Adaptation: Between
the 1997 cartoon and the 2014 live-action, Hercules is still the great hero we
all know him to be but face two different challenges in their film. The biggest
difference between the two is the plot wherein the carton he is on a journey
to find his place in the world and in the live-action he is trying to move on
from the past and continue to be the hero. Also, instead of having the wisdom
of Philoctetes and the support of his flying Pegasus he is followed by a team
of mercenaries who are talented in some form of combat. What viewers may have
also noticed is that in this film Hercules is more violent and there is a lot more
killing action.
Ideology: The 1997’s the plot, is about Hercules’s journey trying to find his place in the world while
he faces challenges with the mortals of earth and the betrayal of his Uncle
Hades who attempts to kill him many times. What makes this film great for the
family is that it gives children a great image of the life of Hercules.
The film is filled with creatures like Pegasus’s and centaur, giant Titans, and
the wonders of Olympus. In 2014, there is a twist to the child-friendly
story. Hercules is said to be the demigod of Zeus, yet it is not clear whether that
is true or not. Hercules completes the twelve wonders which turn out not to be
the great wonders everyone expected to be. Instead of facing God hates,
Hercules must face his past where he was betrayed and tricked to thinking he
killed his wife and family and into helping a king who turned out to be a
murderer driving for power. This film is a lot darker than 1997 one and has
a lot more violence.
Genre: 1997 is
an American musical fantasy comedy film, 2014 is an action, adventure, epic,
fantasy
Semiotics: 1997
Hercules doesn’t know where he belongs and doesn’t know how to control his
powers
2014
Hercules has succeeded in completing the 12 deeds and had everything he could
ever want in life until he was tricked and lost it all. Now he is faced with
moving on from the past.
Hercules is really cool to do, an argument to look at could be to see why they made Hercules into a live action instead of a new cartoon, like the social history. In 2014, there were more live action remakes like Maleficent and Cinderella the following year. Could his have been a trend that was starting with Hercules. Since, this remake was not done by Disney themselves, they made it a lot more realistic rather than family friendly.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really unique comparison to draw, and it will make for a really cool presentation! The shift between intended audience (children vs adults) is really stark, so I suppose this could also tell us something about what people in these age groups at their respective times wanted, or at least what the media thought they wanted, since a lot of adults also like the Disney version of Hercules.
ReplyDeleteThink about the societal changes in the making of the films
ReplyDelete