"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" - Disney animated film review

The next Disney animated movie that I watched was "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". I loved the Festival of Fools show at Disneyland and the stage musical, but I'd never seen the movie. I did know that the movie was different than the book, so I was prepared for that.

I’ve never read the book, so I don’t know the details, but I know the general jist of the story. I also wasn’t particularly interested in the animated film when it came out, so I never saw it. I was introduced to the elements of the film by way of the Festival of Fools show at Disneyland. When I started going to Disneyland regularly, the show had been going on for some time. I met some new friends, some of whom were quite enamoured of the show, so I went with them one time, and I was hooked. It was a terrific production, a lot of fun, a lot to look at, and I love musical theatre. I only saw it for a few months, I think, before the show ended.

That show only represented a small portion of what’s in the film while adding a few elements from the rest of the film so that there’s an ending to the story in the show. Because I know that version of the story and the songs so well, and because I’ve also seen the stage production a few times now, which I also love, and which also more faithfully follows the story of the original novel, I found as I was watching the film that I had a really difficult time judging the movie. Did I like elements because of how it was presented in the Disneyland show or the stage musical or was I enjoying just the film version? Would I have loved the music so much just from watching the movie without already knowing its context in the Disneyland show and the stage production? The songs are fuller and more flushed out in both of the live shows. My favorite song in the story is “God Help the Outcasts”. That song wasn’t in the Disneyland show, so I didn’t hear it until much later, but at first listen, I loved it. I’m not that impressed with the version in the film, and I don’t know that I would have been as drawn to it from that. (I think that song was included in the live show at Walt Disney World (Disney Hollywood Studios, maybe?), but I only saw the show once so don't really remember it.)

After having seen the film, I’m even more amazed that Disney even attempted it. Yes, they’ve taken other stories and modified the original story into a “nicer” version, which they’ve done in this case as well, but there are so many elements that remain that make this a much darker story than the usual Disney animated fare. Yes, villains are evil and threaten innocent people, but Frollo actually kills Quasimodo’s mother and would have killed the child as well if he hadn’t been convinced not to. The subjugation, lies and control that he exerts over Quasi is relentless and ruthless. He even wants Phoebus to burn down the home of innocent people with them trapped inside, which is the final straw that turns Phoebus against him. Frollo is lusting after Esmeralda and hell-bent on destroying her as well. All of those elements seem a bit complicated to explain to younger children, who are usually a significant portion of the intended audience.

A change in the story from the original novel also casts the church in a very different light. In the novel, Frollo is a priest, but in the animated film, he’s a politician / civil servant as Minister of Justice / Judge. I was stunned when I first learned about that particular change and found out what Frollo’s original position was. All of the things he’s doing are bad enough in and of themselves, but as a layman, he’s inherently flawed, and while he crosses way over the line, his zealous fixation on Esmeralda is creepy but at least, to a degree, understandable. I’m not sure how a Minister of Justice has the authority to damn someone to hell, though. However, when you know that Frollo was really a priest, it is so much worse. Yes, priests are still human but are supposed to try to be better, to resist temptation. But for a priest to say that he’s a pious and righteous man, but he’s being bewitched, and it’s not his fault, and it’s all the fault of the woman he’s fixated on? That is absolutely so much worse. The church comes off much better in the animated film since the archdeacon is who saves Quasi’s life and is also who tries to stop Frollo at the end. But in the novel, Frollo as the representative of the church behaves absolutely reprehensibly and is the epitome of the hypocrisy that the church is often accused of.

Which brings us to the song “Hellfire”. I’ve liked the song since I heard snippets of it included in the Disneyland show, and the instrumental version used in fireworks shows and World of Color always makes me happy, especially when it’s accompanied by some fire element. But I didn’t know the whole song, and I’d never really heard the lyrics. OK, yeah, Frollo thinks Esmeralda is evil, so he damns her to hell. No big deal, that happens a lot, right? No. Seriously, no. That’s not all it is. It’s not just, you’re evil, you’re going to hell, end of story. Instead, Frollo tells her she’s evil, but she can be redeemed if she agrees to basically be his concubine. She can either choose to give herself to him for the rest of her life, or he will damn her to hell. WHAT???? Are you kidding me? Bad enough coming from any authority figure, BUT FROM A PRIEST? How are parents explaining THIS song to their kids? I still like the song, but I definitely view it differently now that I know what it’s really about.

The ending of the story is very different from the original novel, as you’d expect the happy Disney ending. Frollo dies, though not really killed by anyone, so no one gets the blame for that. Phoebus and Esmeralda and Quasi are all alive and super happy and are apparently going to get an apartment together. In the novel, Esmeralda dies, and everything ends on a somber note. I think the change in story does a great deal to alter the last snippet of song with the lyrics “what makes a monster and what makes a man”. In the happy ending version, it still makes you think for a moment, but you get caught up in the happy ending, so I think it fades quickly. With Quasi carrying Esmeralda after her death, and knowing about all the evil that Frollo has done, I think that particular phrase takes on greater significance and makes one think more about perception based on the outward appearance.

As for the voice talent:

Tony Jay as Frollo was fantastic. His deep, resonating voice was perfect. I had seen the stage production of the show at the La Jolla Playhouse, where Frollo was remarkably played by Patrick Page. As I was watching the film, I realized how much Patrick Page sounded like Tony Jay does in the film! I didn’t recognize Kevin Kline as Phoebus, but knowing it after the fact, it made sense. I enjoyed his performance. I’m not sure I knew or at least had forgotten that Demi Moore voiced Esmeralda. I was definitely not whelmed by her performance, which was kind of flat and inconsequential. Esmeralda is a spitfire and she defies authority, but none of that comes through in the voice performance.

As far as Clopin, I don't have an independent opinion of him. Yeah, I liked him but that's because I liked Clopin in the Disneyland show. I don't know what I would have thought of him just seeing him in the movie first.

Generally, I enjoyed the film, admittedly partly because I got to listen to the songs I love so much. I’ll have to see it again to see what I think of it because I’ll already be over the surprise of it being different than the versions I’ve seen, so maybe I can focus on the actual film presentation itself.

Oh, and my favorite version of this Hunchback story so far is the production that was at the La Jolla Playhouse. Michael Arden as Quasi, Ciara Renee as Esmeralda, and Patrick Page as Frollo were all absolutely amazing. I’m really sad that version didn’t make it to Broadway.