Hercules who?

May 26, 2005 8:12 AM

Yesterday my husband brought our new kitten, Hercules, to the vet.

When the receptionists and tech heard his name, two of them linked arms and burst into song. Then one said, "I love that movie!" and my husband, who was baffled by this whole display, didn't ask them what movie and can't recall the song. Would someone kindly enlighten us? (We named the cat Hercules because he is tiny, skinny, and shy--it's, you know, ironic.)

posted by scratch to grab bag (13 comments total)

possibly the recent Disney animated movie?
posted by mrg at 8:17 AM on May 26, 2005

What first came to mind was the movie The Nutty Professor (1996) with Eddie Murphy playing 9 or 10 charecters, one of which was an old grandma. I don't remember the exact situation, but at one point she clasps her hands together, bouncing, while joyfully shouting/singing "Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!" Not really a song, I guess, but it's a possibility.
posted by nitsuj at 8:20 AM on May 26, 2005

http://www.ukquad.com/nuttyprofessor.JPG

It was the mother of the nutty professor praising her son for farting at the dinner table, and she clapped and called him "hercules hercules" for his powerful farts.
posted by naxosaxur at 8:21 AM on May 26, 2005

A Cat Named Hercules? Isn't that an old Elton John song?
posted by fixedgear at 8:21 AM on May 26, 2005

The mother was supposed to be a caricature of an overbearing figure, who couldn't see past the flaws of her really fat son, rather praising him for extrapolating his fat as muscle. Here is a sound file of the mother saying 'hercules'.
posted by naxosaxur at 8:29 AM on May 26, 2005

I guess I am showing my age because the name Hercules reminded me of the cartoon show I watched on TV when I was a kid.

posted by govtdrone at 8:32 AM on May 26, 2005

I guess I am showing my age because the name Hercules reminded me of the cartoon show I watched on TV when I was a kid.

Hercules! Only the evil fear him!
Hercules! Goodness is always near him!
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 8:46 AM on May 26, 2005

I'd say mrg's got it:

He was a no one
A zero, zero
Now he's a honcho
He's a hero
Here was a kid with his act down pat
From zero to hero in no time flat
Zero to hero just like that

When he smiled
The girls went wild with
Oohs and aahs
And they slapped his face
On ev'ry vase
posted by Smart Dalek at 9:06 AM on May 26, 2005

A Cat Named Hercules? Isn't that an old Elton John song?

Oh god, say it ain't so. Thanks to all. I'm guessing it's the Disney movie or the Eddie Murphy version of Nutty Professor. All three of these possibilities make me want to change the cat's name already. Maybe after he gets emasculated next week we'll start calling him Mary.
posted by scratch at 9:29 AM on May 26, 2005

On ev'ry vaaahhhse

Oof. I used to work at Disney and we had a Hercules parade for about two years. Just reading the lyrics of that song makes me flash back to wearing the Pain and Panic costumes. They were full fleece from the top of the head to the tip of the toe and it was Florida in the summer. Gah.

I remember liking Pain better, because he was the fat one and the Panic costume was skin tight. But I have a soft spot for Panic because I was both the first and last person to wear the costume.

I would bet money that they were, in fact, talking about the Disney movie, but I'll bet that they actually sang Megara's song: I Won't Say. (It's about 2/3 down the page)
posted by Elsbet at 10:58 AM on May 26, 2005

Hercules

I can't dig it, the way she tease
That old tough man routine up her sleeve
Living and loving, kissing and hugging
Living and loving with a cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
posted by fixedgear at 1:04 PM on May 26, 2005

Hercules, hero of song and story
Hercules, winner of acient glory
Softness in his eyes
Iron in his thighs
With the strength of ten
ordinary men

God I loved that cartoon, but what riské lyrics.
posted by furtive at 2:06 PM on May 26, 2005

Actually, scratch, the Disney Hercules is a modern one. Very entertaining and funny, with some nice tunes. And I say this as a torn person who doesn't always like Disney's "New Classics" yet gets sick over the schmaltz of the old ones sometimes.
posted by Goofyy at 1:23 AM on May 27, 2005