i have a really weird relationship with hunchback of notre dame by which i mean i know i had the vhs
as a child i have no recollection of having actually watched it i've watched it once
previously as an adult that i do remember and then i decided to watch it again and with this viewing
whatever number viewing this is i definitely think i got the most out of it and definitely read
the most into it and analyzed it the most while watching it and i have to say it's an incredible
narrative there was only one song in this that i kind of likely stuck with me i will mention that
in a few minutes um but that song i thought was incredible but as a narrative i think it's one of
the most powerful certainly with inter in terms of the message it gives and i got elephant man vibes
all the way through it um obviously this is based on the story by victor hugo i haven't
read the hunchback of notre dame i kind of want to in fact i do want to if you've read it
and you can let me know how it compares without spoiling the book uh please feel free to do so i
do definitely want to read the book at some time but hunchback of notre dame in case you're not
aware although i do i also do have one question that i'd like somebody to answer if you know
if you can answer it and i this is about to be a tiny spoiler for what happens at
the very beginning of the film but at the very beginning it's the 1400s we are in um france and
these gypsy characters are fleeing from judge frollo and one of these women becomes uh
quite brutally injured to say the very least kind of a horrific way to start a disney film and
frollo thinks that the bundle she is carrying is stolen is stolen products but it actually
appears to be a baby um a baby which is to one for a better term physically deformed and
i still don't understand the treatment of that baby i understand
why um it was then passed on to the cathedral but i feel like frollo being frollo and what we learn
about how just pure evil he is i feel like he would have put up more of a fuss i don't know
is the ground directly outside of notre dame consecrated or is it just inside the walls if
anybody knows the answer to that please feel free to tell me but i'm going off on a tangent long
story short this deformed baby becomes property of the cathedral this is quasimodo he lives his life
inside the cathedral in the attic flash forward however many decades quasimodo is now an adult and
he does have a deformed appearance if you like i'm not actually sure if they ever mention what
caused the physical um deformities i guess not it's a disney film but he looks different and
the film of course is all about the treatment of somebody who looks different to us and you know
calling somebody a monster or a horrible creature just because they look physically different and
that's the whole message of this basically and i think that that's an absolutely beautiful message
because it's something that a lot of children need to learn very quickly and adults many adults
in fact maybe adults more than children i don't know what do you think do children judge others
who look different or do we as adults do it more i think maybe adults judge others more differently
um and of course quasimodo meets esmeralda who is also seeking refuge inside the cathedral will
frollo get to them it is the festival of fools so there's quite a lot going outside it's very busy
there are a lot of people in this there are a lot of characters a lot of named characters as
well i think it's one of the most character heavy now i don't know that for a fact but
if i could get up a list of named characters it wouldn't surprise me if it was one of the largest
but it's still quite easy to follow i felt very emotionally
attached to quasimodo's story he just wants to be free from the cathedral he just
wants to be part of general society but not only is he not really allowed to leave the cathedral
um because of frollo he also is going to be ridiculed esmeralda being a gypsy being an outcast
um has similar well kind of similar feelings and it's all about these individual people coming
together to unite against this horrible horrible man in this horrible bitter society there are so
many beautiful messages in this the animation is gorgeous the color choices are beautiful
esmerelda's outfit absolutely love it one of my favorite disney outfits for a human
character the animation of notre dame i think is absolutely beautiful in fact the animation
throughout this is gorgeous it's visually an absolute delight um tom holt she i apologize
if i mispronounced that uh is a fantastic voice of quasimodo and demi moore as esmeralda
sensational tony j voices frollo and the character himself he's never going to be one of my favorite
um disney villains absolutely not at all but there is one song in this that i absolutely love
and i'll be honest i couldn't remember this song i don't believe that i had heard it before um
but hellfire is an absolutely addictive beautiful song it is so powerful
and i could listen to it again and again i thought it was brilliant um apart from be prepared
the uh scar song from lion king i don't think a disney villain has a has a song
that's moved me quite as much although my lullaby which zera sings in simba's pride
that's a pretty brilliant song as well so maybe some disney villains do have great songs if you
have a favorite disney villain song let me know um but this one's definitely high up there needless
to say it's a beautiful film it's very successful very popular i'm looking forward to watching the
sequel but for now i'm still riding high on how much i enjoyed this i don't know why when
i watched it a few years ago for the first time as an adult um i don't know why it didn't leave quite
an impression on me but watching it this time analyzing it more heavily i thoroughly enjoyed it
and although it'll never be my favorite disney film definitely one i will happily watch again