Change My Mind: "Hercules" is the best Disney film

Cassie Mammone

25.12.2025

Translation: machine translated

The Disney library has grown considerably in recent decades thanks to the acquisition of various brands. Nevertheless, no film could hold a candle to "Hercules" from 1997.

Some films are shown more often on TV at home than others during the Christmas period. These include «Kevin - Home Alone», «Love Actually», the entire «Harry Potter» series, but also numerous Disney films.

The best of them I watch several times a year and has been around for 28 years: «Hercules». The animated film was released in 1997 at a time before streaming services and major brand acquisitions. Back then, I borrowed a friend's video cassette and played it on and off - it wasn't until I was an adult that I realised this wasn't good for the medium. Sorry, my dear!

In my - very subjective - opinion, «Hercules» is and remains the best Disney film of all time. Here are four and a half reasons why.

1) Timeless story with a beautiful message

It is of course very gratifying when the story is based on a world-famous legend. «Hercules» is based on the eponymous hero and demigod «Heracles» from Greek mythology. Although the film only tells a condensed and modified version of the story, it remains comprehensible, captivating and emotional.

The story begins with Hercules being separated from his parents - the gods Zeus and Hera - shortly after his birth. Zeus' brother, Hades, is to blame. He wants to give up his rule over the underworld and take his brother's place as king of the gods instead. However, according to the three goddesses of fate, he will only succeed if Hercules does not intervene. For Hades, this means that it would be best if the actually immortal boy god ... well ... let's just say that he would no longer be with us.

However, instead of killing little Hercules, Hades' assistants Pech und Schwefel make him mortal through a mishap «only» and conceal this from their master. This gives Hercules the chance to one day become an immortal god again and thwart Hades' plans - his hero's journey begins. Literally. Because Hercules can only return to Olympus if he proves himself to be a true hero.

But what exactly makes a «true» hero?

Hercules dedicates himself to training and becomes the strongest, most daring and boldest monster slayer in Greece. But that's not enough: strength and courage alone don't make a hero. It's time for him to outgrow his superficial image and learn that there's more to being a hero.

When Hercules finally achieves his goal at the end of the film, the moment is beautiful and, above all, rewarding: he would have been prepared to sacrifice his own life for that of his beloved. This act of selflessness gives him the long-awaited hero status. Hercules could ascend to Olympus to join his parents as a god - but the selflessness that arises from his love prevents him from doing so. Hercules prefers to remain a mortal with his beloved Meg and his friends.

«Hercules» is a feel-good film for a child audience and therefore not particularly profound. But that doesn't take anything away from the message and the mood.

2) «Divine» humour

The story of «Hercules» has a dramatic core. However, the producers have built so much humour into it that it is easily digestible and also incredibly funny. Even today, I can still quote far too many passages. Without context, however, it probably sounds a bit bizarre when I laugh about Hades getting so warm at heart that he thinks he's choked on a chilli «» .

Admittedly: In the English original, where acting and dubbing legend James Woods plays the choleric god, some of the puns are even better. The same passage in which Hades is moved by Baby Hercules reads: «I haven't been this choked up since I got a hunk of moussaka caught in my throat!».

In fact, Woods didn't just voice his Hades, but completely redefined him for the film. Originally, the god of the underworld was conceived as a rather slow, menacing villain - a classic Disney villain with gravitas. Woods turned it into a hyper-nervous, cynical Hollywood agent on a permanent coffee. That didn't come from the script, but from himself. And because of his fast pace of speech, the illustrators sometimes even struggled to keep up. But the effort was definitely worth it.

With its release in 1997, «Hercules» appeared at a time when Disney was bringing a lot of humour to the screens. «Mulan» and «A Kingdom for a Llama» were also released at the turn of the millennium and follow a similar path, which hardly any modern or older film hits so well.

The terrific humour is evident from the very first minute of «Hercules»: the image pans across numerous antiques. The narrator starts slowly and finally poses the philosophical question of when a hero is a true hero - the core question of the film. But here he is directly interrupted by the muses:

«Are you serious? As if the whole thing were a classic tragedy. Not so violent, sweetie. Now it's our turn, sweetheart.»

And here begins the first of many brilliant songs.

3) Upbeat songs with a catchy tune

I love the music of «Hercules». In addition to the first version of «Every Word is True», songs like «In Sekunden auf Hundert» can also be heard.

It's not just the muses and Hercules who deliver catchy songs. His beloved Meg also faces her dilemma of being in love by singing - without any princess flair:

Suddenly there was not only singing, but also narration, commentary and musical theatre. Menken took this approach further and wrote music and songs for «Beauty and the Beast», «Aladdin», «Pocahontas», «The Hunchback of Notre Dame» and - yes - also for «Hercules». He won a total of eight Oscars during this phase. And his music still characterises Disney today.

So in that sense, «Hercules» isn't doing anything new. If I'm honest, it probably doesn't do anything particularly outstanding by Disney standards either. The many songs from films that have become ingrained in our collective cinematic memory will probably underline that.

4) Timeless animation style

Last but not least, the animation style of «Hercules» is both timeless and unique. The characters and the world of the film are stylised and do not appear outdated even 28 years after its release.

No wonder: in 1997, the era of hand-drawn animated films was not yet over. Back then, 3D technology was still in its infancy. In any case, the current advances in technology and the production company's budget are much more apparent in three-dimensional animated films. This is why, in comparison, «Toy Story», which was released just two years before «Hercules», has aged less well.

And yet hand-drawn 2D animated films from Disney are a thing of the past. «Kiss the Frog» and «Winnie the Pooh» from 2009 and 2011 respectively were the last two examples. This marked the end of an era that would still have a right to exist today. After all: animation studio Pixar, which belongs to Disney, only recently announced that it intends to produce its first hand-drawn film.

Bonus: The action game

The final reason why I love «Hercules» so much is the video game of the same name, which was released the same year as the film.

The «Hercules» action game is by no means a masterpiece. But it enhances my experience of the film in a valuable way by turning short moments from the film into whole levels. These include the training with Phil, the journey to the centaur Nessus and all the adventures in the city of Thebes. There I have to dodge sheep that are struck by lightning or collect coins from suspicious sundial dealers on the street. This makes me remember the chaotic city from the film even better.

The game doesn't touch the story of the film. It remains the same and is retold with poorly resolved cutscenes. The levels offer me deeper insights into the story without twisting it. Without being a brilliant game, «Hercules» still masters this element perfectly.

I have more of the world that has kept me glued to the TV for so many hours - and the world from my favourite Disney film. Divine.

Which is your favourite Disney film and why?

Cassie Mammone

Freelance Editor

cassie.mammone.freelance@gmail.com

I wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.

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