Wednesday, November 2, 2016
The Myth of Heracles vs. Disney's Hercules
I noticed that quite a lot of the mythology was cut out of Disney's Hercules. For one, Hera didn't hate him in the Disney version, instead she was his mom, and Hades hated him. So, Hercules didn't have fits of anger, which made him a more stable guy. However, he still didn't really know his own strength in the beginning of the movie, which leads into point two: in the Disney version, it is very clear that the people who knew Hercules didn't like him for fear of his strength. Another fun difference is that is that Hercules is depicted as having been originally a god, and that he has a Pegasus. As Hades is depicted as the antagonist to Hercules' protagonist in this version, he's the one who caused Hercules to become mortal the first time. Hades is in some way resposible for like all of the fights that Hercules was supposed to encounter in the myth: the centaur, the Hydra, the cyclops, etc. Finally, instead of him killing Megara, in the Disney version, he is first betrayed by her and then sacrifices his own life for hers. On the other hand, I liked that Disney left out the parts of the myths that made Hercules a problematic guy. However, it's hard to say what to keep since the movie is honestly so different from the original myths. Despite that, I'd say you probably could've still included the part in mythos where Hercules visited Delphi, and also the part where he had to do the twelve labors for King Eurystheus.
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All the differences you pointed out are true! To add to the changes of Hercules' identity, he grows up they children of poor farmers not a king. Every change takes away from the myth and builds on the Disney stereotype. It is fantastic coming of age story meant to inspire modern children and make enough references to New York City for their parents to laugh. I agree that adding Delphi would have strengthened the part of the film where he is arguing with Zeus in his temple that he is already a hero deserving to be a god. Walking from the Oracle with the tripod would have shown his temporary arrogance, making his final deed of saving Meg all the more emotionally significant.
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