MPAA Rating: G
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: John Musker
Actors: The voices of Tate Donovan as Hercules, Susan Egan as Megara, Danny DeVito as Phil, James Woods as Hades and Rip Torn as Zeus.

Born on Mount Olympus to Zeus and Hera, baby Hercules is welcomed into the family of gods. When Hades, disgruntled god of the dead, orders him killed, two demons bungle the job leaving Herc mortal. A human couple finds the infant and adopts him. As Herc grows into a young man, he learns of his identity and must become a hero to rejoin the gods. He takes up with hero-trainer Phil (half man/half goat) and battles hideous beasts to become a town hero. But when Herc mistakenly equates popularity with heroism, Zeus tells him being famous isn’t the same as being a true hero.

Negative spiritual themes fill the movie. Hades' dreary underworld is populated by tormented souls that float in the River of Death. Three witches share a single, mucous-covered eyeball, passing it back and forth as they gleefully snip the final threads of human lives. When Meg, Herc’s sweetheart, dies trying to save him, her soul enters the River of Death before it is rescued and returned to her body for an exciting "resurrection." More than dark, this flick is spiritually wrong.

Hercules does promote family. The tale's hero belongs to two loving, enduring two-parent families. It also makes terrific statements about perseverance, friendship, self-control, chivalry and the heroism of virtuous character. That's the good news. The bad news is that such positive messages are combined with dark imagery and messed-up spiritual ideas not good for younger children. Though artfully done, this occasionally inspiring motion picture includes major weaknesses that keep it from going the distance.

NOTE: Our comments are not meant to endorse or discredit any particular film; they're just a way for you and your parents to make informed decisions about what enters your eyes and ears (Philippians 4:8).

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