Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame

• Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
• June 19, 1996 (Louisiana Superdome) / June 21, 1996 (US)
• Loosely based on the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

Voice Cast

• Quasimodo-Tom Hulce
• Esmeralda (singing voice by Heidi Mollenhauer)-Demi Moore
• Judge Claude Frollo-Tony Jay
• Captain Phoebus-Kevin Kline
• Clopin-Paul Kandel
• Hugo-Jason Alexander
• Victor-Charles Kimbrough
• Laverne-Mary Wickes
• The Archdeacon-David Ogden Stiers

The deformed bell-ringer of Notre Dame yearns to explore the outside world which is against the wishes of his cruel foster father who also wants to exterminate Paris’ Roma population.

I admit to being unfamiliar with the actual book from which Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame draws inspiration. The closest I ever got I think was looking at the cover of the Classics Illustrated version or something like that. Even so when this came out it seemed like a bit of a stretch for Disney to make a version of the story even as streamlined as it may have been.

I really feel that this should have been free of musical numbers. Disney is known for its animated production numbers making them almost a requirement in any of their releases but as I recall the book is rather thick song and dance numbers in a 90 something minute presentation take away from developing that thick tome. The songs in Hunchback often act as information dumps. I wouldn’t say there any bangers in this, but the songs have a grand and at times almost operatic quality to them.

The story is pretty standard Disney fair until we get to the scene in the Palace of Justice where we see the first interaction between Judge Claude Frollo and Captain Phoebus. Why? Because I dare say Frollo is a sadist which is a weird type of character to find in a Disney film. Frollo is kind of creepy and gross. His words on the sting of the whip are actually kind of messed up. It’s a brief moment but more so than I’ve ever seen in a Disney film. He is of high social status but is actually far worse than any peasant. He is almost immediately enamored by Esmeralda and his lust gets tied up with his bigotry and emotional issues.

Hunchback is one of the more religious Disney movies. Belief is much more overt here than quite possibly in any other Disney film. Certainly a risk for them but one that they handled it beautifully. As such it looks at infanticide, lust, damnation, and racism in the implied genocidal goals of Frollo. Frollo sees the Roma (Gypsies) as a negative influence on the social order of the city and has been spending decades trying to crush them if not outright kill each one in Paris.

The cast of significant characters is small. There is the pure and isolated Quasimodo. There is the exotic gypsy Esmerelda. And the traditionally handsome Captain Phoebus called from the war by Frollo. For a sanitized version of a serious work they all come together quite smoothly in a Disney friendly way.

Quasimodo faces hatred because of his physical appearance. Individually the crowd likes him but when a few of the cool kids decide to start mocking him everything quickly turns. A little social commentary? Quasimodo is in a very abusive relationship with Frollo who has taken it upon himself to be Quasimodo’s guardian. Quasimodo is an unwanted burden that he only takes because if he does not it will be clear he is not the pious and righteous man following all the right rules he wishes he were.

Quasimodo for his part has a near epic internal struggle. He has a lifetime of fears over how people will judge him and view him yet something inside of him compels the man to stand up and do the right thing which even requires him to go against the only father figure he really knows.

Esmeralda is a strong character. She’s the equal of those around her in intellect and skill. She also has a strong sense of right and wrong which feeds the conflict with Frollo. Phoebus is a good man but not improbably pure. He has a suspicions about Quasimodo but those are only suspicions of a stranger and not based on his physical appearance.

The gargoyle characters of Hugo, Victor, and Laverne are different aspects of Quasimodo’s personality. A chorus if you will. For a long time in Hunchback you could view use them as being completely imaginary until the climax when they actually interact with the crowd. They never move or talk when anybody else is around. It might have been a nice touch for them to be just that.

There are visual acknowledgments to the classic Maureen O’Hara The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The design for Quasimodo looks a lot like Charles Laughton in that film and Frollo has a striking resemblance to Frollo in that film. There are even a few shots here and there that look to me as if they were ripped directly from the classic black and white film. Then again I have read those making this were going for some more obvious acknowledgements of previous versions but got nixed on a few of those.

I miss this type of Disney animation. Disney’s Hunchback is hand drawn animation aided by computers and not entirely CGI. Dramatic shots and amazing vistas are possible in this and it looks beautiful. The movie is very cinematic. Despite touches of traditional Disney humor, this is much more mature than many other Disney offerings.

Directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise create a romance between Phoebus and Esmeralda with only a few words and minimal moments. You know there’s an attraction between them. They do in a few lines what some have difficulty doing in a few scenes. If I had any complaints about this movie it would be that even though this shows where the romance started between Phoebus and Esmeralda, they did little to develop it. They are just together at the end when Quasimodo puts their hands together and they kiss. For much of the movie she’s just some exotic hot chick that the blonde guy wants more of.

Weakness of the romance aside, Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a great movie. Probably not the most faithful adoption ever but it’s very good for children and parents together or alone. Great dialogue and great characters and just an enjoyable time.