Hercules - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Hercules or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Hercules

[bryan]

Directors John Musker and Ron Clements selected Hercules (1997) as a project in the fall of 1993, after considering nearly 30 ideas in various stages of development at the studio, as is explained in Disney's official press kit. They were attracted to the mythological aspects of the story, and felt that not only hadn't it been done before at Disney (except briefly in the Pastoral segment of Fantasia (1940)), but it would be great for animation because of its fantasy elements, larger-than-life characters and strong potential for anachronisms and satirical humor. Most importantly, they saw Hercules as a "common man's hero" with exciting possibilities because of his demigod (half-man, half-god) status.

[dustin]

Walt Disney Pictures debuted Hercules (1997) in a two week exclusive run for the grand re-opening of the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street, New York City, preceding it with a stage revue. The opening promoted the theater, which subsequently hosted long runs of theatrical versions of The Lion King (1994) and Mary Poppins (1964).

[bessie]

When Phil eavesdrops on Hades confronting Meg, the way he sticks his nose on the corner of the wall is similar to how the Seven Dwarfs react when they first meet Snow White, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

[francisco]

After Meg and Hercules go on a date, they are seen walking into a garden-like area. Hercules mentions a play called Oedipus, which is about a man who kills the king of a Greek city, who turns out to be his father, and marries and has children with the queen, who is his mother. Hercules then makes the remark, "Man! I thought I had problems."

[stephanie]

The Spice Girls were originally approached to portray the Muses following an invitation to sing one of the songs, but declined the offer due to scheduling conflicts.

[jesus]

Early into production, the filmmakers decided the Hydra would ultimately have thirty heads by which the animators created one master head, and the computer could multiply the heads to their desired scale. Overall, thirteen animators and technical directors spent nearly a year-and-a-half creating the four-minute battle sequence.

[clayton]

Hades says "Relax, it's only half-time" right in the middle of the movie.

[bernice]

At the end of the song "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)," the muses can be heard singing the tune to "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid (1989).

[melinda]

Originally when Hades has the Titans trap Zeus in ice and lava, after he says "Hades you're behind this!" Hades was going to reply "And speaking of behind no one's going to save yours" while doing a Groucho Marx impression, it was cut for pacing.

[frederick]

In the movie, Hercules is shown as the son of Zeus and Hera, whereas in Greek mythology he was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, the woman who is seen raising him in the film, but the idea of presenting Hercules as the son of Zeus and Hera actually has ancient mythological roots as seen with Etruscan mythology. The Etruscans, like the later Romans, inspired their gods on the figures of Greek tradition. In Etruscan mythology, Heracles was called Hercle and he was presented as the immortal, godly son of Tinia and Uni, who were the Etruscan versions of Zeus and Hera. In other versions Hercle was the son of an unnamed mortal woman, but was adopted and raised by Uni; who grants Hercle immortality, making him the first mortal elevated to a godhood through his deeds.

[sylvia]

The first theatrically released animated film for Keith David, later he'd go onto voice one of the council members in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), the cat in Coraline (2009), Dr Facilier in The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Chief Broadbeak the Turkey in Free Birds (2013).

[camila]

Hades was scripted as a slow, menacing character until James Woods took the role and impressed the crew with his rapid-fire style. Even after the script was rewritten, Woods ad-libbed many lines.

[charlie]

Danny DeVito declined to audition for Phil, so Edward Asner, Ernest Borgnine, and Dick Latessa were brought in to read for the part. After Red Buttons had auditioned, he left stating "I know what you're gonna do. You're gonna give this part to Danny DeVito!" Shortly after, the directors and producer Alice Dewey Goldstone approached DeVito at a pasta lunch during the filming of Matilda (1996), where DeVito signed on to the role.

[stephanie]

As stated by Disney's official press kit, director John Musker was a long-time fan of British artist/political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe's work for the The London Sunday Times, The New Yorker and other publications, so he signed him, initially just to assist with the character design. During production, his role as a conceptual artist was expanded to function as an ongoing artistic advisor to the animators. Scarfe also worked closely with art director Andy Gaskill and production stylist Sue C. Nichols to incorporate "Scarfisms" (swooping lines with sharp, pointed edges) into almost every aspect of the production from backgrounds to effects and layout, and also provided a bridge from Greek vase paintings to Disney animation. As a result, even the usually amorphous clouds were given spikes. Musker praised Scarfe's bold, expressive linear designs for having "an innate and anarchic energy that seems to explode off the page. He draws from the shoulder with big swoops, so there are these big, strong shapes which have a bold and immediate impact."

[sara]

According to Disney's official press kit for the movie, animation started in late 1995, with a team of an unprecedented number of 906 artists, animators and technicians ultimately contributing to the finished film. Disney's animation facility in Paris joined in the effort (as they had on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)) and provided nearly 10 minutes of animation, including the film's finale with the rampaging Titans and Hercules' descent into the Underworld.

[claude]

James Coburn, Kelsey Grammer, Steve Buscemi, Jason Lee, Phil Hartman, Michael Keaton, Michael Ironside, Benjamin Bratt, Martin Landau, Ned Beatty, Terrence Mann, Christopher Plummer, Ron Silver, Kevin Spacey, Bill Hunter, and Rod Steiger auditioned for Hades. Ten of these actors that auditioned would later get the parts of villains in Pixar Films, Spacey as Hopper in A Bug's Life (1998), Grammar as Stinky Pete The Prospector in Toy Story 2 (1999), Coburn and Buscemi as Henry J Waternoose and Randall Boggs in Monsters, Inc. (2001) (Buscemi would reprise his role in Monster University), Hunter as Phillip Sherman in Finding Nemo (2003) (Though said character was technically a neutral character), Lee as Syndrome In The Incredibles, Keaton as Chick Hicks in Cars (2006) and Ken in Toy Story 3; (though his Toy Story 3 role was a secondary villain role and said character was later reformed), Plummer as Charles Muntz in Up (2009), Beatty as LotSo in Toy Story 3 (2010), and Bratt as Ernesto De La Cruz in Coco (2017). Furthermore Kelsey Grammar was originally intended the inherit the role of Waternoose in Monsters University as James Coburn had passed away in 2002 before the character's speaking role was cut and reduced to a cameo appearance in a photo.

[sandra]

John Goodman auditioned for the role of Zeus while Steve Buscemi auditioned for Hades. Both actors appeared together in Monsters Inc, Monster University and The Big Lebowski.

[veronica]

Phil cleans himself up using a lion's skin. The skin once belonged to Scar from The Lion King (1994).

[bryan]

Coincidentally, Phil Hartman who was offered the role of Hades previously did a Jack Nicholson (who was also offered the role) impression through his role of the Air Conditioner in Brave Little Toaster.