It was the 1990’s, and Disney was going through another Golden age of films. When deciding what money making machine Disney should create next they decided to make a film of the iconic story of Hercules. Disney did a somewhat accurate job with recreating the myth, however they did add some Disney charm. The plot still follows Hercules and his goal to become a hero so that he could be at Mt. Olympus with the rest of the Gods. Although the goals are similar the journey is drastically different with the major difference being, Hercules fight with the Hydra, Hercules relationship with Hera, and the way Hercules finally becomes a hero.
The first major difference between the Myth of Hercules and the Disney film is Hercules’ encounter with the Hydra. In the film, Hercules travels to Thebes in search of a monster horrific enough that he could defeat and become a hero. However, unfortunately for Hercules no monster is to be found in this New York styled version of Thebes. After being let down by the people of Thebes, Meg tells Hercules that two boys were trapped under some rocks outside of town. After saving these boys, a Hydra suddenly appears and starts fighting Hercules! After further dialogue from the film it turns out that the Hydra was sent from Hades to
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This isn’t the case in the mythology. In the myth Hercules’ mother is Alcmena of Thebes. In the actual myth, Hera is furious with Zeus for having another illegitimate child with a mortal, and actually hates Hercules at first, that is why she sends a crab to attack him. Disney likely didn’t put this problem into the film because it is not related to the main plot of Hercules’ feud with Hades. Another reason Disney likely didn’t put this into the film is that it might promote cheating on your wife to young children, which wouldn’t be considered a good message to the average American