Kayleigh Smithers

Everybody's got a weakness. I mean, for Pandora, it was the box thing. And for the Trojans, hey, they bet on the wrong horse, but for me, it’s definitely the sassy, iconic characters from the 1997’s film Hercules. It’s jam-packed with humor that we still think about more than two decades later. There are a few plot holes, but honestly, what movie doesn’t? Overall, directors Ron Clements and John Musker did a pretty good job at including elements that every movie needs; humor, heartbreak, redemption, and of course, a great villain. The movie starts off with a song, because this is a Disney movie, of course there’s going to be songs. The song is sung by the five muses, who are the narrators of the movie. They sing about how the world came to be the way it is, about the chaos that was when the Titans ruled, and then Zeus appears out of the clouds and saves the earth. Later, Zeus and Hera supposedly give birth to a son named Hercules. None of this is accurate historically speaking, but sometimes we just have to roll with the punches. At the party thrown in the child's honor, Hades shows up, looks at the child, throws around some serious sass, and leaves to go plot his revenge. You know, as villains do. Hades, voiced by James Woods, rules the Underworld, which is, you know, a little dark, a little gloomy, and, as always, hey, full of dead people. He’s jealous of Zeus for ruling Olympus, the heavens, and so he decides to make Hercules a mortal so that he’s powerless to stop the destruction Hades has planned. He sends out his minions, Pain and Panic (voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer) to get the job done, but he should have known that if you want something done you have to do it yourself. Hercules (played by Tate Donovan)grows up in a mortal village, but he’s different from the other kids; he still has a lot of his immortal strength. He wants to find out why he’s different, so as every hero does, he sets out on a quest. He trains with a satyr named Phil, who is voiced by Danny DeVito. On his first “rescue mission” he meets Megara(Susan Egan). Her friends call her Meg, at least they would if she had any friends. This lady is easily the best character in the movie; she’s full of humor, sass, trauma, her character development is on point, and she has a big heart despite her best efforts to suppress it. Hercules makes viewers invested emotionally, both in the characters and the plot itself. Again, there are some plot holes, but that’s almost expected with a movie based on a mythology known for its complexity. Clements and Musker did a great job pulling what was needed for the general plot in that sense. The movie is packed with humor and great lines that add to the characters and even the plot at times. This movie deserves every four and five star rating it gets.