Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I watched this for the first time today, hoping that I'd enjoy it even though I'd heard bad things about it, just like I did with Pocahontas. I was disappointed. Here's what I thought about what:Story: The plot was strange, and I was annoyed with the great amount of things that were left out from the original book. On the other hand, I was getting goosebumps and chills when Esmeralda was about to be burned. The battle was no joke; though there was no blood, it had fire and spears. It was captivating and exciting. With the incredible battle but how the plot had little connections to the book, I give the story 5/10 stars.Characters: Quasimodo and Esmeralda were great characters, and Frollo is one of the best and most wicked of Disney's villains. He had a cold voice and grand song, but it was sometimes hard to tell what he thought or whose side he was on. I didn't care for the rest of the characters. Again, there weren't connections with the book! Captain Phoebus was a good person, not sly and betraying as he was in the book. Esmeralda's mother and a poet that fell in love with Esmeralda were left out. There were talking gargoyles, which were new and unnecessary. The narrator was actually a character, a rather obnoxious one at that. With the missing and new characters, as well as how some changed, I give them 3/10 stars.Music and singing: Frollo's song, Hellfire, is honestly one of the best Disney villain songs ever. It was thrilling and had so much drama and even beauty to it. The French chorus in the background made it even better. "God Help the Outcasts" and "Out There" were good as well, but there was another song that the gargoyles sang that only made the story dwindle and was, again, completely unnecessary. 7/10 stars for the music and singing.Art and animation: Some of the poorest I've ever seen! The animated movie that came before this was Pocahontas, and it was gorgeous with all its colors and shadowing. This, on the other hand, was poor. Though there were amazing details, the colors were dull and shadowing sloppy. 1/10 stars for the art and animation!Humor: Pretty good, but there was very little. If your child is watching this, then they probably won't get the jokes, for with the little humor there was, it is more adult-like humor. 5/10 for humor.Acting and voices: The acting was well-done, but Esmeralda's voice was too high-pitched and obnoxious. Also, the narrator was annoying. 4/10 stars for acting and voices.So, in the end, though this has a few great songs and incredible action, the animation and story, as well as the alterations and disconnection with the book, ruined it. The average number of stars is 4.

This is one of the best Disney animated movies for many reasons, one and not the least, is that it is a visually dazzling experience even by Disney standards. Victor Hugo's "Notre Dame de Paris" has been adapted several times and featured many iconic performances of the misshaped bell ringer Quasimodo: Lon Chaney, Charles Laughton and Anthony Quinn to name the most memorable, but there comes a point where animation reveals itself to be a more difficult challenge than live-action, just think of all the implication such a title as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" carries.You've got to recreate in the most convincing way the magnificent cathedral, which happens to be the most famous Parisian location perhaps after Eiffel Tower, and the Arc of Triumph. It is one thing to draw all the details, I'm a drawer and I know I can do it, but the animators work in three dimensions, it's not just the Cathedral from the ground, but from the top, from every single aisle, its majestic view on Paris and the Seine, the Gargoyles, the bells, like a virtual tour guide at the dawn of the Internet era. The Cathedral, as an emblematic representative of the Gothic period is known for the richness of its interiors, the magnificence of the stained glasses, and the vertiginous roofs and status, it isn't just any location, it is a character by itself that Quasimodo know by heart and the animators needed to render that impression, for some, it's a monument, for Quasi, it's home.They spent hours and hours of visits and notes and it started since 1993, and it sure paid off because you could tell they spent enough time so they could feel at home, too. So, we're never introduced to the Cathedral in a static way, whether it's a sword fight between Phoebus and Esmeralda, a vertiginous inspirational sliding over the roofs, or an acrobatic climax in a fire-stricken tower, the animators prove once again that there are infinitely more possibilities with animation, you can't have Quasimodo playing Tarzan with the ropes in a live-action film without a good deal of editing and preparation, in the film, it's all in lightness and fluidity. Disney has always been about imitating reality but to better transcend it. That's the trick! And the difficulty didn't only lie on the central elements but also the peripheral ones like the crowd. In a movie, you hire extras, in Disney, they used to set films in nature, or small villages, or places of a few characters or extremely different, but no overcrowded streets. In "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", when the action isn't set in the Cathedral, it's in the streets of Paris, which, as we can guess, were quite full in these medieval days. The animators had to draw many people, making them move, cheer, throw tomatoes, fight or laugh during crucial sequences, and they obtained the effect thanks to the CGI department, when CGI was a mean, not an end, and as it was used to recreate the thrilling stampede in "The Lion King", they recreated a wonderful and convincing Paris that had nothing to envy from her representation on movies.But I don't want to make it feel all tapestry and wizardry, the film doesn't just take a challenge on the field of visuals but on the messages delivered in the story, starting with acceptance, through the touching and haunting character of Quasimodo. While the animators eliminate a few other elements such as his deafness and one-eye, he's not a pretty sight, but there's something that oozes gentleness and naivety. Locked in the Cathedral by his "Protector" Judge Claude Frollo, he wishes to discover the real world out there. This might look as a set-up to a story that will teach him the value of self-esteem but the film is more ambitious and goes beyond that predictable premise. While Quasimodo is confronted to a hateful crowd, he also falls in love with the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda.And there's just something about Esmeralda, the tanned blue-eyed beauty that catches the men, Captain Phoebius instantly falls in love with her fieriness, and to make things even more complex, even the straight-laced and conservative Frollo gives her a kiss in her hair while holding her tight. Now that was a bold move in a Disney film. Indeed, villains, while not being one-dimensional, are generally defined through one particular trait: greed, power, jealousy. Frollo is an interesting antagonist in the sense that Esmeralda inspires him the very devilish thoughts he tries to fight; he's his worst enemy before being the enemy. In the extraordinary "Hellfire" sequence, he sings his incapability to repress his impulses, and the only way is to kill Esmeralda. This is Disney's best villain song, on a character so dark that I suspect adults will feel more responsive while children can learn the lesson about racism and intolerance, from his hatred toward gypsies.Yes, Esmeralda isn't just an object of desire, she embodies the pain of Quasimodo as a representative of people who are victims of racism and violence in ways seldom seen in Disney's universe, and in one of the film's most moving moments, she implores God for one thing: to save her people. Yes, God is present, as he was in "Fantasia", to those who believed that religion and sex couldn't share a sentence with Disney, here's a film that shows that in the midst of the great Renaissance period, there's nothing Disney couldn't achieve, it would have been rather bizarre not to have Jesus of the Virgin Mary in movie set primarily set in a Cathedral.I was in the right target during Disney Renaissance but I stopped watching the new Disney after "Pocahontas", I wish I could see this one at the time of its release, but I'm not sure I would have loved it more as a teen, than as an adult now.

There have been so many version of the Hunchback over the years. This animated one is one of a kind. It takes the basic story of Quasimodo and Esmerelda and the evils of the Cathedral and softens them. Quasimodo is made to look cute and cuddly, even though he is routinely abused. He is usually made so ugly, that he frightens people who meet him. Actually, the abuse is there all the time, from the townspeople to the clergy and on and on and on. When Esmerelda shows kindness toward the bell ringer, it does not have the edge that is in the other films. We don't get the sexual tension here and the longing of Quasimodo. This film is done well enough, but it suffers from a holding back that Disney Studios has to do to be marketable. While it doesn't measure up to a kind of golden period, but it's better than most animated films.

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of Disney's darkest stories. There are traditional Disney elements to prevent it from being too dark, such as the comedy sidekicks and funny animals. It has a silly show number in the middle that is out of place. The traditional elements actually end up hurting the overall picture. The straight to video sequel goes even further with the traditional elements, making a very much weaker picture. They are a touch of comedy in a serious more adult picture.What sets this one apart from other Disney films is that the movie is more adult in its themes. The film deals with many heavy themes such as, religious fanaticism, sexual desire, racism, and social norms. The songs are mostly serious, not the normal sing-a-long type of Disney song. Hellfire is an amazing serious, dark Disney song. The film does not take place in a beautiful kingdom, but instead in a poverty stricken Paris. Our female lead is not a princess, but a commoner. Our hero is not handsome, and doesn't get the girl. Then there is our villain Frollo.Frollo, in my opinion is Disney's most sinister villain; he makes no jokes, nor is he silly. Frollo brings no comedy to the picture; he is not played as a fool or coward. Frollo is fearsome, and a character that seems very real. Voiced by the late great Tony Jay, Frollo embodies the idea of religious fanaticism. He is so blinded by his beliefs; he does not question any of his beliefs. Frollo is so determined to save his city he that he is willing to first destroy it, he will even attempt destroy Norte Dame. Frollo is beyond the foolish and silly Disney villains (Captian Hook/ King John/ even Cruella DeVille), he is in a class alone. He is a man of hatred and violence that should chill even the oldest viewer. The film is so well made it is sad it is not seen as up to the standards to its fellow Disney pictures of the time. The film is forgotten because it is ugly. Our hero is seen as grotesque, the city is dirty, and many of the scenes are darker in color. But really what makes this film ugly is it deals with the ugliness of humanity. We see the cruelty and violence of man. No other Disney picture deals with such adult themes and darkness. It is a great film that should be seen, don't turn away from the ugliness, but understand it. This is Disney's dark gem, but a gem all the same.