Hercules – 1997 – ep 133

"Hercules! Hercules Hercules!" - some Eddie Murphy character not in Disney's "Hercules." The first half of the 1990s was a pinnacle for Disney Animation. After the run of "The Little Mermaid" (technically 1989), "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King" (plus Pixar's debut "Toy Story" in 1995), the studio had nowhere to go but down, though many Old Millennials (us included) will vouch for the likes of "Mulan" and "Pocahontas." But "Hercules?" Man, "Hercules" is weird. Trying to Disney-fi grisly mythology is a daunting task all on its own. Then attempt to add songs, an underdeveloped female pro/antagonist, and a rambling James Woods as Hades. It's a colorful movie but messy as a functional narrative. That's not even mentioning Danny DeVito doing a dry run for Frank Reynolds on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and, look, that sounds good on paper, but his sidekick character Phil might be a sex predator, which seems a little out of place here. Old Millennials hosts Tyler and Angela try to remember if they ever even saw "Hercules" back in the 90s. They did, but, you know, it's not that memorable. Plenty to discuss nevertheless, including a nerdy breakdown of how the movie squanders its best song, "Go the Distance," by splitting it up into 20-second segments in between expository dialogue. The Old Millennials also attempt to decipher Meg, a character with a fiery personality and a muddled backstory. We'd rather watch a movie all about Meg and why she appears to be indebted to Hades. Hercules is a dullard. Plain toast. Maybe a little  margarine. You may believe it's butter, but you won't believe they created such a dull lead for this movie. Also discussed on this episode of Old Millennials Remember Movies Thor: Love & Thunder (2022) Lightyear (2022) Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) The Gray Man (2022) ChickenHare (2022) Army of One (2016)