So what I want to know is, has Disney bought McDonald's yet?
The Happy Meal factory in Burbank, Calif., has just pumped out another unit. Hercules is the 35th Disney full-feature animated movie. It falls very much into the Disney formula of primary character, love interest, mentor, evil person, and a couple stupid evil sidekicks. The usual "hero must find something special within themselves" plot. What I'm saying is that Disney is a factory and this model isn't much different than last year's.
Animation
The animation in Hercules, although top-notch, is uneven. Disney is using many different animation techniques, including computer animation. Each technique is done extremely well, however the different techniques are not married well. The hand-drawn and computer animation stick out from each other, causing you to notice, and thus kill the illusion. This is a major flaw in the film.
Where is Elton John when we need him?
The music in Hercules is below the Disney standard. There aren't any catchy tunes you'll walk out humming. Big disappointment.
The In Jokes
There are a lot of in jokes that diehard Disney fans are going to get, but others are not. There were many instances when the group I was with burst into laugher, while everyone around us wondered what the big deal was. I suspect these gags won't age well, a criticism I've had with other recent Disney animations.
All in all, I was entertained. I didn't find Hercules as a distasteful "politically correct" film as I have other recent Disney features. However, this also is not as good a film as Disney is capable to creating.
