Hercules: The Animated Broadway Movie

"" is a 2014 2D-animated fantasy musical movie based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios 1997 film of the same name. The music and lyrics were written by Alan Menken and David Zippel with a book by Kristoffer Diaz. The production is also loosely based on the legendary hero of the same name, the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology.

Plot
The film begins with the five muses, "Goddesses of the arts and proclaimers of heroes", telling the story of how Zeus came to power and prevented the monstrous Titans from ruling the world. This leads to the day Hercules is born to Zeus and Hera, much to the pleasure of the other gods except Hades, who receives word from the Fates that Hercules will one day rise to power and prevent him from taking control of the world. He sends his minions, Pain and Panic, to kidnap Hercules and feed him a potion that will strip him of his immortality; however, they are interrupted by Amphitryon and Alcmene and, while Hercules becomes mortal, he retains his god-like strength (for the potion to fully work, Hercules had to drink every last drop, but missed one when they were interrupted).

Years later, Hercules grows up to be a misfit, having difficulty being accepted by others, due to not being able to control his own strength and his clumsiness which leads to him accidentally destroying a marketplace. Shortly after, his adoptive parents finally tell Hercules that he is adopted, and they found a medal with his name on it when they found him. Hercules then decides to travel to the temple of Zeus. Lightning comes down bringing the statue of Zeus to life and tells Hercules that he is his father and someone stole him from his parents (Hera and Zeus). Zeus tells him that he must prove himself a true hero before he can join the other gods on Mount Olympus. Along with his flying horse Pegasus, Hercules goes to Philoctetes, an unhappy satyr who has failed to train a true hero yet; he decides to take on Hercules as his final attempt.

After training with Phil, the three of them attempt to save the beautiful Megara, a damsel in distress, from a centaur named Nessus. A smitten Hercules barely succeeds and Meg returns to the forest, where she is revealed to be a minion for Hades, having sold her soul in order to save her lover's life; her lover abandoned her and now Meg must do favors for Hades in order to avoid an eternity in the underworld. When Hades learns that Hercules is alive, he is enraged and plots to murder him again.

Meanwhile Hercules arrives to Thebes and tries to prove himself a hero, though a group of citizens doubt and ridicule him as an amateur. After freeing two boys (Pain and Panic in disguise) from under a boulder, Hercules unintentionally releases the Hydra, a serpent-like monster, an unintended consequence of a seemingly virtuous act which has been set up as a fixed contest by Hades to kill the young hero. Phil ran for cover while Hercules bravely fights the Hydra with just his sword and his wits. Hercules scrambles to defeat the monster until it flipped him into the air and swallowed him whole. But after a moment, Hercules cuts his way out by decapitation, only for more heads to grow back and gang up to attack him. Finally, Hercules prevails by using his strength to cause a landslide, crushing the multi-headed monster while he survives, but badly bruised and wounded. Having accomplished the unsavory yet heroic task of defeating the Hydra, Hercules earns newfound fame and adoration from the citizens of Thebes as well as the anger of Hades.

Now having the respect and support of the people of Thebes, Hercules soon becomes a national celebrity as a result. Realizing that his plans are jeopardized, Hades sends Meg out to discover Hercules' weakness, promising her freedom in return. Hercules is disappointed to learn from his father Zeus that he has yet to become a true hero, and spends the day with Meg, who finds herself developing strong romantic feelings for Hercules. When Hades intervenes, she turns against him, finally accepting she has fallen in love with Hercules, much to Hades' dismay, but plots to use Meg, realizing she is Hercules' weakness.

Phil learns of Meg's involvement with Hades and, thinking she willingly desires to work for him, tries to warn Hercules, who ignores Phil and knocks him to the ground in an outrage. Discouraged, Phil leaves for home. Hades arrives, interrupting Hercules' training, talks a lot, then snaps his fingers, making Meg appear. Before she can finish her sentence, Hades snaps his fingers and she disappears, tied up and gagged by smoke, then reappears with another snap of Hades' fingers. He uses Meg to try to get Hercules to give up his God-like superhuman strength for twenty-four hours, though Hercules adds the condition that Meg doesn't get hurt in any way. Meg shakes her head frantically, trying to convince Hercules not to make the deal, but he does not listen. When Hades sets Meg free, Hades spitefully reveals that she was working for him all along. Deeply heartbroken and crushed, and now realizing Phil had been telling him the truth, but he didn't believe him, the now-weakened Hercules loses the will to fight the Cyclops that Hades unleashes upon him when he frees the Titans from Tartarus. Meg finds and unties Pegasus and battles her fear of heights to find Phil, persuading him to come back and help Hercules regain his confidence. He finishes off the Cyclops, but just as a pillar is about to crush Hercules, Meg pushes him out of the way, saving him because "people always do crazy things when they're in love."

As a result, the deal is broken and Hercules' god-like superhuman strength is returned. Hercules, along with Pegasus and Phil, saves Olympus from certain doom and Hades returns to the underworld.

Meanwhile, Meg dies of her injuries, her thread of life having been cut by the Fates. Hercules arrives and demands Meg to be revived, but Hades shows him that she is currently trapped in the River Styx, a river of souls where all the dead go. Hades allows Hercules to trade his own spirit for Meg's, hoping to return Meg's body to the surface of the river before he is killed. Hercules jumps in and as his lifeline is about to be cut by the Fates, his amazing courage and willingness to ultimately sacrifice his life for others prove him a true hero, restoring all of his godly powers and rendering him immortal, leaving the Fates shocked when they can't cut his thread of life as Hercules was immortal again. As he successfully returns Meg to the surface, Hades tries to talk his way out of the situation. Hercules punches him, knocking him into the River Styx. The other souls grab Hades and pull him down into the stream. Hercules revives Meg and they both head to Olympus, but when Meg's entrance is denied as she wasn't immortal like the Olympian Gods, Hercules chooses to become mortal and stay on Earth with her, which Zeus and Hera grant. Hercules is acclaimed a hero on both Earth and Olympus alike, Zeus creates a constellation in his image, and Phil is remembered for being the one to train him.

In a post-credits audio sequence, Hades is heard complaining about no one listening to him.

Songs

 * 1) "To Be Human (Prologue)"
 * 2) "The Gospel Truth"
 * 3) "The Gospel Truth (Reprise 1: He Ran the Underworld)"
 * 4) "The Prophecy"
 * 5) "The Gospel Truth (Reprise 2: Hades Was Not Amused)"
 * 6) "The Gospel Truth (Reprise 3: Young Herc Was Mortal Now)"
 * 7) "Uniquely Greek Town Square"
 * 8) "Go the Distance"
 * 9) "One Last Hope"
 * 10) "The Gospel Truth (Reprise 4: Young Herc Was On His Way)"
 * 11) "Forget About It"
 * 12) "A Cool Day In Hell"
 * 13) "Uniquely Greek Tough Town"
 * 14) "Zero To Hero"
 * 15) "A Cool Day In Hell (Reprise)"
 * 16) "Shooting Star"
 * 17) "One Last Hope (Reprise)/Go the Distance (Reprise)"
 * 18) "The Gospel Truth (Reprise 5: Herc Jumped the Garden Wall)"
 * 19) "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)"
 * 20) "Great Bolts Of Thunder"
 * 21) "To Be Human"
 * 22) "A Star Is Born"
 * 23) "Go the Distance (Finale)"

Cast

 * Adam Jacobs - Hercules
 * James Monroe Iglehart - Philoctetes