Hercules is an animated 1997 Disney movie about Heracles (known in the movie by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology. This was followed by an animated television series based on the movie characters, and , a direct-to-video movie.

In the movie, Hercules is the son of Zeus and Hera (the myths had him as the son of Zeus and a mortal, earth-born woman).

Character design was by noted British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe, and as a result the film has a quirky visual style unusual in recent Disney films.

Disney took considerable liberties with the myth of Hercules, since some of the original material and characters were inappropriate for younger viewers, such as Hercules being conceived through a god posing as a mortal woman's husband, and of his stepmother Hera's attempts to kill him. Disney also made use of stereotypes when designing the look of the Greek gods, such as making Poseidon into a fish.

The movie Hercules has almost nothing to do with the myth of Heracles, and should not be regarded as a true legend about the mythological hero. Rather it is an entertaining spin on the character and the culture of ancient Greece. (Note however that the film does contain a brief reference to The Twelve Labours and other myths pertaining to the character.)

External links

• The IMDb entry on Hercules
• The Big Cartoon DataBase entry for Hercules