The following are fictional characters from Disney's 1997 film Hercules and from the derived 1998 TV series. These productions are adaptations of Greek mythology, very different from the classical versions.
Hercules is the title character of the franchise. He is based on the mythological Heracles, best known under the Roman spelling Hercules. In the original movie, Josh Keaton voiced Hercules as a teenager, while Tate Donovan was the hero as an adult, and Roger Bart was Hercules' singing voice in the song "Go the Distance". Donovan went on to voice the teenage Hercules in a derived animated series where the hero in training attended high school. His appearance is top-heavy, muscular, and handsome, with orange hair and eyebrows and blue eyes. His teenage version wears a one-sleeved Greek tunic, while the adult version wears a Cuirass-like tank armor tunic with a blue cape (the television series has teenage Hercules wearing this armor during hero missions).
In the original movie, instead of the demigod hero son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, Hercules was actually born on Mount Olympus with all the powers of a god, and his parents were Zeus and Hera (the King and Queen of all the gods, thus making him a god prince), who has been re-imagined as a loving mother instead of a spiteful stepmother. However, one god is upset about the new arrival: Hercules' evil uncle Hades who wants to take control of Olympus and the world along with all of creation, and discovers Hercules can foil his plans as an adult. Knowing that as a god, Hercules is immortal and invulnerable, Hades sends his two lackeys, Pain and Panic, to kidnap Hercules and turn him mortal by means of a magic potion. However, the arrival of two mortals, Amphitryon and Alcmene, causes Hercules to miss the final drop of the potion, causing him to retain his godly strength. The couple then adopts the child, considering his arrival a gift from the gods since they are themselves childless. Too late, Zeus and the other gods discover the kidnapping. Because Herc is now mortal, he cannot return to Mt. Olympus.