Disney’s Hercules: An Underrated Hero’s Journey

So as I was going through work one day, processing movies and letting my mind wander as it usually does, when one such thought passed through as I saw an old VHS copy of Disney’s Hercules pass me by. I had always liked that movie despite gripes people had here and there. Then I thought about it and it hit me. As wildly different and out of sync from the original Greek myth as it is, I actually think the character arc of the Disney version of Hercules is quite brilliant. Both in its writing and execution. It works extremely well as a fish out of water story and of one finding, and earning one’s place in the world.

In the movie, Hercules, regardless of how much he meaningfully tries to be of help to who he thought were his fellow mortals, just can’t fit in. He uncontrollably breaks everything he touches due to his awesome strength. He knows he’s different but doesn’t know why or how that is, or what to do about it, and he’s desparate for answers. Then his adopted parents tell him the truth, that he had been found with nothing but a medallion inscribed with the symbol of the Gods of Olympus. Given a new direction and a new sense of purpose, Hercules travels to the Temple of Zeus, where from the King of the Gods himself he learns he’s his son and the lost child of Olympus. Zeus further encourages Hercules to study under the satyr Philoctetes to learn how to control his strength, to use that strength for heroics and learn what it means to be a hero so as to earn his place on the pantheon. Which he does and proceeds to do great things in Thebes. He slays monsters assaulting civilians and monuments are built in his name. Hercules is quite proud of himself and all the good he’s been able to do. For the first time in his life he’s recognized in a positive light and gained the respect he has long sought after. Zeus is happy for him, but he can’t ascend his son to godhood. He could, but he doesn’t feel Hercules has truly earned it yet. He may have gained recognition as a hero, but Zeus argues fame and heroics are not the same thing, and that he must discover the answer for himself. Hercules is of course extremely frustrated and confused why Zeus can’t accept him back to Olympus. He may be doing the heroics that were asked of him and gaining the respect he’s long desired, but he hasn’t yet figured out the why for any of it. All the same Philoctetes gives him words of encouragement and that they’ll both find the answer. It’s when Megara and the drama that happens with her that his character is further tested. Hercules is smitten with the girl but fails to realize she’s under Hades’ employ, a fact Philoctetes figues out and tries to warn his most prized student about, much to the disbelief of Hercules. Eventually Hercules is met by Hades himself and shown the truth of things. Hades could not kill Hercules indirectly through the Hydra and all the various monsters he’s sent after him, so he goes for his heart instead. Give up your strength, I spare the woman you love. Keep your strength, I take her away. Yet despite how much Megara had deceived Hercules and how much he feels betrayed, he gives up his strength for her life. Hades saps Hercules of his strength and proceeds to unleash the Titans from the pits of Tartarus, one of them gunning for Hercules on Hades’ orders, and rampages across the city of Thebes to lure him out. Despite being downgraded fully to the level of a mere mortal, Hercules can’t stand watching the civilians who depend on him be destroyed. Megara begs him not to go out there lest he be killed. But he’s already made up his mind, and goes to challenge the cyclops anyway, if only to at least keep the giant’s attention off the people. Inspired by his selflessness, Megara brings back Philoctetes, who consuls a beaten, battered Hercules. He may have lost his strength, but he still has his mind. So he uses his wit to outsmart and trip the cyclops to its death. But just as a loose pillar comes falling down to kill the weakened demigod, Megara pushes him out of the way and she’s crushed in his place. Seeing what she’s done and struggling to lift the pillar, Hercules’ old strength returns to him. Megara tells Hercules not to worry and to go stop Hades and the Titans. Which he does, much to a very elated and proud Zeus and fellow Olympians. Then she dies. Philoctetes tries to comfort Hercules, that there’s some things that even his strength can’t change. Undaunted, Hercules goes down to the Underworld to retrieve Megara’s soul from Hades. Now wise to his tricks, he attempts to make his own deal with the God of the Underworld: Trade her soul for his. Hades opts not to deal, claiming it’s too late, but that Hercules is welcome to try and get his lover’s soul back from the river Styx before she drifts away anyway. So that’s what he does. Hercules dives into Styx’s waters, the anti-life energies aging him and wasting him away, yet he persists the deeper he swims. And just as he’s about to have his life cut by the Fates, something else happens. In risking his life to save those he loves, Hercules reawakens his full godliness that had been lying dorment and seemingly taken away from him as a child, and rises out of the river Styx with Megara’s spirit in his arms. Hades is naturally shocked and outraged, and tries to stop the newly ascended Hercules from leaving, only for the reborn god to sock him away. Hercules revives Megara and is lifted up back to Mount Olympus. In risking everything to save those he loves and those who look up to him, Hercules had learned by himself what it meant to be a true hero. “For a true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.” Zeus opens the doors to Olympus for Hercules, for he had finally earned his place to come home and stand amongst the Gods of Olympus. The keyword being EARNED. He may have been the son of Zeus, but Zeus wanted Hercules to earn his place, to learn and understand what it meant to truly stand on the mountain top. But Hercules doesn’t go with Zeus back to Olympus. He may have earned his place among his own kind, but at the same time he’s not of them. He realizes that in his hero’s journey, he had indeed found his home. A home he had carved out for himself in Thebes with his own hands. Much as he wants to be in Olympus with his father and fellow gods, Hercules opts not to return. For to be up there without the company of his friends and loved ones would only lead to a lonely existence. So with Zeus’ blessing he goes back down to Earth to live with Megara and the mortals that have accepted him. He truly had found where he belonged.

The point I have with this long thread is that while much can be argued about Disney’s Hercules as an adaptation of the myth (Hades is especially woefully inaccurate to his mythological counterpart, much as I absolutely LOVE James Woods and his superb performance), I actually think that the film has aged very well and is just a really damn good character study. And a brilliant one that beautifully tells the exploits of a man finding acceptence in a world he wasn’t meant for, finding his own path and earning his place through the value of hard work. We have here in this version of “Hercules” a man who does not fit anywhere among us mortals and yet he tries his absolute damndest to be accepted regardless. Only to then discover what he is and where he was meant to be, where he was accepted for what he is. But at the same time he does not know who he is and must discover that answer for himself. In finding himself, who he is and what it means to accomplish great things, Hercules not only earns his place in the sun but also created a place for himself he can call home. His hard work to get where he is with those who love and respect him ultimately fulfills his sense of purpose and self worth. Admittedly the basic story isn’t wholly original for it’s one that can be found in many other stories in other mediums in different countries. The Japanese series Naruto especially comes to mind, about a ninja who’s an outcast in his village due to circumstances that were not within his control, but through hard work and determination he earns the respect of his peers. But all the same, the way Disney’s Hercules handles that same story sticks out in my mind as an excellent example of how to do it right regardless. It’s honestly stories like this that makes me truly long for the old Disney, back when Hollywood and Western media actually KNEW how to write good characters. Where morality tales weren’t vapid and hamfisted in our faces. Where “wokeness” and hackneyed decisions by corporate SJW pandering didn’t plague us as they do now. Where responsibility actually meant something. And the lessons of Disney’s Hercules and how well they were utilized especially still ring true in my mind long afterwards, which is why I can’t help but appreciate it as a film more in this day and age. The values of self respect and duty. Duty not just for its own sake or just for those who accept you, but duty to yourself. And that through your own strength and hard work, you to can also go the distance.

Anyway that’s my thoughts on this movie. What are you guys’ thoughts? Any other movies of the hero’s journey, Disney or otherwise that should be mentioned? Comment below.

• This topic was modified 4 years ago by AlexKogan54.