History Headscratchers / Hercules

* When they repurposed Hades as a villain and deliberately created a Underworld=Christian Hell, except everybody goes there and Olympus= Heaven, except only gods get to live there...did anybody at Disney, at any point at, all stop to consider that they had just created an existential nightmare world where, no matter what you do in life, you end up in Hell with no hope of release or salvation?! Even child me caught onto that unfortunate implication and found this movie absolutely terrifying because of it.

* Why on earth did they mix the Fates/Moirai (the Goddesses of Fate) with the Graiai(a trio of hag sisters who share a single eye and tooth between them, and who are sisters to the Gorgons)? Also...why did they make them evil?

* "In eighteen years precisely the planets will align ever so nicely." You'd think after ''Beauty and the Beast'' they'd have learned to pay closer attention to declared timespans. Prior to his training Hercules is a teenager, but he's full-grown by the time he starts his heroic career. No way is he eighteen. They couldn't declare twenty-five years or something?
** Some people don't look very different from their teen years into adulthood.

* "In eighteen years precisely the planets will align ever so nicely." You'd think after ''Beauty and the Beast'' they'd have learned to pay closer attention to declared timespans. Prior to his training Hercules is a teenager, but he's full-grown by the time he starts his heroic career. No way is he eighteen. They couldn't declare twenty-five years or something?

* Why on earth did they mix the Fates/Moirai (the Goddesses of Fate) with the Graiai(a trio of hag sisters who share a single eye and tooth between them, and who are sisters to the Gorgons)? Also...why did they make them evil?

* When they repurposed Hades as a villain and deliberately created a Underworld=Christian Hell, except everybody goes there and Olympus= Heaven, except only gods get to live there...did anybody at Disney, at any point at, all stop to consider that they had just created an existential nightmare world where, no matter what you do in life, you end up in Hell with no hope of release or salvation?! Even child me caught onto that unfortunate implication and found this movie absolutely terrifying because of it.

** Since this iteration of Hercules boasts some pastoral origins that the mythological version didn't have, it's possible it was done as some kind of publicity stunt. "Farm Boy-Turned Hero Returns to His Roots and Commits to Clean an Uncleanable Stable!" Plus, the mention of this labor comes right after Zeus told Hercules that his preceding heroics weren't enough to make him a god, so it's possible he was just trying something different to see if being humble would do the trick.

** Simple, the Cyclops wasn't actually trying to kill him, he was just torturing him for the fun of it.
** He must have been BroughtDownToBadass.
** Yeah, remember despite his SuperStrength, Herc went through his training with Phil for many years. So his body would have high endurance from the years of working with him.
** Actually, Hades *specifically* only mentions his strength. He never says 'powers' as a part of the deal, just strength.

* Why would Hercules be called on to clean the filthy stables of King Augeas, as alluded to by Phil before his secret date with Meg? In the myths, it happened because the guy assigning Heracles his labors wanted to try humiliating him with menial work if he couldn't get him killed fighting monsters -- the task being unheroic was the entire point. But in the movie's context, there's no reason for King Augeas to request it and even less for Hercules or Phil to accept.

* Why would Hercules be called on to clean the filthy stables of King Augeas, as alluded to by Phil before his secret date with Meg? In the myths, it happened because the guy assigning Heracles his labors wanted to try humiliating him if he couldn't get him killed, but in the movie's context, there's no reason for King Augeas to request it and even less for Hercules or Phil to accept. It has nothing to do with bring a true hero.

** We know that the oldest Hercules could have been at the end of his training was 18, since that was the year in which the Fates prophesized that the Titans would return, which they did back when Herc was still a baby. As for whether it's possible for him to have grown and developed that much, we don't know his exact age before he started training, and more to the point, he's a powerful demigod undergoing strenuous hero training in an animated Disney movie about classical mythology. The regular rules of reality need not always apply.

* ''Why'' on ''Earth'' did they make up Philoctetes? Actual Greek Mythology ''already has'' a half-human wise elderly hero-training mentor, the centaur Chiron. What was the ''point'' of creating an {{Expy}} instead of using him?
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philoctetes They didn't make him up]]. The mythical Philoctetes is associated with Hercules, having lit his funeral pyre and inherited his bows and arrows. Which is to say, he's directly responsible for Hercules' ascent to godhood in the myths.
*** The mythical Philoctetes was a human, not a satyr, and their personalities don't really have anything in common. Also, he was Hercules' friend, but not his mentor. Really, Disney only used his name and nothing else.
*** That's not much different from what they did with the rest of the film. Anyway, Chiron was a capable warrior in his own right, he wasn't just the trainer of Hercules. Putting him in the film would've taken the attention away from Hercules because he was so capable, so they replaced him with someone less capable to act as Herc's mentor. It's hardly the most grievous sin the movie commits.
* How does Hercules know Hades, and vice versa, in the Animated Series? They both met when Hercules was already an adult in the film, Hades literally introduces himself to Herc. Yet in the Animated Series, they act as if Hercules knew about Hades since day 1. This was the biggest Plot Hole that irritated me out of the series.

** This makes more sense than you think--Heracles was one of the gods of health (in the fitness sense, but still). In fact, this makes so much sense it deserves a place in Fridge Brilliance
** Hades and the Fates didn't even know this, so they were taking Hercules's deal blind to the fact that they wouldn't benefit.
** Hercules (Actually Heracles) in mythology was a gatekeeper of Olympus (Basically he was one of the guardians of Olympus), as well as being the divine protector of mankind (Which explains why he was able to reside on earth despite still being a god). But more importantly he was worshipped as a god of several different things: God of strength, heroes, sports, athletes, health, agriculture, fertility, trade, oracles. Key word mentioned: A god of health, meaning that he simply healed Megara and we see him onscreen rapidly healing from the injuries inflicted on him by the Cyclops. Meaning hat he ''does'' have that ability.
* Hercules was getting his arse kicked considerably hard during that first part of the fight with the Cyclops, after Hades took his godlike strength. Did just his strength get taken away, or both strength and endurance? Much of the damage he took should have effectively ''killed'' him.

** Plus, powers or not Heracles was just that strong enough to take it. He reminded me of Gohan near the end of the Cell Saga in DBZ. Even without powers (or not using them in Gohan's case), he could take a beating that would otherwise kill a regular person.

** You still need endurance when dealing with a 50-foot cyclops, which Hercules had due to the fact that he killed the Cyclops by blinding him and Meg was hurt only by the column the Cyclops knocked over during his DisneyDeath.
** Hercules in mythology was a god of health and we see him onscreen rapidly healing from the injuries inflicted on him by the Cyclops.
*** We don't see him healing any injuries, because that would be impossible. Because he didn't drink the potion down to the last drop, Herc was able to maintain his godlike strength - and ''only'' his strength.

** Well, the Gods were kinda incapacitated at the time, so any nitpicking by them would be impossible. Second, this was more about his return to Godhood to LIVE on Mount Olympus. Besides, flying Pegasus up isn't ascending, it's flying.
** Zeus's exact words were that someone had turned Hercules mortal and "only gods can live on Mount Olympus". In any case, I think it's within the same realm of logic and rules as the law that you apparently ''must'' return to the Underworld if you eat any food from there. There is no physical obstructions keeping Herc from visiting Olympus, but only some strange whim of fate that keeps him from staying there full-time. In addition to that, the gods in ancient mythology were known to consume nectar and ambrosia for nourishment, neither of which can be consumed by mortals, and it was said that their true forms could incinerate anyone who looked upon them. So even if there wasn't some magical force keeping Hercules from living amongst the gods, doing so would be inconvenient to him at best and fatally impossible to accommodate at worst.

* Here's what bugs me. Despite all the stuff Hercules did, he wasn't worthy of godhood until he risked his life to save his love, correct? Ok, but Meg, not only risked her life, she LOST her life saving Hercules from the falling pillar. She had no way of knowing that Hercules was going to go to the Underworld and save her. So...how come Meg doesn't get to qualify as a goddess? Instead of Hercules giving up godhood to be with Meg, how come he didn't ask if Meg could be a goddess with him? Ok, technically she wasn't the daughter of any of the gods, but still.
** She wasn't the daughter of any of the gods. That's the answer. Hercules already ''was'' a god, it was just dormant until he performed a selflessly heroic act. She was selflessly heroic, but she's not a goddess.
*** Of course, there also is the question begged of why the Olympians didn't just make her immortal anyway. The gods and goddesses married mortals right and left and turned them immortal quite easily and as the wife of Hercules, Meg should have qualified. Yes, it was to show that Hercules values his love for her over being a god, but still...
*** Maybe they did that in the original mythology, but this is the Disney adaptation. It's possible that the gods and goddesses kept to themselves in this alternate universe, considering Hercules was originally a half-mortal himself. I also doubt it even happened in mythology, since most gods' relationships were little more than one night stands.
*** Actually, in the original mythology, Hera curses Hercules with madness in which he kills Megara and that is what causes him to do The Twelve Labours.
*** It happened at least once in the orignal mythology, Eros and Psyche. But the rest of your point stands.
*** ...As memory serves, Psyche wasn't made immortal. She burst into flames at the sight of Eros' true form.
*** No, you are thinking of Semele...who was eventually made a goddess in some versions of the myth, too.
*** And Zeus and Ganymede. And several children of Apollo were also made gods by their father.
** Am I the only troper who realised the FridgeBrilliance in this? ''Meg has a terrible fear of heights, remember?''
** Who says they ''didn't'' make both of them immortal, although not ''gods'' ? The two concepts are different. Phil, for instance, seems to be functionally immortal, but not a god. My guess is that Hercules and Meg were given that: immortality, plus Hercules retaining the powers he had before turning into a real god. Otherwise, that would make the ending a [[TearJerker tearjerking]] DownerEnding, if you think of Zeus and Hera, who'll live for ever and would suffer the terrible fate of seeing both their son and his love interest withering away, aging and eventually dying. And dying to go where ? To that dreadful underworld ruled by both their and Zeus's worst enemy ! Really, if they didn't do that right away, they probably thought of making both of them immortal a few days after the end of the movie.
*** Fortunately, The Animated Series reveals that the Elysian part is actually ruled by Zeus, while Hades just rules the neutral Underworld and the Tartarus section.

* Note: I haven't seen the TV Series so my problem just apply to the movie. Why was Phil so obsessed about the constellation thing? We clearly saw in his hall of heroes the statue of Perseus which also has one. Seriously, this borders FridgeLogic.
** Because the constellation and the recognition ("That's Phil's boy!") was his dream - yes, he trained the other yeuseus, but no one recognized them as Phil's students, and the one who they knew of had become a laughingstock because of that furshlugginer heel of his. The heroes got the recognition while the person who trained them to be what they became winds up living in a hovel in the middle of nowhere having to resort to spying on nymphs. The constellation would mark them as someone so important that learning about the origins of that hero would result in recognition of him as their teacher.
** A simpler explanation might be that none of the other heroes we know were honored with constellations in the film's universe. Recall how Phil speaks so disapprovingly about how they never had what it took to go the distance, not that they did become heroes but he never received any credit.

* How the fuck does Hades not know Hercules isn't dead? HE'S IN CHARGE OF THE UNDERWORLD!
** "Hercules is a VERY POPULAR NAME." "Remember, like a few years ago, every other boy was named Jason and the girls were all named Brittany?"
** He hasn't been doing his job very well.

** This is an even bigger issue if you attempt to regard the spin-off midquel TV series (set while Hercules was still in-training with Phil) as cannon - there, he and Hades encountered each other in just about every episode.
*** I haven't watched an episode of the series in quite some time, but maybe he thought it was a different kid? Didn't Ares - as in, one of the gods living on Olympus who would have knowledge of the fact Hercules was alive - not recognize him until it was pointed out by Athena (I think)?
*** They did address this in the series. Hades knew he was alive it would be hard not to find out. In the last or second to last episode they introduced a younger Megara and she enlists Hercules's help in finding the PlotDevice an urn full of Lethe water. The urn is tumped over on Hades, Pain, Panic, and Megara Resulting in them developing LaserGuidedAmnesia.
** I totally agree with the complainer on this one. It's one of the most argued points in the movie. Yes, lots of people pass through the Underworld, but this is Hercules, son of a god and the guy who could bust up a plan for total global domination. You'd think Hades would have been paying attention to his death. Also, Zeus (who seems fairly pally with Hades, even if it's not returned) mentions that the gods DID search for Hercules. He would surely have asked his brother Hades to help out? And sure, Hades wouldn't be looking very hard, but surely that would mean he would find out through the grapevine, as they say, that Hercules was alive but mortal.

*** Ignoring the fact that Hercules has red hair (which isn't a very common hair color), maybe it would be the necklace that he was wearing that said "HERCULES" on it?
** There's also another point to bring up. Zeus and all the other gods on Olympus knew Hercules was alive but mortal. Why didn't they tell Hades? Did it not even come up in conversation? I get that Hades doesn't see them much, but over the course of 18 years it seems like Zeus would bring up the fact that his son had turned mortal and has to live on Earth.
*** Not if he assumed that everyone- including Hades- knew. Why would Zeus bring that up at all? It's probably really painful for him and Hera.
*** Not only would it be painful to discuss in detail, but Hades seems like just the type to brush his brothers issues and worries aside as it is, so it would be especially so if those worries were ''caused'' by something Hades did and thinks he knows full well about. "Oh, it's times like these where I can't help but think of what little Hercules would-" "Yeah, yeah, sadness, loss, mourning, it's all really tragic, I just gotta go now, places to be, things to do, sorry, bro, see ya later."

** Maybe he assumed that, as the son of Zeus, Hercules's soul was sent to Elysian Fields instead of the Underworld?
** As described above, this was sort of rectified by the TV show having Hades discover that Herc was alive all those years, but then giving him amnesia at the very end. Once the amnesia sets in, all Hades will remember is that he spent the last several years content with believing Herc was already dead. Unless he finds some hint that Herc ''isn't'' dead, then he has no reason to think he needs to check for him in the underworld.

** This one can be justified -- in the original myths he did the Labors to atone for killing his wife and children in a fit of Hera-caused madness. Since the Disney movie wasn't going to go anywhere near any of that, they left some hints in as a GeniusBonus and took the plot elsewhere.
** This troper recalls that he fought all the monsters he had to fight. (They left the stables out.)
** Actually, both the stables and obtaining the girdle of the Amazon queen were mentioned briefly; they're a part of the itinerary Phil reads aloud while Herc's getting his vase portrait done.
** The TV series actually had various episodes centred around each labour.
** The 'stables' one involved Herc rerouting the River Styx to clean them out - Hercules diving into the Styx to rescue Meg's soul could be seen as a CallBack to that too.
** Actually, Heracles diverted the rivers Alpheus and Peneus, not the Styx.
** Watch "Zero To Hero". It has brief references to the Boar, the Hydra and the Minotaur.
*** Actually, Herc fights the Hydra just ''before'' "Zero to Hero. He's also shown wearing the pelt of the Nemean Lion...even ''if'' that lion turned out to actually be [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar]]. "Zero to Hero" also includes him defeating a giant monster bird, which is probably supposed to be a stand-in for the multiple Stymphalian Birds.

* About Herc's contract with Hades. If Meg was injured in any way ("he promised I wouldn't get hurt"), Herc gets his strength back. Why couldn't Meg hurt herself in some small way to give Hercule's strength back? Like tripping down the stairs or something? If any kind of pain, big or small, counts as "getting hurt", it didn't have to be as drastic as a [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill a giant pillar]]! We could have avoided the whole drama, and then Herc could go and kick the fat brown Titan's ass like KABOOM!
** Simply because they didn't realize it.
*** Hades doesn't say 'any harm'. That was Herc. Hades just says 'Meg is safe', and they both know it's in the context that Hades has no intention of hurting her. It's a DealWithTheDevil - it's not written on paper for picking over later for loopholes. It's sealed with magic (or whatever), and the magic decides if the contract is broken, not a lawyer.
** Also, the thing that was troubling Herc most of all at that point was that Meg had betrayed him by helping Hades all this time, not that he had lost his strength. Her giving it back to him by finding some way of hurting herself, even if it would've have worked, wasn't what Hercules needed - he needed a pep talk to help lift his spirits, and Meg knew that only Phil could do that for him, so she went to find him.
** It's likely that whatever harmed Meg had to attributed to Hades in some way for the deal to be broken, since that was the spirit of his deal with Herc. The column only fell on her because Hades sent the cyclops to attack Thebes.

* If you've read ''Literature/TheIliad'', you know that Hercules lived before Achilles. No matter what Phil might say.
** That's Greek mythology. This is Disney Canon. Two different things, however similar. Which they are not.
** [[AWizardDidIt Yensid Did It.]]

* Even though I like the film (despite being a minor mythology buff), it still makes me scratch my head as to why Ares wasn't made the BigBad instead of Hades, considering that Ares was definitely the god with the least amount of redeeming qualities.
** Because EveryoneHatesHades.
** A ValuesDissonance moment, perhaps? In modern Western societies, the Underworld is associated with Hell, so the god of that realm would be associated with the Devil. Hades in the original myths was actually a rather sympathetic character.
*** The ValuesDissonance gets even more confusing if you know the Greeks never really viewed Hades as sympathetic. They liked him more than Ares, but the Greeks still hated the guy.
** Hades indirectly gives some possible motives at the very beginning of the film. While every god has certain duties, Hades is the only one who has to work '''24/7''' (you could argue that Apollo, being the sun god, had this too, but back then it's doubtful that the followers of the Greek pantheon were aware that the sun was shining on other parts of the world when it was night in Greece), not to mention that Zeus forced that job on him in the first place; so while all the other gods and goddesses at least got to take parts of the day off, Hades didn't get much of a break at all. Taking control of Mount Olympus probably seemed like the best solution to him.
*** That makes zero sense. Hades is bitter and stressed out because his job is 24/7. So his solution is to take over everything, thereby increasing his workload?
*** Once he's in charge, then he can delegate some other guy to guard the land of the dead, like Zeus.
*** Zeus didn't force the responsibilities of the Underworld on Hades. They all drew lots after defeating the Titans to see who got what - Zeus won the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the Underworld.
** Personally, I think they should have just kept Hera the villain and simply have her be Zeus' evil sister and Hercules' aunt...[[BrotherSisterIncest since that is actually the case in the original mythology.]]
** Hades at least could provide a more interesting motivation than Ares. Even in the original mythology, Hades was never entirely happy with his lot in life, since the other gods ostracized him for his role in overseeing the Underworld, which was what made him so bitter. Ares was a chaotic war god who pretty much caused conflicts ForTheEvulz. As for Hera, it'd similarly be difficult to provide her with a decent motivation if she was only portrayed as Hercules's evil aunt, and going into any more detail about their relationship might've seemed like a bit much for a children's film. (Not to mention, most of her revenge plots were very petty, and it's not like Herc ever could've faced off against her in a meaningful way.)

*** I have a theory on this, I believe maybe Hades had the potion made not for Hercules or the other gods but for himself. We all know he wasn't content with his life and maybe he just wanted to end it quick and painless. Just a theory though.

* At the end of the movie, since Hades can't die, as he is a god, he is instead sucked into the underworld and trapped there for good. Why didn't they somehow trick him into drinking the potion, and then kill him? Perhaps the writers weren't able to come up with a clever way for Hades to be tricked, or something?
** For one, it'd be entirely out-of-character for Herc to kill Hades. Secondly, Hades' job is pretty freaking important - If he died, another God would have to be found to fill his place, and as Hades implied it's not a very pleasant occupation.
** Where would Hercules find this potion?
** Who even says there's any more potion at all? Hades only ever shows one bottle and that only had the precise amount needed for the job and no more. Hades also never considers using more potion on Hercules later so one can reasonably assume he's just fresh out.

** He also used the Wind Titan to suck the others in and toss them far away.

* What I wanna know is how the river of souls was high enough for Hercules to dip his hands for a moment, and then a few seconds later, he has to dive off the edge to grab Meg's soul.
** Dramatic Effect???

*** Untrue. In Greek mythology, fate and the Fates were things even the omnipotent gods of Olympus were fearful of. Because what was foretold by fate, you could do nothing to fight, avoid, or overcome.
*** Yeah, well, this isn't faithful to the original Greek mythology. The question is about the Disney version.

* How is it possible that Hercules had trouble beating a centaur and still be able to fight against the four titans at once?
** Fighting Nessus was the first time Hercules performed a heroic battle. It's pretty obvious that he had almost zero experience. And all things considered, Nessus only really got two hits in; most of the problems Herc had were down to RuleOfFunny.

* The Titans were doing a pretty good job of beating Zeus before Hercules showed up. But then Hercules just frees Zeus and they run away like little girls?
** 1.) The Titans don't start running away like little girls right away. First,, Hercules frees the other gods, including Hephaestus, who is then able to forge more thunderbolts for Zeus, who uses them to blast the face off of the giant Rock Titan. Cue the Titans running away like little girls since their main heavy is about to get incapacitated.
** 2.) Not all of them try running away, either - the Wind Titan tries to come up on Hercules, but Hercules manages to grab hold of him, uses him to vacuum up the other three Titans, and proceeds to throw them out across the cosmos and destroy them all.

* So where did that bottle of "make a god mortal" potion comes from? Is the reason he can't use it against the Olympians as simple as "they're too smart to eat/drink ''anything'' Hades offers them?"
** Maybe he was planning to poison Zeus, but when the Fates prophesised that Titans will suffice for the task, unless Hercules stops them, he chose to use it on him instead. Remember, the vial is only enough for ''one'' god.
** Considering the potion causes gods to lose their glow from the bottom up, and the transformation is proportional to how much they've drunk, it'd be difficult for Zeus (or any of the others) not to notice and stop drinking.

** I get the feeling that, at least within the film's realm of continuity, Hades isn't actually a god, and I mean that in the same way that the film portrays Hera as Hercules' loving mother instead of evil stepmother and the Titans as chaotic personifications of the elements instead of the forebearers of the Olympians. I don't recall whether Hades and Zeus are ever referred to as "brothers" like they are in mythology, but he ''does'' refer to the Titans themselves that way, so...

* Why doesn't Herc keep his promise with Hades at the end of the film? He said that he'd stay as his prisoner if he was able to get Meg free - Hades assumed he'd die before he got to her and he ended up becoming a god instead, but even gods have to hold themselves to what they've promised others. Yet when Hades starts asking him for mercy, Hercules just punches him in the face. Twice. That doesn't seem like a very good message for kids.
** It may not be completely moral, but I always assumed it was a BatmanGambit on Herc's part. He decided to play along with making a deal because he knows Hades making them (having already made one with him prior). It was just a way of getting Hades to let him rescue Meg legally.
*** If you notice, they never actually shook on the deal; Hades said, "She goes, you stay," but the deal was never finalized with a handshake like the "take Herc's strength" deal was. There was nothing, magical or legal, really binding either party to the deal.
** But that's the point - he didn't rescue her legally. He said that he would stay in the Underworld if he managed get Meg out of the river. Instead, he punches ''Hades'' into the river and leaves. Had Herc said, "If I die, you can have us both, but if I live, then we both go free," ''then'' it would've been legal even if he escaped. It would have been done through a previously-unseen loophole, but it still would've been legal.
** My guess? Herc didn't feel obligated to follow the deal once Hades revealed said deal was rigged.
** Except ''Hades never revealed the deal was rigged.'' Hercules knew that he would age rapidly if he tried entering the river - Hades telling him after he'd gone in was just a teasing reminder. It doesn't give him an excuse not to fulfill his end of it.

* Um, where exactly does Meg think she's going? She's on ''OLYMPUS'' for gods' sake. Is she looking for the elevator?
** ...Was that a ''Percy Jackson'' reference you were going for? Well, anyway, the girl was pretty much heartbroken at that point. Chances are she was just going to go sit somewhere out of sight from the gods and wait for one of them to use their powers to send her back to earth. She may also have been somewhat afraid of them, as well, as she served, albeit unwillingly, under someone who had only recently tried to overthrow them all, and it was thanks to her involvement that he nearly succeeded.
*** Yes that was a "Percy Jackson" reference. Maybe Meg's frightened and heartbroken enough to be planning to throw herself off the edge

** It's also implied that even as a baby, Hercules was ''already'' stronger than Hades, mangling his finger. Hades might not have been able to take adult Hercules in a real fight. When his powers are gone, Hades lifts those weights with his smoke, and even then it seems to be an effort, since Hades' speciality isn't strength.

** Because even if he remains a god, Meg will eventually grow old and die, while he won't have aged a day. By the end of the film, immortal life has come to mean nothing to him if she isn't in it. Principle could play into it, as well - if the people were to have one of the immortal gods of Olympus living among them like a mortal, it might take away from the dignified image the gods are trying to impose.

* Minor issue here, but when Hercules is born, his hair is blonde, and he has what appears to be a pretty nice tan. As he's losing his glow due to the potion Pain and Panic feed him, his hair turns red and his skin a rather fair complexion. Thus, it's clearly not like his hair and skin changed color like that as he grew older - he got them right away - so why, when he regains his godhood in the end, doesn't he return to his original appearance?

* So Zeus could just take Hercules Godliness, at least at the end... Why couldn't he just give Hercules back his Godliness at the beginning? He can take it, but not give it without a ridiculous "You've gotta become a true hero" requirement? And technically, that ''is'' one of Zeus's powers; he did give one of his illegitimate Sons full Godliness.
** If you just look further up a few entries, you'll find that this question has already been answered - Zeus didn't take away Herc's godliness in the end, rather, Herc surrendered it and gave it up himself, which is something any god would seem to be able to do. Also, don't expect the powers of the gods in the myths to be synonymous with the powers of the ones in the Disney Animated Canon. They're two different things.

* "We're not supposed to reveal the future!" Then why did The Fates agree to meet up with Hades in the first place? Why else would he schedule a meeting with them? And, since they can see into the future, they should have known he'd ask about the future in the first place! What, did they think he was inviting them over for tea and crumpets or something?

* Why did the boys in the beginning make fun of Herc? There are three things that puzzle me about it.
** 1. They seemed more scared of him when they first saw him. If you were terrified of someone, would you seriously smack talk them when you were standing less than 20 feet away from them, well within their earshot?
*** It's not that they're ''terrified'' of him; they just think he's a freak because of his strength and lack of control. And bullies aren't always rational in how they treat people. They might know that Herc is too nice and well-meaning to exact revenge on them, so they figure they can get away with taunting him.
** 2. I know he was clumsy and all, but being physically strong pulled a lot of weight back then (pun not intended).
*** In some scenarios, yes. But on top of being strong, Herc is also clumsy, without self-restraint, and is constantly itching to help people even when his lack of control means he probably shouldn't.
** 3. It was technically their discus that broke the column, not his absurd amount of physical strength. If I remember the scene right, they threw it over his head and he jumped up to catch it, and instead of coming down, it kept flying with Herc still attached and made him bash into the column. (I haven't watched it in a while so I might be remembering this part wrong though)
*** After rewatching the scene...Hercules evidently launched himself high enough off the ground when he caught the discus that he actually slammed into the top of the pillar. He could only have done so by using his own strength to push himself up off the ground. And it's not like the discus alone was going to knock the pillar down if Herc hadn't grabbed it first.

* Why does the movie use Herc's Roman name instead of his Greek one, Heracles? Most of the other changes they made to the mythology were for censorship issues, RuleOfFunny, or to better suit the story they were telling, but they could've left Heracles's name alone and it wouldn't have made any difference. It might actually make more sense to call him Heracles in this version of the myths, since here Hera is actually his mother.
** Maybe the writers thought Hercules rolled off the tongue better.
** Hercules is his most commonly used name in popular culture, barely anyone, except maybe myth buffs, uses the name Heracles, most people going to see the film would probably assume its a typo or mockbuster because Heracles is used to so little in comparison to Hercules.
** In addition, calling him Heracles just because Hera is his mother in this version actually wouldn't make more sense. In the original myths, Alcides took the name Heracles (which means "glory of Hera", by the way) either to appease Hera's wrath or because it was her vengeful actions against him, starting when he was a baby, that brought him fame and glory. In the movie, there's no reason for him to need to appease his loving biological mother, and Hera doesn't have anything to do with Herc becoming a true hero; their first interaction past his infancy is when they meet again at the end of the movie. And Disney is pretty fond of using the more popular names of characters from older works, regardless of whether it fits the context of their adaptations of those works -- Cinderella (whose name in the fairy tale was just "Ella") and Rapunzel (named after the plant her father stole, which was replaced with the magic flower in the movie) are two examples.

* When they repurposed Hades as a villain and deliberately created a Underworld=Christian Hell, except everybody goes there and Olympus= Heaven, except only gods get to live there...did anybody at Disney, at any point at, all stop to consider that they had just created an existential nightmare world where, no matter what you do in life, you end up in Hell with no hope of release or salvation?! Even child me caught onto that unfortunate implication and found this movie absolutely terrifying because of it.
** I've heard that Elysium (the good part of the underworld) was confirmed to exist in the TV series, and that it's ruled over by Zeus instead of Hades. Horrific implications averted.
* Why does Pyros, the lava Titan, say that he’s going to melt Zeus? If you go by what’s technical, it seems unlikely that a god like Zeus would melt if exposed to high temperatures — as can be seen in the finale, he does not. And for the sake of being threatening, wouldn’t it be better to announce that he would “scorch Zeus” or “char Zeus to a crisp”?
* I'm probably overthinking this but this has bugged me since I first saw Hercules when it came out. When Hercules first started training with Phil he was possibly sixteen at most but at the end of his training he looks to be in his early 20s. Can anyone change so much in 2 short years?

** We know that the oldest Hercules could have been at the end of his training was 18, since that was the year in which the Fates prophesized that the Titans would return, which they did back when Herc was still a baby. As for whether it's possible for him to have grown and developed that much, we don't know his exact age before he started training, and more to the point, it's an animated Disney movie about classical mythology. The regular rules of reality need not always apply.

* I'm probably overthinking this but this has bugged me since I first saw Hercules when it came out. When Hercules first started training with Phil he was possibly sixteen at most but at the end of his training he looks to be in his early 20s. Can anyone change so much in 2 short years?

* Why does Pyros, the lava Titan, say that he’s going to melt Zeus? If you go by what’s technical, it seems unlikely that a god like Zeus would melt if exposed to high temperatures — as can be seen in the finale, he does not. And for the sake of being threatening, wouldn’t it be better to announce that he would “scorch Zeus” or “char Zeus to a crisp”?

* Why does the movie use Herc's Roman name instead of his Greek one, Heracles? Most of the other changes they made to the mythology were for censorship issues, RuleOfFunny, to better suit the story they were telling, but they could've left Heracles's name alone and it wouldn't have made any difference. It might actually make more sense to call him Heracles in this version of the myths, since here Hera is actually his mother.

** The fates ''claim'' to know everything, but maybe they exaggerate. Maybe they just know a lot of things but not every thing. This would explain why they gave Hades an if/then prophecy, and why Hades didn't immediately complain that they were clearly withholding information. They honestly didn't know which way the prophecy would go; they just had it narrowed down to these two options and they new that Hercules was the key. Likewise they didn't know about his impending godhood.

*** Actually, Herc fights the Hydra just ''before'' "Zero to Hero. He's also shown wearing the pelt of the Nemean Lion...even ''if'' that lion turned out to actually be [[Disney/TheLionKing Scar]]. "Zero to Hero" also includes him defeating a giant monster bird, which is probably supposed to be a stand-in for the multiple Stymphalian Birds.

** I've heard that Elysium (the good part of the underworld) was confirmed to exist in the TV series, and that it's ruled over by Zeus instead of Hades. Horrific implications averted.

* How can Zeus not find his son? He's the freaking KING OF THE GODS! Why the BigNo when all you really needed to do was cast a "Find Hercules" spell?
** Because he's not all-powerful. None of the Greek gods were. The concept of an omnipotent god, at least in the Western world, is a fairly recent one that ''probably'' originates with the Hebrews (but don't quote me on that). Before the Jews came along, gods had limits. You could fool them, you could hide from them, you could imprison them, and you could even kill them (though not easily, obviously). The level of power attributed to each god varies depending on the culture they originate from
*** He did say that they found Hercules but it was too late, he wasn't a God anymore.

* When Zeus tells Hercules he had to abandon him after he was turned mortal because "only gods can live on Mount Olympus", what exactly does he mean? Is he saying it's physically impossible for a mortal to live there (like if one tried, they'd be automatically teleported out by the universe itself) or that there's a rule that forbids it. And if it's the latter, does that mean there's an authority figure above Zeus that we never see, or just that he made the rule and won't change but he'd feel hypocritical if he made an exception for Hercules? I'm just trying to figure out what's to actually stop the king of the gods from letting Hercules live on Mount Olympus despite being mortal.
** In reality, Mount Olympus is considered one of the highest points in Europe. Looking at the other wiki its height is at 2,917 metres/9,570 ft which is high enough to cause altitude sickness to anyone who doesn't hike or climb at great heights regularly. It's extremely unlikely that a baby, especially one rendered mortal, could live at such height without getting sick. And if they just kept baby Herc there while he was sick, the altitude sickness would only get worse and could cause permanent damage or even death. Zeus not keeping his now mortal child on the mountain with them is logical if it was to keep him from constantly being at risk of severe illness. Though that doesn't defend why Herc couldn't at an older age build up his ability to breathe in those conditions and be then invited back onto the mountain, other than the rules say he can't.
** I think principle may play into this one a bit. Mount Olympus is for gods, and if you start letting mortals come up, it loses the whole "sacred" aspect.

** Because with the centaur, he was fighting for ego purposes. With the Titans, he had the PowerOfLove on his side. And the Fate of the Universe as well.

* Meta: Is there any reason why Disney hasn't tried to do some sort of reboot or remake of ''Hercules''? I don't mean just a retelling of this same story with the same anachronisms and the goofy tone, but just a new take on depicting one of the stories of Ancient Greece. They've had two movies about life on the Polynesian islands and two of them concerning Pre-Columbian natives, so why would making another movie about the myths of Ancient Greece be that much of a stretch? I've seen this movie so many times, and the narrator's first few words before the Muses cut in have always given me such an epic imae of how such a movie could play out, if done right.
** Keep in mind that not all Disney films are made by the same people. There are different directors, script writers, producers, etc. that want to touch on different subjects/stories and wouldn't want to seem to repeat themselves. I figure something like Moana and Lilo and Stitch can get away with it since they only share in common the Polynesian setting, but instead a film with the same setting and mythology/story origin like Hercules could seem repetitive to some audiences. I also think maybe Disney doesn't care much about Hercules (the film) itself and would rather focus on different movies, or maybe they just feel greek mythology has been touched a lot in outside media so they don't need to add their "touch" to it (sorta like how they avoided for years superhero films until the Marvel buyout, or how they don't tend to touch classic novels/plays outside of Hunchback).