Hercules (1998 TV series)

Disney's Hercules: The Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the 1997 film of the same name and the Greek myth. The series premiered in syndication on August 31, 1998, and on ABC through its Disney's One Saturday Morning block on September 12, 1998.[1] The syndicated run lasted 52 episodes, while the ABC run lasted 13 episodes.[2]

Hercules
Also known asDisney's Hercules: The Animated Series
Genre
Based onHercules
by Walt Disney Animation Studios
Directed byPhil Weinstein
Starring
Theme music composerAlan Menken
Composer(s)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Tad Stones
Producer(s)
Running time23 minutes
Production company(s)
DistributorBuena Vista Television
Release
Original network
Picture format
Original releaseAugust 31, 1998 (1998-08-31) –
March 1, 1999 (1999-03-01)

Plot

The series follows Hercules, as a teenager, training as a hero, as well as trying to adjust to life. With his free-spirited friend Icarus, his future-seeing friend Cassandra, and his teacher Philoctetes ("Phil"), he battles his evil uncle Hades. Like all teenagers, though, Hercules has to worry about peer pressure when the snobbish prince Adonis ridicules him. The series notably contradicts several events in the original film.

Episodes
Main article: List of Hercules (1998 TV series) episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
152August 31, 1998 (1998-08-31)March 1, 1999 (1999-03-01)Syndicated
213September 12, 1998 (1998-09-12)January 16, 1999 (1999-01-16)ABC

Characters
Main article: List of Disney's Hercules characters

A majority of the cast from the film reprised their roles for the series.

  • Hercules (voiced by Tate Donovan) – The god-turned-mortal hero-in-training, thus, he is half-mortal, half-god. He is the son of both Zeus and Hera (in contrast to the myth).
  • Philoctetes (voiced by Robert Costanzo) – The satyr hero trainer is one of the few characters from the movie whose voice actor (Danny DeVito) who did not return.
  • Pegasus (voiced by Frank Welker) – The winged horse "with the brain of a bird" formed from clouds by Zeus, he is the childhood pet and faithful companion of his owner Hercules.
  • Icarus (voiced by French Stewart) – Hercules' best friend, the boy who escaped from a labyrinth with his father on wax wings appears as a complete nut (he was "brain-fried" by flying too close to the Sun). Despite his accident, Icarus still flies every chance he gets resulting in a few more encounters with the Sun and other perils, often requiring Hercules to rescue him. Icarus is very adaptive, hence could adjust to about every situation, except when he is very jealous and acts irrationally. He could become an ultraserious soldier at boot camp or a nearly identical version of Hades himself. Thankfully, at the end of each episode, he reverts to his own odd self. He is also completely obsessed with Cassandra and flirts with her at every opportunity he gets. His father, Daedalus (voiced by David Hyde Pierce), is a teacher in the academy and Icarus does not acknowledge his parents' divorce. When Icarus graduates, he goes into inventing with his father and makes a fortune, earning the commercial title "Icarus, the Wax-Wing King".
  • Cassandra (voiced by Sandra Bernhard) – The Trojan War prophet appears as an attractive, yet antisocial girl, who has visions of the future (usually bad) once in a while, which are rarely believed. Icarus is obsessed with marrying her, though she has shown she has no reciprocation. She tolerated his presence even before Hercules joined the trio because otherwise, she would have had no friends, but even after she gained Hercules as a friend, she still continues to socialize with Icarus and even admitted to him that she considers him a good friend. After graduating, she joins the Oracle Friends Network.
  • Zeus (voiced by Corey Burton) – Hercules' father and king of the gods, he is always ready to provide advice on hero work, but is often prone to mistakes and recklessness, himself.
  • Hades (voiced by James Woods) – Ruler of the Underworld as well as Hercules' uncle and nemesis, he is wisecracking, devious, and hot-tempered; he constantly schemes to steal control of Mount Olympus from his brother Zeus.
  • Pain and Panic (voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer) – Two tiny shapeshifting demons, they are Hades's bumbling henchmen.

Guest stars: A few guest stars who have ended up on the show are Merv Griffin, Jennifer Aniston, and Lisa Kudrow. With Aniston, Kudrow, and Tate Donovan, it became a Friends minireunion. While on Friends, Donovan played Aniston's love interest Joshua. He became a part of the show, right after his marriage to Aniston ended. Also, while they were dating, Aniston became a part of one episode called "Hercules and the Dream Date", in which she played Hercules' love interest, Gallatea, who was sculpted from clay.

Production

Development

The series was produced by Tad Stones, who had previously done Aladdin. The directors of Hercules, John Musker and Ron Clements, jokingly said to him while the film was being produced: "Hey, Tad, we're doing a pilot for a series". The producers decided that the irreverence of the movie would be captured more easily by setting it within the events of the movie, with Stones declaring that "by ignoring continuity and trying to stay true to the elements of humor and adventure in the film, we came up with a much stronger series that really stands on its own". Since James Woods signed to voice Hades again, along with most of the cast of the film, many big-name actors were interested in taking part on the show. Over 150 celebrities took a part in the series, some self-lampooning: Merv Griffin played a griffin talk show host, game show host Wink Martindale played a riddle-expert sphinx and Mike Connors, famous for Mannix, played Athenian policeman Chipacles (named after CHiPs).[3]

Disney's revamping of Greek legend moved to the small screen in the late summer of 1998. Disney's Hercules had the Greek god still in "geek god" mode, before his "Zero to Hero" transformation. In the series, "Herc" was enrolled at Prometheus Academy, a school for both gods and mortals. Since events occur before young Herc meets and falls for the lovely Megara (Meg), he is joined by two new friends Cassandra (voiced by comedian Sandra Bernhard) and Icarus (voiced by French Stewart).

Animation

The animated television series' episodes and the direct-to-video film Hercules: Zero to Hero were animated by Toon City Animation, Inc. in Manila, Philippines, Walt Disney Animation Australia, Walt Disney Animation Japan, Studios Basara, Tama Productions, Delta Peak Productions, Frontier Pictures, Win Wood Productions, Nakamura Productions, Wang Films Productions Co., Ltd. and Thai Wang Films Productions Co., Ltd., Hanho Heung-Up Co., Ltd., Plus One Animation, Inc., Sunmin Image Pictures Co., Ltd., Sunwoo Animation, Korea, Hana Animation, Jade Animations International Co., Ltd. and a New Zealand studio called Slightly Off Beat Productions NZ Co., Ltd. which was also based in the other countries of Seoul, Korea, Xindian District, Taipei, Taiwan and Japan.

Broadcast

In 2000, Hercules moved to the now-defunct channel Toon Disney, where it continued airing until 2008. Disney XD aired the series for the first time in June 2011, when the channel launched in Canada.[4]

On November 12, 2019, the series returned to Disney+.

Reception

Critical

CommonSenseMedia gave the series a rating of 4 stars out of 5, noting that this "better-than-average spinoff has heart and brawn."[5] Calhoun Times and Gordon County News gave the series 3 stars out of 4.[6]

Awards and nominations
Year Nominee / work Award Result
1999 Jennifer E. Mertens, Robert Duran, Paca Thomas, Marc Perlman, Brian F. Mars, Melissa Ellis, Robbi Smith, Robert Poole III, Rick Hammel, Kenneth D. Young, Charles Rychwalski, Eric Hertsgaard, William Kean, David Lynch and Otis Van Osten Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing – Special Class Nominated
1999 Casey Stone for episode "Twilight of the Gods" Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing – Television Animation – Music Nominated
2000 James Woods for playing "Hades" Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program Won
2000 French Stewart for playing "Icarus" Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program Nominated
2000 Marc S. Perlman, Robert Duran and Paca Thomas Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing – Special Class Nominated
2000 Joseph LoDuca ASCAP Award for Top TV Series Won

Movie: Zero to Hero

Four episodes of Hercules were reformatted into the movie Hercules: Zero to Hero and released to home video. The episode "Hercules and the Yearbook" serves as the linking narrative, with random clips replaced with the episodes "Hercules and the First Day of School", "Hercules and the Grim Avenger" and "Hercules and the Visit From Zeus". Some of the dialogue between Hercules and Meg was altered to fit the episodes.

References
  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 278. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 260–261. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. Disney's Little Big Screen: Turning Animated Features Into TV Series, Animation World Magazine
  4. Disney XD Canada
  5. "Hercules – TV Review".
  6. "Calhoun Times and Gordon County News – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
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