| Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
| All information gleaned from Internet Movie Database Directed by: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise Produced by: Walt Disney Corporation Written by: .....a whole lot of people Distributed through Buena Vista Pictures |
| Voices of the characters (it's animated, after all) Tom Hulce .......Quasimodo Demi Moore ........Esmeralda Heider Mollenhauer ........Esmeralda (singing) Tony Jay ...... Judge Claude Frollo Kevin Kline ........Phoebus de Chateaupers Paul Kandel ........Clopin Trouillefou Jason Alexander ........Hugo Charles Kimbrough ........Victor Mary Wickes .........Laverne Jane Withers ..........Laverne (additional dialogue) David Ogden Stiers .........The Archdeacon |
| Morning in Paris, the city awakes to the bells of Notre Dame.... And this is how the movie begins. I won't go on about how great the animation is, because I'd be going on about it all day. But the animation is *fantastic*. Some of the highest grade animation Disney has ever put out. See this movie if you want gothic beauty. Anyhow, so it starts with a view of clouds, moving about. And you thought Aladdin's carpet ride sequence was fun! Again, anyhow, then it sweeps down on the belltowers of Notre Dame, and then down into the parvis (square) in front of Notre Dame, where a colorful man in a colorful wagon named Clopin (the man, not the wagon) plays with puppets. Yes, I know it seems fairly horrific already, but wait. So he starts out by telling to a small audience of kids the story of the bellringer of Notre Dame, summarized in a song written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. My other favorite part about this movie. Forget the story. Just give me the art and music, and I'm happy. But, anyhow, the story goes as follows: Clopin starts telling about how four gypsies slid under the docks near Notre Dame (Not sure what docks those are....but they're near Notre Dame!) They're apparently getting safe passage from the Palace. They don't realize that instead of going to the OTHER end of the island, to avoid the passage, it'd be wiser just to get off the frickin' island! But digressing... However, they get caught by guards and a sinister robed figure sitting on a horse (spectre monk!) Weeeell, almost. It's Judge Claude Frollo, MJ (Minister of Jusitce). Apparently he rules the town while Louis XI is out partying with the Burgundians and feudal nobles. They don't mention this. In fact, they don't mention a king at all. But here in America, we underdstand corrupt justices a little better than corrupt kings. They start to arrest the gypsy when some guard points out the gypsy woman is holding a bundle. Frollo instructs him to take them away, but she manages to escape.....somehow (Parisian guards are *easy* to push over) and runs for it. Frollo gives chase on his horse. She somehow gets in front of Notre Dame, where she bangs on the doors, begging for sanctuary. Luckily, the cathedral's locked at night, preventing any poor soul from getting sanctuary during that time. I guess they figure if you want it that badly, you can wait till morning.... Anyhow, so of course, Frollo on his horse (....) manages to catch up. He grabs the bundle from her, kicking her down, where her head rebounds on the steps. Very similar to how Esme's mom died. But, no, not Esme's mom. Frollo then looks into the bundle and discovers a deformed baby (quite ironic how the baby cried throughout the entire boat ride, but decided to stop when such noise would reveal him as a baby to the guards. If you ask me, I think Quasi had it in for his mom). He starts to throw it in a well, but the archdeacon (there he is!) stops him. He makes Frollo feel real guilty by pointing to the dead body on the steps, the kid he's about to kill, and the statues standing in the alcoves of Notre Dame. Somehow he managed to stand up to the guilt of killing two people, but freaks out at the statues looking at him. I won't complain about this, though. That's actual character development, folks! Frollo's actually more obsessed with his salvation than with human lives. Continuing, after a long, long absence. Frollo finally agrees to care for the child, as long as the Archdeacon raises it in his church. I don't see why Frollo needs to do anything, really. If you've read the book and/or synopses, you'll know that Parisians have a tendency to feed everyone. Anyhow, so they don't say if the Archdeacon agrees, but Clopin continues his tale, showing through little Gno-like shadow puppets how Quasi grows up with Frollo, following him symbolically up the scaffolding of the belltower until he reaches the top, where now alone, he rings the bells by himself. Fin to song. It picks up with Quasi giving a pep talk to a little baby bird who can't fly yet. Typical Disney stuff. Nothing new. Then all of a sudden, three gargoyles come alive, named Victor, Laverne, and Hugo. Victor notable for his sophistication, Laverne for her common sense, and Hugo for his frat-boy like attitude. It's not apparent here, but more so if you ever hear the Berlin musical, but these three represent different aspects of Quasi's mind, mainly relating to the Freudian idea of Id, Ego, and SuperEgo. Id being base insticts (Hugo), Ego being self and common sense (Laverne), and SuperEgo being a higher, more intellectual being (Victor). Now, I'm double checking with my sources, but I'm pretty sure that throughout the movie, only the gargoyles refer to each other by name. Quasi, though he talks to them, never addresses them as such. Here, we get into some rather abstract meanings, but I'm sure this was intentional, if only unconciously intentional. I personally believe that this is another sign that the gargoyles do not exist in any universe but Quasi's mind. And by giving them names, and making them concrete creatures, he's forcing them into reality. But..well, more on that later. Well, the gargoyles come alive and try to talk Quasi into going to the Festival of Fools (which is being set up in the cathedral square at that moment). They almost talk him into it, but Frollo walks in, and they proceed to have lessons. With a slip-up, Quasi reveals his desire to go to the Festival, but Frollo lectures him against it. When he leaves, Quasi sings about being out there, anyhow ("In Here/Out There"). And in every Disney movie, there's always one scene where one character makes one motion that I really like. There's two in HoND, and this is one right here. Quasi finally agrees to go out. Enter Phoebus de Chateaupers, and his horse Achilles. They enter the city, and try to get directions. Apparently he's been gone to the Crusades for...what? Ten years, I think? In the Berlin musical, it's four years. I don't remember the Crusades being this late in history, but....anyhow, he sees a bunch of Gypsies hanging around, one playing an instrument, and a beooootiful Gypsy girl dancing. Then a couple of soldiers show up and try to arrest the Gypsies. Phoebus stops them, where it's revealed he's the new Captain of the Guard. Shenanigans and cut mustaches ensue, but after everything's sorted out, Phoebus returns some dropped money to the hat of an old man -- which is apparently Esme and Djali in disguise. This comes in later.. To be continued (duh duh duh)... |
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