The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Directors:

Gary Trousdale
Kirk Wise

Writers:

Christine Blum (story)
Geefwee Boedoe (story)

Release Date:

21 June 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

Plot:

A deformed bellringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancing girl.

Plot Keywords:

Gypsy | Cathedral | Cruelty | Soldier | Gargoyle

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jason Alexander	...	Hugo (voice)
Mary Kay Bergman	...	Quasimodo's Mother / Additional Voice (voice)
Corey Burton	...	Brutish Guard / Additional Voice (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Guards / Gypsies (voice)
Bill Fagerbakke	...	Oafish Guard (voice)
Tom Hulce	...	Quasimodo (voice)
Tony Jay	...	Frollo (voice)
Paul Kandel	...	Clopin (voice)
Charles Kimbrough	...	Victor (voice)
Kevin Kline	...	Phoebus (voice)
Heidi Mollenhauer	...	Esmeralda (singing voice)
Demi Moore	...	Esmeralda (voice)
Patrick Pinney	...	Guards / Gypsies / Additional Voice (voice)
Gary Trousdale	...	The Old Heretic (voice)
David Ogden Stiers	...	Archdeacon (voice)

Runtime:

91 min | Denmark:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:G (certificate #34615) | Australia:PG | Brazil:10 (DVD rating) | Brazil:Livre | South Korea:All | Sweden:7 | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-8/5 | Germany:6 (w) | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:G | Spain:T | UK:U

Company:

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Trivia:

While Quasimodo is singing 'Out There', the camera pans over Paris and zooms in on a street. In this scene, Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast' is seen walking and reading her book (walks out the bottom of the screen, to the right of the well), Pumba from 'The Lion King' is being carried on a pole by two men (carried out of the bottom of the screen, but left of the well), and another man (in a gray blue tunic) is shaking out the Carpet from 'Aladdin'.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Festival of Fools takes place at Twelfth Night, on January 6 - the song "Topsy Turvy" mentions "the sixth of 'Januervy'". But in a later scene, Frollo brings Quasimodo fresh grapes. Grapes are not ripe in January in France.

Quotes:

Frollo: The sentence for insubordination is death. Such a pity. You threw away a promising career.
Phoebus: Consider it my highest honor, sir.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South Park: Prehistoric Ice Man (#2.18)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

The Bells of Notre Dame (Reprise)

Best Disney film ever made?

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.