The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
After the huge success of The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast and The Lion King, Disney embarked on their most serious & ambitious animated feature to date with this 1996 adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel, Notre Dame de Paris. This movie loosely follows Hugo's narrative; mostly due to it being a children's film, first & foremost. 'THoND' opens with a great 6-minute prologue showing how Frollo (voiced by Tony Jay), a malevolent magistrate in 15th c. Paris, nearly tosses a grotesquely deformed baby down a well, but was stopped by a kindly priest and, fearing the wrath of God, decides instead to become the guardian of said baby; who he names Quasimodo {or quasi-human}. From here, the film proceeds to the crux of the story.
As a young adult, we find that, for his entire life thus far, Quasimodo has been sequestered away from sight of anyone by Judge Frollo, a pious but deeply hateful man who treats his ward with indifference & confines him in sanctuary as the bell ringer for the massive Parisian cathedral. Along with loathing Quasimodo & trying to eradicate all sins, Frollo also violently hates the local Gypsies who while away their days in the cathedral's courtyard. Frollo aims to clear the Gypsies out of Paris with the help of Phoebus (voiced by Kevin Kline), captain of the city's guards. However, Phoebus harbors no ill will against the Gypsies.
When Quasimodo is crowned King of the Fools after leaving Notre Dame for the annual festival of Topsy Turvy Day, our titular hunchback is ordered beaten by the guards as punishment, but beautiful, green-eyed Esmeralda (voiced by Demi Moore), a hot-blooded but compassionate gypsy, shows pity on Quasimodo & helps free him from his chains. Esmeralda is the 1st woman to show kindness to Quasimodo, & our hunchback soon falls in hopeless love. However, Phoebus is also in love with her and, though Esmeralda feels great affection for Quasimodo, she falls for the dashing, blonde Phoebus. At the same time, 'righteous' Judge Frollo lusts for Esmeralda; which incites his hatred for the Gypsies even more. Humor, tragedy & adventure ensue.
While I can't say that 'THoND' (directed here by Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise) reach the glorious heights of the 1939 classic starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara & Cedric Hardwicke, nor the likes of The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast & The Lion King ... it is still a wonderful entry for this Disney Renaissance era; chock full of stunning animation, lovely characters, a good villain, fine comic relief, potent themes & a few songs sprinkled throughout. This version waters down some of the character drama & multi-layered plot complexities so as to make it palatable to children, but that decision doesn't bother me much because themes of tolerance, respect-for-others, standing up to tyranny, & standing up for outcasts prevail.
Tom Hulse's Quasimodo is wonderful; making the inherently dark aspects of this tale feel quite human. And the fact that he does his own singing {"Out There" - where he longs for a life outside his sanctuary - is the musical stand-out} is very impressive. Demi Moore lends vocal grit to the beautiful, but scrappy Esmeralda; a woman forced to covertly get by {as gypsies do}, yet come out of the shadows to stand-up against wrong-doings. Kevin Kline is always an amiable voice-presence; here, as Phoebus. For comic relief, we have Jason Alexander (of Seinfeld), Charles Kimbrough & the great Mary Wickes as a trio of quick-witted gargoyle friends of Quasimodo. And Tony Jay brings great baritone malevolence to Judge Frollo, a bigoted, if conflicted religious man whose crusade against gypsies, his lecherous pursuit of Esmeralda & his willingness to kill-at-will make him a formidable Disney villain.
Visually, the hand drawn design of the characters & milieu {cathedral, village, gargoyles, intricate foregrounds & backgrounds, elaborate interiors} is superb. And CGI is utilized here & there to aid the hand drawn, as well. I'm reminded of a thrilling display of red & orange during the 'Paris is burning' sequence. Also, the sequence where Frollo confronts his lustful inner demons is striking; also providing one of the film's best songs, "Hellfire". Along with that & "Out There", the other song of note is Esmeralda's beautiful "God Help the Outcasts". I wouldn't say that this film contains the very best/memorable Disney songs out there, but the musical score is simply gorgeous; lush, yet dynamic when it needs to be.
The main purpose for animated films is to entertain kids and, to that, this film does. It IS interesting how dark this movie gets amid the visuals & humor, though {sword/knife/bow-&-arrow injuries, demonic imagery, heavy religious content, treachery, Frollo 'desiring' Esmeralda, I could go on}. Some parents may not love all of that; I certainly wouldn't mind. 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is a solid, stunningly beautiful Disney film to enjoy. For a certain portion of viewers, it may even be their favorite Disney animated movie. So though I don't view it as TOP drawer vs. the other recent 'greats', I can't deny that it contains a wealth of riches.
As a young adult, we find that, for his entire life thus far, Quasimodo has been sequestered away from sight of anyone by Judge Frollo, a pious but deeply hateful man who treats his ward with indifference & confines him in sanctuary as the bell ringer for the massive Parisian cathedral. Along with loathing Quasimodo & trying to eradicate all sins, Frollo also violently hates the local Gypsies who while away their days in the cathedral's courtyard. Frollo aims to clear the Gypsies out of Paris with the help of Phoebus (voiced by Kevin Kline), captain of the city's guards. However, Phoebus harbors no ill will against the Gypsies.
When Quasimodo is crowned King of the Fools after leaving Notre Dame for the annual festival of Topsy Turvy Day, our titular hunchback is ordered beaten by the guards as punishment, but beautiful, green-eyed Esmeralda (voiced by Demi Moore), a hot-blooded but compassionate gypsy, shows pity on Quasimodo & helps free him from his chains. Esmeralda is the 1st woman to show kindness to Quasimodo, & our hunchback soon falls in hopeless love. However, Phoebus is also in love with her and, though Esmeralda feels great affection for Quasimodo, she falls for the dashing, blonde Phoebus. At the same time, 'righteous' Judge Frollo lusts for Esmeralda; which incites his hatred for the Gypsies even more. Humor, tragedy & adventure ensue.
While I can't say that 'THoND' (directed here by Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise) reach the glorious heights of the 1939 classic starring Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara & Cedric Hardwicke, nor the likes of The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast & The Lion King ... it is still a wonderful entry for this Disney Renaissance era; chock full of stunning animation, lovely characters, a good villain, fine comic relief, potent themes & a few songs sprinkled throughout. This version waters down some of the character drama & multi-layered plot complexities so as to make it palatable to children, but that decision doesn't bother me much because themes of tolerance, respect-for-others, standing up to tyranny, & standing up for outcasts prevail.
Tom Hulse's Quasimodo is wonderful; making the inherently dark aspects of this tale feel quite human. And the fact that he does his own singing {"Out There" - where he longs for a life outside his sanctuary - is the musical stand-out} is very impressive. Demi Moore lends vocal grit to the beautiful, but scrappy Esmeralda; a woman forced to covertly get by {as gypsies do}, yet come out of the shadows to stand-up against wrong-doings. Kevin Kline is always an amiable voice-presence; here, as Phoebus. For comic relief, we have Jason Alexander (of Seinfeld), Charles Kimbrough & the great Mary Wickes as a trio of quick-witted gargoyle friends of Quasimodo. And Tony Jay brings great baritone malevolence to Judge Frollo, a bigoted, if conflicted religious man whose crusade against gypsies, his lecherous pursuit of Esmeralda & his willingness to kill-at-will make him a formidable Disney villain.
Visually, the hand drawn design of the characters & milieu {cathedral, village, gargoyles, intricate foregrounds & backgrounds, elaborate interiors} is superb. And CGI is utilized here & there to aid the hand drawn, as well. I'm reminded of a thrilling display of red & orange during the 'Paris is burning' sequence. Also, the sequence where Frollo confronts his lustful inner demons is striking; also providing one of the film's best songs, "Hellfire". Along with that & "Out There", the other song of note is Esmeralda's beautiful "God Help the Outcasts". I wouldn't say that this film contains the very best/memorable Disney songs out there, but the musical score is simply gorgeous; lush, yet dynamic when it needs to be.
The main purpose for animated films is to entertain kids and, to that, this film does. It IS interesting how dark this movie gets amid the visuals & humor, though {sword/knife/bow-&-arrow injuries, demonic imagery, heavy religious content, treachery, Frollo 'desiring' Esmeralda, I could go on}. Some parents may not love all of that; I certainly wouldn't mind. 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is a solid, stunningly beautiful Disney film to enjoy. For a certain portion of viewers, it may even be their favorite Disney animated movie. So though I don't view it as TOP drawer vs. the other recent 'greats', I can't deny that it contains a wealth of riches.