Disney’s Hercules: A Hero’s Journey
Disney’s Hercules: A Hero’s Journey
By: SAN JUAN, Rendel P.
Before
starting I just want to point out some of the changes Disney changed, the first
one being the name of the main character ‘Hercules’. Hercules is the Roman
counterpart of Heracles in Greek mythology and since the name of the gods are
obviously from the Greek pantheon and this might be just a conscious change for
Disney as Hercules rolls off the tongue better. Then there was Hercules’
parents, in the movie he was said to be the son of Zeus and Hera but in
actuality Hercules is the son of Zeus and one of his countless mistresses in
this case Alcemene, “Heracles,/The son of Zeus (but of the house of
Amphitryon)/Who used merciless bronze to despoil the monster/With Iolaos’ help
and Athena’s strategy” (Hesiod, line 316-319). This obviously made Hera extremely
angry and Zeus trying to appease her wrath and hoping that Hercules can avoid
it as well he was given her namesake Hera which made his name Heracles. So
unlike in the Disney’s Hercules, Hera loathes Hercules to the point that he
tries to make him suffer at every turn which can be seen in lines 315-316
Hesiod’s Theogony, “The Lernaian Hydra that the white-armed goddess Hera
nourished, infinitely peeved with Heracles”. This was changed due to the fact
that it was a kid’s movie and the topic of adultery is not really a
child-friendly topic and that also goes to the whole story of Heracles.
Moving on to the Disney film “Hercules”
it has all the elements of the hero’s journey proposed by Joseph Campbell in
his book “Hero with a Thousand Face” which breaks down the common elements in a
hero’s stories across many cultures. It has ten steps: the ordinary world; the
call to adventure; crossing the first threshold; trails, friends, and foes;
magical mentor; dragon’s lair; moment of despair; ultimate treasure; homeward
bound; and lastly, rebirth and the champion’s return. This can be seen in the
movie and this will be a run-down on how it was shown.
First, we have the ordinary world where we are shown the prologue or scenes the show the everyday lives of our soon to be heroes and this was the part where we see how Hercules lives with his parents and how he does not fit in society due to his supernatural strength which made him be treated as an outcast. But this all changes when he during his music number it was revealed to him that he was adopted which in turn was the trigger or his call to adventure, where the hero’s life is turn on its head and the status quo changes.
The 3rd step, crossing the first threshold or when our hero first dipped his toes in the unfamiliar world, and the 4th step, trails, friends, and foes or the first challenge where the he meets challenges and aid, were combined in one scene the 3rd being when he met Zeus, King of the gods and his real father, and he encounters mystical elements for the first time which symbolizes going over the gap between the familiar and unfamiliar world. The 4th step was shown when Zeus gave him the task to prove himself as a hero while also giving him a companion, Pegasus.
Phil/Philoctetes
The 6th step, the dragon’s lair, the upgraded version of the 3rd step, where the 3rd step is the tutorial while the 6th step is the mid-boss stage of a game. This is when Hercules, after training under the tutelage of Phil, needs to go out into the world and prove his worth as a hero by achieving hero-worthy feats that would be recognised by both the humans and the gods, such examples are his battle with a centaur, a hydra, a boar, a lion, a bird, a sea monster, a minotaur, a gorgon, and a volcano, which was all cause by Hades the antagonist of the story. Some of these have similarities with the original 12 labours such as the Nemean Lion, the boar, the Lernaean Hydra, the Erymanthian Boar, Stymphalian Birds, and the Creatan Bull are close examples.
Then
we have the 7th step, moment of despair, or the times where our hero
is down for the count or is struggling against something and is in need of help,
this is most likely to be the part where sad music will start to play. Anyways,
this was shown in the parts where Hercules’ companion Pegasus was restrained
and where he and Phil had a fight, it was then top of by how Hercules lost his
power to save the love interest, Meg/Megara, from Hades and the Titans were set
to destroy Mt. Olympus. This was the time where Hercules was powerless, alone,
and betrayed.
The 8th
step is the ultimate treasure, is what the rewards that the hero got after experiencing
despair and overcoming it and other adversaries. The movie shows how Hercules
lost his power but it was later restored by Meg sacrificing herself and by doing so Hercules was able to defeat Hades and the Titans that were attacking
Olympus. However, he still needs to save Meg which can be defined as one of the
ultimate treasures in the movie along with the return of his godhood.
Hercules and Megara in the Underworld
The 9th
step, homeward bound or where the hero travels back to the familiar world, and
the 10th step, rebirth and the champion’s return or the return to
the familiar world, was once again combined into one scene. The 9th
being that now that Hercules achieved his goals which was to be a hero and be
able to return to Mt. Olympus and go to his “familiar” world as he was
originally a god turned human and then god again, but he rejected it to stay in
the mortal realm which what he considers his familiar world and thus reaching the
10th and final step of the hero’s journey as proposed by Joseph
Campbell.
It is fascinating to see that an
animated movie still follows the format that cultures around the world follows
when it comes to telling a story of a hero on a quest and how many story will
fit this format even if things like dragons, magic, gods, and the supernatural
are not found in the story. Even the lives of people in the real world may fit
this format if you analyse where they are now and what they have achieve so
far. I wonder where I am in my hero’s journey. Where do you think you are in your
journey?
Reference:
Atsma,
A. (2017). Hesiod theogony. Theoi Project. Retrieved March 16, 2021 from https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html?fbclid=IwAR1RcxW9MomPI1QLdaUTA37eRDwVdKyLZzEDdPaZ0MhufZidfJk8APhMhv0
Jeffrey, S. (n.d.). Hero's Journey Steps: 10 Stages to Joseph Campbell's Monomyth. Retrieved March
16, 2021 from
Image
sources:
Disney’s
Hercules and Greek’s Heracles:
https://thehorizonsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BeFunky-collage-900x900.jpg
Zeus
and Pegasus:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/pe8AAOSw7IpbQy8S/s-l400.jpg
Phil/Philoctetes:
12 Labors of Heracles:
https://www.greekmythology.com/images/mythology/labours_of_heracles_image_326.jpg
Hades
and Megara:
Hercules
and Megara in the Underworld:
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-a651c081da299b470fcfd72b3fe98abe
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