The Hunchback of Notre Dame- 3 Stars

DVD front cover

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of Disney's most remarkable films in that it actually has an intelligent social criticism within it. This makes it a particularly bitter disappointment that the standard entertainment that Disney offers in this film is below par.

The film is based (very) loosely on the book 'Notre Dame de Paris' by Victor Hugo. A basic plot summary is that Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), the hunchback bell ringer of Notre Dame, falls in love with a beautiful gypsy girl called Esmeralda (Demi Moore) who sees past his ugly exterior to the gentle heart within. However, Quasimodo's mentor, Judge Claude Frollo, has also fallen for the girl and intends to use whatever sinister means he has available to him in order to make her his own or ensure no-one can 'have' her.

Esmeralda and Frollo, the villain that makes the film
worth watching

Now the film does have a lot of standard-Disney to it- the theme of not judging people by their exterior (like the 'diamond in the rough' thing from Aladdin), talking inanimate objects in the form of Quasimodo's gargoyle friends (like the Candlestick and Clock in Beauty and the Beast) and the classic musical form. However, where the film really surpasses all of the other Disney films is in its villain, Judge Claude Frollo. In the book, Frollo is actually the Archdeacon of Notre Dame (i.e. a priest). He has repressed any sexual urges in order to remain true to the celibacy of the priesthood and has instead become 'married' to learning. However, when he sees Esmeralda, all his uncontrollable passion comes out causing him to pursue her to the point of destruction. Disney executives declared this too controversial and demanded that the directors change the character from a priest to a judge. This was done but, in order to remain true to the book, the directors visually linked the character to the clergy by having him wear crucifixes and other such religious imagery. This reflects the theme of the book that the unnatural repression of men's passions and urges is a bad idea because it leads to that person's feelings spilling out uncontrollably at a later date. Has Disney ever made such a psychologically profound point before? I mean, it's not rocket science, but, when put in the context as a social criticism of the catholic church for its emphasis on repression, this is surely more cutting a theme than the standard 'don't judge a book by its cover' one which runs through every Disney film (including this one).

On top of this the film makers added another aspect to Frollo which isn't even in the book. Frollo has a real hatred of gypsies comparing them to 'vermin'. This causes him great confusion when he falls for Esmeralda, exposing his hypocrisy and the idiocy of judging someone purely by their race. In this way Frollo can be compared to Goeth from Schindler's List or Epps from 12 Years a Slave- both fall in love with someone who they consider sub-human (the Jews in Schindler's List and the slaves in 12 Years a Slave). However, I would argue that Frollo is a more complex character than either of Goeth or Epps because whilst Epps and Goeth purely fall for 'their' woman out of lust or another such thing, Frollo's desire is born out of his sexual repression due to the restrictions of the church. In this way, the film not only criticises emotional repression in religion but also racism in a similar tone to that of serious, Academy Award winning films.

Quasimodo- the Hunchback of Notre Dame

However, this darker and more complex villain sacrifices the traditional Disney fun for intelligence. This darkness also seeps through into the rest of the film resulting in a film that is still trying to retain a sense of light-heartedness and entertainment (as seen through the traditional Disney sidekicks and musical numbers) whilst people are being tortured and Frollo sets about burning people's houses down. Also, this choice of a darker villain means we don't have the traditional sassy and entertaining Disney villain like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast or Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

Separately from this, I would also say that some of the voice acting in The Hunchback of Notre Dame is worse than in other Disney films with some character's not always sounding convincing. The plot also suffers from a lack of coherent structure and good pacing resulting in an uneven film with a less compelling climax. The songs in the film are also less memorable than in its predecessors and there is very little actually funny comic relief. The result is a misshapen film- which is ironic really considering that the protagonist, Quasimodo, is named after his own mishapenness.

So, in conclusion, The Hunchback of Notre is too dark to be for kids and the intelligence of the film will mostly go straight over their heads. An intriguing but ultimately not very successful Disney musical.

Ratings: Entertainment: 5 Technical: 4 Intelligence: 5= 14/20 ***










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