The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Short description
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is an animated drama set in fifteenth-century Paris, where Quasimodo lives secluded in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral under the control of Judge Claude Frollo, the man who raised him and forbids him from going out among the people. Encouraged by the gargoyles who keep him company, Quasimodo slips away and joins the crowds at the Festival of Fools, where he meets Esmeralda, a Romani dancer whose independence puts her in direct conflict with Frollo. When Frollo pursues her, Quasimodo must decide between the obedience he has always known and loyalty to his new friend. The film adapts Victor Hugo's novel, though it departs from it in important ways. It is also the second collaboration between directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise after Beauty and the Beast, and both men returned for Atlantis: The Lost Empire later in their careers; Don Hahn produced, with a screenplay by Jonathan Roberts, Irene Mecchi and Tab Murphy. Tom Hulce voices Quasimodo, Demi Moore plays Esmeralda, Kevin Kline voices Phoebus and Tony Jay plays Frollo, with Charles Kimbrough and Mary Wickes among the gargoyle voices. It cost about 100 million dollars and earned roughly 325 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from 183,000 votes and on TMDB 7.1 from 5,480, while the critics' rating of 7.7 from 111 reviews is closer to the audience scores than to a polarizing result.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film premiered on June 19, 1996, at the Superdome in New Orleans. Six enormous screens were used for the screening, and it was preceded by a parade through the French Quarter.
- The old man who is freed at the end is a reincarnation of Jafar from Aladdin.
- Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse can be spotted as statues of Notre Dame.
- Striving for maximum accuracy in the depiction and paying attention to the smallest architectural details, the animators spent several weeks near Notre Dame Cathedral and inside the structure itself while drawing the corresponding scenes of the film. Workspaces were allocated to them for this purpose in the recently opened Disneyland Paris amusement park.
- Tom Hulce was approved for the voice of Quasimodo after the first audition. According to the actor, during the audition he immediately noticed that all the studio staff present were staring intently at the floor. Only later did he see that storyboards were laid out on the floor. As one of the project's directors, Kirk Wise, recounted, the filmmakers preferred to audition voice actors with their eyes closed in order to better visualize the character's face.
- The song "Someday" was sung for the credits by All-4-One, but in the European version it was replaced by the British group Eternal.
- This film almost received a PG rating; in the British release, it was marked with the notice "Some scenes may be unsuitable for young children."
- Actor Igor Balalaev, who voiced Claude Frollo for the Russian-language version of the cartoon, played Archdeacon Frollo in the Russian stage production of the musical "Notre Dame de Paris." Another performer of this role in the musical was Alexander Marakulin, whose voice speaks the gargoyle Victor in the cartoon.
- The song "Hellfire" is considered one of the darkest songs written for a Disney film, and it was almost cut from the movie.
- Like many other Disney cartoons, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" does not adhere to the original story by Victor Hugo. In the book, Esmeralda marries Gringoire—a character whose traits are combined with those of the young captain in the image of Phoebus. The real Phoebus, however, abandoned Esmeralda for another woman—Fleur de Lys. Quasimodo does not have one eye in the book, and he is deafened by the ringing of bells. Esmeralda is 16 years old in the book, and Frollo is 35; he is not a judge but a priest—he is the archdeacon. Esmeralda is hanged for witchcraft, Quasimodo kills Frollo, and dies himself of grief on Esmeralda's grave. It goes without saying that the changes Disney made to the plot were necessary to transform an adult story into a kind fairy tale for children.
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