From zero to hero, yes indeed!
1997: Hercules. The 35th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is loosely based on the legendary Greek mythology hero Heracles (known in the film by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology. Produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance, Hercules received positive reviews, and earned $252.7 million in box office revenue worldwide.Plot
After imprisoning the Titans beneath the ocean, the Greek gods gather to Mount Olympus for Zeus, and his wife Hera have a son named Hercules. While the other gods are joyful, Zeus' jealous brother Hades plots to overthrow Zeus and rule Mount Olympus. Turning to the Fates for help, Hades learns that in eighteen years, a planetary alignment will allow Hades to locate and free the Titans to conquer Olympus, but only if Hercules does not interfere. Hades sends his minions Pain and Panic to dispose of Hercules. The two succeed at kidnapping and feeding him a formula that turns him mortal, but fail to remove his superhuman strength before Hercules is found and adopted farmers.
Years later, the teenaged Hercules becomes an outcast due to his strength, and wonders where he came from. After his foster parents reveal the necklace they found him with, Hercules decides to visit the temple of Zeus for answers. The temple's statue of Zeus comes to life and reveals all to Hercules, telling him that he can regain his godhood by becoming a "true hero". Zeus sends Hercules and his forgotten infant-hood friend Pegasus to find the satyr Philoctetes, "Phil" for short, who is known for training heroes. The two meet Phil, who has retired from training heroes due to numerous disappointments, but Hercules inspires him to follow his dream to train a true hero who will be recognized by the gods. Phil trains Hercules into a potential hero, and when he is older, they fly for Thebes. On the way, they meet Megara, "Meg" for short, a sarcastic damsel whom Hercules saves from the centaur Nessus. However, after Hercules, Phil, and Pegasus leave, Meg is revealed to be Hades' minion, having sold her soul to him to save an unfaithful lover.
Arriving in Thebes, Hercules is turned down by the downtrodden citizens until Meg says that two boys are trapped in a gorge. Hercules saves them, unaware that they are Pain and Panic in disguise, allowing Hades to summon the Hydra to fight Hercules. Hercules continually cuts off its heads, but more heads replace them until Hercules kills the monster by causing a landslide. Hercules is seen as a hero and a celebrity, but Zeus tells Hercules he is not yet a true hero. Driven to depression, Hercules turns to Meg, who is falling in love with him. Hades learns of this and on the eve of his takeover, offers a deal that Hercules gives up his powers for twenty-four hours on the condition that Meg will be unharmed. Hercules accepts, losing his strength, and is heartbroken when Hades reveals that Meg is working for him.
Hades unleashes the Titans who climb Olympus and capture the gods, while a Cyclops goes to Thebes to kill Hercules. Phil inspires Hercules to fight and kill the cyclops, but Meg is crushed by a falling pillar saving Hercules from it, allowing him to regain his strength. Hercules and Pegasus fly to Olympus where they free the gods and launch the Titans into space where they explode, though Meg dies before he returns to her. With Meg's soul now Hades' property, Hercules breaks into the Underworld where he negotiates with Hades to free Meg from the Styx in exchange for his own life. His willingness to sacrifice his life restores his godhood and immortality before the life-draining river can kill him; he rescues Meg and punches Hades into the Styx. After reviving Meg, she and Hercules are summoned to Olympus where Zeus and Hera welcome their son home. However, Hercules chooses to remain on Earth with Meg. Hercules returns to Thebes where he is hailed as a true hero as Zeus creates a picture of Hercules in the stars commemorating his heroism.
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I mean seriously, who doesn't love WALL-E?
2008: WALL-E. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up an abandoned, waste-covered Earth far in the future. He falls in love with another robot named EVE, who also has a programmed task, and follows her into outer space on an adventure that changes the destiny of both his kind and humanity. Both robots exhibit an appearance of free will and emotions similar to humans, which develop further as the film progresses.After Finding Nemo, Pixar felt it had created believable simulations of underwater physics and was willing to direct a film set largely in space. WALL-E has minimal dialogue in its early sequences; many of the characters do not have voices, but instead communicate with body language and robotic sounds. It is also Pixar's first animated feature with segments featuring live-action characters.
WALL-E grossed $23.2 million on its opening day, and $63.1 million during its opening weekend in 3,992 theaters, ranking number one at the box office. This ranks as the fifth highest-grossing opening weekend for a Pixar film. WALL-E was met with critical acclaim, and grossed $521.3 million worldwide. The film won the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, the final Nebula Award for Best Script, the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film, and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as well as being nominated for five other Academy Awards. WALL-E ranks first in TIME 's "Best Movies of the Decade". The film is seen as a critique on larger societal issues. It addresses consumerism, corporatism, nostalgia, environmental problems, waste management, human impact on the environment, and risks to human civilization and the planet Earth.
In 2805, Earth is covered in garbage due to decades of mass consumerism facilitated by the mega-corporation Buy 'n' Large ("BnL"). In 2105, BnL evacuated Earth's population in fully automated starliners, leaving behind WALL-E trash compactor robots to clean the planet. Eventually BnL abandons its plan and shuts down the WALL-E robots, except for one which develops sentience after 700 years of life-experience. He manages to remain active by repairing himself using parts from other units. Apart from his regular duties, he inquisitively collects artifacts of human civilization and keeps them in his home, a storage truck.
One day, WALL-E discovers a growing seedling. Later, a spaceship lands and deploys EVE, an advanced robot probe sent from the BnL starliner Axiom to search for vegetation on Earth. WALL-E falls in love with the initially cold and hostile EVE, who gradually softens and befriends him. When WALL-E brings EVE to his home and shows her his collection, she sees the plant, automatically stores it inside herself, and goes into standby mode waiting for her ship to retrieve her. WALL-E, not understanding why EVE seems to have shut down, tries numerous methods to reactivate her, to no avail. When EVE's automated ship returns and collects EVE, WALL-E clings to its hull and thus travels through space to theAxiom, which is hidden behind a nebula.
On the Axiom, the descendants of the ship's original passengers have become morbidly obese after centuries of microgravity effects and relying on the ship's automated systems for their every need. The ship's current captain, McCrea, leaves most of the ship's operations under the control of its robotic autopilot, Auto.
WALL-E follows EVE to the bridge of the Axiom, where the Captain learns that by putting the plant in the ship's holo-detector to verify Earth's habitability, the Axiom will make a hyperjump back to Earth so the passengers can recolonize it. However, Auto orders McCrea's robotic assistant GO-4 to steal the plant as part of his own no return directive "A113", which was issued to all BnL autopilots after the corporation concluded in 2110 that the planet could not be saved.
With the plant missing, EVE is considered defective and taken to the repair ward along with WALL-E (for cleaning). WALL-E mistakes the process on EVE for torture and tries to save her, accidentally releasing a horde of malfunctioning robots that had been quarantined. The on-board security systems then designate both WALL-E and EVE as "rogue robots". Fed up with WALL-E's disruptions, EVE takes him to the escape pod bay to send him home, but they witness GO-4 dispose of the missing plant by placing it inside a pod which is set to self-destruct. WALL-E enters the pod to retrieve the plant, but GO-4 jettisons the pod into space. WALL-E escapes with the plant before the pod explodes, using a fire extinguisher to propel himself back toward the Axiom, where he and EVE reconcile and celebrate with a dance in space.
When the plant is brought to the captain, EVE's recordings of Earth are analyzed and the captain concludes that mankind must return to restore their planet. However, Auto reveals his directive and stages a mutiny. When WALL-E tries to protect the plant, Auto electrocutes him, severely damaging him. EVE realizes the only parts for repairing WALL-E are in his truck back on Earth. She helps him bring the plant to the holo-detector to activate the ship's hyperjump. McCrea opens the holo-detector and fights Auto for control of the ship. Auto partially crushes WALL-E by closing the holo-detector on him, but McCrea finally disables him. EVE places the plant in the holo-detector, freeing WALL-E and instantly setting the Axiom to hyperjump to Earth.
EVE rushes WALL-E back to his home where she repairs and reactivates him, but he no longer recognizes her, having reverted to his original programming as an emotionless waste compactor, and he begins crushing the artifacts he had collected in his truck. Heartbroken, EVE follows WALL-E outside, stops him and gives him a farewell kiss, which jolts his memory and restores his personality. WALL-E and EVE happily reunite as the humans and robots of the Axiom begin to restore Earth and its environment.
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