1997.
If I got your ears tingling with this review, I hope it takes you back to your childhood and make you want to watch this one again. For my generation, where music and animation really start climbing up in scale, this movie makes a strong entry point for the dreamers of Planet Earth.
I was familiar with the movie, the animated series, and live action show with Kevin Sorbo that came along with this title, and I couldn’t tell the difference between who was stronger, Xena the warrior princess or Hercules, the gifted hero sent from the heavens. Even more spectacular was how I learned what it was like to be so exquisitely talented that you MUST go on some sort of adventure to prove your worth. As if because of your innate gift you could just step out into the world and come into these fortunate circumstances that allow you to do whatever you liked and live a perfectly normal life among humanity.
I’m serious. These shows had an influence over me that education in schools just could not match. You could not tell me that it wasn’t possible to be great. You could not tell me that magical strength wasn’t real, and you especially couldn’t tell me that I was not allowed to have a super hot and pretty girlfriend like Meg to fight life’s battles with. Those “life’s battles” were not limited to putting out forest fires or shouting down a crowd of 500 trying to silence your truth. I thought I’d have a partner for life.
I wasn’t wrong, but this is the kind of inspiration Hercules put into my spirit.
The animated series gave me a glimpse into a demigod’s humanity, even if his inevitable homecoming (or several) to Mount Olympus meant our separation, and the end of our adventures together. Not to mention, the themes were so closely tied in with the belief system I was raised up in that the bridges in my head had neatly crossed, yet never tangled. When I went to sleep at night I never dreamed of lifting cars to rescue strangers, or stopping robberies, so my inspirations only went so far. I left that to the live action show, where even though I might not have had long flowing hair, I could still be someone whose presence could be counted on. Throughout every episode, just as I could count on being spared 30 minutes to see through the eyes of our hero, I expected being counted among those who others could look up to in time of need. Besides, with my presence being as amazing as Hercules, I could just watch problems fade off of people’s faces as I do what any hero l believed in would do.
The animations of my generation really instilled the kind of values in me that I’m sure Generation X had been striving for years to build, but even as that’s what they were going for, that’s not how things look… and that’s a good thing.
Cheers!
At The Dinner Table 