WesternAnimation What it could have been...
I LOVE this movie. I thought it really pushed the boundries of what people expected from Disney. It had a dark yet serious storyline, interesting characters, EXCELLENT music (one of the best villain songs of all time), and every reason to become a huge hit for 1996. But... something went wrong.
It's been well documented that Disney executives lack the artistic drive which the company was founded on. They want to market disney to be profitable, and in the process, they've made modern audiences perceive Disney as "kiddy". They don't like taking risks which could upset the family-friendly image they've cultivated, and adapting a story as grim as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" more or less anchored this film to becoming an afterthought in the Disney Renaissance (which was in a decline ever since their meddling with Pocahontas).
To the point, THBOND feels a bit too schizophrenic. Call it a victim of Aladdin's formula. There's no reason for the gargoyles to be what they are. What if they were representations of Quasimodo's psyche? His perceptions of the world that he was never allowed to join? Why are they being played for comedy? Had they been used for something other than a celebrity cash-in, they would have been welcome additions to the story. But here, they're nothing but distractions. You already have a source of comedy in Clopin, and since he's also telling the story from the beginning, why not make him a greek chorus? Instead, we have characters who exist solely to be put on merchandise that no-one bought.
I feel that this movie was doomed from the beginning by simply being what it is: a tragedy. Phoebus was an asshole, Esmeralda died pointlessly, Frollo was sympathetic, etc. But Disney was hamstrung by two things: their inability to story-tell a tragedy towards a young audience, and the public's inability to accept one in the first place. With all the skewering and overspeculation by moral guardians who complained over supposed controversies with their older films (Aladdin and Lion King), the executives cowed and overrode the artists decisions, giving us a product that most of us would expect, yet few of us would want. Disney wasn't allowed to push any farther than what they offered, and some were expecting more.
This movie could have been epic, but was hamstrung by executive meddling and moral panic, and settled for very good.
WesternAnimation Revisited
This troper originally saw The Hunchback of Notre Dame when she was little, and remembered it as a darker Disney movie. However, after my bell choir played "The Bells of Notre Dame" in one of our concerts, I decided to watch the movie again, through a teenager's perspective. First I will add that The Bells of Notre Dame is an AMAZING piece of music, especially when played on actual bells. It's pretty, yet haunting and just perfect. The movie was much more sexual than I remembered, obviously since the first time I watched it I was four, and now I'm fifteen. Also, now I see why the Nostalgia Critic placed "Hellfire" as number one on his list of top villain songs. While I won't say it's my favorite villain song, DAMN. That scene is amazing, complete with actual Latin. Not just your typical Ominous Latin Chanting, but the real kind. (Being in a choir, I've sung my way through enough Latin pieces to be very familiar. And I'm not even Christian) I will point out of course that, being part of the Disney Animated Canon, it does suffer many of the corny aspects and childish moments that are expected, however it is still much darker and more sexual than many other Disney movies. All in all, an amazing Disney movie with great music.
WesternAnimation Dark and Moving
I'll start with the bad parts, since I'm mean like that. It was over too quickly. That may sound like an interview flaw, but it's a bigger problem than you'd think. It feels like the movie screams past at breakneck speed to give us the plot and nothing more. I felt like saying "Movie, it's okay - you can take a breather. You can spare a few minutes for character development or suspense building or plot thickening." I mean, come on - it was an hour and a half long!
But despite being strictly bare-bones, it was really good. It got so much past the radar the radar doesn't even look like it was there. Rape, violence, genocide, sexuality, religious themes, cussing - you name it. The effect was slightly diminished by the gargoyles, but I like to think of them as the hallucination of poor Quasi, driven mad by loneliness - which would add insanity to our list. The plot was well done, the songs were haunting and beautiful. Definitely worth it.
WesternAnimation Honestly my favorite Disney movie.
I love almost everything about the first HoND. The music, the dark yet realistic storytelling, the animation and art style, the action scenes, and especially the characters. Needless to say Frollo's gotta be one of my favorite villains in film history, and Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Phoebus were all great interesting leads.
Overall, 9/10 film. It would seriously be a 10 if the gargoyles weren't real and instead just projected hallucinations of Quasi's insecurities. That would be a great tragic way to get your comic relief in!