Hello everyone. Welcome back to another #moviemonday. I hope that you are all enjoying the month of December. I have been busy getting into the festive spirit. We’ve decorated our house, I have done my Christmas shopping. I am wrapping Christmas presents everyday. Christmas FM is playing in the car, I am watching Christmas movies all the time and I am loving this festive season.

So let’s dive into #moviemonday because it is time for one of my absolute favourite Christmas movies. Today I am talking about Christmas with the Kranks. Every year, after the house is decorated, we pour a glass of baileys and we sit down to watch Christmas with the Kranks, and this movie is one of those movies where I feel it is not Christmas unless I have watched it.

This movie was released in 2004. It was directed by Joe Roth. The movie is based on the book Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.

Plot.

It is the holiday season Luther and Nora Krank drop their only daughter Blair off at the airport as she is off to a Peace Corps assignment in Peru. When their only child is gone, Nora and Luther reflect over the fact that Christmas just won’t be the same without her. Nora is the Christmas Queen. She knits, she bakes, she wears a festive vest, her entire house is decorated, she throws an annual Christmas Eve party that everyone in town always looks forward to, so she is finding Blair’s absence particularly hard. Luther calculates how much they usually spend on Christmas and when he sees that they could save money by going on a cruise, the movie follows Luther as he ropes Nora into his plan of taking one year off to go on a cruise since Blair won’t be there. That’s right, the Kranks are skipping Christmas … or at least they are trying to, because when friends, colleagues, and neighbours find out, they can’t believe it. All is going well for Luther’s plan, until Blair calls and says she will be home for Christmas after all, and then it is up to the Kranks to pull off a Christmas miracle because they only have a few hours to put together their famous Christmas Eve party.

Characters.

This movie has a brilliant ensemble of characters, and there is not a set protagonist and antagonist, because at times, it is Luther who seems like the antagonist.

Luther Krank is practical. He is stubborn. He wants to get away and he cannot see the issue with skipping Christmas just for one year. The subject becomes a matter of principle for Luther because when his friends, coworkers, and neighbours protest, he becomes determined to show them that he can skip Christmas if he chooses to to do so. Luther becomes so obsessed with his plan, he begins to act selfishly and he loses sight of what the Christmas season is all about.

Nora Krank is my favourite character in this movie. She is kind, she is generous, she is very caring. Nora loves Christmas and throughout the movie she struggles to go along with Luther’s plan, and she dislikes his selfish behaviour. Nora embodies the true Christmas spirit as all she wants to do is have the perfect Christmas Eve party for Blair and her new fiancé because to Nora, Christmas is a time to be spent with loved ones. I love Nora and I think one of the best moments in this movie is when she puts her red vest back on and announces that there is no way that the Kranks are skipping Christmas.

Vic Frohmeyer is the self-appointed mayor of the neighbourhood, and when he finds out that the Kranks want to skip Christmas, he and the rest of the community are shocked. I think that Vic is a great character. He seems like he could be an antagonist, but actually he is just a family man, who loves his community, and when it turns out that Blair is coming home, it is Vic who rallies the neighbourhood into throwing the perfect party for Blair even though they are all fed up of Luther’s selfish attitude. He is a leader, and he is a very funny one.

Walt and Bev Shields live directly across the street from the Kranks. Walt and Luther bicker throughout the entire movie because they do not get along. Bev is fighting cancer and this year will most likely be her last Christmas.

There are a few other characters who are great, Vic’s son Spike, Blair’s fiancé Enrique, and Marty who no one knows but he somehow knows everyone – no spoilers here, watch the movie.

The entire cast is brilliant and funny and there is no better pairing to play Luther and Nora than Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. They are fantastic.

Themes.

This is a cheesy, funny, Christmas movie. The themes are love, family, community, and the true meaning of Christmas. I think that is perfectly fine to enjoy a cheesy, feel-good movie at Christmas time. This is a light-hearted movie but there are some lovely, heartfelt moments. In this movie, Luther becomes so obsessed with proving a point that he pushes everyone away and he forgets how lucky he is and what the true meaning of Christmas is about. Christmas is a time to be spent with those we love, it is about sharing and coming together, and celebrating one another. Luther is blessed to have a healthy family that he loves, and he is finally reminded of this when he sees Walt and Bev eating alone. Bev is dying, their son has not come home in years and just a few hours ago, Luther was complaining that Blair flew thousands of miles to surprise him. This moment really puts everything into perspective for Luther. I love this movie, and I love the message in it. Christmas can be a stressful time, for some it can be a very lonely time, and it is important to be grateful for the good things that we have, it is especially important to be grateful for the people that we have, whether they be family or friends that we have chosen as family. The movie also shows us how it is important to not get carried away with blinders on, because even if you are striving for something, it still is not okay to act selfishly or hurt others along the way. I would describe the tone of this movie as nostalgic and cosy. It is not too deep, and the heartfelt moments aren’t too heavy or trying too hard. It is simply a funny yet heartfelt Christmas movie with a very wholesome message.

Structure.

This movie is 98 minutes long. It is short and easy to follow and I would say that it follows a three-act structure. The beginning of the movie is the Kranks dealing with empty nest syndrome and Luther puts together his plan of taking a cruise. The middle of the movie, the second-act shows the fallout between Luther and his community as he digs his heels in and becomes obsessed with proving his point. The turning point of this movie that launches us into act-three is when Blair calls to say she is on her way home. This sends Luther’s plan crashing to the ground and the third-act of the movie is the frantic race to get the house ready for the party. It is really easy to follow, and it is really fun, and as I said earlier, it is a light-hearted movie to watch and I think that it really puts you into a festive mood.

Final Thoughts.

I will most likely watch Christmas with the Kranks again before Christmas this year. I will continue to watch it every year. If you have not seen it then I cannot recommend it enough. It’s fun, it’s heartfelt, it’s cosy, and it is a perfect movie to add to your list of Christmas movies.

This has been Movie Monday. I hope you enjoyed it. Have you seen Christmas with the Kranks?What movie puts you into a festive mood? Let me know.

Kate xo.

Hello everyone. Welcome to another #moviemonday. Today is an exciting Movie Monday because it is the first of my festive themed Movie Monday’s. Starting today, I will be discussing Christmas movies for the rest of the month because I love this time of year and there are so many great movies to choose from. 

If you saw my Instagram stories, then you will know that I went to see a movie over the weekend and I ran a poll to see if anyone could guess what it was. Thank you so much to anyone who sent in their guess, I really appreciate it. Some of you got it right and some of you guessed movies that I will be discussing later in the month. 

On Saturday I went to see Die Hard in the Light House cinema and it was a brilliant night. 

Today I am talking all about Die Hard so let’s dive into #moviemonday. 

Die Hard was directed by John McTiernan and the movie was released in 1988. 

Plot.

This movie follows NYPD police officer John McClane as he goes to L.A to visit his estranged wife at her office Christmas party. John is hoping to patch things up with Holly, who is doing brilliantly at her new job in her big office at Nakatomi Plaza. She even has started going by her maiden name. John doesn’t think the party can get any worse but then it does when everyone on the 30th floor gets held hostage by the impeccably calculated Hans Gruber and his men. John must singlehandedly fight each one of Hans’ men while trying to figure out what it is that they want, and while making sure that nothing happens to Holly or any of the other hostages. The LAPD can’t help him, the FBI can’t help him. It’s just John McClane up in that skyscraper and he has to trust his instincts and follow his gut if he wants to make it out alive. 

I will say that I love this movie. I would even go as far as saying that it is possibly my favourite movie. I have loved it since I was quite young because in my house it is a family favourite. I would watch this movie at any time of the year but it is a Christmas movie. It simply is not Christmas for me if I don’t watch Die Hard in December. Is it as festive as some other Christmas movies? Maybe not, but it is set at Christmas which makes it a Christmas movie. 

I also think that it is one of the best action movies there is. I studied film theory as part of my BA and I have written an essay all about Die Hard so that will tell you how much I love this movie. I think this movie set the tone for what action movies came to be. I think that this movie really set up the idea of one unlikely hero who has to defeat the bad guys all by themselves as many movies are described as being something like  “Die Hard on a train/boat/etc.”, and I think that highlights the success of this movie. Die Hard captured something really special with the character of John McClane and while many films try to replicate it, I don’t think it has ever been equaled. 

Characters. 

The movie’s protagonist is John McClane, and I have to spend some time talking about him because I think he is a brilliant character and I don’t think anyone could have played him other than Bruce Wilis. When this movie came out, John McClane was not the typical action movie hero. Action movie heroes looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. John McClane is not made of  bulging muscles and he is not an ultra strong, hypermasculine hero. He is a normal NYPD officer. He is fit, but he does not look like a superhero. He is masculine, but in a very different way to someone like Schwarzenegger. John McClane is a wise-cracking, sarcastic, begrudging hero. He does not want to deal with this, this was not how he envisioned his night going. He gets thrust into this situation, and I think the factor that makes Die Hard so brilliant is that it is clear that John McClane has been thrown into this situation and now he must deal with it in order to survive. He is acting on instinct alone, he is trying to think on his feet, quite literally as he got caught without his shoes or socks on, he is at times visibly frustrated because he has to figure out his next move on the spot and his brilliance comes from being good under pressure. His quick wit and slick nature is what buys him time and keeps him safe. He gets called a cowboy by Hans and I think that this is very apt. I like that John McClane is human. He is flawed. He has made mistakes in his marriage, he is stubborn, he is not the best at following protocol, he is a real person and this makes him relatable, but at the end of the day, he does love his wife and he does love his children and he is a good man. 

Hans Gruber is the movie’s antagonist. He is played by the amazing Alan Rickman. Apologies to any Harry Potter fans who think of Snape when they hear the name Alan Rickman, to me, he will always be Hans Gruber. Hans is the character that I think of when I hear Rickman’s name. He is an incredible villain. He is the antithesis of John McClane. The two characters could not be any more different. Hans is articulate, he is immaculately dressed, he is calm and poised, he is calculated. His every move has been carefully planned out and if it was not for John McClane being in the building that night, I think it is very likely that his plan would have worked. He is the villain, and he is ruthless at times, but something that I like about Hans is that he is not violent for the sake of being violent, and he does not fumble easily. He is an extremely clever man and I love that he stays extremely calm for the majority of the movie. He does not need to shout to be scary. He is intimidating even when he is standing still, and he does have a sense of humour and I appreciate that even though he is the villain, he is a nuanced character. He is not one dimensional. 

The thing to remember about this movie is that while it is an action movie, it is also a heist movie because that is Hans’ long-term plan. He wants to steal the millions that are in the vault, but he knows that he would be caught so his entire plan is to make the entire operation look like a terrorist attack so that when the building blows, the police will think he is dead because you don’t look for someone if you think they are already dead. His plan indicates what a detailed, calculating person he is, and again it shows how different he is to John McClane because there is a smoke and mirrors aspect to Hans’ but with John McClane, what you see is what you get. 

Holly Genero (McClane) is John’s estranged wife. She is doing incredibly well for herself in L.A. She has got a brilliant job that she is very good at. She has got a lovely office. She is respected by her coworkers, even the arrogant male coworkers, and her boss respects her so much that he asks her to give a speech at the Christmas party. Holly’s job causes a strain in her and John’s marriage. He does not want to leave New York, and in his own words, he should have been more supportive. I love Holly. She is clever, she is independent, she is taking advantage of an opportunity that has come her way. I think that modern viewers may say that she does not play a huge role in this movie, and I think Holly is the kind of character that would be heavily altered if the movie was to ever get remade – this is a movie that I hope never gets remade because it is perfect as it is. It does not need to be touched, I don’t think any remake could ever do it justice, and I also think that Holly’s character was very empowering especially when you remember that this movie came out in 1988. Holly is not a helpless damsel. John is on her turf when he comes to her workplace. He is an outsider. He is out of place in her corporate world. She holds the power there. She stays calm in a hostage situation. She remains professional and composed throughout the entire ordeal, and she even negotiates with Hans. She is steely when she requests a sofa for her pregnant assistant and she is not begging Hans to allow the hostages to use the bathroom, she is telling him quite firmly that unless he likes things messy then he better start bringing them in groups. Holly holds her own and I love her for it. I think her best moment is when she punches the reporter who harassed her children in order to get his story. Holly may be John’s romantic interest, and yes he does save her at one point, but she is not helpless, she is not simply there to be saved, she is a strong, interesting character in her own right and I think that she should get more credit for how great she is. 

There is an ensemble of characters in this movie and they are all fantastic. Hans has his team of cronies and each of them have their own special skill. Al Powell is the sergeant on the outside who communicates with John through a radio. He is the one police officer who believes John and he is on his side throughout the movie. Argyle is John’s driver who picked him up at the airport and he is fantastic. I would argue that he is the comic relief in this action movie as throughout the entire hostage ordeal, Argyle is in the parking garage enjoying his drinks and dancing to music in his seat, completely oblivious to everything that is going on inside the skyscraper and while I won’t spoil anything, he too has a brilliant moment towards the end of the movie. I even love Harry Ellis, the oaf who works with Holly. He is full of himself and he thinks he is way more brilliant than he actually is. He is arrogant, but he somehow manages to be really funny. You cannot help but laugh at his antics. There is the Chief of Police and the FBI agents and the news team and all of them want their moment in the sun which is why they do not listen to John. It gets very frustrating but it does make the ending extremely satisfying. No spoilers though, if you want to know what I’m talking about then you have to watch the movie. 

Themes. 

Die Hard may be an action movie, but that does not mean that it does not have some really compelling themes. There is heart to this movie which only adds to why I love it. Family is a key theme. John is going to L.A in order to see what happens with Holly. We get the idea that he wants to patch things up but we don’t know how that will play out. Despite their differences, Holly and John clearly love each other. John  loves his children, as does Holly and one of the key plot points in this movie is that Hans does not know that Holly is John’s wife for a long time and this allows John to work things out because if Hans knew who Holly was from the start, he’d have hurt her to get John to give up. Holly is John’s weakness, and the fact that Hans finds this out towards the end of the movie is great because it heightens the stakes towards the movie’s climax. I think that planning vs instinct is a major theme in this movie. Hans is the personification of planning. He is immaculate and calculated and in all honesty, his plan probably should have worked and it likely would have if John did not happen to be there because as I said earlier, John was thrown into this and he is figuring out his next step as he goes along. He is the personification of pure instinct. Hans was not able to handle someone like John because he could not plan for someone like John McClane. John McClane is unpredictable and spontaneous, and he gives the calculated Hans a run for his money. I think that I would list society vs individualism as a theme, it is a minor one, but it is there. John is all by himself, he is the lone hero, and he has to set protocol aside which the LAPD officers do not like and Al is another individual because he is the only one on the ground who is rooting for John. He believes in him. He goes against his boss because he believes that the voice he is hearing over the radio is telling the truth and he stands with him. Greed is another theme. Hans Gruber wants millions, and he has constructed this entire plan in order to achieve that goal. It shows what some people are willing to do for money and image is obviously very important to Hans as he is well groomed and he is dressed in a suit and mentions owning many more so he is clearly a man who is driven by money and image. 

I have spoken about the hero’s journey a few times before but I think that John Mcclane is more of an anti-hero, or at least he is an unlikely hero. He is not the archetypal hero. He is not the underdog. He is jaded, he swears, he is not clean cut, and yet there is something charming about him. You cannot help but root for him. I would call him an iconic character. 

Stucture. 

Die Hard is a long movie and I think that it is a perfectly structured movie. It is a movie that is, in my opinion, an example of brilliant exposition. Everything in Die Hard happens for a reason. It is not absurd. Everything is set up. An example of this is the fact that John McClane is barefoot during the hostage situation. The movie opens with him on a flight, gripping the armrest tightly. This shows us that he does not like flying and the passenger beside him comments on this too. The man tells him the way to get over travel sickness is to take off your shoes and socks when you get to your hotel, walk around barefoot and “make fists with your toes”, so when John is in Holly’s office, this is exactly what he does. He takes off his shoes and socks and makes fists with his toes and is pleasantly surprised when it actually works. It is at this moment that the gunshots go off, and John scrambles to get his own gun. He does not have time to put his shoes and socks back on, and he knows this is not ideal or practical so when he does kill one of Hans’ men, he attempts to put the man’s boots on but they don’t fit which is why he has to remain barefoot. I think this is just one example of the brilliant storytelling that is done in Die Hard. There are lots of little moments like this that lead to things making sense later. The security guard tells John that there are floors under construction when he enters the building, which is how he knows to hide on one of those floors later so he can have time to think out his next move, he did not just magically find empty floors, there are always little snippets of details being given to us that end up being important later on, and I think it is brilliant because it means that everything comes full circle. I love the shots used in this movie. There are many tracking shots where the camera follows wires or cables and there are a lot of cutaway shots which heighten the action sequences. There is a great moment where John and Hans meet but John does not know who Hans is, he does not know that it is the man he has been dealing with because Hans uses a false accent, but this is set up really well because at the beginning of the movie, John hears Hans interrogating Mr. Nakatomi, and he sees Mr. Nakatomi get shot, but he never actually sees Hans because Hans is always out of John’s line of vision – I have to give my friend the credit for this observation because he pointed out to me that he loves how John couldn’t see Hans in that scene because it allows Hans to be able to come face to face with him later on, and John initially does not know it is him because he has never seen him before, and unlike his cronies, Hans is wearing a suit so he is able to pass as an escaped hostage for a little while. It is really well done and it is an example of how little details can make such a big difference in how how things play out. The movie is long and there are a lot of moving parts but it is so action packed and fast paced that it never feels like it is over two hours long. If you like action movies then you’ll love Die Hard, it is that simple because there are some brilliant action sequences and fight scenes that really make you want to cheer. There are so many moments that I love and I could discuss this movie forever because everytime I watch, I find something else that I love. Another point that I have to make is the irony that is used through music in this movie. There is something brilliantly ironic about Hans and his team taking over the building while “Ode to Joy” is playing – it is a brilliant juxtaposition. 

Final Thoughts. 

I said earlier that I would say that Die Hard is possibly my favourite movie, and that is a hard thing to decide with any sort of finality when you watch movies and study movies all the time like I do. I love so many different movies, and I have different categories of movies that I love. I have a favourite Disney movie, a favourite Christmas movie, a favourite Halloween movie, I have movies that make me feel nostalgic, I have movies that I love to watch when I’m feeling sad and need a pick me up, so it is really hard to pick one movie and say that it is my favourite because I have lots of favourites, but overall I think I have to say that Die Hard is my favourite movie. I love it. I never tire of watching it. I love the premise, the plot, the characters, the action, the heart, the film techniques used, I just love every second of this movie and I cannot recommend it enough. 

This has been Movie Monday. I really hope you enjoyed it because I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Have you seen Die Hard? What do you think of this movie? Let me know. Here’s to the first of my festive movie discussions here on Katelovesliterature.com. I am so excited for all that is to come this month. Stay tuned. 

Kate xo.  

Hello everyone. Welcome to another #moviemonday discussion which is being published on a Tuesday this week due to some technical difficulties that I dealt with yesterday. 

Starting next Monday I will be discussing Christmas movies here on Katelovesliterature.com as I love Christmas time and I want to embrace the festive season. 

Today I am talking about another Disney movie, I am talking about Hercules. 

Let’s dive into Movie Monday (on Tuesday). 

Hercules was released in 1997. The movie was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. 

Plot.

The movie is loosely based on the figure of Heracles, the son of Zeus in Greek mythology. 

The movie follows Hercules, the son of Zeus and Hera as he must find where he belongs in life. When he was born, all of the other gods were overjoyed but Hades, Zeus’s brother was plotting to overthrow Zeus, and in order to do that he had to get rid of Hercules because he is the only person who can interfere with his plans. 

Hades enlists the help of his cronies Pain and Panic. The two were supposed to kill Hercules but they do not manage to complete the job. Hercules is stripped of almost all of his immortality before he is adopted by a farmer and his wife. Hercules grows up to be an outcast because of his god-like super strength as without the proper training, his strength does more harm than good. 

Hercules is a kind, young man who wants to do good but sadly his outcast position in life makes this impossible. He feels that he doesn’t belong, and his sadness leads to his adoptive parents telling him the truth. This discovery prompts Hercules to go and find the truth about his parentage, as he hopes that by doing so he will find where he actually fits. So Hercules sets off on his hero’s journey and the movie follows him as he learns about himself, and what he is capable of, and we also watch him learn about love, and loyalty, and what being a hero truly means. 

Characters. 

The main protagonist in this movie is Hercules. I think that Hercules is the typical hero that we see in the hero’s journey trope. He is kind, he is earnest, he just wants to be accepted. He has super strength which with the right training can be used for amazing things, but without training he causes havoc without meaning to, proving that with great power comes great responsibility. 

He is naive, he is plucky, he really is the perfect candidate for the journey that he is about to embark upon because while he is a good man, he does need to learn that strength is more than just a physical thing, and while he is a good character, he is not a perfect one. He has room to grow and learn, and this is what makes him likeable. I find this version of his character very endearing and easy to root for. 

Meg is the love interest of Hercules. I would call her the female protagonist in this movie, and I like Meg because I think she functions as more than just a love interest. She is a complex character in her own right and I think that her story is just as compelling as Hercules’. 

Meg works for Hades, he owns her soul which means that she is effectively his slave. Before the movie’s events, Meg was in love with another man. Meg sold her soul to Hades, and in return he saved her love’s life. This love then betrayed Meg and left her, meaning that she is heartbroken and forever indebted to Hades. Meg is spunky and sarcastic. She has a quick, witty sense of humour and she is conflicted throughout the movie because Hades has promised her her freedom if she helps him harm Hercules, but as time passes and Meg falls more in love with him, she feels that she can no longer lie to him. I think that Meg is a true example of integrity because in the end, despite all of Hades’ threats, Meg always does what she knows is right. 

I have to include Phil the satyr in my protagonist discussion as in this hero’s journey, Phil plays the role of the mentor. Phil trains heroes, and he sees potential in Hercules. He knows he can be the best and so he agrees to train him. It is Phil who shows Hercules that his super strength can be used for good, it is Phil who shows Hercules that he does have potential, it is Phil who guides him, who gives him advice, who tells him when he is wrong. Phil is one of those really great teachers, the ones you look back on and remember fondly because they brought out the best in you. In the hero’s journey trope, the mentor role is very significant because the mentor hugely contributes to the emotional growth of the main protagonist, and that is what is most important. 

I’ve said it before when I talked about the quest narrative, because the hero’s journey is a trope that is very popular within the quest narrative, the thing to remember is that the most important thing about the hero’s journey is the hero’s personal growth. The lesson they learn along the way is the most important thing, because if the hero has not evolved or grown as a person, then the journey will have been for nothing. 

The movie’s antagonist is Hades. He wants to overthrow Olympus and he plans to free the Titans to do so, the only person who can stop him is Hercules which is why he wants to get rid of him. Hades, while he is the antagonist, is one of my favourite Disney characters. Hades is larger than life, he is dramatic, he is over the top. He is not the typical, sinister villain, he is sarcastic, he is quippy, he can be very funny, but all of this doesn’t change the fact that he takes pleasure in destroying people’s lives, he bargains with souls like it’s nothing and he takes pleasure in the fact that he owns Meg. He takes joy in using her to hurt Hercules, and he knows that finding out that Meg was working for him will break Hercules’ heart, and he knows that Meg’s spirit will be crushed when Hercules no longer trusts her, and he takes pleasure in all of the pain that he causes. Hades is a memorable villain. 

Themes. 

The key themes of this movie, in my opinion, are the themes of love, family, heroism, and finding yourself. This movie has a brilliant soundtrack and I think the song “I Can Go The Distance” sums up the movies themes really beautifully. Hercules feels like he doesn’t fit in anywhere, and I think that he personifies a lot of insecurities that many young people may face. The thing that makes him a hero (at least physically) is his strength, and when he is young and untrained, this strength is the very thing that makes him an outcast. I think that this is something that many people, especially younger people, can relate to because often the things we come to appreciate as adults are the things that can make us insecure when we’re in school. We all just want to fit in, and we all just want to feel loved and accepted, and Hercules is willing to do anything he can do in order to achieve that feeling, which is why he throws himself into training with Phil. 

I think that love is such a key theme of the movie. It is love that fuels the farmer and his wife to take in this baby and raise him as their own child. They are kind, loving parents, they know their son has unique strength and they don’t love him any less because of it. They simply want what is best for him, which is why they support his journey even though they are going to miss him terribly. 

Meg has been fuelled and betrayed by love. It was her love for her partner that made her decide to sell her soul in order to save him. She thought he’d be overjoyed. She thought he’d 

always be there for her, but her heart is broken when he waltzes off with another woman, leaving her enslaved to Hades. Her heart has hardened, she does not wish to be hurt again which is why when she begins to develop feelings for Hercules, she refuses to admit it – “I Won’t Say I’m In Love”.  As time passes, she realises that she cannot shut out her heart, and it his her love for Hercules that leads to her risking her life to help stop Hades. 

Hercules learns that there are many strengths besides just physical strength. He comes to learn that kindness, character, and integrity are just as important as physical strength, and it is not just how strong you are, but the size of your heart that matters. I believe that love can be a source of strength, because a love for someone can spur you on in hard times. It is his love for Meg that leads to him making a deal with Hades, and in the end, it is his love for her that teaches him what it means to be a true hero and ultimately, Hades is defeated by love, because love is what gives Hercules his inner and physical strength back. 

Hercules also grows as a person, he becomes a confident man throughout the journey of this movie and at the end he is a far cry from the scrawny outcast we met at the beginning of the movie, showing that self-growth is one of the most important things of all. I think one of the best things about getting older is that as we get older, and as we learn, we tend to become more confident and comfortable in our own skin and that is exactly what happens to Hercules. 

Structure. 

I love how this movie is structured. The plot is narrated brilliantly by the muses through song, and the movie does a lot of showing rather than telling which means that we can see exactly what is happening which makes the plot really easy to follow. The movie is just over an hour and half long which I think is the perfect length. I like that we can really see the development of Hercules as a character. We see him as a baby. We see him struggling, we see him training, we can see him getting swept up in the superficial adoration of the crowds, and then we see him as a mature man who loves his friends dearly and wants to keep them safe. He isn’t perfect, he makes mistakes, but he grows and that is what makes him so likeable. I also think that this movie has a very grounded structure, and that is due to Hades’ plan. He gets rid of Hercules because of his plan to overthrow Olympus. His plan is why he wants to ruin Hercules, it is why he forces Meg to help, and throughout the entire movie, we know the day is coming when Hades will release the Titans, that is the main event, and I feel like this constant plot point keeps the movie very grounded. 

Final Thoughts. 

Overall I think this is a really great movie. It’s got a compelling plot, layered, fun, memorable and easy to root for characters. The themes are very poignant and the soundtrack is brilliant. I really enjoyed watching this classic Disney movie before I move forward into festive movies for the next few weeks. 

This has been Movie Monday on a Tuesday. I hope you enjoyed it. 

Kate xo.