Hercules & Xena - Der Kampf um den Olymp

I'm not saying it's devoid of good points - the original cast members furnish their characters' voices; it's only 76 minutes long; and lots of Joseph LoDuca's unoriginal but rousing music from the two shows is tracked in as underscore.

But that's it.

John Loy's script completely misses the spirit of the live-action shows (tellingly, he never wrote for either "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" or "Xena: Warrior Princess"); the inclusion of three (bad) songs is pointless and irritating, especially the one sung by the Titans; and the animation is, quite simply, appalling - from the giant sea creature that keeps changing colour during the opening battle with Hercules to draughtsmanship that achieves the remarkable feat of making Gabrielle look ugly (when she hasn't been turned into an eagle... poor Renee O'Connor. Then again, she gets the least dialogue in the bad script), this is cheap animation without any of the charm that other cheapskate cartoons can have.

Not that the Disney version of "Hercules" didn't have any flaws of its own, but it's streets ahead of this one in all respects; if the parent shows were as bad as this one (and some people say they are), they would have been about as successful as "The Adventures of Sinbad."

Well, okay, maybe we didn't expect musical numbers, of which one, "We're the Titans," is exceedingly bad (We're the Titans - boom chucka lucka lucka - boom chucka lucka") although the others are okay.

Basically it's a big-budget version of a Hercules episode (even the CGI of the show couldn't sustain these monstrous fights). The problem is, they didn't want to seem to spend _any_ budget on the animation. Minimalist backgrounds and crudely drawn figures might be some kind of stylistic statement. Then again, it might just be cheap animation. The characters themselves are rather grotesque: Xena has a odd reddish streak in her hair, while Herc is grotesque: one scenes has his veins literally bulging out of his arms during a moment of extreme exertion. As Aphrodite would put it, "Gross!"

Even the plot is pretty minimalistic: doesn't Olympus have more than 5 gods?? It's nice that they got Kevin Smith for the always sneaky Ares (and Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite, although her character has nothing to do), and there are some funny kid-type moments (the Olympians being turned into farm animals). Generally, though, it's a lot grimmer than the Hercules series: closer in tone to a Xena "serious" episode. Of course, there's no real continuity with the series, either, which has never had Alcmene head off to live with Zeus before her series death.

Basically, H&X ain't bad as a kiddy flick, and die-hard fans of the series, which the movie apparently caters to, probably won't be disappointed. But other than that, there's not much to recommend it.

'Hercules: The legendary journeys' was consistently enjoyable, if also consistently middle-of-the-road; its spinoff, 'Xena: Warrior princess,' was uneven, but absolutely outstanding and unquestionably superior at its best. How did I go 25 years without being made aware of this animated crossover? Well, maybe it's not so difficult an answer. I think this is enjoyable, worth watching, and especially recommendable for fans of either series. That recommendation comes with a minor caveat, though, and I can see why in all these years 'Hercules and Xena - The animated movie' hasn't been as famous as its parent programs.

'The battle for Mount Olympus' has two primary facets to it. The first is a recognizable cast of voice talent (Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Michael Hurst, Kevin Smith, Alexandra Tydings, and more), and a world and characters derived from Greek mythology that will be gladly familiar to fans of the shows. In the broad strokes of John Loy's screenplay, all this will feel like a return home for those who enjoyed the live-action adventures, as the dialogue, characters, scene writing, light comedy, and indeed the narrative bear flavors we know and love. Powerful and boastful Hercules, comic relief Iolaus, strong-headed and fierce Xena, reliable sidekick Gabrielle, devious Ares, villainously jealous Hera - and plenty of monsters and action. Joseph LoDuca's score even takes clear inspiration from the original series in some measure. If not exactly canon, this is definitely part of the "Xenaverse."

The second primary facet of this film is that it is unmistakably geared toward a young audience, and specifically modeled after other cartoons of the 90s. This isn't to say that there aren't more adult-oriented elements that ride a line between "PG" and "PG-13" (mostly when it comes to any women and their sartorial arrangements), but it looks and surely feels like any animated feature or series we might have seen in the preceding decade. To obtain that look and feel, it means that 'The battle for Mount Olympus' contains snappy pacing (including exposition that is achingly crammed into an opening song), zany antics (i.e., more cartoonish humor and plot ideas than either live-action series at their silliest), simplified writing, and sometimes over the top voice acting. To whatever extent one may enjoy this, they must do so with acceptance that this is as much a Saturday morning cartoon as it is kin to 'The legendary journeys' and 'Warrior princess.'

With all this having been said, there's much to admire about 'Hercules and Xena.' The story is actually rather solid in and of itself, engaging and satisfying. As far as the details go, I often found myself thinking "Yeah, that's totally something the show would have done," even in some of the more ridiculous moments. Even the involvement in the tale of only a handful of gods is in keeping with series precedence; how often did we see more than a few immortals in a single episode? The animation isn't the top of the line, and does perhaps feel a tad dated, but it was at least about on par for 1998 - somewhere on the spectrum between the 80s 'He-Man and the masters of the universe' cartoon, and contemporary fare like 'Johnny Bravo.' Some moments or particular inclusions are especially well done, such as the designs of the titans. The sound design, meanwhile, is surprisingly great - I've watched some brand new, major cinematic releases that were distinctly inferior in this regard. Every sound effect, note of music, and exclamation or line or dialogue rings out with welcome crystal clarity. Some jokes or gags are genuinely funny; some action sequences are earnestly exciting, the climax above all. The end result is meaningfully entertaining across the board, and for as gauche as the original songs are, I'd be lying if I said they weren't well done, too. (The "Titan's song" sequence is an especial minor delight.)

The picture gathers strength as it progresses, and ultimately ends on a strong note. None of this is to say that 'The battle for Mount Olympus' is flawless, and perfectly entertaining for all comers. Much like its live-action brethren, an animated vision thereof is indubitably an acquired taste, and surely even more so on account of the ways the saga has been rendered more appealing and suitable for young audience members. Still, I had mixed expectations when I sat to watch, and at length I'm pleased to say that I had a good time watching. The syndicated series are more dependably deserving, sure, and as a matter of personal preference I can't say that everything herein meets with equal success - but all involved turned in good work all the same, and a movie that only wanted to have fun achieved that goal. There's no need to go out of your way for 'Hercules and Xena,' but if you have the chance to watch, this is a fine way to spend a mere 80 minutes.

Sam Raimi's Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995) and Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) of the same year has left fond memories for many small screen audiences. Kevin Sorbo had a way of being a very macho convincing Hercules, while Lucy Lawless gave something for nerds to drool at. Both series combined action, wit, likable characters and story lines that reeled in fans. Interestingly enough, some people aren't familiar that Universal Studios released an animated cartoon feature of these two famous characters. And compared to many other animated features that have been released, it does have its flaws but it still is fun.

The title, (although a mouthful) explains itself. Xena and Hercules will battle for Mount Olympus. Simple as that. Just like Disney's Hercules (1997), the four elemental titans attack the Immortal Gods and its up to Earth's mightiest heroes to fend them off. However, what differs is that John Loy (the writer) was smart and stuck to Sam Raimi's story line where Hera (Hercules' immortal mother) is the one who unleashes the titans. Why - because Hera hates Hercules - not Hades. Hades minds his own business in this film.

Thankfully, along with the writing, the actors who play the characters in the live-action series came back to voice their cartoon counterparts as well. That's a very good thing. Imagine if the studio hired new actors to voice the characters. That wouldn't be wise. And because the actors are playing their respective characters, the dialog comes naturally making the listening experience easy as well. This also helps make the comical scenes funny too. Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Michael Hurst (Iolaus) and Kevin Smith (Ares) carry much of those parts. Even Lucy Lawless (Xena) has some rather unconventionally funny scenes.

The last couple of parts that help make the watching experience enjoyable were the action and music. The title doesn't lie, there is plenty of battle moments in this movie. And for a PG film, it has some tense moments. Either way that's effective. And since this is a Raimi production, composer Joseph LoDuca should be expected to be on board - which he was and his score is effective for each scene. But here's where some people may be turned off. First, this animated feature also contains musical numbers sung in the intro, by Xena, and even the titans. Since this isn't a Disney production it may seem avant garde, considering the TV series didn't have musical numbers.

Also some viewers may not appreciate the animation. At points it can look choppy even though the action scenes are exceptionally good. The main characters are drawn appropriately but it also seems like that's the only other place all the effort that was put into. Everything else from the background pieces to the minor characters weren't given much attention. Some characters from head to toe are one full color. That can come off as cheap and lazy. The dimensions of this world are very flat and too squared off in some areas. Along with that are some very strange flaws in continuity. It's not always obvious, but when noticed, it is baffling. It really depends on the opinion of the viewer and what you're interested in seeing.

For the most part, fans of the Hercules and Xena TV series should enjoy this animated feature. It's animation certainly isn't as polished like Disney's but the voice cast makes it work along with some fun action and music.

Fantasy, musical, comedy, action adventure. It had to happen for sure, because the audience probably asked for it, namely to make another joint adventure of Hercules and Xena from both series, and the creators took such a step, releasing this full-length cartoon between seasons, which I could not miss, since I watched the series "Xena - the Queen of Warriors" only recently, and I also fell in love with him (despite a whole bunch of problems). I didn't watch The Amazing Wanderings of Hercules, but I still got a little bit of pleasure from watching the cartoon, though not much. And here's my brief opinion for you - A boring adventure of your favorite characters. In this cartoon there were both pros and cons, which must be said. And this should be the end of this introduction, and get to the point.

So, the pros: 1. Classical animation - how tired I am of three-dimensional cartoons (even to the point of nausea) that when I see a classic two-dimensional animation, my heart rejoices, because I do not get tired of repeating "Even the cheapest two-dimensional animation will look stylish than the most expensive three-dimensional, because the latter requires a lot of money just in fact." The main characters are drawn and animated just fine (especially Xena and Hercules), and the Titans are good (especially their underlined forms, if you know what I mean). And the combat episodes are definitely pleasing to the eye. I don't know for the experience of animators, but in general I even want to praise them a little. Although of all the characters, Xena is more memorable (maybe the series is to blame for this, who knows).

2. Humor - the local humor matches the serial, quite pleasant, witty, with a couple of memorable moments. Although there are not enough stars from the sky. You can laugh.

So, the cons: 1. Backdrops - and here the animators can be scolded, because no one really bothered about this moment, or maybe it was a matter of budget scarcity (and so it most likely was). The backdrops here are just canvases of different colors (except for the house of Hercules' mother). Olympus is not a stronghold that should inspire awe and fear to anyone who wants to look at it. Trees, bushes, rocks - everything is just marked.

2. The script - it resembles just another series of two desired series with a simple plot, a good middle, a good final battle and a logical conclusion with a hint of continuation (but in the form of the desired series). The characters are familiar, although the animation of some Olympians makes the audience twist their fingers at the temple. Especially unlike his serial prototype Ares, I'm not talking about Zeus or Hera. Only Xena, Gabriel, Hercules, and Iolaus look like themselves. Well, Artemis and Aphrodite also resemble their images. Plus, many moments in conversations will be appreciated only by fans of both series, and for the rest they will be incomprehensible.

3. Russian voice-over translation - and both. And in general, the translation is not bad, only the names and accents are not placed at all where it is required. For example, Gabriel in the first translation of Xena calls for some reason "Gabriella". So also the translation was made clearly on enthusiasm. Therefore, I highly recommend watching this cartoon in English, given that the serial actors voiced their characters here.

4. Boredom - despite the rather small timing (one hour and sixteen minutes), the cartoon is boring to watch. The viewer wakes up only at the moments of fights with Xena or Hercules, and humorous moments. Yes, there were also boring episodes in the series "Xena - the Warrior Queen", but to make a full-length cartoon boring? Seriously? What did the creators expect? Were you hoping to leave on the success of both series and that popularity? And here we missed, we made a mistake. Critics and viewers have blasted this cartoon.

5. Boring songs - I singled them out separately, because this cartoon is also a musical, and in it the characters sing and sing boring. It seems that the composer wrote lullaby compositions, and not music for a fantasy comedy adventure thriller. Joseph Loduka will be unlucky for you.

It can be rightfully stated that the animation experiment of the creators of the cult series "The Amazing Wanderings of Hercules" and "Xena - the Warrior Queen" failed miserably. We did it for the fans, and we got it from them, and the rest of the audience were, to put it mildly, dissatisfied.

My rating is 5 out of 10. About the recommendation - see for yourself!