Hercules (1997)
★★★★½ — Hercules (1997)
The moment those Muses step forward and launch into that gospel-powered prologue, you know this isn't going to be a standard Disney fairytale. It's bold, it's funny, it's self-aware, and it announces itself with a confidence that most animated films never manage. That opening alone tells you everything: Hercules knows exactly what it is, and it's having the time of its life being it.
And yet, somehow, it remains one of the most underrated entries in the entire Disney animated canon. People talk endlessly about the Renaissance films, and rightly so, but Hercules often gets shuffled to the back of that conversation. I genuinely don't understand why. I'd put it right up there with The Jungle Book as one of the most stylish, entertaining, and flat-out fun animated films ever made. Not just by Disney. Full stop.
It's got the heart of classical myth, the flair and showmanship of a Broadway production, and just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek humour to keep things light without ever letting the emotional core go soft. That's a tricky tonal balance to pull off, and the film absolutely nails it. You're laughing one minute and genuinely moved the next, and it never feels like whiplash.
The music deserves far more credit than it tends to get. "Go the Distance" is rightly celebrated, a proper soaring anthem, but can we talk about "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)"? Brilliant. Funny. Dramatically sharp. And then there's the song during the final battle sequence, the one that builds as Hercules makes his defining choice. That one hits harder than Zeus' thunderbolt, and I'd argue it's one of the most underrated Disney ballads ever written. The animation during that sequence is stunning in the truest sense of the word. Every time I watch it, same goosebumps.
The voice cast is extraordinary. Danny DeVito as Phil is pure gold, gruff and warm and genuinely funny in a way that doesn't undercut the sentiment. But then there's James Woods as Hades. He doesn't just chew scenery, he absolutely devours it, spits it out, and asks for seconds. It's a performance so perfectly calibrated to the character that it's difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Every line crackles. The whole film crackles, actually, and a lot of that energy flows from him.
The visual style is something else entirely. The decision to base the animation on the look of ancient Greek pottery and classical art, all those sharp angles, bold blacks, stylised figures, and then marry that to a lively, modern energy, was an inspired one. It feels like a living Greek amphora came to life and got a soulful backing track. I've always thought it sits in an interesting space alongside The Hunchback of Notre Dame, another film from this era that took visual and tonal risks the Disney brand wasn't always given credit for taking.
What keeps Hercules from being just a flashy spectacle is that it actually earns its emotional beats. The film is genuinely asking something: what does it mean to be a hero? And its answer isn't about strength or fame or being born into greatness. It's about choosing to do the right thing when the cost is real, when no one is watching, when the world isn't offering you anything in return. That's a proper idea, handled with warmth and wit rather than heavy-handedness.
Four and a half stars. One of my all-time favourites, and one that still gets replayed in our house every few months. If you've written it off as a minor entry, give it another go. I think it'll surprise you.
Rating: ★★★★½ | Year: 1997 | Watched: 2025-05-14
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Rakuten TV
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Ron Clements: The Little Mermaid (1989) · Moana (2016)
More from the 1990s: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · Blue (1993) · Cemetery Man (1994)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
