The Hunchback of Notre Dame
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Demi Moore, Tom HulceDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-03-19
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Movie Reviews of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Movie Review: Pretty decent, but couldn't they have taken bigger chances with this?
Summary: 2 Stars
I have read "Notre-Dame de Paris (a.k.a. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame)" by Victor Hugo, and it has become one of my all-time favorite books. When I saw the Disney adaptation, I was a bit disappointed. Let me start with the good.
THE GOOD SIDE: I admire the beautiful animation (especially the accurate rendering of the Notre-Dame cathedral). It's all been done very splendidly. The songs "Topsy Turvy" and "God Help the Outcasts" are very enjoyable. The gargoyles Hugo, Victor, and Laverne will provide excellent comic relief for the kids. And finally, I'm glad they took a very dark approach for a Disney film like this . . .
THE BAD SIDE: Unfortunately, this isn't dark enough. My main complaint is changing much of Victor Hugo's adult novel into a G-rated family film.
Here are some major examples:
-Clopin is not a jester of the Festival of Fools in the novel, rather he is a protector of the outcasts.
-La Esmeralda is sixteen years old in the novel.
-Phoebus does not have a friendly relationship with the outcasts.
-Claude Frollo is the actual Archdeacon.
-Quasimodo is deaf.
-Jehan does not appear in the film.
-Pierre Gringoire does not appear in the film.
-The novel does NOT have a happy ending.
I mean, come on, the creators of the Disney version could've at least taken some chances with this, make the audience see that animation isn't all about happy animals and dancing trees and etc. etc. But instead, we still get the same family-friendly atmosphere (except the Shrek films) in animated movies (The Incredibles, Mulan, Finding Nemo, Chicken Little, Hoodwinked, etc.). Ugh, what next? Skunks finding success in pop music? Snails becoming superheroes? The animators of today should adapt Miguel de Cervantes's "Don Quixote" or the Finnish epic "The Kalevala" or the Indian Epic "The Ramayana" and bring some dramatic approaches towards animation (whether it's 2D or 3D). Or maybe I could create that dramatic approach myself, since I want to become a director of animation myself.
But who knows? The future still holds many myseteries. We'll never know what's going to happen next.
Summary of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The misconception about this animated film from Disney was that it was a movie for kids--something Victor Hugo never had in mind. In fact, despite a cute brace of singing gargoyles who are Quasimodo's (Tom Hulce) best friends, this version of Hugo's classic tale is really adult entertainment, with a strong set of songs by Alan Menken. The story remains mostly the same (though tricked out with a happier ending than Hugo's): Quasimodo, the ward of repressive monk Frollo, falls for a gypsy girl named Esmerelda (Demi Moore)--though she loves one of the king's guards (Kevin Kline). But they are all put in jeopardy by the wicked Frollo, whose secret passion for Esmerelda leads him to seek her death. At times too dark and even a shade kinky, something that may scare younger viewers. --Marshall FineInspired by Victor Hugo's classic novel, Disney brings the heroic adventures of Quasimodo, the gentle and lonely bell ringer of Notre Dame, to spectacular life. This critically acclaimed Disney masterpiece is an "uplifting, thrilling story with a heart-touching message that emerges from the comedy and song" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times). At the urging of his hilarious gargoyle pals Victor, Hugo, and Laverne, Quaismodo leaves the solitary safety of his tower, venturing out to find his first true friend, the gypsy beauty Esmerelda. The most unlikely of heroes, Quasi fights to save the people and the city he loves and, in turn, helps us to see people for who they are, rather than how they appear. The star-studded voice cast includes Jason Alexander, Tom Hulce, Kevin Kline, and Demi Moore in a magnificent Disney musical from renowned composer Alan Menken.
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