50 mins.; Jetlag Productions / Goodtimes Entertainment

Director: Toshiyuki Hiruma Takashi

USA/Japan

This budget direct-to-video children’s production tells a sanitized story of the life of Hercules with a focus on the twelve labors. I presume this film, like its 1997 Golden Films and 1998 Mondo TV counterparts, was produced in order to capitalize on the success of Disney’s 1997 feature film of the same name.

The animation is rendered in a simple Japanese style and the plot, apart from a few odd twists, is unexceptional, but what actually makes this film worth watching are the three original songs it includes (this was a special feature of all Jetlag Productions films): “Greek Mythology,” “Son of Zeus” and “Never Give Up.” Absolutely mind-blowing!

More:

Full film dubbed in French

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(1995_film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238269/

11 min.; Germany

Directed by Lotte Reiniger

2 min.

A powerful hand-drawn short by Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics. It premiered in the US at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1974 and was nominated for Best Animated Short at the Academy Awards in 1975. It was also featured in a car commercial during the Super Bowl in 2008.

More: http://www.openculture.com/2015/11/the-myth-of-sisyphus-wonderfully-animated-in-an-oscar-nominated-short-film-1974.html

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/advertising/marcell-jankovics-super-bowl-spot-4983.html

6 min., France, subtitles

Created by Jessica AMBRON ; Amandine ARAMINI ; Alexandre BELBARI ; Guillaume POITEL ; Yannick VINCENT

This slick, student-made computer-animated short tells the story of a satyr who can’t help but tell the truth, and the silly sexual hijinks that he gets caught up in as a result. With a fun little twist in the end about how myths are made!

Featuring a tree nymph, a female Centaur and her jealous boyfriend, Bacchus, and a cameo by Zeus as a buff stud who’s so cool he’s gotta wear shades. Slapstick humor and some gratuituous T&A body shots make this one suitable for a teen/adult crowd.

12 episodes, 30 min. each (split into two 15 minute segments); originally titled “Centaur’s Worries” in Japanese; based on a manga series by Kei Murayama that began in 2011 and is still being produced. The animated series was produced by Haoliners Animation League.

A Centaur’s Life is from the subgenre known as Minami-ke, or “slice of life” anime. It focuses on the experiences of the centaur Himeno Kimihara and her friends as they navigate through the highs and lows of high-school and adolescence. The only difference is theirs is a world of supernatural and hybrid creatures, as evolution took a different path and “normal” humans are now the stuff of mythology!

More:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Centaur’s_Life

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=19402

https://www.funimation.com/shows/a-centaurs-life/

3 min.

A succinct re-telling of the story of Antigone, created by Dr. Jessica Hughes on behalf of The Open University

80 min. Produced by Renaissance Pictures/Universal Cartoon Studios, directed by Lynne Naylor

A feature-length action adventure direct-to-video film based on the hit TV shows,  Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. The main actors from the shows, including Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless, did the voice work for the characters.

A brief plot summary: “Mighty Zeus brings Hercules’ mother, Alcmene, to Mount Olympus, and Hercules, believing she has been kidnapped, leads a rescue mission to save her. Zeus’ jealous wife, Hera, decides that it should now be her time to rule the universe. Hera steals the Chronos Stone, source of the God’s power, and unleashes the four Titans from their eons of imprisonment. With these angry behemoths on the loose, only the combined forces of Hercules and Xena, together with their trusty sidekicks Iolaus and Gabrielle, can save Mount Olympus.” Written by David Mullich <dmullich@aol.com>

More:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_and_Xena_%E2%80%93_The_Animated_Movie:_The_Battle_for_Mount_Olympus

https://youtu.be/TKtd3wfJ_Ow

Stop motion; 13 min.; Director: Sergey Olifirenko

From Season 2 of the Animated Tales of the World, an animated series that aired on HBO Family in 2001 and it contained several stories from around the world including Australia, Russia, England and Africa. The series had won two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2001 including Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for Peter Macon.

8 min.; stop-motion animation with a cast of fruits and vegetables!

Written, produced and directed by Jason Wishnow

World premiere at Sundance, winner of the Audience Award at the Seattle International Film Festival

You can also watch a behind the scenes video of the making of the film and a video of the storyboards used to produce the film here: www.wishnow.com

Thanks to Serena Witzke for sharing this with me.

Release date: August 13 (205th Popeye cartoon)

Features Popeye’s nephews and Bluto

More: https://popeye.fandom.com/wiki/Greek_Mirthology