Hercules
Series, 1998, One Saturday Morning, Set in Hero training
Hercules is #17 of 22 in release order and #17 of 22 in chronological order in the ABC Saturday Morning Cartoons.
The story
Follow Herc's many labors during the years he spent training on how to be a hero under the tutelage of satyr Phil. Many of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses pay visit to the young hero-to-be and help or hinder him in his new adventures.
Hercules recap
Hercules (1998) is a prequel to Disney's 1997 film, following the hero as an awkward teenager in training at the Prometheus Academy. Tad Stones, who had produced Disney's Aladdin series, developed it for Walt Disney Television Animation; 52 episodes ran in syndication from August 31, 1998, and 13 more on ABC's One Saturday Morning from September 12, 1998, for 65 in all, ending March 1, 1999. Most of the film's cast returns: Hercules (Tate Donovan), his trainer Phil (Robert Costanzo), Hades (James Woods) and his imps Pain and Panic (Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer), with Zeus (Corey Burton) and Pegasus (Frank Welker). Since the series takes place before Hercules meets Meg, he has two new friends: Icarus (French Stewart), a hippie "brain-fried" from flying too close to the Sun, and Cassandra (Sandra Bernhard), a gloomy prophet nobody believes. The snobbish Prince Adonis mocks him at school while Hades keeps scheming to seize Olympus. Episodes, nearly all titled "Hercules and the...," mix Greek myth with school life, with guest figures from Medusa to Theseus, and "Hercules and the Arabian Night" crosses over with Aladdin as Jafar teams up with Hades. The series often contradicts events of the film it leads into.
Hercules ending explained
Hercules ends with "Hercules and the Tiff on Olympus," aired March 1, 1999. Zeus forgets his anniversary with Hera, Hades exploits the fight to split up the gods' duties, and Hercules, sure his parents are disappointed in him, takes on his first real hero task: the man-eating mares of King Diomedes, while Hades' new minion Neurosis saps his confidence. The gods arrive to scatter the mares, Zeus and Hera make up and send Hades back to the Underworld, and they apologize to their son. The direct-to-video film Hercules: Zero to Hero (1999) repackages episodes of the series.
Where to watch Hercules
Hercules is streaming on Disney+ in the US.
Ratings
IMDb 6.6/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after 101 Dalmatians: The Series, before The Weekenders.
- Chronological order: after 101 Dalmatians: The Series, before The Weekenders.
Cast
- Tate Donovan as Hercules (voice)
- French Stewart as Icarus (voice)
- Sandra Bernhard as Cassandra (voice)
- James Woods as Hades (voice)
- Robert Costanzo as Philoctetes (voice)
- Robert Stack as Bob (voice)
- Diedrich Bader as Adonis (voice)
- Matt Frewer as Panic (voice)
- Corey Burton as Zeus (voice)
- Frank Welker as Pegasus (voice)
- Bobcat Goldthwait as Pain (voice)
- LaChanze as Terpsichore (voice)