| Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: June 27, 1997 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
18
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews
Furiously fast and fiendishly funny, Disney's 35th animated feature, Hercules outlines its musical-comedy agenda pronto. Even its villainous super-schmoozer Hades, well-ignited by the neurotic natterings of James Woods, would appreciate such get-to-the-pointedness. [13 June 1997, p.1D]
Unlike The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, Hercules never feels like more than what it is: A zippy, energetic cartoon. But it's still better than just about any movie out there right now. This Hercules is heavenly, indeed. [27 June 1997, p.5G]
The dialogue is tart, and likewise the bluesy score (a departure for Disney stalwart Alan Menken, working here with City of Angels lyricist David Zippel). And it's these elements that vault Hercules into the realm of hit and myth. [27 June 1997, p.3]
Hercules isn't likely to be revered 30 years from now like other Disney classics, but it's smart, safe family entertainment. [27 June 1997, p.3]
The cast is nothing short of sensational (especially Woods, who gives us the most memorable and oddly likeable villain since Cruella DeVil) and the animators wisely imbue their drawings with the actors' attributes -- right down to Hermes' (Shaffer's) shades. All the cast members seem to relish their roles and their zest is infectious.
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Let me start by saying that Hercules, Walt Disney Pictures' 35th animated feature, makes for good family entertainment. Good, not great. While this film is capable of providing a ninety minute diversion for both kids and adults, it's a far cry from such recent classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
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They fractured Greek myth but slapped mountains of comic muscle on the hunky hero in Hercules. What fun! The great old Greek is turned into a '90s-style athlete who gets endorsements, sandals named after him and a chance to stand tall among nymphs and muses after whipping the villainous lord of the underworld, Hades, personified as a Hollywood movie mogul type.
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DeVito, whose singing sounds like a cross between coughing and Jimmy Durante on a good day, is a gruff and lovable mentor with a Brooklyn accent and a New Yorker's intolerance for sentimentality. Egan's Meg is a fiery dame with lots of gall. Tate Donovan gives voice to the adult Hercules, and he is just right as an almost Dudley Doright-ish lug who thinks heroics have more to do with physical daring than with big-heartedness. Alan Mencken's original score is boisterous and hummable, and lyrics by David Zippel perfectly suit the story and Disney's recent style for cleverness.
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There's no dust on this snazzy new Hercules. It's got lots of muscle and lots of lift. [27 June 1997, p.C1]
It's light and fizzy and fun without once calling attention to the fact that a lot of hard work went into it (Gerald Scarfe's sharp production design keeps it from looking quite like any other Disney cartoon). [27 June 1997, p.F1]
Proving that the studio should stick with fairy tales and myths instead of literature and history, Hercules is presented as a lively, animated feature with whiplash-quick one-liners and a heavenly score by the inspired team of Alan Mencken and David Zippel. [27 June 1997, p.3E]
Hercules is a lot of fun -- not a masterpiece, but engaging, clever and bright. [27 June 1997, p.C1]
Notwithstanding the hero's Superman similarities, Hercules isn't quite super. But it's strong enough to get the job done. [27 June 1997, p.17]
Chock-full of celeb cameos, puns and contemporary camp, the movie is annoyingly hip. It wants to belong even more desperately than its title character, who yearns to be a god almost as much as Pinocchio wanted to be just plain human. Hercules, alas, is hardly in the same class with the emotionally compelling Pinocchio -- although on many occasions its hulking hero seems just as wooden.
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Fun for the kids, but no Beauty and the Beast or Lion King. This child-friendly retelling of Hercules' story takes the predictable liberties with a story originally chockablock with sex, violence and generally sordid behavior. After several passes through the Disney wringer, a sanitized, blandly blond Hercules (voice of Tate Donovan) emerges, ready to enter no pantheon other than that of muscle-beach pinup boys.
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