1990's:
Best: The Lion King (1994)
Worst: Hercules (1997)
The 90's were another strong decade for Disney. While other movie studios were making sucky films, Disney was making masterpieces. We had "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", and of course, "The Lion King", all in this decade. I would say that there were only three from this decade that aren't all that worthwhile. "The Rescuers Down Under" is forgettable, "Pocahontas" is boring, and "Hercules" is totally ridiculous.
Good selections Belchic. Here's something else: I put some thought into this topic and came up with a little debate to make a point.
I know that a lot of Disney fans still debate over wheter
Beauty and the Beast or
The Lion King is the Best Disney Animated Feature Film of the 1990s. Critically I would say
Beauty and the Beast because it was nominated for Best Picture. Personally though, I would rather give it to
The Lion King because it just seemed more balanced, better paced and more of the comedy seems to connect. We’ll probably never have a definitive answer on that topic. But what I can do is pick out a Worst Disney Animated Feature Film of the 1990s. I had four movies to take into consideration:
The Rescuers Down Under (1990),
Pocahontas (1995),
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and
Hercules (1997).
First, I ruled out
The Hunchback of Notre Dame because it may not seem like a kids’ movie, but it manages to be powerful and I think the management had too much say for that to be something the family would want to see.
So now it’s down to
The Rescuers Down Under (1990),
Pocahontas (1995) and
Hercules (1997).
Having said that, I also ruled out
The Rescuers Down Under because I thought it managed to be just a little better than the original movie and I think hating
The Rescuers doesn’t seem right.
So, it’s
Pocahontas (1995) vs.
Hercules (1997).
For this debate, I have divided my reasons into 10 categories: Titular Hero, Love Interest, Obi-Wan, Big Bad, Comedy Relief, Story, Themes, Soundtrack, Franchise Opportunities and Critical/Commercial Praise.
Whichever one loses is my pick for Worst Disney Animated Feature Film of the 1990s.
TITULAR HEROPocahontas: Pocahontas is an Indian maiden who does not approve of her father’s selected future husband, is friends with all the forest animals and seeks forbidden romance with an English settler. In no way does Disney stretch themselves here.
Hercules: Hercules is the famous Greek strongman who seeks to return to Mt. Olympus. And…that’s really all we know about him.
Verdict: Some beats none.
Edge:
Pocahontas (1995)
Pocahontas 1,
Hercules 0
LOVE INTERESTPocahontas: John Smith is a daring adventurer. And…that’s pretty much it.
Hercules: Megara is not like any Disney chick we’ve seen. She’s smart, sassy, and secretly moonlighting for the villain. Megara is a much more dynamic love interest.
Verdict: No contest. Megara beats the dashing bland Englishman.
Edge:
Hercules (1997)
Pocahontas 1,
Hercules 1
OBI-WANPocahontas: Grandmother Willow is a tree spirit who aids Pocahontas when she’s in need of guidance. She seems…a little silly.
Hercules: Philoctetes is a gym coach-like satyr, holding out for that one champion so he can be recognized. Even if we don’t have reason to care about the main hero, we’re at least happy for him.
Verdict: Easy. Phil is a more active character and the movie doesn’t feel like it’s taking a timeout to see the mentor.
Edge:
Hercules (1997)
Pocahontas 1,
Hercules 2
BIG BADPocahontas: One of the movie’s glaring problems is it doesn’t have much of a villain. After Ursula, Gaston, Jafar and Scar, the villains in
Pocahontas seem silly. Governor Radcliffe is sort of a comical buffoon instead of someone I should hate. He reminds me of, is as threatening as, and is built like, Dr. Robotnik on
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Hercules: Hades is easily one of the better elements of the movie. He’s not only menacing but has a sense of humor.
Verdict: If misjudgment was taken in, fair enough, but the Greek strongman still has the better villain.
Edge:
Hercules (1997)
Pocahontas 1,
Hercules 3
COMEDY RELIEFPocahontas: Meeko the raccoon, Flit the hummingbird and Governor Radcliffe's bulldog Percy are the comedy relief this movie needs. They add some entertainment value in what is…kind of a dull movie, really.
Hercules: Pain and Panic, a pair of imps that work for Hades. They are ready and willing—but not able—to stop Hercules. They just don’t seem all that strong of comedy relief characters. At least the movie has Hades.
Verdict: Pocahontas may have been depending on Meeko, Flit and Percy for entertainment value. At least they hit more though.
Edge:
Pocahontas (1995)
Pocahontas 2,
Hercules 3
STORYPocahontas:
Pocahontas is a fictional account of true to life historical events. Basically don’t write your report on her life and cite this film or your teacher will flunk you on the spot.
Hercules:
Hercules is the retelling of the famous Greek myth. And by that it’s the Roman version of the Greek myth, while taking some creative liberties—like giving Herc a Superman-like back story and casting him to be a Michael Jordan-like superstar.
Verdict: …I still don’t know which one is worse.
Edge: EVEN
Pocahontas 2,
Hercules 3
THEMESPocahontas:
Pocahontas follows the route of the typical Disney princess; in that she doesn’t approve of her father’s intended suitor and wants love for love. Granted after supposedly falling for John Smith it doesn’t stay consistent at the end as she decides her place is “here, with my people”. It didn’t happen that way in real life, but…I digress.
Hercules: Hercules wants to be a hero and return to Mt. Olypmus because….well, he doesn’t feel like he fits in, I guess. That changes once he meets Megara, but the movie seems to spend so much of its time cashing in that the heart seems like something of an afterthought (is the "Air Hercs" and "Herculade" fooling anyone?); the elements criticized in
Aladdin have aged much better, by comparison.
Verdict: Was
Pocahontas pretty anti-climatic? Yeah, but it’ll age better.
Edge:
Pocahontas (1995)
Pocahontas 3,
Hercules 3
SOUNDTRACKPocahontas:
Pocahontas has some pop-like songs that you…well, most are pretty forgettable. They are generally colonial-themed or spiritual or militant. The main title themes, “If I Never Knew You” and Vanessa Williams’ version of “Colors of the Wind” are good though.
Hercules: Hercules has a more upbeat soundtrack. Most of it is gospel-themed, which may make sense for a culture that was very faith-heavy. It’s more marketable, but the problem it makes it a lot less authentic. I did enjoy Ricky Martin's version of "Go the Distance" though.
Verdict:
Pocahontas may have had forgettable songs, but at least they are appropriate. I don’t associate R&B/soul music with Ancient Greece.
Edge:
Pocahontas (1995)
Pocahontas 4,
Hercules 3
FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIESPocahontas:
Pocahontas had
Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World, released in 1998. This movie easily defeats the purpose of the romantic tension in the original film and it’s enough to make anyone’s teenage daughter lock herself in her room and turn emo.
Hercules:
Hercules got the
Hercules cartoon series, also released in 1998 as part of what was left of The Disney Afternoon. While not accepted as canon with the movie (due to some themes that contradict events in the film), the series easily proves better than the film that inspired it.
Verdict: A purpose-defeating sequel vs. a canon-defeating spin-off? This one is obvious.
Edge:
Hercules (1997)
Pocahontas 4,
Hercules 4
CRITICAL/COMMERCIAL PRAISEHmm…tough call. You know what…let’s ask Siskel and Ebert.
Siskel and Ebert’s review of
Pocahontas:
I don't always agree, but
Pocahontas got two thumbs up. Financially it grossed $141 million in the US. This isn’t even half of what
The Lion King took in—and it also lost to
Batman Forever, a movie that got a split decision from Siskel and Ebert and often criticized as the start of the decline of Batman film franchise.
Siskel and Ebert’s review of
Hercules:
Here they split; Siskel says thumbs down. Commercially
Hercules made $99 million in the US. This was a disappointment after hard sale
Hunchback of Notre Dame, which only made $100 million. Not to mention, it made less than the Siskel and Ebert-verdict two thumbs down, $107 million gross of
Batman and Robin.
Batman and Robin.
Verdict: I don’t need to say any more after that.
Edge:
Pocahontas (1995)
Pocahontas 5,
Hercules 4
WINNER: Pocahontas (1995)
Thoughts: After
The Lion King,
Pocahontas may have been a very serious disappointment and I was ready to call that film the worst. But after seeing
Hercules…yeah, I think that deserves it more. So,
Pocahontas may not have been that great, but my pick for the Worst Disney Animated Feature Film of the 1990s goes to
Hercules (1997).
I welcome your thoughts.