History Trivia / Hercules

* TheOtherDarrin: Not so much in the film than in the video game. Zeus' lines were all rerecorded by Corey Burton, including his original lines for the Continue screen. Hades even has one of Creator/KeithDavid 's lines as Apollo used as part of one of his voice clips.

** Meg was initially going to be a bit more of a DamselInDistress, but since she spent so much time with Hades, when he became a "sleazy Hollywood agent type" (per one review), Susan Egan made her a much stronger woman just from the amount of improv she had to deal with. At some point after her stronger characterization took shape, she was also written as a harsher, angrier character than in the finished film, but the writers eventually started to find her unlikable and made her funnier and more playful.

** [[Series/DonnyAndMarie Donny Osmond]] auditioned for the part of Hercules before Creator/TateDonovan was cast. However, Osmond was turned down due to the fact that his voice was considered "too deep" for the titular character.
** Creator/JohnLithgow was originally chosen for Hades before the casting of Creator/JamesWoods. However, even after Lithgow recorded all of his dialogue for the film, Creator/{{Disney}} found that he didn't have the right balance of menace and comedic timing they were looking for.
*** Music/DavidBowie, Creator/WillemDafoe and Creator/JackNicholson were also considered for the role of Hades. Nicholson reportedly turned down the offer due to his demand for a paycheck of ten to fifteen million for the part, plus a ''50% cut of all the proceeds from Hades merchandise.''
*** Creator/RonSilver, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/KevinSpacey, Creator/PhilHartman, Creator/RodSteiger, Creator/MichaelIronside, [[Film/{{Critters}} Terrence Mann]], and Creator/MartinLandau auditioned for Hades as well before the casting of Woods.
** Creator/EdAsner, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, [[Film/{{Alfie}} Dick Latessa]], and [[Film/ThePoseidonAdventure Red Buttons]] auditioned for the role of Phil before Creator/DannyDeVito was cast. After Buttons' audition, he said this to the casting directors before departing the studio.

** Creator/PatrickStewart, Creator/JohnGoodman, Creator/JamesBelushi, and Creator/GregoryPeck were considered for the part of Zeus before the casting of Creator/RipTorn.

* CastingGag: Possibly coincidental, but it's awful funny that Phil is played by Creator/DannyDevito, [[Film/BatmanReturns the then-latest]] live-action [[ComicBook/ThePenguin Penguin]], given than his direct inspiration [[Film/{{Rocky}} Mickey]] was played by the ''[[Series/Batman1966 first]]'' live-action Penguin, Creator/BurgessMeredith.

* ImageSource:
** BumblingHenchmenDuo
** DePower
** DivineParentage
** EverybodyHatesHades
** EverybodyLovesZeus
** FlamingHair
** {{Hunk}}
** OurNymphsAreDifferent
** OurTitansAreDifferent
** PainToTheAss
** SupernormalBindings

** RescueRomance

*** Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/WillemDafoe, and Music/DavidBowie were also considered for the role of Hades. Nicholson reportedly turned down the offer due to his demand for a paycheck of ten to fifteen million for the part, plus a ''50% cut of all the proceeds from Hades merchandise.''
*** Creator/RonSilver, Creator/JamesCoburn, Creator/KevinSpacey, Creator/PhilHartman, [[Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight Rod Steiger]], Creator/MichaelIronside, [[Film/{{Critters}} Terrence Mann]], and Creator/MartinLandau auditioned for Hades as well before the casting of Woods.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: In the brief Off Broadway production, Hares was aged by Roger Bart, the man who sang for Young Hercules in the original film.

** Susan Egan almost wasn't ''allowed to audition'' for Megara. She was playing Belle on Broadway at the time, and The Powers That Be thought there was no way she could be right for the part. Egan basically annoyed them into letting her audition just so she'd stop asking, and the directors were stunned when she turned out to be perfect for the role.

** Susan Egan almost wasn't ''allowed to audition'' for Megara. She was playing Belle on Broadway at the time, and The Powers That Be thought there was no way she could be right for the part. Egan basically annoyed them into letting her audition just so she'd stop asking, and were stunned when she turned out to be perfect for the role.

** Susan Egan almost wasn't ''allowed to audition''. She was playing Belle on Broadway at the time, and The Powers That Be thought there was no way she could be right for the part. Egan basically annoyed them into letting her audition just so she'd stop asking, and were stunned when she turned out to be perfect for the role.

* CutSong: Hercules had a ballad called "Shooting Star" (which was featured in the UK version of the soundtrack [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJqcNOlw-Y performed by Irish boy band Boyzone]]), and there was an alternate, slower song for Meg called "I Can't Believe My Heart" (performed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0-5Tne74yQ here]] by Susan Egan).

* CutSong: Hercules had a ballad called "Shooting Star" (which was featured in the UK version of the soundtrack [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWJqcNOlw-Y performed by Irish boy band Boyzone]]), and there was an alternate, slower song for Meg called "I Can't Believe My Heart".

*** Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/WillemDafoe, and Music/DavidBowie were also considered for the role of Hades. Nicholson reportedly turned down the offer due to his demand for a paycheck of ten to fifteen million for the part, plus a ''fifty percent cut of all the proceeds from Hades merchandise.''

* CastingGag: Possibly coincidental, but it's awful funny that Phil is voiced by Creator/DannyDevito, [[Film/BatmanReturns the then-latest]] live-action [[ComicBook/ThePenguin Penguin]], given than his direct inspiration [[Film/{{Rocky}} Mickey]] was voiced by the ''[[Series/Batman1966 first]]'' live-action Penguin, Creator/BurgessMeredith.

* CastingGag: Possibly coincidental, but it's awful funny that Phil is voiced by Creator/DannyDevito, [[Film/BatmanReturns the then-latest]] live-action [[ComicBook/ThePenguin]], given than his direct inspiration [[Film/{{Rocky}} Mickey]] was voiced by the ''[[Series/Batman1966 first]]'' live-action Penguin, Creator/BurgessMeredith.

** Non-acting example: The art director was Gerald Scarfe, the same person behind the nightmarish [[DerangedAnimation animation]] of ''Music/TheWall''.

** Early storyboards of the song "Zero to Hero" were [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCoJvu8PF7Q slightly different]], with different segments involving medusa and others. The storyboards also show an early design of Hercules himself.

** Meg was initially going to be a bit more of a DamselInDistress, but since she spent so much time with Hades, when he became a car dealer Susan Egan made her a much stronger woman just from the amount of improv she had to deal with. At some point after her stronger characterization took shape, she was also written as a harsher, angrier character than in the finished film, but the writers eventually started to find her unlikable and made her funnier and more playful.

** Originally early storyboards of the song Hero to Zero was going to be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCoJvu8PF7Q slightly different]] with different segments involving medusa and others. The storyboards also show an early design of Hercules himself.

* OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt: John Musker and Ron Clements only agreed to do this film because then-studio head Jeffery Katzenberg promised that they'd be allowed to make ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' if they did (Katzenberg was gone from the studio by the time this movie was release, but Disney still held up their end of the bargain).