Hercules (1997) (with Edith Hall)

Bless my soul, we are definitely on a roll with Episode 45 of the Fantasy/Animation podcast, which continues the Disney Renaissance theme in its take on Hercules (Ron Clements & John Musker, 1997). To make sense of the visual culture of antiquity manifest in Disney’s cel-animated musical fantasy and its adaptation of Greek myth, Chris and Alex are joined by Edith Hall, Professor of Classics at King’s College London and a specialist in ancient Greek literature and cultural history. Listen as they discuss the film’s reworking of Hercules, Hades and Philoctetes alongside questions of tragedy, comedy and images of slavery; its combination of celebrity culture with Greek heroism and masculinity; the politics of Disneyfication operating in Hercules as a process situated between authenticity and animated representation; the visual character designs of British political cartoonist Gerard Scarfe; and its exhibitionist use of computer graphics in its portrayal of the multi-headed Hydra.