If you recall my review of "Tarzan", you all would be aware of the Disney Renaissance and the classics that came out during this period. The odd thing about this period is that the quality of the films are all on to par, but it is only certain titles that seem to be very much beloved more than others. Although "Tarzan" is one of my favourites, it's not the best from the period in my opinion. That honour has to go to Disney's adaptation of Victor Hugo's mature novel. The story is about a hunchback named Quasimodo who is sheltered in the bell tower of Notre Dame by his adoptive father, Judge Claude Frollo. Frollo constantly reminds Quasimodo to never leave the tower as the people will shaun him as a monster. Quasimodo disobeys his father, where he befriends a gypsy girl named Esmeralda who Frollo is infatuated with, beginning a manhunt to find her and the gypsy hideout, to which Quasimodo must aid in. Even though I'm making the story sound complicated, it's actually pretty easy to follow regardless of your age when watched. However, this is not a true adaption of Hugo's material, as his book is much more depressing and the characters much less sympathetic. Fans of Hugo will probably despise the film trying to be family-friendly, but the strange thing is that this is perhaps the most adult and darkest of Disney's animated projects. While the book focuses on the corrupt power of the church, the film centres heavily on religion and the regards to faith, sin, lust, damnation, prejudice, genocide, and even materialism. Keep in mind that this was made for general audiences, yet it conveys the themes and dark story material extremely well to that broad demographic. Despite all of the heavy story elements, the film adds a dose of light-hearted fun and comedy, to which people also complain about. For many, the childish moments damper on an adult story, but for me, I don't mind these inclusions. It's unrealistic to me that Disney could make this film without appealing to children and personally, I can look past these implementations that take less than half of the tone compared to the engaging story and themes.
Quasimodo is a very unique and perhaps, the best protagonist from Disney in my opinion. Sure, he's kindhearted, gentle, and shy, but it's his journey and struggles that are very compelling. Unlike 99% of the Disney leads, Quasimodo deals with a lot of things. He wants to fit into society, despite his appearance, he wants to please his father figure, even though Frollo hates him behind his back, and he wants to get together with Esmeralda, even though she falls in love with someone else and only views Quasimodo as a good friend. Quasimodo only achieves one of these goals, which is for society to accept him as a human being, yet throughout the film, he is constantly being treated with no respect outside of the few friends he has and even fails to win Esmeralda's heart, which is very rare in a Disney film for the main character to not find true love. Quasimodo, despite his appearance, is the most human protagonist in my opinion. Esmeralda is also a pretty good female character as she has a snarky, but kind personality, fights for the cause of her people as well as the relationships between the three male characters are well-established given the amount of time and actions they share. Frollo is highly regarded as the best villain Disney has to offer and it shows. This is due to his complexity of his moral mind, where he believes that he is doing evil things for God and that he tries to undo every sin he makes, despite the fact that he is, in his core, unredeemable due to his harsh nature. He blurs the lines of being both a villain that's despicable, but almost likeable due to his human nature. Phoebus is the wise-cracking, but noble captain of the guard who falls in love with Esmeralda. Some feel that his inclusion is pointless and that Quasimodo should have been with Esmeralda, to which I disagree completely. Not only is the chemistry between Phoebus and Esmeralda somewhat established, but it makes sense that Quasimodo doesn't get everything he wishes for, but rather what he needed, which was to fit amongst the people, not being in a romance. The most polarizing characters in the film are the gargoyles, who are the comic relief of the film. Like I said earlier, I don't mind them due to the film needing to be family-friendly. It also helps that the film hints at them being simply in Quasimodo's imagination as they never interact with any of the main characters outside of him whatsoever and it makes plenty of sense due to the isolation he has endured. So, the characters are extremely well-written, developed, and likeable, along with the voices that are attached to them are also so fitting to these personalities.
The animation is one of the best Disney has to offer. The film incorporates CGI in order to make Paris look as grand as possible with great success. The animators choose to not overuse the CGI though, so it doesn't look distracting or take away the appreciation of the hand-drawn format. The colours are a nice balance of soft, dark, and gothic. While there are colourful scenes, they aren't overly-saturated compared to previous Disney films. I also love the character animation and designs, especially the facial expressions as it helps bring the characters more to life. The only thing that can truly rival the fantastic animation is the soundtrack, which not only enhance the musical element, but delivers the best music from Alan Menken. Songs like The Bells Of Notre Dame, Out There, God Help The Outcasts, Heaven's Light, and Hellfire have great lyrics and rhythm that please the ears, which is helped by the almost mythical choir in some songs. The comedy songs such as Topsy Turvy, A Guy Like You, and The Court of Miracles are fine, though I personally don't like comedy songs as a whole since they rarely match the beauty or art-like nature of more serious songs. A Guy Like You is regarded as the worst song by many, due to the gargoyles and how it feels like a slap in the face, since Quasimodo is getting his hopes up about Esmeralda, only to see her in love with Phoebus. It is my least favourite song in the soundtrack for sure, but I don't despise it and it makes sense in its inclusion musical-wise. Even the score and instrumentals in the non-musical scenes are great, the highlight being the score used in the climatic battle between the people and Frollo's guard, purely due to the gothic energy and the booming choir. All of this combined becomes my favourite soundtrack, with "Tarzan" being my second favourite.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is a low-key masterpiece. With a mature story, thematic depth, great characters, fantastic animation, and wonderful soundtrack, this is what happens when Disney uses all of its potential. I know people will not agree with my standards as they either hate the diversions from the book or the need for comedy relief and lighthearted moments, but it's something that needed to be done in order for a film like this to be made. You might think these thoughts, but you can't deny how amazing a film like this came out from a studio that today either acts lazy or panders to children. There have been great films for sure such as "Tarzan", "The Princess and the Frog" (cough might review this soon cough), "Tangled", and "Zootopia", but compared to this scale, none has surpassed this quality in my eyes 23 years later.
Verdict: 10/10. Underrated is a damnation of an exaggeration. Watch it for the first time or to fuel some nostalgia!
I personally think that Mulan is the best out of the whole Disney Renaissance but this is definitely a solid entry.
ReplyDeleteSome of the humor doesn't land and the gargoyles can get annoying but the stuff that's good is incredibly well done from the characters, music and animation.
Odd bit of trivia: this movie is one of Jennifer Lee's favorite films (not kidding). She's not a good writer for the most part and I don't have any faith in her as the new head of Walt Disney Animation Studios BUT that said - pretty good taste.
I wouldn't watch this to fuel some nostalgia - I'd just watch this because it's a good movie.