Trivia

:: Disney's Hercules and some of the other major characters have also been used in Disney's House of Mouse. There is a brief cameo appearance by Scar, the villain of The Lion King, as the Nemean Lion, whose skin is worn by Hercules in one scene. Note: Andreas Deja, the animator who animated Adult Hercules, also animated Scar for The Lion King.

:: When Hercules walks into Phil's house on the island, he hits his head on the mast of the Argo. Phil tells him to be careful. This is a reference to Jason of the legends of "Jason and the Argonauts", who died when the mast of the Argo fell on him. (In the actual Greek myths, Hercules, or Heracles rather, was an Argonaut himself, but left the crew of the Argo because he was in search of his friend, Hylas, who had gone missing on an island).

:: The Pillars of Hercules were spotted on Phil's Island.

:: Hercules was not the son of both Zeus and Hera, but rather the son of Zeus and a mortal woman. Hera was spiteful against both, and vexed Hercules until his death. Disney felt that the original myth of Hercules, with its story of infidelity and spousal jealousy, was inappropriate for its movie, and therefore made Hades the villain instead.

:: In the beginning of myth, Zeus tricked Hera into marriage by acting as a wounded owl and she gave in to marrying the owl and made her pregnant. Hera was unhappy with this marriage and did not like Zeus very much. Zeus had constantly cheated on Hera after they married. In the movie, however, Zeus and Hera are loyal to each other and birth Hercules, as that hadn't happened in Greek myth either.

:: Hera also held contempt for Hercules in mythology. During his Trials, she tried to interfere and kill him. But in the movie, she is seen as a loving and motherly figure.

:: Hades was originally scripted as a slow, menacing character until James Woods auditioned for the role and impressed the casting directors with his rapid-fire style.

:: In the sequence where Hades takes over Olympus, he yells down to Zeus "Zeusy, I'm Home." This is a reference to Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy.

:: A direct-to-video sequel, Hercules II: The Trojan War, was once planned but later cancelled.

:: After Hercules saves Meg from Nessus the Centaur, Phil tells him, "Next time, don't let your guard down because of a pair of big goo-goo eyes". The line originally came out as, "Next time, don't let your guard down because of a pair of big, blue eyes". But, by the time the scene was in colour, Meg's eyes were purple.

:: At the time of the film's release, there was a popular live-action television series entitled Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, which had led to a renewed interest in the character. Disney had begun production on the film years before the series debuted, but nonetheless this led to some confusion. Eventually the producers of the series released a direct-to-video animated feature entitled "Hercules and Xena: The Battle for Mount Olympus." The art style was similar to that of the Disney film, and the advertising for the feature claimed that it starred "The REAL Hercules."

:: Max von Sydow provided the voice of Zeus in the Swedish version of the film.

:: Ricky Martin provided the voice of adult Hercules in the Spanish version of the film.

:: Phil is to be portrayal of Pan in the fact that he helps out Hercules. However, he also shows characteristics of a satyr in the fact he is somewhat lazy. In myth, satyrs are known for chasing nymphs, drinking (etc.) Pan and satyrs can be commonly confused because they are very similar in appearance, which might have happened in the process of developing this movie.

ANACHRONISMS

Many events of Greek mythology are mentioned by the various deific characters within the film in the past tense, either explaining the events to Hercules or referencing an example. However, several of the events mentioned occurred either during or after the life of the mythological Heracles. These include:

:: The quest for the Golden Fleece: The quest for the Golden Fleece, featuring Jason and the Argonauts, took place during the life of Heracles and featured him as a member of the Argonauts. However, the Argo itself has apparently been disassembled and Hercules has no first-person knowledge of its adventures.

:: The Trojan War: The war occurred a generation after the life of Heracles, and in fact featured his son as a participant, but Hades makes a reference to the defeat of the Trojans with the Trojan Horse.

:: Achilles: In addition to referencing the Trojan War, several characters mention of the mythological figure of Achilles, who lived a generation after Hercules and took part in the Trojan War.