Standards: ELAGSE11-12RL1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. ELAGSE11-12RL3: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). ELAGSE11-12RL7: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text.

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This worksheet will give you background information, ask you to make personal connections, and help you analyze the events of the film.

Background: If you have studied the myth of Hercules, you know that it is much different from the Disney film based upon it. Often filmmakers must adapt their source material to make it more appealing to modern audiences. Disney’s Hercules is no exception. Yet analyzing Disney’s choices in adapting this ancient myth will help you appreciate both the original story and the filmmakers’ creativity. As a starting point, Hercules was not the hero’s original name. In Greece, where the first myths were told, Hercules was Heracles. It wasn’t until the Romans later re-told the Greek myths that they used the name Hercules instead, and it stuck!

1. Backstory: In Greek mythology the muses were nine goddesses who inspired every form of art. Typically a storyteller would begin a story by asking a muse to bless their work. At the beginning of the film what backstory about Zeus and the Titans do the muses provide?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Fact check: In the original myth Hercules is Zeus’s son by a mortal woman—not his wife, Hera. Since the Disney filmmakers changed this detail to make the film more family-friendly, they had to come up with an explanation for why Hercules is only a demi-god (partially divine).

2. Origin Story: The storyline of the film is partially inspired by superhero stories (like Spiderman and Superman). All great superheroes have an origin story or an explanation for how they gained their powers. What is Hercules’s origin story?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Fact check: In Greek mythology Pain and Panic (along with Famine and Oblivion) are servants to Ares, the God of War. The filmmakers used these sidekick characters to assist Hades instead.

3. Characterization: Instead of beginning with Hercules as a full-fledged hero, the film begins with the hero as an awkward teenager—one who feels

like he just doesn’t fit in. Roy E. Disney, one of the creative leaders at Disney, said, “Hercules is a character that I think everyone can relate to. We’ve all said at one time or another in our lives, ‘What am I doing here? Who am I anyway? What is my mission in life?’” Why does Hercules’s quest for identity and purpose make him more likeable as a character?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Trivia: The characters in Hercules are designed in an art style that is different from other Disney films. Inspired by the style of British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, the characters are stylized and angular—a style that also resembles figures from ancient Greek vases.

4. Theme: The film Hercules incorporates many elements of a Broadway musical—like many other Disney movies before it. In a musical characters often sing about something they desire or hope to achieve. How do the lyrics of “Go the Distance” speak about Hercules’s hopes and dreams?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Trivia: Music has always been an integral part of Disney films, so when the Disney songwriters sat down to write the music for Hercules, they had to decide which style of music to choose. Although Greece does have its own style of music, the songwriters instead chose a gospel and rhythm and blues influence. Why? They thought the upbeat, storytelling style of gospel music and its emphasis on hope would better fit the story.

Trivia: The statue of Zeus that comes alive to speak to Hercules is based on one that existed in ancient Greece at Olympia, a city which was also home to the first Olympics. The colossal statue of Zeus was 43 feet high and was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Myth Connection: In Greek mythology satyrs (half-men, half-goat creatures) were constantly chasing nymphs (female nature spirits). One nymph, Daphne, turned herself into a tree to escape from a pursuer.

Allusion: Phil speaks of the former heroes that he trained. All of these are references to characters from Greek mythology. Jason led a group of heroes called the Argonauts (which included Hercules) on a sailing adventure across the seas. Perseus slew the gorgon Medusa. Theseus killed the Minotaur. Achilles fought in the Trojan War and was brought down by an arrow to the heel, the only part of his enchanted body that was vulnerable to attack.

5. Connect: Every hero needs a mentor, and Phil the satyr gives Hercules valuable training. Who is a mentor in your own life—someone who has taught you valuable lessons?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

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Fact check: Instead of being trained by a satyr named Phil, most heroes in Greek mythology were trained by a centaur (half-man, half-horse) named Chiron.

Trivia: The plot of Hercules is partially inspired by the film Rocky, wherein an underdog boxer receives a chance to fight the heavyweight champion of the world. Like Hercules, Rocky has to decide if he “can go the distance” against a formidable opponent. Rocky’s trainer, Mickey (a short, gruff old man), is the inspiration for Phil, Hercules’s trainer.

6. Archetype: Archetypes are types of characters that show up in stories over and over again. An underdog is a type of character that does not seem to have much chance of success. How is Hercules an example of an underdog at the beginning of the film? Why do most people enjoy stories about underdogs?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Fact check: Pegasus the winged horse appears in Greek mythology, but he was the steed of a different hero: Bellerophon.

Myth Connection: The centaur Nessus shows up in the original myth of Hercules. The beast tries to abduct Hercules’s wife after helping her across a river, but Hercules kills him.

7. Archetype: A character archetype frequently found in myths and stories is the Shapeshifter. This does not mean that the character literally changes form necessarily, but that the character has shifting allegiances causing the audience to wonder: Is the character good or bad? What are the character’s motives? Which character would be a shapeshifter in Hercules?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Trivia: The film makes the city of Thebes a parody of New York City, “The Big Apple.” Phil calls Thebes “The Big Olive” since Greece is famous for producing olives.

8. Characterization: Instead of giving Hades a brooding, deadly demeanor like a typical villain, the filmmakers decided to make him charismatic, outgoing, and somewhat comical—sort of like a “used car salesman.” What would it change about the story if Hades were less jokey and more sinister? Do you like his less-than-serious demeanor?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

9. Analyze: In Greek mythology Hercules was not just a dumb brute. Although his strength was the key to many of his victories over monsters, he

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also had to use his mind to outwit tricky foes. Does the Disney version of Hercules use both strength of body and mind? Explain.Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Trivia: A Herculean task is one that takes a great amount of strength and effort. Near the Strait of Gibraltar there are two tall hills called the Pillars of Hercules. According to legend, Hercules placed these hills here after performing one of his heroic quests. Talk about a Herculean task!

Trivia: The film features some of the twelve labors from Greek mythology that Hercules had to complete in order to prove that he was worthy to be a hero: slaying the hydra, a giant boar, a nearly-invincible lion, deadly birds, and taming Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Hades.

10. Respond: Although Hercules becomes the most famous person in Greece, Zeus tells him that there is more to being a hero than being famous. Do you agree? Explain.Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Trivia: In the Greek myths Hercules wore the skin of a vicious lion he had slain on one of his adventures. If you look closely at the lion skin Hercules is wearing in the movie, you might recognize the villain from another Disney movie The Lion King.

11. Inner conflict: What is Megara’s inner conflict?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Myth Connection: In Greek mythology the Titans were imprisoned by Zeus and his fellow gods. One of the Titans was Ocean, a giant water Titan. For the film the Disney filmmakers imagined the Titans as personifications of the natural forces of the word: wind, ice, and fire.

Fact Check: Although Hercules faces off against a Cyclops in this film, in Greek mythology it was the hero Odysseus who battled a Cyclops named Polyphemus. There are other Cyclopes in mythology, but they were actually allies of Zeus. They even helped forge his first thunderbolt.

12. Analyze: How does Hercules prove that he is a true hero?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Fact Check: In Greek mythology the Fates were three beings who controlled the “fates” of all mortals. They spun out the life-string of each mortal, determined the string’s length, and cut it short. But they did not all share one eye. These were a different group of weird sisters called the Gray Women.

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13. Respond: Do you agree with Hercules’s decision to give up his immortality to stay with Megara? Explain.Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

Trivia: Many mythological characters had constellations named after them, and Hercules is one of them! The constellation of Hercules is the second largest of the eighty-eight modern constellations. The largest is Hydra, named for Hercules’s beastly opponent. Fitting, huh?

14. Tone: Hercules takes an irreverent tone toward Greek mythology. Irreverent means “less than serious.” The filmmakers did not intend for the movie to be a 100% accurate re-telling of the myth of Hercules. Instead, they injected a lot of humor, anachronisms, and pop-culture-related jokes into the storyline. How would the film be different if the filmmakers had decided to tell the story using a reverent or more serious tone?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

15. Analyze: Hercules’s story has been adapted and re-told more than any other Greek myth. What makes it such a timeless story? Why can we still relate to it thousands of years later?Erase This and Type Your Answer Here

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