Trivia and Quotes
Quotes
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Phil`s line "Don`t let your guard down because of a pair of big goo-goo eyes" was originally "Don`t let your guard down because of a pair of big, blue eyes". Unfortunately, by the time the scene was in color, Meg`s eyes were purple.
Hades was scripted as a slow, menacing character until James Woods auditioned for the role and impressed the casting directors with his rapid-fire style. The script was rewritten, but Woods ad-libbed many lines.
When Phil and Hercules first enter Phil`s hut, Hercules bangs his head on what Phil tells him is the mast of the Argo. In Greek mythology, Jason, the captain of the Argo, was killed when the mast hit his head.
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* Hermes delivers a bouquet of flowers to Hera. Hermes (Mercury to the Romans) is a registered trademark of FTD Florists.
Phil cleans himself up using a lion`s skin. The skin once belonged to Scar from The Lion King (1994).
# In Greek mythology, there were nine Muses. The five shown here are: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dance), and Thalia (comedy).
Raoul Bova voiced Hercules in the Italian language version.
Leaving aside the `Pastoral` segment of `Fantasia`, this was the first Disney animated feature to be completely inspired by mythology rather than a fairy tale.
Hermes, the Messeneger, is shown during the ending of the film playing the keyboard. Paul Shaffer, who provides the voice for Hermes, plays the keyboard as his primary instrument on the "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993).
In the scene where Hercules rushes into the town with a carriage containing Amphitryon, Penelope, and a tall bale of hay, the bale hits the top of the entrance to the town, and two men carrying a stone block fall off the top. These two men are caricatures of the directors John Musker and Ron Clements.
WILHELM SCREAM: When the cyclops titan first starts crushing buildings looking for Hercules, a Wilhelm scream can be heard.
Hercules` Credit Card is shown as: "VI V XI XIV XV XVI IV, ex IV M BC, member since I M BC" or "6511 14 1516 4, expires Apr 1000 BC, member since Jan 1000 BC"
In the scene where two kids were trapped under a boulder, they said "someone call I, X, I, I". Though pronounced as letters, this is a reference to the Roman numerals IX, I, I, or 911 - the emergency phone number in the United States.
The animators spent 6 to 14 hours to render a frame of the Hydra, depending on how many heads it had.
The wall painting in Alcmene and Amphitryon`s bedroom is the famous "Spring Fresco" from the Greek island of Thera and can be seen at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Pain and Panic are named for two of the four minions of Ares, "Phobos" and "Deimos", which roughly translate to "Pain" and "Panic". Interestingly enough, "Phobos" and "Deimos" are also the names of the planet Mars` two moons (`Mars` is the Roman name for `Ares`).
The role of Hades is one of James Woods` all-time favorite characters. So much so, any time Disney needs him to reprise the character for any cartoon show (including "Hercules: The Series") and video game (The "Kingdom Hearts" series), he has agreed to do so.
Trivia
During the sequence "I Won`t Say I`m In Love," Meg walks past busts of the five singing muses, one of which is broken. This is a reference to the five "Grim Grinning Ghosts" marble busts in the Haunted Mansion ride at Walt Disney World.
John Goodman, James Belushi, Gregory Peck and Patrick Stewart were all considered for the role of Zeus.
Jack Nicholson, Willem Dafoe, David Bowie and John Lithgow were all considered for the voice of Hades.
Ricky Martin voiced Hercules in the Spanish language version.
When Hermes delivers the flowers to Hera, he says, "I had Orpheus do the arrangement. Isn`t that too nutty?" The joke here is in the double use for the word "arrangement"--as in "floral arrangement" and "musical arrangement". The voice for Hermes is bandleader Paul Shaffer, and in Greek mythology, Orpheus is known as "the father of songs", so he would be the perfect choice to do an "arrangement".
The movie makes many references to the epic poem of the 12 Labors of Hercules including the mid-movie battle with the Lernaean Hydra (2nd Labor). The Nemean Lion (1st Labor), Erymanthian Boar (4th Labor), Stymphalian Bird (6th Labor) are featured in the `Zero to Hero` scene, and the capturing of Cerberus (12th Labor) at the end of the film. Phil also mentions the task of cleaning Augean`s stables (5th Labor) and retrieving a Girdle from `some Amazons` (9th Labor) while Hercules was posing for the painter.
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# Disney debuted the movie in a two week exclusive run for the grand re-opening of the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street, NYC, preceding it with a stage revue. The opening promoted the theater, which subsequently hosted long runs of theatrical versions of Disney`s The Lion King (1994) and Mary Poppins (1964).
At one point during Meg`s musical scene "I Won`t Say I`m In Love," the Muses sing while appearing as marble busts. The busts are in the same arrangement as the singing busts in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
On his way to Thebes, Hercules meets Megara after he saves her from the River Gaurdian, Nessos. While this is not the story of how Hercules came to know Megara in Greek legend, it IS (almost exactly) how he came to know his second wife - Deianira.
In the music video for "Zero to Hero" it shows Hercules riding Pegasus through the nighttime sky with constellations looking at him, and it shows a woman in a dress that flies up and she holds it down. This is a reference to a famous Marilyn Monroe photograph.
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