The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Reviews

• Disney grows up, and it is good

  Jenny-831999-01-15

  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.

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• Best Disney film ever made?

  cassbah2004-09-25

  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.

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• Disney's Miracle of a Movie

  gpadillo2004-10-04

  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!

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• Deliciously Dark, and Touchingly Religious

  pelicans_and_such2004-10-30

  I was so impressed by this movie. The animation is gorgeous and a lot of the subject matter profound. Many critics have complained about the talking gargoyles messing up the movie and taking it further away from Hugo's original novel, but the only problem I have with them is their song (A Guy Like You), which attempts "Be Our Guest" and "Under the Sea" status, but really does lack the melody. Other than that, they fit right in with Hugo, who told in his novel that Quasimodo would sit for hours holding solitary converse with the statues. Of course, this was all in his mind, but hello, so are the gargoyles in the movie. No one else ever sees them talking or moving (with the exception of Djali), and they are animated to give Quasimodo some friends, just as he did on his own in the book. Of course, there are many other parts of the movie that are WAY different from the book, but not as many people complain about them, so I won't mention them. The main reason I love this movie is the villain, Frollo, played to perfection by Tony Jay. His sinister atmosphere and lust for Esmerelda are elements of the like we have never seen in any other Disney movie, prior to or after Hunchback. The song "Hellfire" is the crown jewel of the movie, and makes the entire thing worth watching. I was so surprised by the graphic lyrics and animation of this scene, and could do nothing but yell "THIS IS Disney!!!!!!!!!!" But it was a good surprise, not a bad one. Frollo is decidedly the deepest, and most evil of all Disney villains, and is definitely my favorite. The music in this movie is also the best that Disney has ever produced. Though the songs are not as catchy as those found in other memorable Disney movies, they are nonetheless the most powerful. In this movie, we find large-scale choral music in Latin, huge orchestral works, religious themes, and Broadway/Classical style arrangements that put most of the other Disney movies to shame. It truly is magnificent. I definitely recommend this movie to all audiences, and I give it a 10/10. This is the Disney movie that deserved an Oscar nomination more than any other, and it is a shame that it has been so underplayed and all but disowned by Disney since its release. SEE THIS MOVIE.

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• Wow. . .I mean, Wow

  billymup1999-04-19

  Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is an inspired piece of filmmaking. After POCAHONTAS, many of my friends were disillusioned with Disney films, so I went to see it with just one other person (usually we go in groups of at least 4). I was awestruck. The movie is a perfect blend of all the things that make Disney such a respected name: beautiful music, breathtaking animation (a perfect blend of hand drawn and computer), entertaining for adults and kids alike (though this may not be a movie for the youngest of the young), and an intelligent and well-executed script. Paying proper respect to the story as written yet making the necessary refinements to make it a children's movie, this script (note how I carefully avoided a dangling participle), is one of the finest adaptations of a novel for the screen I have ever seen. And for those who thought the ending lost all of its tragic bite, I have one serious question for you: Why exactly DID Esmerelda choose Phoebus over Quasimodo? Think about it. Andrew Dixon

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