Mythical ‘Hercules’ Plays on Its Strengths

The lad’s got muscle and heart--and so does his parade.

Even before the box-office figures for the weekend opening of “Hercules” were tallied, Disneyland’s “Hercules Victory Parade” showed that it could go the distance, not only along Main Street, U.S.A., but out beyond the parking lot and into the pantheon of Disney classics.

“Go the Distance” is in fact a tune on the “Hercules” soundtrack that underscores one of the animated film’s themes. But another Alan Menken song, the gospel-rock “Zero to Hero,” fueled the show and energized the park guests lining the parade route Friday.

Toes tapped, hands clapped, heads bobbed with the beat. Unlike the recent series of previews for the “Light Magic” show, neither glitch nor gripe marred the inaugural event.

“I liked everything,” said Jamie Darcy-Romano, 11, a first-time Disneyland visitor who lives in Connecticut. Only after serious thought did he decide on the highlight: float No. 1, from atop which Motown-style Muses delivered the infectious “Zero to Hero.”

“I liked all of it,” concurred Jose Lopez, 55, of Rialto. “But the ‘Lion King’ parade was much better, and I think ‘Fantasmic’ is the best show in town.” “Hercules Victory” has replaced the popular “Lion King Celebration.”

“What I liked best in this parade was the cheerleaders,” Lopez added, referring to the dancers who preceded the floats. “They were unique. The choreography was very good, very entertaining.”

Unique indeed. The first set of dancers bore yard-high coifs in the shape of Grecian urns, setting a comical, campy tone for the whole procession. Among the countless, delightfully wacky anachronisms were the togas trimmed in a keyboard motif worn by another set of dancers.

An aerobics class complete with sweatbands heralded the float labeled “Heroes by Phil, Where Legends Are Made.” (The satyr Phil, short for Philoctetes, is Hercules’ trainer.) On board were a da Vinci sketch-inspired man exercising in a gyroscope; a display of Mega 2000 Protein Powder, to bring out “the epic proportions in you,” and a chariot-style treadmill employing wooden gears.

The parade offered a refreshing return to simplicity, a technological paring down (not a fiber optic in sight!) and a certain peeling away of illusion.

Many of the most memorable effects involved puppetry: the winged horse Pegasus as a kite, for instance, and the dancers’ Hydra heads leading up to the “Please Don’t Feed the Hydra” float. (Hydra is the nine-headed serpent slain by Hercules.) On the “Party With the Gods” float, characters portraying citizens of Thebes visibly manipulated the huge Zeus icon.

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Refreshing too was a dollop of Disney self-awareness. At the foot of the “Rock Titan,” for instance, a Theban slaved to turn out Hercules dolls (“Souvenirs while you wait”), echoing a sequence in the film that pokes fun at the merchandising spinoffs from such films and parades.

(Sure enough, the little shops on Main Street now stock “You’re Toast” Hades hats, “Phil the Pain” tank tops, Hercules dolls that glow bronze in the sun and fashion Meg dolls--Megara is Herc’s love interest--not to mention Meg and Hercules piggy banks.)

Doh! The 23-foot Hades towering over the “Hades House of Horrors” float suggested nothing so much as a very angry Homer Simpson, eyes bugging and steam blowing out his ears, as minions Pain and Panic rode a roller coaster below. A 10-foot mechanical puppet at the icon’s base far more closely resembled the animated character.

Given the tone of this parade, Homer would fit right in. As for what he’d be doing on Main Street, perhaps Hades said it best in the film: “It’s a small underworld after all.”

The procession lasted about 15 minutes. According to executive producer Mike E. Davis, the hero’s appearance, and the ensuing confetti shower, add up to a “triumphant climax.” In fact, the Hercules parade goes from strength to strength.

* “Hercules Victory Parade” will be staged daily at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. through Sept. 7 along the parade route at Disneyland, 1313 Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. Amusement park admission: $26-$36. (714) 781-4565.