Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
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Video release poster
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| Directed by | Lynne Naylor |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | John Loy |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Joseph LoDuca |
| Cinematography |
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| Studio | Renaissance Pictures Universal Cartoon Studios |
| Distributed by | Universal Studios Home Video |
| Release date(s) | January 6, 1998 |
| Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus is an animated adventure film from 1998. It was released directly to video. The movie features the voices of the original actors from the popular TV shows Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. These actors include Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Lucy Lawless as Xena. The film was directed by Lynne Naylor and written by John Loy. It also aired on the Fox Kids TV block.
Contents
The Story: Battle for Mount Olympus
Long ago, the mighty god Zeus took the Cronus Stone from the powerful Titans. This stone kept the Titans trapped deep in the Underworld. Later, Zeus and Alcmene had a son named Hercules. Hercules grew up to be a great hero, even defeating a Hydra when he was young.
A New Adventure Begins
The movie starts with Hercules battling another Hydra. His friend, Iolaus, joins him. They decide to visit Alcmene in Thebes. Iolaus feels a bit annoyed because Hercules always gets all the credit. Meanwhile, Xena and Gabrielle are busy getting gold back from some mischievous satyrs.
Ares, the god of war, tells Xena that Hercules is walking into a trap in Thebes. Xena wants Hercules to go anyway, as Thebes needs his help. Xena gets angry with Ares because he wants her for himself. This causes an argument between Xena and Gabrielle.
Gods and Titans
Hercules and Iolaus are upset when Zeus takes Alcmene to Mount Olympus. They decide to go rescue her. Ares tells Zeus that he wants Xena. Suddenly, Hera, Zeus's wife, confronts him. She then steals the Cronus Stone, which releases the Titans from their fiery prison in the Underworld.
Zeus quickly shrinks Alcmene and places her in a tiny dollhouse castle to keep her safe from Hera. Meanwhile, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, surfs down a mountain, much to Iolaus's delight. Aphrodite warns Hercules not to go to Mount Olympus, but he ignores her. Iolaus stays behind with Aphrodite.
Titans Unleashed
A young boy falls into the lava pits, but Hercules and Iolaus save him. In a nearby town, Xena and Gabrielle defeat three thugs. Hercules then meets Porphyrion, the Earth Titan, who rises from the ground. Porphyrion tells Hercules he can go free because Hercules is not defending the gods.
Next, Tethys, the Water Titan, appears from the water. Mnemosyne, the Fire Titan, emerges from a volcano. Finally, Crius, the large Wind Titan, forms from a tornado right in front of Xena and Gabrielle. The Titans are now free and plan to get revenge on the gods.
Heroes and Gods Unite
Zeus calls Artemis, Aphrodite, and Ares to fight the Titans. They hope Hercules will help them. Xena and Gabrielle are helping wounded people. Artemis decides to get Xena's help and turns Gabrielle into a bird. Xena flies on Gabrielle to the gods' home, while Hercules climbs up.
When Xena blames Ares for what happened to Gabrielle, Artemis explains the truth about Ares's actions. Hercules rescues Alcmene. Hera then uses her magic to turn Ares, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Zeus into a goat, a cow, a rabbit, and a mouse! The others are sad that Hercules did not help his mother.
When Xena and Iolaus arrive, Xena confronts Artemis. She learns that Artemis cannot turn Gabrielle or herself back because the gods have lost their powers. Hercules finds out that Alcmene was sick, and Zeus offered her immortality on Mount Olympus. Hercules is still angry that Zeus took Alcmene in the first place.
The Final Battle
Hera scolds the Titans for destroying Mount Olympus. On Earth, Xena and Hercules make up and agree to help the gods get their home and the Cronus Stone back. Hera tries to use the Cronus Stone to make the Titans stronger, but she fails to control them. The Titans take the stone from Hera and shrink her into the dollhouse. Alcmene returns to her normal size.
The heroes ride Gabrielle to the mountain and fight the Titans. Hercules gets the Cronus Stone and breaks it apart. This opens the Underworld caverns. Hercules and Xena throw Crius into the lava. Iolaus makes Tethys and Mnemosyne crash into each other, and they dissolve into the fiery pits. Porphyrion grabs Hercules, but Gabrielle pulls him into the air. Gabrielle drops the Titan into the cavern. Hercules almost falls to his death, but Gabrielle saves him. She drops him off on the gods' mountain just in time to close the stone, trapping the Titans back in their lava prison.
Zeus and Alcmene return to Olympus. Zeus welcomes Hercules to visit anytime. Artemis turns Gabrielle back to her normal form. Hercules, Iolaus, Gabrielle, and Xena then head to Corinth to return a bag of gold and find their next adventure.
Voice Cast
- Kevin Sorbo as Hercules
- Lucy Lawless as Xena
- Michael Hurst as Iolaus
- Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle
- Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite
- Kevin Smith as Ares
- Josephine Davison as Alcmene and Artemis
- Joy Watson as Hera
- Peter Rowley as Zeus
- David Mackie as Porphyrion
- Alison Wall as Tethys and Mnemosyne
- Ted Raimi as Crius
- George Ball as Porphyrion (singing voice)
- Roger Freeland as Crius (singing voice)
- Amanda McBroom as Mnemosyne (singing voice)
- B.J. Ward as Tethys (singing voice)
Movie Connections
Even though this movie has the same main characters and most of the same actors, it is usually not considered a direct part of the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess TV shows. However, some ideas from the movie did appear in the live-action series later on:
- The look of Mnemosyne in the episode "Let There Be Light" is similar to how she appears in this movie.
- The Kronos stone, which was mentioned in earlier shows as a time-travel device, was later shown to give gods "power greater than Zeus." This matches how the stone works in this film.
- A short clip from this movie was shown in the episode "Yes, Virginia, There is a Hercules."
- Zeus's appearance in the film is based on how actor Anthony Quinn played him in other movies.
- Hera appears in her human form in this movie. When the film was made, Hera had not yet appeared in human form on the TV series. She would finally do so a few months after the movie was released.
Inspiration from Greek Myths
The story of this movie is inspired by an ancient Greek myth called the Gigantomachy. This was a huge war between the Olympian gods and a race of powerful beings called the Gigantes, or giants.
The giants were created by Gaia, the Earth goddess, to get revenge on the Olympians for defeating the Titans. In the original myth, Porphyrion was the leader of the giants. He could only be killed if both gods and demigods (like Hercules) worked together. Heracles was chosen as the gods' main champion.
The real myth had many more gods fighting, including Athena and Hermes. Even the Fates joined in, using bronze clubs to fight some giants! Unlike the movie, Hera was not on the giants' side. She was actually the leader of the Olympians in the field, while Zeus used his thunderbolts as heavy weapons.
See also
In Spanish: Hércules & Xena: la batalla del Olimpo para niños
