To create the massive size and scope of Paris and her population, the animators made three-dimensional crowds, using the computer-generated software. ![]() In the end, even, when Notre Dame is under siege, the building seems to fight back! Notre Dame reacts differently to the different characters – the lighting in the cathedral when Quasimodo is there is very different than the lighting when Frollo is there (showing that Notre Dame likes Quasimodo, not Frollo). This is fascinating to me because watching it again I can totally see it. Notre Dame herself was animated in a very interesting way the cathedral is shown as one of the characters, something the animators took directly from the text. This guided tour included going places that most people don’t in the cathedral, hearing from historians how the cathedral would have been seen in Hugo’s day, and learning about the symbolism seen in Notre Dame. The team spent three days total touring Notre Dame itself. The amount of time spent in Paris really shows the film has a feel of realism to it, and the team made that choice very deliberately, choosing to distance themselves from more fantasy-based pieces like Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. The film also takes advantage of the newly opened (at that time) Disney Animation offices in Paris. In Stephen Rebello’s The Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, he mentions that the animators had been “inspired by Hugo’s passion for accurate, dramatic, and highly evocative rendering of Gothic architecture,” that many people on the team went to Paris for ten days, and made several trips later on. It works well, and “God Help the Outcast” would go on to become an important part of show choir repertoire (for the casual concert end-of-year concert, at least). The music is, overall, epic, which is fitting given the scope and size of the backgrounds and the animation used in the film. “Hellfire”Īltogether, the songs drive the plot forward in a wonderfully effective way. ![]() Even without cutting it, the Motion Picture Association of American required the Studio to redefine and emphasize the clothing that smoke-Esmeralda was wearing to keep the rating where it was. Plus, the arrangements are stirring and wonderful altogether, the music and the animation work well to influence the mood of the viewer.īecause of the dark nature of the scene, the song “Hellfire” was almost cut from the film. Between the care taken in this aspect of the music and the attention to detail in drawing the cathedral itself, there is a feeling of accuracy that raises the stakes, in some ways. This adds a sense of realism to the music. The chants that are in the film are based on actual chants, Gregorian chants specifically. “Out There”Įven without winning any awards, however, the music in this movie is phenomenal. The Golden Globe nomination was for Best Original Score, Motion Picture for composer Alan Menken. The Academy Award was for Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score for Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, the team behind the music of Pocahontas. MUSICĪlthough it did not win an Academy Award or an Oscar, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was nominated for both in 1997. Add Frollo’s obsession with Esmeralda, the opening murder/attempted murder and the genocide subplot, and you have a film that is really taking chances. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was an extremely risky film, mainly because it’s darker and grittier than typical Disney. I think that, in terms of comparing the films from the early years to the 1990’s, if Beauty and the Beast is the Pinocchio, and The Little Mermaid is the Snow White, this film is the Fantasia. Beauty and the Beast producer, Don Hahn, was also involved in this film. The directors behind The Hunchback of Notre Dame were Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, who had directed Beauty and the Beast, worked on the story for The Lion King, and would go on to direct and write Atlantis: The Lost Empire. ![]() We’ll talk about that more below, but when it comes to deciding what should be made into a Disney movie, Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame is not the first book that screams “Disney” to me, personally. However, it is based on a very tragic and sad book. It’s a gorgeous movie, with an amazing soundtrack, and I adore it. Released on June 21 st, 1996, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a Disney film that baffles me. And, of course, if you have any thoughts, burning or otherwise, please share in the comments! BACKGROUND OF THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME Welcome to Revisiting Disney! Today, we are looking at a surprising choice for an animated movie that, in a surprising turn of events, is less for children than typical Disney films, The Hunchback of Notre Dame! Like always, I have labeled each category so if you want to skip to the parts that interest you most, feel free.
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