Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

United States
September 21, 2010 6:37pm CST
Anyone watched it? Although it disneyfied Victor Hugo's work, it keeps to the spirit Hugo wanted to express: lustful religious leader, inner beauty, and what Christianity truly is. I am in a minority who believes it deserved a Best Picture nomination. There is a true Les Miserables-esque feel to it. The booming orchestra is powerful and its vocal performers compensate for the blandness of the lyrics. But the lyrics had points that stood out. "Who is the monster and who is the man?" "And he saw corruption everywhere except within." "[To God] I ask for nothing, I can get by." "What makes a monster and what makes a man?" When I was a young girl, I was watching the "Hellfire" sequence thinking that the bad guy was singing about how evil he is. And now that I am older... how did Disney let such slip by? Claude Frollo is probably the best of Disney villains. You can catch all those subtle moments when he considers repenting, but no, he chooses his fate. He is the most complex antagonist of the Disney villains. Forget the powerful, but static villains like Maleficient and Scar, this man was full of inner conflict. And the German stage adaptation. Who would have thought that the German stage version choose to be darker? An adaptation of a Disney adaptation, the stage version makes one choice (I cannot spoil it) that keeps it closer to Victor Hugo.
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1 response
• United States
14 Oct 10
I've never read the original book, but I've heard how disloyal of an adaptation it is. Knowing how I am when I see a bad adaptation of a book that I loved, I don't blame any of the fans upset with the Disney movie. Still, I really like the movie. It had a lot of great themes in it, and though it dealt with some adult issues it was in a subtle and soft way that kids could understand. When I was a kid I knew that "Hellfire" was about him wanting Esmeralda... I just didn't really know what that meant. lol And I absolutely love the song, "God Help the Outcasts". It's a beautiful, amazing song and it's a great animation sequence. I only wish more Disney songs had the courage to dive into the meaning of faith like this one. I love the first verse: "I don't know if You can hear me, or if You're even there. I don't know if You would listen to a gypsy's prayer. Yes, I know I'm just an outcast, I shouldn't speak to you. Still I see Your face and wonder, were You once an outcast too?"
• United States
14 Oct 10
And as they were chanting in the song, "I ask for wealth, I ask for glory to shine on my name," I love the subtle manner of Esmeralda walking against the shadows of the so-called loyal Christians as they heard toward the altar. This is faith, altruism. "I ask for nothing, I can get by. But I know so many less lucky than I."
1 person likes this
• United States
14 Oct 10
Agreed. I love how the "outcast" approaches with her humble prayer, and is deemed more worthy than the esteemed religious men and women. (Sounds like a scene from the New Testament... actually.)