- “We are the Muses! Goddesses of the arts and proclaimers of heroes!”
- ―Calliope[src]
The Muses are supporting characters in Disney's 1997 animated feature film Hercules. They function as a literal Greek Chorus narrating the story and singing a majority of the film's songs.
Background[]
The five lovely goddesses epitomize domains of the arts, singing tales of ancient Greece in the style of a gospel choir. They claim to be Hercules' biggest fans, narrating the movie and singing in four songs of six.
- Calliope (voiced by Lillias White) is the muse of epic poetry. She leads the group and is the tallest of the five with high hair.
- Clio (voiced by Vanéese Y. Thomas) is the muse of history. She has a small ponytail and carries a scroll.
- Thalia (voiced by Roz Ryan) is the muse of comedy. She is the shortest of the five, heavyset, plays the trumpet, and is often causing mischief.
- Terpsichore (voiced by LaChanze) is the muse of dance. She is the second-shortest of the five, with Bantu knots in the front and loose curls in the back. Unique among the muses, she directly teaches the hero in "Hercules and the Muse of Dance".
- Melpomene (voiced by Cheryl Freeman) is the muse of tragedy. She has long, curly hair to her waist and carries a mask with a frowning face.
Powers and abilities[]
As goddesses, the muses possess the natural powers and abilities of Olympian deities such as immortality, omnipresence, high-level of durability, vast stamina and speed, and strength with excellent reflexes and balancing and insight and responses, acrobatic skills beyond of normal humans, and the potential to do Magic, such as the ability to shape-shift, teleport, and to manifest as objects. As the goddesses of the Arts, they possess the natural ability to charm and entrance those who hear their hypnotically beautiful and soft melodious vocalizing melodies and songs.
As their domain lies in the arts, they exist virtually anywhere they are presented or portrayed as a work of art (like paintings, statues, etc.) This is most evident when they use this power to communicate with Megara.
Appearances[]
Hercules[]
They first appear when they find the original narrator's way of telling the story of Hercules as being too depressing. They sing all three parts of "The Gospel Truth", telling the tale of how Zeus defeated the Titans, Hades' plot to take over Mount Olympus, and of Hercules being unable to return to Olympus.
After the Thebans cheered for Hercules' victory over the Hydra, Calliope says the young hero could do no wrong afterwards and that "He was so hot, steam looked cool." The Muses then sing "Zero to Hero", narrating a montage depicting Hercules successfully becoming a celebrity and heart-throb: girls scream at him, his image appears on vases, action figures, sandals and other merchandise. The young hero is showered with money and leaves hand-prints in the star promenade (along with Pegasus leaving the imprints of his hooves) and continues enjoying himself as Hades sends a succession of creatures which Hercules easily defeats.
Soon after, the Muses manifest in statues, busts, and engravings to sing backup with Megara to the song "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)", during which Megara initially denies but finally accepts her love for Hercules.
Finally, they appear in the finale, singing the song "A Star Is Born", in which Hercules is declared a true hero, and everybody gets their happy ending.
Hercules: The Series[]
The Muses often appear in the series. They sing a shorter, altered version of "Zero to Hero" and have many speaking roles.
Mickey Mouse Funhouse[]
Calliope and Thalia appear in the episode Daisy and the Muses to teach Daisy Duck how to whistle. Thalia also re-appeared in the episode You Gotta Be Kitten Me!, where it is found out that Thalia has a fear of cats, until Minnie, Daisy, and Bast help her get over her fear.
Cameos[]
In House of Mouse, they appear in the episode "Where's Minnie?" to rap about Mickey, Donald, and Goofy's search for Minnie in the labyrinthian prop basement of the House.
They appear briefly in the Phineas and Ferb episode "Greece Lightning", on a vase in the museum.
Theme parks[]
The Muses hosted Hercules: The Muse-ical on the Disney Cruise Line ships Magic and Wonder.
They made their official meet and greet appearance at Disneyland during Pride Nite on June 2023.
Personnel[]
- Calliope (Caroline Taylor) – vocals
- Terpsichore (Arnold McCuller) – vocals
- Thalia (Andrea Zonn) – violin, vocals
- Melpomene (Dorian Holley) – vocals
- Clio (Kate Markowitz) – vocals
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Greek sources often name nine Muses; the four trimmed from the film are:
- Erato - muse of love poetry
- Polyhymnia - muse of sacred poetry
- Euterpe - muse of music and sound
- Urania - muse of astronomy
- During the musical number "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" the Muses attempt to convince Megara that she's fallen in love and it is a good thing. However, the goddess of Love, Aphrodite, would be more likely to try to convince her than the goddesses of the Arts. Though the Arts have long been used as expressions of Love; and a statue of Aphrodite appeared briefly.
- At one point during "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)", the Muses appear as the Phantom Five, the singing busts from the Haunted Mansion.
- In most myths, the Muses are the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. This would make them half-sisters of Hercules.
- In "Hercules and the Drama Festival", Mnemosyne (under the alias "Memory") is mentioned.
- British girl group Spice Girls were originally considered for the roles of the Muses due to their massive popularity and worldwide success at the time.
- If using subtitles while watching Hercules: The Animated Series on Disney+, the Muses names can be mixed up. For instance, in "Hercules and the First Day of School", Thalia says a line onscreen but is credited as Calliope in the subtitles.
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