The Hunchback of Notre Dame

G 7
1996 1 hr 31 min Animation , Drama , Family

Isolated bell-ringer Quasimodo wishes to leave Notre Dame tower against the wishes of Judge Claude Frollo, his stern guardian and Paris' strait-laced Minister of Justice. His first venture to the outside world finds him Esmeralda, a kind-hearted and fearless Romani woman who openly stands up to Frollo's tyranny.

  • Cast:
    Tom Hulce , Demi Moore , Tony Jay , Kevin Kline , Charles Kimbrough , Mary Wickes , Jane Withers

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Reviews

Hellen
1996/06/21

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

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ThiefHott
1996/06/22

Too much of everything

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Gutsycurene
1996/06/23

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

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Plustown
1996/06/24

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

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Kristie Ann Webb
1996/06/25

The animation may be beautiful, but has a totally disappointing plot, which should have earned a PG-13 rating. I'm disappointed in the writers for villainizing Christianity, I mean, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!? And another thing, there are sexual related contents that are linked in a Disney movie, such as a dark complacent chick who danced provocative, seducing a man, and pole dancing. Seriously, this is not for kids.

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cinephile-27690
1996/06/26

I didn't really care for this as a kid but I adore it now-I have seen it about 4 times since New Year's Eve. It was controversial among release for how it viewed religion(some hated that a church was the main setting, some hated that the villain was doing evil for God). The villain song also has a theme of lust and how the lusted woman must marry him or go to hell. It's dark and not for squeamish kids. In fact, I think older audiences will enjoy it more than kids will. Some also hate the gargoyles but I like them fine-one was voiced by Jason Alexander! Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Tony Jay, Tom Hulce, and others are in the cast too. This is my favorite Disney movie and worth seeing. it's a shame that IMDB rates this at 6.9! Maybe 7.9, but 6.9? oh, well. Not everyone can see beauty in a movie about an "ugly" man!

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snperera
1996/06/27

This is such a classic Disney and one of my favorites and I hate that it is not talked about more! The music and the message of this story is so important and kids should see this film. Maybe 7 or 8 though. Younger than that and it might be a little too scary at times. Anyways, the songs and the characters are so sweet, kind, and charming and smart! Esmeralda is a force to be reckoned with and she is such a strong and powerful female character in an animated film. Omgg!! I wish more people watch this film and I hope Disney recognizes how much of a classic this film is. I love this movie and will always love this movie and I am glad that I watched this when I was younger. Loove it so much!!

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joshuafagan-64214
1996/06/28

Our main hero is Quasimodo, a supposedly hideous man who has been locked up in the castle by Frollo, whom we'll get to later. One of my problems with this movie is that Quasi is not nearly as hideous as he is portrayed. He's more of an ugly-cute. He's not attractive, especially compared to his costars, but 'the most hideous man in all of France' he is not. But my main problem is that this film professes a moral that it doesn't matter what you look like, yet what's Quasi's reward for being the hero. You and I both know that if he'd been more handsome, he would have gotten the girl (honestly a sexist concept in of itself, but that's for another day), the beautiful Esmeralda. But he doesn't. He merely gets to be accepted by the public and treated like a normal human being. What kind of a reward is that? Esmeralda ends up with the traditional blond, handsome prince, Phoebus, who is so forgettable I had to look up his name before I wrote this review. That's garbage. For all his hardships, Quasi basically gets the 'reward' of being the third wheel.The one bright spot among our cast of heroes is Esmeralda. Besides having a gorgeous name, she's entertaining, energetic, flirty, and cunning. I'm not really sure if she's that different from the other Disney Princesses (yes, I know she's not actually a princess, but Disney plays it fast and loose with the branding; if this movie had been more successful, you bet she would have been there), but she definitely feels different. She feels more experienced, more mature.Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if they took out the Hunchback and her prince and instead made it about her and Frollo, It really wouldn't have been an adaptation of the Hunchback of Notre Dame anymore, but it would have been a more interesting, better-told story than the one we ended up getting.Frollo himself is far and away the highlight of the movie. He's the kind of Disney villain that's scary when you're a kid and downright disturbing when you're an adult. Before I rewatched this one, I thought Scar was far and away the best Disney villain ever. Now I'm not so sure. If you asked me right now, I'd give the edge to Frollo. He may not have killed Mufasa, but he is wondrously, gloriously, terrifyingly insane.In fact, at the moment of writing, I'd even go so far as to call him arguably the best straight-up villain in film. That voice, that outfit, that authoritative, slimy charisma; it's impossible to look away when he's on screen. He steals every scene. He, plus the many, many wonderful shots in the film (including one in which the pattern on the main stained glass window of the Notre Dame is projected onto the ground on which Esmeralda is standing) are what elevate this film above its contemporaries and make it a truly great film and underrated in the massive Disney animated canon. I hope there comes a day when this film is fully able to come out from the shadow of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast and really, truly stand on its own.For the first act or so, Frollo is just a captivating, impressive villain. Then comes Hellfire. Other than being the best song in the film and one of the best songs in the entire Disney renaissance, other than being partnered with a beautiful visual sequence that, like real destructive fire, is as painful as it is unignorable, it completely reveals Frollo's state of mind. This is his one moment of weakness, and it disgusts him. And what does a man like Frollo do when confronted with his weakness? He wants to destroy it and bring back the stony façade he regularly projects, for that is all a withered, black soul like himself has left.What is his weakness? He wants Esmeralda. And I don't mean he wants her to lock up in his castle or tie up on the train tracks. He wants her in a lustful, sexual, carnal sense. Of course, the film doesn't use those words, but it's as clear as the water on a bright sunny day. To see emotions like this expressed with the lush Disney bigness is as surreal as it is terrifying. Yet there's a certain current of reality to all this that immerses you in his crazy, twisted world.He refuses to accept this thoughts, and thus they go more twisted and perverted. He seeks to snuff them out and so wants to kill her or burn the city down trying. And that's exactly what he does. He burns half of Paris to the ground. We see him torch an individual home with his own hands. He tries to chop off Phoebus' head. And it's fairly clear that if he got Esmeralda alone to do whatever he wanted with her, he'd kill her, but not before raping her first.Yes, this is a G-rated kid's movie.And because of the nature of animation and Disney animation in particular to shape the environments around the emotions of the characters, you feel every bit of what I just described. It's well-done, evocative, and kind of unbelievable.While a mess of a film in some parts, the parts that are good are so good they more than make up for it. This is one of the great Disney Renaissance movies, and I hope Disney gets around to the live-action adaptation. It's truly unique.

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