The making of Hunchback
It opens with a song called "The Bells of Notre Dame" in which the history of "the mysterious bell ringer" is told by Clopin (the king of the gypsies) in a puppet show. Alternating between Clopin's makeshift puppet scenery and flashback sequences, the opening draws you into the story with a compulsion more complete than The Lion King's opening, despite its wordless grandeur.
The animation in this movie is simply stunning. When Quasimodo sings "Out There", he is singing from atop Notre Dame about the world below, and the views of the cathedral and of Paris from the cathedral are unbelievable. And the scene in which he holds Esmeralda over his head and claims sanctuary for her is one of my favorites.
Another scene I really enjoyed was the song "Hellfire", sung by Frollo about his desire for Esmeralda. The animation had a surreal quality that reminded me a little of the Pink Elephants scene in Dumbo, and I actually liked the song. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, the melody of this song was sung without words by a choir, accompanied by an organ, at the beginning and ending of the movie, sort of merging with "The Bells of Notre Dame". On the other hand, I could be wrong about this, so if you know whether I'm right or wrong, please e-mail me.
It's worth noting that the movie is more "adult" than any Disney animated movie I've ever seen (almost all of them). "Hellfire" expresses some very adult themes: Frollo's desire for Esmeralda and his obsession with damnation and sin are pretty serious meat and drink for two-year-olds. And when Quasimodo and Pheobus try to warn the gypsies of Frollo's attack, the qypsies, thinking them intruders, almost hang them before Esmeralda stops them. When you compare Frollo to the cartoony Jafar, (one of my favorite villains, BTW -- Jafar is so much fun), you can see the great difference in this movie's flavor.
I should add that the more adult motivations made this movie highly enjoyable and interesting. Many of my friends liked it better than any other Disney film they'd seen. I haven't wavered in my devotion to Beauty and the Beast, however. Though Hunchback is a great movie, it has a few flaws.
To begin with, the music for this film is not up to the standard of earlier films. IM(not so)HO, the music from The Little Mermaid was the best all around, the most fun. The best "ballad" goes to "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas (sung by an alto! Another reason for its beauty). Hunchback, while visually stunning, has music that doesn't live up to the splendor of the animation it accompanies. Personally, I liked "Hellfire" the best; I thought the scene was cool. I can't express any opinion about this film's liftable ballad, "God Help the Outcasts", because I had to leave the theater at that point to use the lady's room. However, I chose to go just after it began because some inkling told me I wouldn't be missing much. The other music is nice, good for propelling the story, and mostly serves as a background for unbelievable animation.
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