#34 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Title: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Release Date: June 21st, 1996

Voice Cast: Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline

Recap: In 15th century Paris, a disfigured bellringer, Quasimodo, lives a lonely, blissfully ignorant life in the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. His master is Judge Claude Frollo, a vicious man who is adamant about keeping Quasimodo away from the rest of the world as well as eliminating the gypsies from Paris. One of these gypsies, Esmeralda, befriends Quasimodo along with one of Frollo's sympathetic knights, Phoebus. Pheobus and Quasimodo team up to save Esmeralda from Frollo, but there is a conflict of interest-- both have a romantic interest for her.
And here's the kicker: Frollo's got a little thing for her too.

Review: This is probably the most difficult review I've ever written. Even the recap was challenging to write, and I'll tell you why. Well, I'll try to explain to you why. My thoughts are so jumbled on this film that it's near impossible to judge what needs to be judged.

I think that is, in part, due to the fact that the story is all over the place. I couldn't stop and analyze one element of the movie because within moments a whole new element took over and the old one was abandoned. So I suppose that means style is all over the place too. But here's the thing: I didn't hate any of it, or dislike any of it significantly.

In fact, I don't think I was moved in either direction by what was going on in the film. Sure, I could pick out a few things if necessary. For example, I didn't care for the character of Quasimodo. Now, before you start going off on some notion of prejudice, let me say this: the abuse of Quasimodo is so dark that I felt uneasy watching it. And since we're heading in THAT direction, I might as well say the whole film is like a dark opera. Just listen to the motif in the score. And the song "Hellfire" would give me a nightmare or two if I was a kid.

I absolutely loved one thing about this film, though. It's not something most people would notice, but I sure did. The character Phoebus-- I urge you to go to another Disney film and pick a character who has a role like his. All the love stories are the same: a guy and a girl, usually against the world. Phoebus was an interesting spin into the work; he got the girl, and he's not the protagonist. Of course, I can't thank Disney for that. (Hats off to Victor Hugo.)

Diving into the idosyncrasies, I'll just give you some brief grades:
Music: C- Very, very disappointing except for the angry opera motif in the score, which was badass.
Animation: A It's a Disney Renaissance film for goodness sake. As darkness goes, this has got scenery nailed.
Story: B- Detail was a problem. Overall, it was pretty great. But when you break it down, it gets messy.
Characters: B Phoebus!!!
Voice Acting: C+ I give props to Jason Alexander and Tony Jay.

So uh, yeah. I can't be sure if I liked or disliked this film. And as I believe, when in doubt, aim for the middle.

Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')