50 Fun Facts About Hercules

Which directing duo made Disney's animated Hercules (1997)?

The pair had just come off a huge hit and took Hercules on partly as a deal to get their passion project Treasure Planet greenlit.

Who voices Hades, the fast-talking lord of the Underworld?

He was hired in October 1995 after a string of other actors read for the part, and he ad-libbed much of his dialogue.

Who voices Phil, the grumpy satyr who trains heroes?

The part was written with him in mind; he finally signed on at a pasta lunch during the filming of Matilda.

Tate Donovan speaks for the adult Hercules, but who provides his singing voice?

Josh Keaton voiced the teenage Hercules but his singing was re-recorded, so the same singer covers both ages.

Before voicing Megara, Susan Egan had played which Disney heroine on Broadway?

Alan Menken initially blocked her from auditioning, arguing that a cynical Meg should sound nothing like her sweet stage role.

Which actor was cast as Hades in 1994 and let go after nine months of trying to make the character work?

After his exit, a parade of actors including Ron Silver, James Coburn and even producer Robert Evans read for the role.

Which star agreed to play Hades in Hercules but left after demanding half the merchandise profits?

He toured the animation studio with his daughter dressed as Snow White before talks collapsed over the money.

Which British cartoonist served as the film's production designer, giving it its angular look?

The directors remembered his Time magazine cover of the Beatles, and he ended up producing more than 700 drawings from his London home.

Alan Menken composed the songs with which lyricist?

It was the last film of the Disney Renaissance to feature Menken's music, and the score leans on gospel and Broadway styles.

How many Muses narrate the film in gospel style?

Greek myth counts nine Muses; Disney kept Calliope, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Thalia and Clio.

"Go the Distance" lost the Academy Award for Best Original Song to which track?

The Titanic ballad also beat it at the Golden Globes the same season.

Which singer recorded the pop version of "Go the Distance" heard over the end credits?

His single peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks atop the Adult Contemporary chart.

A song cut from the film, "Shooting Star", appears on the soundtrack CD sung by which boy band?

It was one of two songs written for the hero; only one made the final cut.

What are the names of Hades' two shape-shifting imp henchmen?

Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer voice the pair, who quietly decide not to tell their boss they botched the job on baby Hercules.

Why does the infant Hercules keep his god-like strength after being fed the mortality potion?

A passing farmer couple scared off the imps mid-feeding, then adopted the baby.

The Fates tell Hades that a planetary alignment will free the Titans in how many years?

The catch is that the plan only works if Hercules does not interfere, which is why the baby has to go.

Hercules regains his godhood by leaping into which river of the Underworld to rescue Meg's soul?

The act of risking his life for her is what finally makes him a 'true hero'.

The computer-animated Hydra in the film was designed with how many heads?

Thirteen animators and technical directors spent about a year and a half on the four-minute battle.

Which supervising animator, previously known for Gaston, Jafar and Scar, drew the adult Hercules?

He was offered Hades first but asked for the hero instead, wanting a non-villain in his repertoire.

The directors modeled Meg on which classic Hollywood actress?

They drew on 1930s screwball comedies, casting Hercules as a young Jimmy Stewart type.

What was the film's production budget?

It grossed about $253 million worldwide, a disappointment next to the previous Disney hits.

On its wide-release weekend in June 1997, Hercules finished second at the box office behind which film?

The action thriller took $23.3 million to Hercules' $21.5 million, and Disney's stock dipped nearly 10 percent as the numbers came in.

Under what title was the film released in Greece after local backlash?

The Greek government also declined Disney's plan for an open-air premiere on Pnyx hill.

Which screen legend has a cameo as the film's opening narrator before the Muses take over?

The Muses cut him off, complaining that he is making the story sound like a Greek tragedy.

In Hercules: The Animated Series, the teenage hero attends which high school?

The syndicated prequel ran 52 episodes, with 13 more airing on ABC's One Saturday Morning block.

One episode of the animated series was a crossover with which other Disney film?

The episode is titled "Hercules and the Arabian Night"; the series was produced by Tad Stones, who had run that film's own TV spin-off.

In the Kingdom Hearts video games, Hercules' home world is called what?

It hosts optional fighting tournaments, and Hades proved so popular that Kingdom Hearts II added the Underworld beneath it.

Which director signed on in 2022 to helm Disney's live-action Hercules remake?

The Russo brothers are producing through their AGBO banner and have described it as a modern musical inspired by TikTok.

The stage musical of Hercules premiered in 2019 at which venue?

It ran as part of Shakespeare in the Park; a revised version later played New Jersey in 2023 and the West End in 2025.

In Greek myth, who was Heracles' mortal mother?

Zeus disguised himself as her husband and, by one account, ordered the sun not to rise so the night would last three times as long.

The name Heracles means 'glory of Hera'. What name was he given at birth?

The rename was meant to appease Hera, who sent two snakes into his cradle when he was eight months old.

According to myth, what was created when Hera pushed the nursing infant Heracles away from her breast?

Athena had brought the abandoned baby to Hera, who nursed him without recognizing him.

Which king assigned Heracles his labours?

The Delphic oracle sent Heracles into his cousin's service as penance after Hera's madness made him kill his own family.

Which nephew helped Heracles kill the Hydra by burning the stumps of its severed heads?

Because of that help, the king refused to count the labour, which is one reason ten tasks became twelve.

The Ceryneian Hind that Heracles chased for a year was sacred to which goddess?

The task was a trap: the king hoped capturing the deer would bring the goddess's wrath down on the hero.

How did Heracles clean the Augean stables in a single day?

The stables had gone decades without cleaning; the labour was later discounted partly because he had asked for payment.

The Cretan Bull that Heracles captured was the father of which creature?

After showing the bull to the king, Heracles let it go and it wandered to Marathon.

Who fetched the golden apples of the Hesperides while Heracles held up the sky?

The Titan tried to leave Heracles holding the heavens forever, but was tricked into taking them back so the hero could 'adjust his cloak'.

On what condition did Hades allow Heracles to take Cerberus from the Underworld?

Heracles wrestled the three-headed dog bare-handed, and the terrified king begged him to take it straight back.

Heracles died after his wife Deianira gave him a shirt soaked in the poisoned blood of which centaur?

The centaur's blood was tainted by the Hydra venom on Heracles' arrows, and the burning shirt drove the hero to his own funeral pyre on Mount Oeta.

After ascending to Olympus as a god, Heracles married which goddess as his fourth and final wife?

She was Hera's own daughter, marking the end of the goddess's lifelong feud with him.

In myth, what did Philoctetes receive for agreeing to light Heracles' funeral pyre?

The Greeks would later need those weapons to win the Trojan War; Disney borrowed the name for its satyr trainer.

Which Roman emperor was notorious for identifying himself with Hercules?

Maximian did the same later; in Rome the Greek Heracles was known by the Latin form of the name.

Who played the title role in the 1990s TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys?

The show was filmed in New Zealand and became one of the highest-rated syndicated series in the world.

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys spawned which hit spin-off starring Lucy Lawless?

A second spin-off, Young Hercules, followed on Fox Kids.

Which future movie star played the lead in the 1998 Fox Kids series Young Hercules?

He took over from Ian Bohen, who had played the young hero in the pilot movie.

Who starred as Hercules in the 2014 Brett Ratner film about a mercenary hired by the king of Thrace?

It was one of two Hollywood Hercules films that year, and was based on Steve Moore's graphic novel The Thracian Wars.

Which American bodybuilder starred in the 1958 Italian film Hercules?

Directed by Pietro Francisci, it folds the hero into the quest for the Golden Fleece and got a 1959 sequel, Hercules Unchained.

Under what name was Schwarzenegger credited in his 1970 acting debut, Hercules in New York?

His lines were dubbed because of his accent; the film was later sold on video as Hercules Goes Bananas.

In the 1983 Lou Ferrigno film, Hercules battles which wizard-king wielding 'science'?

Written and directed by Luigi Cozzi for Cannon Films, it recycled ideas from his sci-fi film Starcrash and got a 1985 sequel.