First in 1978 there was Christopher Reeves' Superman, and in 1995 there was Disney’s Hercules. How does a 133 minute movie hit all the key points in a hero story and do it so well? When examining how to craft our own stories it’s important to look at some of our favorites and find out how they do it. If we can break down what made a movie or a book so successful than we can apply the same concepts to our own work.

Every Act Matters: I’ve heard the idea of the 3 Act story structure floated around in different circles but where I heard it summarized the best was by Author/Youtuber Abbie Emmons (if you need more writing advice definitely check out her channel). The 3 Act story structure basically means like a play, your book or film is broken up into 3 parts:

• ACT I: Grab your viewers attention, establish a world and or context, characters, and set the plot in motion with the first primary conflict.

• ACT II: Further flush out your story by tying threads together and moving the plot into the next stage and conflict. This could look a hundred different ways but the middle act is mainly to pave the way for the finale and establish or delve deeper into your characters journeys, but not let anything come to a head.

• ACT III: The grand finale: everything you’ve established, all the things you’ve set in motion, and all the character development that occurred over the course of the story need to tie together in a concise way that makes the viewer understand why everything happened the way it did. 

Hercules accomplishes this so well because there’s never a dull moment in the film, and yet every sequence is necessary. 

• ACT I: Hercules is born, we establish the villain of the story (Hades). Hades kidnaps the child, forcing him to be raised among mortal parents. Hercules doesn’t fit in and goes on a journey to find out his true purpose (there begins the main character's internal conflict). After discovering who he is, Hercules sets out to be a hero and be trained, he meets his love interest Megara, and he goes to Thebes and fights the first big bad Hades finds to throw at him: the Hydra. Thus establishing Hercules to the people as a hero.

• ACT II: Hercules is being worshiped as a hero by the people, but still cannot return to Olympus as he’s dreamed because he supposedly hasn’t proved himself yet (internal conflict is furthered but not resolved). Hades asks Megara to seduce Hercules and find his weakness. Over the course of the second act we also learn Megara sold her soul to save a man she loved who later betrayed her (also allowing us to delve deeper into characters' motivations and goals). Megara attempts to seduce Hercules but falls in love with him and is unable to comply with Hades anymore. By refusing, she shows Hades that she is in fact his greatest weakness because they’re in love now.  Hercules’ trainer finds out about her treachery which leads us right into the dramatic tension in the finale.

• ACT III: Hercules’ trainer goes to him and tells him Megara lied. Hercules refuses to believe it and they have a fallout parting ways. Hades comes to see Hercules and threatens to kill Megara unless he gives up his powers for a day, allowing Hades to wage war on Mount Olympus. Hercules agrees but as soon as he does Hades reveals Megara was working for him and our hero hits his lowest point. When Hercules goes out to fight the Titans even with no powers and nearly dies, Megara dies to save him (giving Hercules his power back and redeeming herself as a character in the process). Hercules defeats the Titans, stops Hades, gets his trainer back but does not make it in time to save Megara. In the end he goes down to the underworld and is prepared to give his life for Megara in retrieving her soul. He becomes a true hero and achieves godhood in doing so, making him able to finally go to Olympus where he’s always wanted. But now he chooses to stay with Megara realizing that his real home is on earth with her. 

Every Pivotal character has an arc:  Every event contributes to them arriving at the point they reach in the finale. Hercules begins the story with one mindset, one goal–by the end of the story his priorities have changed. In the first act he’s no one, and searching for a purpose in life other than being a failure, in ACT II he’s the hero he’s always wanted to be and the public loves him, but he still isn't welcome at Olympus and doesn't feel fulfilled, he hasn't faced his greatest challenges yet. Megara begins jaded and with no hope in anyone, Hercules changes her perspective of men and mankind in general eventually leading to her giving her life for him.

The Hero hits the lowest Point before they succeed: In order to sympathize with a hero we need to see them suffer. Hercules is such a powerful character that his low moment has to be the result of an emotional blow. Hades has to get him to agree not to fight by using someone he loves against him, and then break his heart by revealing the woman he loves is a liar. Hercules has been emotionally, and physically broken by the finale. After losing everything possible, he is forced to go out and fight the Titans.

Time to laugh and to Cry: James Woods is a charmingly evil and ambitious villain, Phil is a humorous old trainer and Megara has biting wit, but none of these things detract from the darker moments in the film. No one is laughing when Hercules and Megara are on their knees in the training stadium because of her betrayal, and no one is crying when Phil begins training Hercules in the number “One Last Hope.” To achieve hitting certain emotions a writer needs to commit to what they are trying to make the viewer feel, happy, sad, disappointed, ect. The characters take the intense moments in the film seriously and as a result so does the viewer. Humorous characters (like Hades sniveling slaves) are allowed to be silly, but it isnt done in an overwhelming fashion that makes the viewer consider the whole film a joke. 

The Hero’s love:  “To the world you’re one person but to one person you are the world.” It isn't necessary in all hero stories, but more often than not the great ones have romance. Megara is a seemingly inconsequential damsel with a troubled romantic history who sold her soul to the villain, but to Hercules within five minutes she’s worth dying over. Hercules loves Megara selflessly, seemingly without reason, and he trusts her to a degree that brings him to his knees. His selfless love for her is eventually what leads to her renewing her faith in humanity and her dying for him. The romance in this story develops with the characters, and ends with both parties having renewed faith in each other and proving their affections. A key point in a story like this is that if you have a romance be pivotal in the story, then it has to be a well thought out, intense, and compelling one. To simply have the hero like the girl isn't as moving to the audience.