The Hunchback of Notre Dame

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.

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!

Well... No. Not quite. It's not the 'conventional classic' that everyone loves and adores (see: Aladdin, The Lion King) and will show their children and their children's children. But that's just it. How anybody can deny that this is a fantastic film is beyond me.

Okay, it's in no way true to the story. But who cares? This is a Disney FILM. It's hardly setting out to be a serious piece of literature-to-film.

It's just... breathtaking. Not just the animation (which is some of the most accomplished from Disney to date, whilst we're on the subject), but the characterisation and pace of story. Frollo is, arguably, the most evil Disney villain ever committed to celluloid. Here, Disney touches on dark themes never before explored in their animated feature lengths; the main one being lust. The scene with 'Hellfire' is truly chilling.

Quasimodo is a brilliant Disney hero. His alienation is easy to relate to, and yet he's still alien enough for one to feel so sorry for him. He's just so tragic. His unrequited love for Esmerelda as she runs off with someone cooler and better looking is something we can all relate to. I quite like how the ending is part conventional for Disney and part not. Yes, the pretty heroine gets the knight in shining armour, but at the same time the real leading man doesn't have to be paired off with a beautiful leading girl in order to end up happy.

The voices are really talented- the notable standout for me being Kevin Kleine as Phebus, and Esmerelda is arguably one of the best things Demi Moore has ever done. I also adore, against most people's opinions, the gargoyles. Yes, they're a bit OTT, but that's what Disney sidekicks are all about, and they provide essential comedy balance for the darkness of the film.

The Hunchback Of The Notre Dame may not be the most authentic film storyline-wise, but it is dark, touching, scary, poignant, funny, chilling, moving (it never fails to leave me in floods of tears) and is one of the few Disney films that can stand alone from Disney as a wonderful piece of cinematography in it's own right.

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+

I have been reading all of the negative comments on this movie, and it just baffles me how people can't really see the big picture here (no pun intended) Though Disney has enchanted us in the past with sickly sweet renditions of timeless fairytales in the past, I think that it's a good thing that Disney embark on creating a more dark and looming satire.

Now although I am a huge advocate of Disney it's no mystery that they have turned storylines around on mostly all of their movies. I dont think I have seen one of their animated features, that was derived from a story that they didn't change the plot around on. And though most of us know that Sleeping Beauty's original story didn't include 3 good fairies, nor did Beauty and the Beast feature singing Dishware or Gueston (sp), but we still loved those movies regardless, and that it because they were well done. So in saying all of that, why should this one be any different. It didn't follow the Hunchback's novel completely but it doesn't mean that it was horrible. On the contrary, I admire Disney for trying to reninvent themselves by attempting this challenge.

Of course there are alot of things in the book that MUST be taken out of the movie in order for the movie to remain children-friendly. Let's face it the story of the Hunchback is definately one of the darkest, and the combination of religion,lust,and racism which is major concept in the book, needs to be toned down. It is even painful to me, a young adult to stomach alot of what is portrayed in the original Hunchback. I know that children couldn't possibly understand what the real lessons of the book were trying to portray.

However, I believe that Disney reformed this story as to not really narrate the book as I think it was made to prove a point, and to educate children on the cruelty of society in general.

The second time i saw this film, i had rented it and watched it with a three year old girl that I was nannying at the time. Her mother wanted her to see it but I was reluctent to subject the little girl to the darkness of the message. Regardless of everything, I do think this film is more of a FAMILY film, than a CHILDREN'S film. If children are going to see this, then they need a parent to watch it with them. Through out the entire movie the little girl reacted the exact same way that I am sure Disney wanted her to. She would constantly ask me questions like. "Why do people make fun of Quazi, he is a nice guy", and "That Frollo man is so mean to people". Regardless of the inacuracies to the book, the little girl was learning a lesson. Don't judge a book by it's cover, and be kind to your fellow man.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I thought it to be very well done, and the music was outstanding. "The Bells of Notre Dame" give me a chill everytime I hear it sung, and there was a good blend of humor, and drama. Disney, once again hits the nail on the head, and it's one that I am going to be adding to my Christmas list in the future.

Enough said!