Hercules is the first Disney movie we took our children to see. They were only 17 months apart in age and the first experience in a movie theater was an adventure. My son had a hard time sitting still for the whole movie, but it wasn’t a bad experience. This was the first Disney film that was really theirs. We bought the video as soon as it came out. There were also many toys that were related to the movie that we had to get. One of these were the Nestle Magic Balls.
Nestle sold a product called Wonder Balls that were later renamed Magic Balls. It was a hollow ball of milk chocolate that came with a small toy on the inside. Many of these toys were Disney characters. These were popular at the same time as the release of the Hercules movie so Hercules-related Magic Balls were a must have. Our daughter fell in love with Meg, the lead female character of the film. We got the Magic Balls with the Meg and Hercules characters. Sometime soon, these Magic Ball figurines made their way into our printer’s drawer where they are on display today.
The Wheeler family fascination with the Hercules film extended to a trip with their grandmother and cousins to see Hercules on Ice in Memphis at the Pyramid. The souvenirs from this trip included cups, and a light-up sword that my son still has.
