Line #6 TearJerker/Hercules


1	'''WARNING:''' Spoilers are unmarked.
2	----
3	!!The Disney Film:
4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/meg_8.jpg]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:Great, you got Creator/DannyDeVito sad. You happy now, Disney?]]
6	%%
7	Hercules is one of the Disney's funniest movies to watch. But even a comedic movie like Hercules can have lots of sad moments that can make the [[TearJerker audience shed a tear or two]].
8	----
9	* Zeus and Hera losing Hercules. You're not given as much time to feel bad thanks to happy adoptive parents and Pain and Panic getting the crap beaten out of them, but it's still pretty sad. It's bad enough when Zeus [[SkywardScream howls in rage]]; all Hera does is scream, then collapse into tears. Also, even after they find Hercules, the mortality forced on him by Hades and his minions means they can't bring him home.
10	-->'''Muses:''' ''But Zeus and Hera wept, for they knew their son could never come home. They had to watch their precious baby grow up from afar...''
11	** To top it all off, the Muse who sings this sequence is Melpomene, the Muse of ''Tragedy''.
12	* Hercules being [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer bullied]] by everyone else in the town he grew up in. He is ''really'' good at [[TheWoobie looking like a kicked puppy]].
13	** To put this into perspective, it is not just Hercules' fellow teenagers who insult him, the ''adults'' are doing it too. Yes, Hercules was clumsy and had caused a huge amount of damage and destruction, so their anger was at least understandable (if not fairly justified), but see an entire community openly insult a teenage boy, without mincing their words or considering his feelings (especially since he didn't mean for this to happen and was truly sorry) just because of his clumsiness and inability to control his strength is just uncalled for. At the end of the scene, more than a few people wanted to give Hercules a hug.
14	* The first part of Hercules' number "Go The Distance", where he sings about how he feels like he doesn't belong. For anyone who [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer was a loner as a teenager]], it's too relatable.
15	** What Hercules' says before he starts singing is truly upsetting as well. When [[PapaWolf his father]] tries to comfort him, Hercules makes it clear that he ''agrees'' with everything his tormentors are saying.
16	---> '''Hercules''': But, Pop, they're right. I - I am a freak.
17	** This coupled with his next sentence about him not fitting in or belonging to the community is really heartbreaking. The worst part is, Hercules, has no idea that he is adopted ''yet'' and his comments make Amphitryon really uncomfortable since Hercules doesn't realize how right he is.
18	** Throughout the entire scene, Amphitryon tries his best to be loving and supportive. He just doesn't know what to say to make his son feel better. For many parents, this is all too relatable.
19	** Hercules leaves Amphitryon and Alcmene to go find the Temple of Zeus.
20	** Amphitryon finally accepts that he has to tell his son the truth.
21	--->'''Amphitryon:''' Hercules, there's... something your mother and I have been... meaning to tell you...
22	--->'''Hercules:''' ''[sometime later]'' ...but, if you found me, then where did I come from? Why was I left there?
23	--->'''Alcmene:''' This... was around your neck. ''[gives Hercules the medallion Zeus gave him when he was a baby]'' It's the symbol of the Gods...
24	--->'''Hercules:''' This is it! Don't you see?! Maybe they have the answers! I'll go to the Temple of Zeus and-and... ''[looks to his parents]'' Mom... Pop... you're the greatest parents a boy could have, but... I gotta know...
25	--->''[Cut to the next morning as Amphitryon and Alcmene see off their son on his journey, with Alcmene giving him a cloak against the weather]''
26	* When Hercules learns he's Zeus and Hera's son, he asks why they left him on Earth and wonders if they didn't want him. It's a small line, but incredibly painful.
27	** While Zeus quickly assures him they did want him and explains what happened, he's clearly hurt that his son believes he doesn't love him and didn't want a relationship with him.
28	* Phil reacts with sadness after it seems like Hercules [[DisneyDeath dies]] along with the Hydra. Even though it didn't last long, it really looked he had failed yet again, and this was his last chance to make his lifelong dream come true before his death.
29	-->'''Phil:''' There goes another one, just like [[MyGreatestFailure Achilles]]...
30	* [[BrokenBird Meg]]'s story.
31	-->'''Hades:''' [[DealWithTheDevil You sold your soul to me to save your boyfriend's life]]. And how does this creep thank you? [[UngratefulBastard By running off with some babe.]] He hurt you real bad, didn't he, Meg, huh?
32	** Meg's face when Hades brings this up says it all. It's not angry; it's more like, "Yeah, I know... I don't wanna talk about this..."
33	** Also of note is Meg's reaction to her boyfriend's betrayal in the visual memory: she's so devastated by the act that she ''crumples'' to the ground. [[BrokenBird You can understand]] [[NeverBeHurtAgain why she is]] [[StepfordSnarker how she is.]]
34	** The line previously in the movie, "My friends call me Meg, if I had any friends", takes on new meaning with the additional FridgeHorror. The original implication was that no one wanted to be friends with her due to her caustic attitude. The new implication is that she uses her attitude to push people away, both potential lovers and potential friends, because of what happened to her.
35	* While Hercules is talking with a proud Zeus about his heroic deeds, he's convinced that he's finally gonna come home to Mount Olympus. But Zeus tells him he ''is'' proud of him, but he still has not yet proven himself a "[[ATrueHero true hero]]"; being a rich and famous monster hunter isn't enough to be considered that. When Hercules asks what more is there, Zeus can only say that [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself his son has to discover that for himself]] by looking into his heart. After Zeus leaves, Hercules slams his fists on the floor in anger and confusion, leading to this scene, where he snaps out of frustration and doesn't know what else to do to become a true hero.
36	-->'''Hercules:''' Phil, what's the POINT?!
37	-->...
38	-->'''Phil:''' What do you mean, what's the point? You want to go to Olympus, don't ya?
39	-->'''Hercules:''' Yeah, but, this stuff doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere.
40	-->'''Phil:''' You can't give up now! I'm counting on ya!
41	-->'''Hercules:''' I gave this everything I had, and it's still not good enough.
42	* Meg and Hercules have a philosophical moment on their first date. Listen to Meg. We already know she's a BrokenBird, but here, it's taken up to eleven.
43	-->'''Hercules:''' [[IJustWantToBeNormal You know, when I was a kid, I would've given anything to be exactly like everybody else.]]\
44	'''Meg:''' You wanted to be [[HumansAreBastards petty and dishonest]]?\
45	'''Hercules:''' Everybody's not like that.\
46	'''Meg:''' Yes, they are...\
47	'''Hercules:''' [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging You're not like that.]]\
48	'''Meg:''' How do you know what I'm like?\
49	'''Hercules:''' All I know is you're the most amazing person with... weak ankles I've ever met. Meg... when I'm with you, I don't feel so... alone.\
50	'''Meg:''' Sometimes it's better to be alone.\
51	'''Hercules:''' What do you mean?\
52	'''Meg:''' Nobody can hurt you.
53	** Tying into both of the above is Meg's furious attempts to keep from admitting she's in love with Hercules. She's been dumped by her previous boyfriend before and doesn't want to even entertain the possibility, just go with the idea that Hercules is a mark and once she gets what Hades wants out of him, she can get her soul back and leave. "I Won't Say I'm In Love" has Meg refusing to admit, not just to the Muses, but to HERSELF that she's fallen for Hercules, partly due to fear that Hercules will do the same as the ingrateful she sacrificed her soul for.
54	* Meg is thrilled and bragging that Hercules will beat Hades, facing away from him. But then she turns toward him and he informs her of what she's just done:
55	-->'''Meg:''' ''[smugly]'' You can't beat him! [[ExplainExplainOhCrap He has no weaknesses! He's going to...]]
56	-->'''Hades:''' ''[smirking]'' I think he does, Meg. I truly think he does. ''[burns the flower that Hercules gave Meg to a cinder just to prove the point]''
57	* When Phil discovers that Meg is working with Hades and attempts to warn Hercules, Hercules doesn't believe it and they have an argument that ends with Hercules smacking Phil in a blind rage [[NotHelpingYourCase when he begins to insult her]], with Phil just giving up on Hercules and ditching him, leaving him on bad terms and bitterly planning to go back home while leaving his student to deal with the chaos that ensues alone. The look of hurt on Phil's face right after this shows just how much this has affected him emotionally.
58	-->'''Phil:''' I thought you were gonna be the all-time champ... not the all time ''chump''.
59	** Hercules looks back him as he leaves, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone obviously horrified at what he did]], but is still too mad at his friend and mentor to make up with him properly.
60	** To make matters worse, Phil failed to hear Meg's refusal to help Hades on two separate occasions ''in the same conversation''. The first time can be forgiven since he was still unconscious from falling off of Pegasus, but on the second occasion, he was so desperate to warn Hercules that he didn't think to wait until he heard the end of Meg and Hades's conversation before going to notify Hercules of his discovery and rushed out too early. Had he waited just a few seconds more, Phil would have not only learned of Meg's reluctance but might have also realized what Hades intended to do and been able to help both her ''and'' Hercules.
61	* After Hercules loses his strength, Hades, Pain, and Panic (after they turn back from kids to their normal form) humiliate him in front of Meg, causing her to cry. Hades even gleefully reveals that Meg was under his employ the entire time and mocks that Hercules gave up his strength for a lie. Cue Hercules screaming out that Hades is lying. Yikes, way to rub it in, you three.
62	** Pain and Panic enthusiastically take advantage of Hercules' despair, mocking him with a sing-songy "Our hero's a zero, our hero's a zero!" while Panic douses him with Herculade and Pain throws dirt on him. Hercules is in such a funk he just takes it, and Meg can only watch in tears as the man she's grown to love is humiliated and mocked mercilessly.
63	** Just watching Hercules go through all of this is heartbreaking. We've been with him when he was just an awkward kid trying to fit in to becoming the Disney version of ''Superman'', and now he's been broken by one of the only people to actually love him for him for who he is besides his family and Phil.
64	** Take a look at Meg when Hades flies off: she drops to the floor crying in the ''exact same'' position as she did when her old boyfriend betrayed her, except now the situation is worse, since this time, she's the one who ended up betraying the man she loves, and she got involved in all of this in this against her will.
65	* Hercules loses his strength after fully realizing his betrayal by Meg and his betrayal ''to'' Phil, who left him for not listening to him. The Cyclops is yelling for him to come fight, and there he goes, ignoring Meg's warnings and ending up in mortal danger, alone and powerless.
66	-->'''Meg:''' What are you doing? Without your strength, you'll be killed!\
67	'''Hercules:''' ''[dully]'' [[FateWorseThanDeath There are worse things.]]
68	* As the Cyclops [[CurbStompBattle is absolutely destroying Hercules]], Meg can't take it anymore as the man she fell in love with is getting himself killed and rushes to free Pegasus and look for Phil, but at first, when she tells him that Hercules is in trouble and he didn't listen to her when she tried to tell him not to go, he refuses to come back, still upset at him over the argument they had earlier and his slap, leading an upset Meg to tell him directly that Hercules will get killed if he doesn't go back and help him right now.
69	-->'''Meg:''' Look, I know what I did was wrong, but this isn't about me, it's about him! If you don't help him now, Phil, he'll ''die''!
70	** Although the scene stops here and switches to the Gods' point of view as they get captured, as soon as Meg makes it clear that Hercules won't survive if he doesn't do something immediately, Phil immediately stops in utter shock, realizing that he made a really big mistake, as he was wrong in ditching Hercules in his darkest hour. What's more, he doesn't even know that this is the day of the planetary allignment, which allows Hades to release the Titans as part of the plan he hatched after the Fates' prediction when Hercules was born eighteen years prior, nor that Hades himself enfeebled Hercules with a deal that caused him to lose his superhuman strength for the rest of the day, all of this in his absence.
71	** Because of this, Phil now has to deal with his mistakes and their consequences: he didn't pay enough attention to the conversation between Hades and Meg, which left him ignorant of Meg's true intentions, got pissed off when Hercules didn't believe him and thought that he was kidding, he has fallen out with him for something that he didn't know enough to have real proof of, especially since the subject of the argument was a girl that he despised without even knowing anything about her, he got on his bad side when he insulted Meg, enraging Hercules and leading to his slap, and then gave up on him on the spot, leaving him unprepared for what was going to happen. Since Pegasus, his only ally left, was captured by Pain and Panic via a trick, Hercules was on his own and thus vulnerable when Hades showed up, causing him to lose his super strength and suffer a broken heart at the same time, all while the Titans are attacking Olympus and capturing the Gods, and now he's against a Cyclops without even trying to fight, but worst of all, he is still in Thebes, in danger, badly injured and possibly on the verge of dying all alone in a fight that he lost from the start, all because of Phil's wrong decisions and the fact that this was the moment he needed his help the most and he abandoned him in the worst possible time. Unable to stay mad at Hercules anymore, Phil accepts to go back to his aid, aware that it will be all his fault if he dies today. Gods know what was going through his head.
72	* When Phil arrives and tries to pep talk him during the fight with the Cyclops, Hercules just tells him dully that he was right when he said that "[[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids dreams are for rookies]]." As he says this, he's glaring at Meg, who can't even bring herself to meet his gaze.
73	* Hercules's BigNo when he sees that Meg's been crushed after [[TakingTheBullet pushing him out of the way of a falling column]] is gutwrenching. Sadly, the mood does ''not'' improve as Hercules gets his strength back and gets the column off her, as she's badly injured and won't last much longer.
74	-->'''Meg:''' Hades' deal is broken. He promised I wouldn't get hurt.
75	* Meg's death. The movie gives a lot of focus to her agony as she lies dying while Hercules is headed to Olympus to defeat Hades and the Titans and rescue the Gods. Once Hades throws the knowledge back at him as a last taunt, Hercules [[OhCrap stops in his tracks]] and rushes back to try and see her one last time before she dies (even though there's not a whole lot he can do), while the Fates prepare to snip her thread. [[DiedInYourArmsTonight And she]] ''[[DiedInYourArmsTonight doesn't]]'' [[DiedInYourArmsTonight get the dignity to die in his arms]]. She dies without even get to see him, and Phil, who decided to stay behind with her, can only helplessly hold her hand before he feels it go limp as the Fates cut her thread of life. Hercules arrives to see her just lying there, clearly dead, as Phil sadly shakes his head at him. And when Herc comes back, he ''doesn't'' get to tell her he's won, or say sorry for keeping her waiting, or that he loves her. No, he can only cradle her limp and cold body in his arms and sob ManlyTears. As he lays Meg's lifeless body onto the rock she was earlier, Hercules, still on his knees, just stays there crying with his face into his hands, and Pegasus watches sadly, feeling sorry for his friend and master despite his previous dislike of Meg until she untied him to alert Phil. Not just that, but even ''Phil'' himself is reduced in tears; like Pegasus, he too hated Meg from when she rejected him when he tried to flirt with her up until she came to tell him that Hercules was in trouble, yet now that he knows her better and is aware of her real intentions, from her warning him to her sacrificing herself for Hercules, he's just as upset as his pupil, and now he's crying over her. Both Creator/TateDonovan and Creator/DannyDeVito's [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct voice acting is just amazing for this]].
76	-->'''Phil:''' I'm sorry, kid. There's some things you just can't change...
77	-->'''Hercules:''' ''[[[KubrickStare looking up]], [[{{Determinator}} deter]][[DeathGlare mined]]]'' [[TranquilFury Yes, I can]].
78	** The music is even more heart-wrenching. When Meg is first crushed, a few bars from "I Won't Say I'm In Love" play in a slightly bitter tone. Then, as we watch her die, "Go The Distance," a song full of joy and hope, plays in a tragic refrain as Hercules cradles her body. If you didn't cry before... Who really went the distance? It was Meg...
79	** Her death in the original myths is even worse: Hera drove Hercules insane and he ended up killing not only her but their ''children'' as well.
80	* When Hercules rescues Meg, her soul is still within in pain, with her eyes closed.
81	* Meg's reaction when Hercules revives her, restoring her soul to her body. She's in disbelief that she's alive, and what it means, that he went to the Underworld for her. Hercules gives her a MeaningfulEcho: "People do crazy things when they're in love."
82	* Meg when she believes Hercules is going to stay as an immortal God at Olympus. She quietly congratulates Hercules, but as she walks away it's clear she can't help but feel heartbroken and dejected at the thought of once again being left behind by someone she loved. It turns into happy tears when Hercules chooses to stay on earth with her and Meg is able to completely sink into Hercules' arms.
83	* The end. When a constellation is created for Hercules, Phil is awed. Then someone points out the constellation, saying "That's Phil's boy!", and Phil sheds a [[TearsOfJoy tear of joy]], having just realized his life's ambition.
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Context TearJerker / Hercules