"NARRATOR". Walt Disney Pictures invites you
to take a special Zero to Hero look
at the making of Hercules, Disney's 35th full-length animated feature.
All right! All right!
Oh, yeah.
Bless my soul Herr; was on a roll.
Person oi the week in every Greek opinion poll.
"NARRATOR". Drawing its story from the mythical muscle man,
Hercules is an over-the-top comedy
with a unique place in the history of Disney animation.
The first Disney feature, really, that's based on mythology,
rather than fairy tales or folktales.
Well, what do ya know?
"NARRATOR". The story follows the amazing journeys of Hercules,
as he grows from a boy to a young man, battles the forces of evil,
and along the way learns what it takes to be a real hero.
He, uh... He was a god, um, son of Zeus.
Look how cute he is.
Thank you. Thank you.
And he basically came to the Earth, which made him mortal,
and he can't return to Mount Olympus unless he proves himself a true hero.
Isn't that too nutty'?
I think he starts out the movie really wanting to be a hero
just for the, sort of, you know, glamour of it all.
I'm an action figure!
And he sort of discovers through beating up huge monsters
what a true hero is.
NARRATOR: By creating hit movies like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin,
directors John Musker and Ron Clements
helped usher in a new generation of Disney animation.
Now these talented filmmakers are updating the legend of Hercules
with their own outrageous brand of humor.
Yes, yes. Thank you for the info.
We call this thing sort of an epic comedy.
So, playing comedy against people's expectations of Greek mythology,
which are often kind of stuffy or something academic,
and we tried to make it very contemporary and accessible.
I think I'm gonna like it here.
John Musker and Ron Clements, our directors and writers,
are some of the funniest people I've ever worked with.
Yeah.
And certainly their signature is
that kind of zany, irreverent, anachronistic comedy.
NARRATOR: Music plays an important part in every Disney film.
The genius oi eight-time Academy Award-winning composer,
Alan Menken, and Tony Award-winning lyricist David Zippel,
give Hercules a knockout soundtrack.
I aim in each score to write a score that has its own personality.
Um...
And in the case of Hercules, it's the combination of the gospel and R&B,
mixed with this, um, heroic classical theme.
And that really makes up the spirit of Hercules.
NARRATOR: It “was decided early on that the gospel-belting muses
would play an important role in telling this larger-than-life tale.
In some way, gospel really fit this movie
because it's so big and it's about hope and it's about dreams.
They're harmonizing, they blend perfectly.
And they are hitting notes that are in the stratosphere.
(VOCALIZING)
I think they're used as guide posts
to kind of keep the story in focus and keep it going along smoothly.
ALL: Shoo-doc, shoo-doo.
Sha-Ia-Ia-Ia-Ia-Ia-Ia-Ia.
The music is R&B gospel, and it rocks.
- Now he's a honcho. - He's a hero.
Here was a kid with his act down pat.
"NARRATOR". Musker, Clements and the rest oi their creative team
work out the characters and scenes ahead of time
in lively story pitch sessions.
I'm right behind ya, kid! Whoa!
I'm way behind ya, kid.
NARRATOR: Once the stow is completed,
actors perform voiceovers,
adding yet another dimension to the characters.
I'm right behind ya, kid! Whoa!
I'm way behind ya, kid.
"NARRATOR". The Olympian cast includes the talents oi Tate Donovan
as the legendary Hercules.
You're only interested in me because I'm famous.
NARRATOR: Danny DeVito as his half-goat, half-man
hero trainer Philoctetes.
Two words.
Trouble!
"NARRATOR". Susan Egan as Meg, Hero's Grecian heartthrob.
So, they give you a name along with all those rippling pectorals'?
(SHY CHUCKLE)
Can I ask you a question'?
"NARRATOR". James Woods as the hot-headed Hades,
Lord of the Underworld.
Everybody knows it's working if we're all laughing.
If we're laughing, it's working. And if we're not laughing,
then let's think of something better.
"NARRATOR". And Hades' stumbling, bumbling Sidekicks, Pain and Panic,
are given hilarious treatment by Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewen.
Pain! Ohh! - And Panic!
Reporting for duty! Reporting for duty!
"NARRATOR". Rip Tom plays Hero's mighty, yet lovable father Zeus.
ZEUS: and turned you mortal.
"NARRATOR". Paul Shaffer lends his hip persona
to Zeus's mem/ messenger Hermes.
We're a little low on nectar.
- Hmm... Bacchus got here early. - (SLURPING)
- (SMACKS LIPS) - (BELCHES)
Long ago...
NARRATOR: And Chaflton Heston's lofty narration
helps set the stage for comic relief.
MOVIE NARRATOR: Powerful gods and extraordinary heroes.
He's makin' the story sound like some Greek tragedy.
Lighten up.
NARRATOR: Once the voicing is completed,
the handiwork oi the animators takes center stage.
My favorite part of the game.
There's a voice and a drawing, I want the two to combine nicely.
With James Woods, it was so funny. He was really emoting, jumping around.
Ah! You have the voice of a siren.
When I went back to the studio, the design sort of took on his features.
We're trying to come up with a character
that's defined mostly by an emotion that comes from his name.
'Oh. My gods! 'Oh. My gods!
You could see that in his eyes,
and then just build the rest of it from that particular emotion.
"NARRATOR". Known for such memorable villains
as Scar in The Lion King and Jafar in Aladdin,
veteran Disney animator Andreas De}a takes on a new challenge
as the artistic muscle behind the film's bigger-than-life hero Hercules.
ANDREAS DEJA: And I thought, "What about a hero?"
I've been critical of some of our hero characters in the past.
And maybe I can put my pencil where my mouth was and just animate.
This is great!
"DEJA". With Tate Donovan's voice,
uh, it just gave me a good springboard
because he's a very, very good actor, very lively.
(YELLING)
And there's an energy and a naive quality in Hercules,
which we found through time.
"NARRATOR". Working with the talented Disney team
is renowned British political satirist and artist Geraid Scarf e,
designer of the avant-garde film Pink Floyd The Wall.
Well, I'm called a design consultant.
And Ron and John, the two directors,
seem to want to get my kind of look into the movie,
the way that I draw and the characters that I have,
they seem to want to try and infuse that into the movie as much as is possible.
NARRATOR: Scarfe's influence as artistic adviser
helps set Hercules apart from other Disney films.
Gerald Scarfe's style demanded being bold and simple
and not fussy with details.
It's such a departure from what we've done previously, in terms of the styling.
I think this, more than any of our recent Disney films,
really moves forward
and shows a whole different world, a whole different look.
Nice work! Excelente!
"NARRATOR". Always at the forefront of entertainment technology,
Disney animators combine traditional animation techniques
with the latest in computer-generated imagery-P.
CG! Wizard Roger Gould
explains how the two creative approaches work together.
ROGER GOULD: Over the last 10 years,
the studio's been using computers more and more in each film
to do that thing that we couldn't do before.
The Hydra, which is a great mythological monster
that you slice off a head and it regenerates,
and it becomes more and more horrible and ferocious. And...
Except now, previous depictions, we've seen three Hydra heads or six or nine,
but can we do 30?
Holy Hera.
The Hydra is a particular challenge and a natural for the computer
since we didn't want to draw a 30-headed Hydra.
We can duplicate aspects of it.
Will you forget the head-slicing thing'?
DEWEY: But it is quite a challenge
to organize it and animate it in a way that doesn't look like duplication.
Phil'? What do you call that thing'?
Definitely not good!
(MONSTER SNARLING)
"NARRATOR". Although the Hydra presented the greatest challenge,
the Disney CG! Team looked for other ways to take audiences to new heights.
We have Olympus, which is this city that's not simply built in the clouds,
but it's actually a city made of cloud.
And the directors wanted some way to realize that.
So by using morphing, we were able to iake a very small number of paintings,
like two or three paintings,
and actually have the computer create the animation that goes between them.
So, we suddenly can have Hercules's crib rising up out of the clouds.
NARRATOR: The results are nothing short of spectacular visuals
and powerful storytelling.
More than 700 artists, animators and technicians
will eventually contribute to this Herculean effort.
We really embrace the art form and don't take ourselves too seriously.
NARRATOR: So, how do you make a great animated comedy
that takes over three years to produce?
Two words.
NARRATOR: Keep it fun!
(INSTRUMENTAL GOSPEL PLAYING)
(LOUD BURP)
We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we carry on, we go home happy.
What d'ya say'? Come on.
(GOSPEL MUSIC CONTINUES)
Yes, indeed.
Thanks for everything, Herc. It's been a real slice.