Hercules is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 35th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is loosely based on the legendary hero Heracles (known in the film by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology.
Development of Hercules began in 1992 following a pitch adaptation of the Heracles mythological stories by animator Joe Haidar. Meanwhile, Ron Clements and John Musker re-developed their idea for Treasure Planet following the critical and commercial success of Aladdin. Their project was removed from development in 1993, and Musker and Clements joined Hercules later that same year. Following an unused treatment by Haidar, Clements and Musker studied multiple interpretations of Greek mythology before abandoning Zeus's adulterous affair with Alcmene. The project underwent multiple story treatments and a first script draft being inspired by the screwball comedy films of the classic Hollywood era and popular culture of the 1990s before Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Mecchi were brought on-board to shorten the script and deliver additional humor. British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe was recruited as production designer where over seven hundred visualization designs of the characters were produced, and research trips to Greece and Turkey provided inspiration for the background designs. Animation for the film was done in California and Paris. Computer animation was utilized in several scenes, predominantly in the Hydra battle sequence.
Hercules was released on June 27, 1997 to positive reviews from film reviewers who praised James Woods's portrayal of Hades. Despite the positive critical reception, the film under-performed in its theatrical release notably in comparison to its predecessors before ultimately earning $252.7 million in box office revenue worldwide. Hercules was later followed by the direct-to-video prequel Hercules: Zero to Hero, which served as the pilot to Hercules: The Animated Series, a syndicated Disney TV series focusing on Hercules during his time at the Prometheus academy.
Cast[]
| Image | Character | USA | Mex-USA | Jap | Bra | Can(French) | Ger | Fra | Ita | Pol | Neth | Hun | Swe | Fin | Nor | Den | Gree | Ukr | Cze | Ice | Slo | Alb | Rom | Ser | Russ | Spa(Catalan) | Spa | Por | Kor | Isr |
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Hercules | Tate Donovan | Ricky Martin | Matsuoka Masahiro | Ettore Zuim | Antoine Durand | Til Schweiger | Emmanuel Garijo | Raoul Bova | Jacek Kopczyński | Tony Neef | Hevér Gábor | Niclas Wahlgren | Jarkko Tamminen | Håvard Bakke | JensJacob Tychsen | Sergio Zamora | Miguel Ângelo | Jang DongGeon | Uri Hochman | ||||||||||
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Hercules (Young) | Josh Keaton | Víctor Mares Jr. | Akiyama Jun | Oberdan Júnior | Hugolin ChevretteLandesque | Dominik Auer | Emmanuel Garijo | Stefano Crescentini | Paweł Iwanicki | Rolf Koster | Csőre Gábor | Nick Atkinson | Antti L. J. Pääkkönen | Aksel Hennie | Laus Høybye | Hernan Fernández | RafaelAlonso Naranjo Jr. | Pedro Oliveira | Seo Jae-Gyeong | Ofer Gilbron | |||||||||
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Philoctetes | Danny DeVito | Marcos Valdés | Ichirô Nagai | Isaac Bardavid | Luis De Cespedes | Mogens von Gadow | Patrick Timsit | Giancarlo Magalli | Witold Pyrkosz | Kees van Lier | Balázs Péter | Peter Harryson | Eero Saarinen | Anders Hatlo | Lars Knutzon | Slobodan "Boda"Ninković | Jordi Vila | José Raposo | Kim Jae-Woo | Ohad Shachar | |||||||||
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Hades | James Woods | Rubén Trujillo | Shimada Kyūsaku | Márcio Simões | Jean-Luc Montminy | Arne Elsholtz | Dominique CollignonMaurin | Massimo Venturiello | Paweł Szczesny | Pierre Bokma | Kulka János | Dan Ekborg | Seppo Pääkkönen | Nils Ole Oftebro | Henning Jensen | Pep Antón Muñoz | Fernando Luis | Kim Hwan-jin | Nathan Dantner | ||||||||||
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Megara | Susan Egan | Tatiana | Kudō Shizuka | Renata Lima | Céline Bonnier | Jasmin Tabatabai | Mimi Félixine | Veronica Pivetti | Jolanta Litwin | Jannemien Cnossen | Tóth Auguszta | Myrra Malmberg | Laura Voutilainen | Iren Reppen | Trine Dyrholm | Nuria Mediavilla | Carla de Sá | Lee SeungYun | Noa Tishby | ||||||||||
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Pegasus | Frank Welker | Frank Welker | Frank Welker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zeus | Rip Torn | Guillermo Romano | Wakayama Genzō | Domício Costa | Marcel Sabourin | Wolfgang Dehler | Benoît Allemane | Gianni Musy | Włodzimierz Bednarski | Coen Flink | Tibor Kristóf | Max von Sydow | Esa Saario | Lasse Kolstad | Aage Haugland | Joan Crosas | Claudio Rodríguez | Pedro Pinheiro | On YoungSam | Ariel Forman | |||||||||
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Hera | Samantha Eggar | Beatriz Aguirre | Ikeda Masako | Dolores Machado | Élise Bertrand | Viktoria Brams | Sophie Deschaumes | Aurora Cancian | Joanna Sobieska | Mariëlle Fiolet | Menszátor Magdolna | Louise Raeder | Rinna Paatso | Unn VibekeHol | Ann Hjort | María Luisa Solá | Luísa Salgueiro | Kim Hye-Mi | Yael Perel Backer | ||||||||||
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Calliope theMuseofEpics | Lillas White | Rebeca Manríquez | Takezawa Noriko | Kacau Gomes | Julie Massicotte | Katrin Fröhlich | Mimi Félixine | Emmanuela "Manù"Cortesi | Agata GawrońskaBauman | Ingrid Simons | Radó Denise | Anki Albertsson | Eija Ahvo | Rita Eriksen | Susanne Wiig Kalvåg | Silvia Vilarrasa | Mercedes Montalá | Sara Tavares | Jeon Su-Gyeong | Sinaya Boaz | |||||||||
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Melpomenethe Muse ofTragedy | Cheryl Freeman | Ruth Howard | Makino Mayumi | Marya Bravo | Ute Becker | Jessica Parkers | Paola Repele | Anna Maria Jopek | Babette Labeij | Rácz Kati | Vivian Cardinal | Ami Aspelund | Grethe Svendsen | Gry Harrit | Laura Simó | Paula Bas | Ana Paula Oliveira | Choi JeongWon | Orly Terri | ||||||||||
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Terpsichore the Muse of Dance | LaChanze | Dulce Guerrero | Yûko Mizutani | Sabrina Korgut | Mary Lou Gauthier | Sandra Schwittau | Debbie Davis | Lola Feghaly | Monika Wierzbicka | Laura Vlasblom | Mics Ildikó | Sharon Dyall | Pirjo Aittomäki | Christine Meyer | Pia Trøjgård | Belén Roca | Helen de Quiroga | Susana Félix | Lee Mi-Ra | Sharona Nestovitch | |||||||||
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Thalia the Muse of Comedy | Roz Ryan | María del Sol | Shiraishi Erika | RosaMarya Colin | Jocelyn B. Smith | Assitan Dembélé | Lalla Francia | Miriam Aleksandrowicz | Lucretia vanderVloot | Kocsis Mariann | Gladys del Pilar | Sinikka Sokka | Kari Iveland | Bebiane Bøje | Àngels Gonyalons | Helen de Quiroga | Rita Guerra | Jin Bok-Ja | Dina Golan | ||||||||||
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Clio the Muse of History | Vanéese Y. Thomas | Blanca Flores | Shibata Hozumi | Kiara Sasso | Lana Carbonneau | Tina Schitto | Norma Ray | Paola Folli | Anna Ścigalska | Daniëlle Mulder | Koffler Gizella | Sussie Eriksson | Pirjo Aittomäki | Elisabeth Moberg | Julie Mortensen | Silvia Guillem | María Caneda | Sandra Fidalgo | Jeong Yu-Hui | Etti Kari | |||||||||
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Pain | Bobcat Goldthwait | Javier Rivero | Hiroyuki Nagashima | MarcoAntônio Costa | Bernard Fortin | Stefan Jürgens | Éric Métayer | Zuzzurro | Jarosław Boberek | Jon van Eerd | József Kerekes | Johan Ulveson | Mikko Kivinen | Øystein Bache | Donald Andersen | Juan Fernández | Manuel Cavaco | Lee In-seong | Tomer Sharon | ||||||||||
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Panic | Matt Frewer | Gabriel Cobayassi | Masayoshi Maeshima | Isaac Schneider | François Sasseville | Mirco Nontschew | Éric Métayer | Nino Formicola | Piotr Pręgowski | Reinder van der Naalt | Bartucz Attila | Johan Ulveson | Vesa Vierikko | Rune Gokstad | Thomas Mørk | Valeriy Kukhareshin | Pep Sais | André Maia | Kim Yik-Tae | Tomer Yosef | |||||||||
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Cyclops | Patrick Pinney | Rubén Trujillo | Daisuke Gôri | Donald Arthur | Michel Barbey | Zbigniew Konopka | Pekka Lehtosaari | Harald Mæle | MiguelÁngel Jenner | Carlos Freixo | Shimon Cohen | ||||||||||||||||||
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Amphitryon | Hal Holbrook | Arturo Mercado | Minoru Uchida | Francisco José | Aubert Pallascio | Klaus Abrahamowski | Jean Lescot | Goffredo Matassi | Henryk Machalica | Bert van den Dool | Pataki Imre | Ingemar Carlehed | Eero Sinikannel | Harald Mæle | Jørgen Teytaud | Joaquín Díaz | Jorge SousaeCosta | Jeong Gi-Hang | Itzik Seidoff | ||||||||||
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Alcmene | Barbara Barrie | Guadalupe Noel | Kubota Tamie | Sônia de Moraes | Élizabeth Lesieur | Ute Cremer | Rosine Cadoret | Franca Lumachi | Ewa Ziętek | Marijke Merckens | Judit Czigány | Marie KühlerFlack | Maija-Liisa Peuhu | Inger Teien | Kirsten Cenius | Rosa Guiñón | MargaridaRosa Rodrigues | Lee Seon-yeong | Ruti Holtzman | ||||||||||
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Clotho the Fate | Amanda Plummer | Beatriz Aguirre | Hisako Kyōda | Selma Lopes | Élizabeth Chouvalidzé | Hannelore Gray | Colette Venhard | Elena Magoia | Antonina Girycz | Sylvia de Leur | Gyimesi Pálma | Marie KühlerFlack | Titta Jokinen | Unn VibekeHol | Kirsten Cenius | Marta Martorell | MargaridaRosa Rodrigues | Seong SeonNyeo | Sarit Seri | ||||||||||
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Lachesis the Fate | Carole Shelley | Guadalupe Noel | Nobuyo Tsuda | Elza Martins | Lénie Scoffié | Eva Gelb | Jacqueline Staup | Graziella Polesinanti | Miriam Aleksandrowicz | Hetty Blok | Győri Ilona | Monica Forsberg | Maija-Liisa Peuhu | Sigrun Enge | Bente Eskesen | Carmen Contreras | Luísa Salgueiro | Kim Hye-Mi | Or Azulay | ||||||||||
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Atropos the Fate | Paddi Edwards | Evelyn Solares | Masako Isobe | Nelly Amaral | Arlette Sanders | Eva Maria Bayerwaltes | Perrette Pradier | Paola Giannetti | Krystyna Królówna | Maria Lindes | Kassai Ilona | Monica Forsberg | Inkeri Wallenius | Inger Teien | Grethe Mogensen | Rosa María Pizá | Cucha Carvalheiro | Na Su-Ran | Ruti Holtzman | ||||||||||
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Hermes | Paul Shaffer | Moisés Palacios | Masashi Ebara | Sébastien Dhavernas | Patrice Dozier | Antti Pääkkönen | Kim Fangen | Joan Pera | Carlos Freixo | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Nessus the Centaur | Jim Cummings | Octavio Rojas | Ryuzaburo Otomo | Garcia Júnior | Marc Alfos | Tomasz Marzecki | Veeti Kallio | Ivar Nørve | Juan Carlos Gustems | Carlos Freixo | Shimon Cohen | ||||||||||||||||||
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Apollo the Sun God | Keith David | Jacques Lavallée | Petri Liski | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Demetrius the Pot Marker | Wayne Knight | Rubén Trujillo | Saïd Amadis | Oliviero Dinelli | Eugeniusz Robaczewski | Ossi Ahlapuro | Eduardo Muntada | Paulo B. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Heavyset Woman | Kathleen Freeman | Evelyn Solares | Tomie Kataoka | Ilona Grandke | Antonina Girycz | Mari Nemedi | Louise Raeder | Maija-Liisa Peuhu | Lena Meieran | Grethe Mogensen | Juana Beuter | ||||||||||||||||||
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Burnt Man | Corey Burton | Trond Brænne | Aleix Estadella | Carlos Freixo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tall Theban | Jim Cummings | Octavio Rojas | Ossi Ahlapuro | Ivar Nørve | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Earthquake Lady | Mary Kay Bergman | Rebeca Manríquez | Titta Jokinen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ederly Theban | Jim Cummings | César Árias | Mario Milita | Esa Saario | Harald Mæle | Efron Etkin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Little Boy 1 | Bug Hall | Kalimba Marichal | Andreas Avancini | Csongor Szalay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Little Boy 2 | Kellen Hathaway | Gabriel Ramos | Stefano De Filippis | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rock Titan | Corey Burton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ice Titan | Jim Ward | Jarkko Tamminen | Lars Thiesgaard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lava Titan | Jim Cummings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wind Titan | Corey Burton | Jean-Loup Horwitz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Narrator | Charlton Heston | Carlos Magaña | Hisaya Morishige | Ênio Santos | Vincent Davy | Alexander Kerst | Jean Davy | Oreste Rizzini | Janusz Zakrzeński | Hero Muller | Szabó Gyula | Johan Hedenberg | Lars Svedberg | Henki Kolstad | Henning Moritzen | Constantino Romero | Paco Hernández | António Marques | Lim Jong-Gug | Dov Reiser | |||||||||
Songs[]
| Image | Character | USA | Mex-USA | Jap | Bra | Can(French) | Ger | Fra | Ita | Pol | Neth | Hun | Swe | Fin | Nor | Den | Gree | Ukr | Cze | Ice | Slo | Alb | Rom | Ser | Russ | Spa(Catalan) | Spa | Por | Kor | Isr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Hercules (Young) | Roger Bart | Antonio Benavides | Akiyama Jun | Marcus Menna | Joël Legendre | Fredrik Lycke | Emmanuel Dahl | Alex Baroni | Marek Sośnicki | Rolf Koster | Tombor Zoltán | Stefan Nykvist | Mika Turunen | PerKristian Indrehus | Laus Høybye | Ferrán González | Carlos Coincas | Park SangJun | Ofer Gilbron | ||||||||||
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Philoctetes | Danny DeVito | Marcos Valdés | Ichirô Nagai | Mauro Ramos | Luis De Cespedes | Mogens vonGadow | Patrick Timsit | Giancarlo Magalli | Witold Pyrkosz | Kees van Lier | Balázs Péter | Peter Harryson | Eero Saarinen | Anders Hatlo | Lars Knutzon | Slobodan "Boda"Ninković | Jordi Vila | José Raposo | Kim Jae-Woo | Ohad Shachar | |||||||||
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Megara | Susan Egan | Tatiana | Kudō Shizuka | Kika Tristão | Dominique Faure | Jasmin Tabatabai | Mimi Félixine | Barbara Cola | Natalia Kukulska | Jannemien Cnossen | Nyári Szilvia | Myrra Malmberg | Laura Voutilainen | Anita Hegerland | Trine Dyrholm | Manolita Domínguez | Celia Vergara | Carla de Sá | Lee Yun-Sun | Noa Tishby | |||||||||
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Calliopethe MuseofEpics | Lillas White | Vicky Gutiérrez | Takezawa Noriko | Kacau Gomes | Julie Leblanc | Sabine Hettlich | Mimi Félixine | Emmanuela "Manù"Cortesi | Jolanta Jaszkowska | Ingrid Simons | Tunyogi Bernadett | Anki Albertsson | Eija Ahvo | Rita Eriksen | Susanne WiigKalvåg | Montserrat Ros | Susan Martín | Sara Tavares | Jeon SuGyeong | Sinaya Boaz | |||||||||
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Melpomenethe MuseofTragedy | Cheryl Freeman | Ruth Howard | Makino Mayumi | Marya Bravo | Ute Becker | Jessica Parkers | Paola Repele | Anna Maria Jopek | Babette Labeij | Fehér Adrienn | Vivian Cardinal | Ami Aspelund | Grethe Svendsen | Gry Harrit | Laura Simó | Paula Bas | AnaPaula Oliveira | Choi JeongWon | Orly Terri | ||||||||||
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Terpsichorethe Muse of Dance | LaChanze | Mirna Garza | Fujii Yūka Satoru | Sabrina Korgut | Mary Lou Gauthier | Gundula Ulbrich | Debbie Davis | Lola Feghaly | Olga Bończyk | Laura Vlasblom | Janza Kata | Sharon Dyall | Pirjo Aittomäki | Christine Meyer | Pia Trøjgård | Muntsa Rius | Helen de Quiroga | Susana Félix | Lee Mi-Ra | Sharona Nestovitch | |||||||||
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Thalia the MuseofComedy | Roz Ryan | María del Sol | Shiraishi Erika | RosaMarya Colin | Jocelyn B. Smith | Assitan Dembélé | Lalla Francia | Dorota Marczyk | Lucretia vanderVloot | Erika Naray | Gladys del Pilar | Anneli Saaristo | Kari Iveland | Bebiane Bøje | Àngels Gonyalons | Helen de Quiroga | Rita Guerra | Jin Bok-Ja | Dina Golan | ||||||||||
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Clio the Muse of History | VanéeseY. Thomas | Blanca Flores | Shibata Hozumi | Kiara Sasso | Lana Carbonneau | Tina Schitto | Norma Ray | Paola Folli | Anna Ścigalska | Daniëlle Mulder | Tisza Bea | Sussie Eriksson | Pirjo Aittomäki | Elisabeth Moberg | Julie Mortensen | Silvia Guillem | María Caneda | Sandra Fidalgo | Jeong Yu-Hui | Etti Kari | |||||||||