Le Bossu de Notre-Dame

This isn't as good as Beauty and the Beast, but it is miles better than the Black Cauldron and Home on the Range, which are probably the weakest Disney movies I've seen. Stop criticising it, because it is unfaithful to the book. There are some parts of the book, that just wouldn't work, like the character of Clopin, if he was the same as he was in the book he would be too frightening for kids. Don't get me wrong, it is an amazing book, but a very complex one as well. Of course, it is more adult than most Disney movies, but it means it is mature, and I found it a dark, powerful, poignant and really chilling film, if in comparison to other Disney movies is slightly disappointing. The IMDb rating for this movie is far too low, it deserves a 7.0 to be honest. The animation is fantastic, so crisp and smooth. Notre Dame has never looked so magnificent, even in real life. The highlight was Quasimodo saving Esmeralda from getting burnt at the stake, accompanied by a hauntingly-beautiful Dies Irae. The characters are also well done, and so is the theme-driven story, and the themes are very mature and complex. Speaking of the characters, I know all of them had changed, but they were so well-developed, unlike Black Cauldron. Quasimodo was poignantly voiced by Tom Hulce, and his character is possibly the most sensitive character in Disney history. Esmeralda was brilliantly voiced by Demi Moore, who brought a little bit of herself into the role. She is feisty and beautiful. When you look into her eyes, you instantly know how wrong Frollo is about her. I have always loved her hair, but her chief beauty are her eyes, a beautiful colour and filled with such sadness. Frollo is a very complex villain, and the sinister timbre of Tony Jay's voice flawlessly matched that. The sequence in front of the fireplace was a definite highlight and gave me goosebumps, as well as his death scene. He looked evil! Then there is Clopin, a very underrated and relevant character. Paul Kandel voiced him marvellously and his singing was out of this world. Pheobus was the most changed character, but Kevin Kline was really funny here. I liked the gargoyles, they were very funny. However, my only criticism about this movie, is to do with them. I liked their song "Guy Like You" but it was misplaced. It should have been put there 20 minutes earlier, not when Paris is burning down. The songs are on the whole just brilliant, and the score so powerful and emphatic! The magnificent opening is the best beginning to a Disney movie. "Out there" is very heartfelt, and "Topsy Turvey" is great fun. "God help the Outcasts" is hauntingly beautiful. The only song I had a problem with was the song in the Court of Miracles, because I couldn't hear a word they were singing, and I loved "Someday" and "Heaven's Light". Some bits made me laugh, but there were plenty of scenes that made me cry, especially when Quasimodo thinks Esmeralda is dead, and he is seen comforting her body. Really poignant! In conclusion, a brilliant movie, with one of the most poignant endings in an animated film. 9/10, though it was so close to a 10. Bethany Cox

A risky wedding of wholesome classic animation, to adult and often dark-themed material. The risk paid off and the result is one of the greatest achievements of Disney Studios.

The animation here is first rate and the entire thing is shot like a live-action film with some incredible long shots, great theatrical panning and even at one point, during Quasimodo's song "Out There" a realistic camera flare (I did a double take the first time I saw it!) Hunchback is filled with all sorts of great "tricks" like this. Lighting effects here are nothing short of magnificent – often subtle they sometimes change in an instant dramatically altering the mood of the piece. Frodo's demonic song "Hellfire" is perhaps one the most sinister and frightening moments to emerge from Disney and the animators let loose.

The prologue to the movie alone is a minor masterpiece and, like Beauty and the Beast, marvelously prepares us for the whirlwind of a story to take place.

The complaints about the singing and dancing gargoyles Victor, Hugo and Laverne, are simply wrongheaded. I read the Hugo classic too, and know they're not in there. What the complainants fail to realize is these gargoyles live only in Quasimodo's imagination. He invented these companions to ease an otherwise tortured, lonely, friendless life. The culmination of all of this becomes obvious in the spectacular song "A guy like you" which finishes with pigeons flying and hearts and banners and ribbons and Quasimodo being celebrated and then BAM immediately upon the conclusion of the final notes, the room becomes the same dark, dank, splintering tower filled with relics, junk and heartbreak. It's one of the movie's most shattering effects.

While deserved praise goes to the animators and crew, the voice talent here is, in my opinion, Disney's very best. Tom Hulce goes to the very soul of Quasimodo and gives a performance that is as poignant and shattering as anything he has done (Hulce also happened to be the best Hamlet I've ever seen.) Certain lines ("I am a monster, you know") will ring in my ear forever. Hulce has a beautiful voice and renders "Out there" with such abandon and vigor it makes my hair stand on end. In the quiet "Heaven's light" (which sequences into a stunning shot of the bells frantically ringing the opening theme), Hulce brings a fragility to such lines as "no face as hideous as my face, was ever meant for Heaven's light" that only a heart of stone would not be moved. Switching from pathos to rage, Hulce lets us feel the hidden rage and danger that this character also possesses. It is a truly remarkable performance.

Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Tony Jay, Paul Kandel – and the rest of the cast all sound at the top of their game creating wonderful and vivid characters.

Alan Menkin and Stephen Schwartz get to the heart of the matter with score and songs – a sound – that are as integral a part of the telling of this story as the animation and voices.

Hunchback is a miracle of a movie!

The original film The Hunchback of Notre Dame was one of the saddest and most dramatic films ever. Now, Victor Hugo's original vision is put with color from disney, and it is still dramatic and sad, but it amazingly works into the Dinsey family fold, even if it is erotic, killing and weird. Great fun in voices from Thomas Hulce, Demi Moore, kevin Kline, Tonyt Jay and Jason Alexander as a gargoyle. One of the better animated films to come around in the 90's. A+

It's not Hugo, but the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) is a wonderful film in its own right. Save for some awkward 1990s CG in the background every now and then, the animation is glorious and the colors are deep and rich like a medieval tapestry. The musical score and numbers are among Disney's most underrated. The characters are all memorable, from the soulful Quasimodo to the kind but tough Esmeralda to the evil Frollo, one of the greatest and most unsung of all Disney villains.

Were it not for one factor, this film would be a masterpiece and that is the juvenile humor which creeps into this overall somber and dark movie. The gargoyles are the most obnoxious comic relief possible, and their anachronistic, cartoony nature does not gel with this story of oppression and sin. It's obvious the executives were frightened by the film's darkness, fearful that there wasn't enough kiddie appeal, so they forced this creative mistake upon the filmmakers.

It's a shame, but overall, this is still a fine picture.

Going into the theater to see this movie, my friend and I (who are "cynical" teenage movie critics) honestly expected to be disappointed, especially after the relatively blah Pocahontas. When the movie was over 90 min. later, we both ran frantically to go buy the CD and read the book (which, actually, was rather different than the movie, but hey.).

I am 17 years old; I grew up watching The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. When Disney released this movie, which dealt with extremely heavy subject matter in an extremely tasteful manner, I jumped for joy. During the entire movie, I was amazed and spellbound. The music was also fantastic, by the way, as was the cinematography (although those crowd scenes begin to look really fake after a while). That scene where Quasimodo holds Esmerelda up in front of the rose window and yells, "Sanctuary!" still gives me chills.

This is not a movie for children in any way, shape or form. I think the only problem with Hunchback is the fact that Disney refused to accept that this is a serious, relatively adult motion picture and would not make any animated movie, no matter how serious, without obnoxiously cute little critters (i.e., the gargoyles) bouncing around to entertain the kiddies, or huge marketing campaigns at McDonald's, etc. As some others have written on here, it's pretty obvious this movie isn't for kiddies from its subject matter.

But anyone over 13 who's willing to think as well as be entertained when watching a Disney movie would probably love Hunchback.