a true hero. Hercules is smitten with Meg and Hades realizes that is his weakness. Hercules sneaks out with Meg on a date, but Meg also begins to fall for Hercules. Meg refuses to help Hades anymore. Hades uses their love to get to Hercules. He promises that if Hercules gives up his strength for one day, he will not harm Meg. This should be enough time for Hades to defeat Olympus. Hercules agrees, but Hades sends a Cyclops to defeat him. Badly beaten because of his lack of strength, he finally defeats the Cyclops by sending him over a cliff.

The Cyclops falling off the cliff causes a stone pillar to towards Hercules; Meg pushes him away, and is mortally wounded. Hercules regains his strength because the bargain with Hades is broken. Hercules goes to Olympus to stop Hades invasion. When he returns to Meg, she has died. He travels to Hades to save Megs spirit, but must enter the river Styx, which causes mortals to age quickly and die. He reaches Meg just before he dies. His act of bravery is the requirement for being a true hero and he is made a God again.

He can return to Olympus as a God and immortality, but decides to stay on earth with Meg and live a mortal existence, because life without Mege would not be worth living.

As with most films, Disney changed many of the details of the myth to make the film more family-orientated. Many of the Gods failings and weaknesses are not mentioned and much of the violence of the myth is also eliminated. Hercules was first released on home video, VHS format on February 3rd, 1998. The DVD was released as a limited issue on November 9, 1999 and on August 1st, 2000 as a VHS and DVD Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection.

The film was nominated for Academy Award best original song, “Go the Distance” and the same for the Golden Globe award. It was also nominated for the Saturn award for “Best Fantasy film”.