`HERCULES' FINDS STRENGTH IN WILD ANIMATION, HIP HUMOR.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Critic

No need to worry about Disney's 35th animated feature ``Hercules.'' It's all entertainment, sometimes dazzlingly so, with none of those issues or literary conceits or artistic risks that marred the studio's last couple of cartoon extravaganzas.

Which means that ``Hercules'' is wall-to-wall fun. And pretty hollow.

Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who for my money made the two best entries, ``The Little Mermaid'' and ``Aladdin,'' in the current Disney revival, ``Hercules'' is a-poppin' with wild visuals and hip humor. It's a slick example of the winning formula - confused young hero finds his/her true place in the world (or, in this man-god's case, the universe) - but too slick to convince us there's any real feeling in it this time around.

So, on with the show. Marrying a more cartoony, angular style based on illustrations by British caricaturist Gerald Scarfe with ancient Greek designs, Musker and Clements have come up with a look that nicely complements Hercules' mighty antics. Since he's one of the world's first superheroes, this tactic looks best in the big comic book action scenes, when Herc takes on a computer-generated Hydra or the hulking Titans attack Olympus.

The non-naturalistic approach also works for the satiric, show-stopping production number ``Zero to Hero,'' in which the strongman's 12 labors are condensed along with an impudent lampoon of the celebrity merchandising Disney thrives on.

As for great smaller touches, the bad guys are brilliantly realized. Main meanie Hades, lord of the underworld, walks around with a perpetual flame crowning his ever-sneering face; it's pilot-light blue when he's his usual calculating self, volcanic red-orange when he loses his temper (about every five minutes). Hades' hench-imps, Pain and Panic, shape-change better than a Terminator 2, though nothing can change their incompetence.

Also adding to the villains' appeal are the best voice performers in the movie. James Woods plays Hades, whose scheme to take over Mount Olympus drives the whole plot, as a fast-talking Hollywood agent type. He is evil incarnate, of course, but his real gift is his knack for oozing insincerity. Pain, meanwhile, finally provides the right outlet for Bobcat Goldthwait's uniquely irritating vocal stylings, while the less-distinctive Matt Frewer keeps up with him, squeal-for-screech, as Panic.

The good guys are less interesting. Hercules starts out as the baby son of top gods Zeus and Hera. (Yeah, I know, she wasn't his mother in the classics. But considering what they did to ``The Hunchback'' last year, who expects fidelity from Disney?)

He's dropped to Earth and de-immortalized, but retains enough superstrength to grow into a clumsy, agora-wrecking youth the other teens dub Jerkules.

Once he learns of his true heritage, Herc (mainly voiced by Tate Donovan) vows to become the perfect hero and thus regain an Olympian address. To this end, he seeks out a disgruntled champion trainer, the satyr Phil (Danny DeVito in his tedious street mode), who's still bitter about that Achilles thing. But Phil comes around, Herc pumps up to a superhunk and saves Thebes. But he still doesn't have what it takes to regain his immortality (hint: it's an inner-strength thing).

Anyway, all this comes to pass as Hades' plan to conquer the gods' mountain reaches critical mass. So he sends a sexy siren, Meg (Susan Egan), to distract the hero and find his weakness. Imagined, too extremely, as a Barbara Stanwyck dame out of a '30s screwball comedy, Meg of course falls in love with the big lug even as she's betraying him.

The music this time is provided by perennial composer Alan Menken and new lyricist David Zippel, and despite a great central idea it's got the weakest tunes of all the recent Disney musicals. Narrative is rhythmically delivered by the Muses, reconfigured as a female soul group; but except for the aforementioned ``Zero to Hero,'' this Motown Greek chorus is limited by lousy rhymes and uninspired orchestrations.

They just did it better in ``Aladdin.'' And with more heart in ``The Little Mermaid.''

THE FACTS

The film: ``Hercules'' (G).

The stars: Voices of Tate Donovan, James Woods, Danny DeVito, Susan Egan, Bobcat Goldthwait, Matt Frewer.

Behind the scenes: Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Written by Clements, Musker, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw and Irene Mecchi. Produced by Clements, Musker and Alice Dewey. Released by Walt Disney Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 33 minutes.

Playing: El Capitan, Hollywood; opens citywide Friday.

Our rating: Three Stars.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: The residents of Thebes - including Hades, the Fates, Meg, Phil and Pegasus - turn out to welcome their newest hero, Hercules.