Out of respect for the stunning visuals and family entertainment value of Disney's 34th animated feature, I can do no less than recommend THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. Sadly, however, this is the least- enjoyable animated feature to come from the studio since its 1989 rebirth. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is a notch below last year's POCAHONTAS, which, in turn, was a drop from the previous year's THE LION KING. Apparently, Disney's new wave of animation peaked early; their releases have been in a slow-but-steady decline since the delightful BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
Still, all things considered, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME isn't bad, it's just a little disappointing. Despite the over-hyped and overexaggerated "darkness" of the production, kids will love it, so a box office success is assured. And those who carefully review the family entertainment competition this summer will rightfully conclude that HUNCHBACK is the surest bet.
It's curious that the movie to use the most adult source material has yielded the least potent results. Obviously, Victor Hugo's vision of THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME couldn't be made into a Disney cartoon -- it violates almost every aspect of the studio's traditional, feel- good/happy ending formula. So, predictably, the screenwriters diluted it, but, in doing so, they siphoned off the elements that give the story its unique power. With the darkest and most unpleasant aspects of Hugo's tragedy eradicated, there's not much left. The poorly-focused remains are likely to appeal most strongly to the under-12 crowd. Unlike past efforts, there aren't many in-jokes and double-entendres to catch the attention of the adults in the audience.
The film loosely follows Hugo's narrative. After opening with a six-minute prologue describing how Judge Claude Frollo (voice of Tony Jay) becomes the guardian of the deformed bell-ringer of Notre Dame, Quasimodo (voice of Tom Hulce), HUNCHBACK launches into the meat of its story, which involves a curious love quadrangle. The center of attention is the gypsy Esmeralda (who looks and sounds like Demi Moore). Frollo, a powerful magistrate in 15th century Paris, whose self- proclaimed duty is to eradicate sin, wants all the gypsies dead, including Esmeralda. At the same time, however, he's having trouble fighting a lustful desire for her. The captain of his guards, Phoebus (voice of Kevin Kline), has fallen madly in love with the gypsy girl, as has Quasimodo, who becomes her friend and confidante. In Hugo's book, the interaction between these characters fuels a complex and multi- layered drama. Not so in this movie, where Quasimodo's three talking gargoyle companions (Victor, Hugo, and Laverne; voiced by Charles Kimbrough, Jason Alexander, and Mary Wickes, respectively) exhibit more personality than the humans. For, although we come to feel for "Quasi", neither Esmeralda nor Phoebus makes a dent in our sympathy.
With his twisted back and distorted features, Quasimodo is an atypical Disney hero. However, to avoid giving children nightmares, the animators have softened his appearance. He's not monstrous or ugly; he's just different. Children who consider themselves oddballs or outcasts will likely identify with the hunchback. And the life-lesson about tolerance and respect for others will be understood by nearly everyone who watches the film.
According to Disney, Frollo is the most conflicted and complex villain to have ever been brought to the animated screen. I suppose that's true on one level -- after all, he's tormented by his own lustful impulses, and acts out of religious zeal rather than plain nastiness -- but I doubt many viewers will notice. Ultimately, Frollo comes across as a bigoted, intolerant, but not overly-frightening, bad guy. The most impressive thing about him is Tony Jay's deep, resonant voice.
From a musical standpoint, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is lifeless. The songs, co-written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, lack energy. There are no show-stopping, toe-tapping numbers. In fact, there's nothing remotely memorable about any aspect of HUNCHBACK's soundtrack -- it's easily the poorest effort to come from Menken since he started churning out scores for Disney (he's done all of the new wave animated features except THE LION KING).
On the other hand, the animation is crisper and more impressive than anything since BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and certain computer-aided sequences are even more eye-popping than BEAUTY's sterling ballroom scene. The Festival of Fools, where Quasimodo first ventures out of the bell tower, is a riot of color and movement, with intricately-animated backgrounds that are more interesting than the foregrounds. Later in the film, when Paris is burning, the audience is treated to a stunning display of crimson and orange. And the sequence where Frollo confronts his lustful inner demons, with images of Esmeralda painted by tongues of fire, is inspired.
If you believe that the primary purpose for animated films is to enthrall children, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME is an unquestionable success. If you're looking for entertainment for the whole family, this movie will fit the bill. But if you're anticipating something that's as diverting for adults as for younger viewers, HUNCHBACK may disappoint. Since the release of THE LITTLE MERMAID, Disney has set a high standard for its animated work, and, for the first time, one of the studio's releases struggles to distinguish itself.
By : James Berardinelli
Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup
Rating: 0
The What Of Notre Dame? With a title like Hunchback, it looks like Disney really dropped the political correctness ball on this one. Heck, even the townspeople call him the "bell ringer". Maybe they should just call him "appearance challenged. At least they'll be having Americans saying "No - Tra Dom", instead of pronouncing it like the football team.
When multiculturalism is supposed to be about exposing minority children to people who look just like themselves, why take them to Paris? What do inner city children need to know about a minor religious landmark that only rich white and Japanese vacationers will ever live to see? But the dark-skinned Gypsies show that even Europe has diversity. In this country, we don't have much of a Gypsy "problem", yet when the American Jewish Committee did a poll of the best liked and worst hated ethnic groups, the people on the bottom weren't black, or Jewish, they were the Gypsies. You've got to wonder what these guys did to get such a reputation even in this country. One problem is that the Gypsies aren't Catholic, or even Judeo-Christian. They believe in fortune telling and magic, which draws complaints from some Christians today every time Halloween rolls around.
We hear about great African Americans every Black History Month. But the best Isabel Fonseca's book "Bury Me Standing" can come up with about the Gypsies is that while not all of them are habitual transients, liars, and criminals, a lot of them were and still are. She compares them to the Jews, but nobody ever accused the Gypsies of being over-achievers. The New York Times profiled a Gypsy murder suspect whose mother said "Gypsies don't keep regular jobs, but at least they don't kill people", and said that the Gypsies make a career of living apart from the civilized mainstream.
Maybe Disney thought they were just simplifying things, but by making Clopin the King of the Gypsies, they made all of the Gypsies into the beggars and thieves, instead of the poor Frenchmen in the original story. We all avoid the "N" word, but don't even realize that to use the word `gyp' as a verb implies all Gypsies are cheats. Even that term is misleading because they really came from India, not Egypt (which would actually make them Asian) These days, many would prefer to be called the "Romani".
Interestingly, the Seattle may be the only school district in the nation that breaks out the Gypsies as a disadvantaged group. Well, they might have problems elsewhere, but the Seattle data book shows that the Gypsies score just as well or better than other white children in test scores and grades, and no worse in dropouts or suspensions. When the Bell-Curve school says that groups at the bottom are genetically destined to stay there, this may prove that at least this white group can assimilate into the norm.
In this updated story, Quasimoto's gargoyle friends still sing in "A Guy Like You" that his looks are one of a kind. But where the early movies were placed in the horror category, Disney's Quasi is just a boy in a tower with a big song and dance number. Like the Little Mermaid, Quasimoto wants to go "out there" and mix up with the other people.
He's practically a prisoner in the care of the evil Judge Frollo long before the days of child protective services. Talk about your one-parent Disney families. Esmerelda is the latest Disney heroine who wouldn't look out of place on the cover of Cosmo. If NOW complained about Pocahontas's looks, this working girl makes a living making guy's eyes pop out.
Pheobus is the blond he-man who eventually switches teams and joins up with the geek to save the girl. It's Phoebus that gets packaged with the girl in the Mattell 2 figure gift pack, not title character. The creators said that Quasimoto has "puppy" love for Esmerelda, and Phoebus has real love. But Spike Lee's "Jungle fever" would probably put the outcasts together. Disney made a reasonably happy ending, but in the 1939 version, Phoebus gets killed halfway through, Quasimoto flings Frodo out of the tower, Esmerelda gets tortured, Clopin gets hit in a friendly fire incident, and Gringoire, the wimpy poet who got dropped entirely by Disney gets the girl. Boy they don't make them like they used to.
Two years from now, Disney is slated to give us a legend set in China. That is, if we can get over human rights issues, pirated Michael Jackson CD's, and see if they hire enough Asian Americans in the cast.
Net pointers - check out the disney site www.disney.com for promotional background. The real gem is hidden under the Disney publishing section, they are putting up the full pictures from the children's book that pretty much gives a condensed plot.
ps, I'm picking up extra burger king toys and I have some sets of the Skybox cards that were givven out at the travelling exhibitions with all the characters if anybody needs them. I'll be putting up the toys on my home page soon.
By : Arthur Hu (http://www.halcyon.com/arthurhu/)
more The Hunchback of Notre Dame reviews: <<prev 1 23next>>
