God Bless The Outcasts

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
(Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, 1996)

4 Stars

Having watched The Little Mermaid earlier this week, I decided last night, after a rather crappy day at the office, the revisit another bit of Disney nostalgia, this time in the disfigured form of everyone’s favourite bell-ringer, Quasimodo.

Admittedly, The Hunchback was never one of my utmost favourites as a kid. I never disliked it, it just wasn’t necessarily a film of choice. Watching it now, I’m really not sure why. Perhaps its dark undertones and somewhat more grownup themes are, like The Princess and the Frog (which I also watched again over the weekend, but shan’t be reviewing for a second time, ‘cause it’s still amazing), what make it all that bit more appealing to an adult.

Hunchback’s animation is seamlessly stunning, standing out as one of the first films where CGI was really coming into its own. The wide shots of Paris, and of the eponymous cathedral are beautifully rendered, and at the time, I’m sure, would have been all the more impressive.

Each of the perfectly designed characters is brought to life by an equally aptly chosen voice artist, ranging from Kevin Kline and Demi Moore, to Jason Alexander and Mary Wickes (in her final role). It’s actually a rather impressive display of stars; signifying perhaps just how well Disney were doing for themselves at this point.

To compliment the darker feel of the tale, Menken and Schwartz really pull out the stops with an equally dark soundtrack, the twin pinnacles of which are the haunting “God Save the Outcasts” and the deliciously evil “Hellfire”.

Perhaps the least well-loved of Disney’s nineties hey-day, this is none-the-less a film that stands proudly amongst the rest, a tale of hope, despair, and inevitably redemption. With singing gargoyles.