The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)

Rating:
Summary: Alright of course it isn't the book!
Review: Too many folks here seem surprised that Disney butchered Hugo's masterpiece. Well, all I have to say is what on earth made you think they wouldn't!?
When Disney adapts a classic tale into one of their animated films they NEVER do the original story, the closest they have ever come is Beauty and the Beast and Snow White. I mean Cinderella goes to 3 balls, it is the spirit of her dead mother that gives her the dresses and the Stepmother and sisters are butchered and blinded by the end of the tale! Sleeping Beauty, in some of the oldest versions, is impregnated by the prince before she awakens, and the little mermaid DIES rather than kill the prince who has fallen in love and married another! Would you really want your kids to see those versions? I'm not big fan of cleaning these tales up but still they didn't want to horrify parents and children....
That having been said of course this film is nothing like the book but it is beautiful and lyric and fabulously animated. The voice talent is flawless, who can say they didn't laugh when Kevin Kline said to his horse: "Achilles, Heel!"
The songs are so beautiful, well I could have skipped the gargoyle's song "A Guy Like You" Menken is a masterful composer as we have seen in his other Disney films. And Schawartz, a long time Brodway lyricist (He did Godspell one of the best 1970's musicals!)is a master with conveing the tortured/evil soul of Frollo and the sadness of Esmerelda.
Perhaps the biggest problem is that Disney cannot seem to do very well with their original films, they always seem to need a crutch of an outside source, like fairy tales or classic novels to get them started. It is too bad that folks can't see this film and try to not look at how it doesn't use Hugo's genius to tell the story. You just couldn't do that and make it animated or for kids!
This is one of my favorites, despite it's diversion from the original and always will be.

Rating:
Summary: Should have been rated PG
Review: I would like to know who the morons were on the MPAA board that gave this movie a G rating. If I was on the board, I would have not given it a G rating. I would have it a PG rating and I also feel that what MPAA should have done. The "h" word is used about 4 times in this movie. As the movie opens, a gysy named Clopin (Paul Kandel) tells a story of who lives in the bell tower of Notre Dame. It begins with a gysps coming into Paris and one thats save the life of her baby but dies, a man named Frollo (Tony Jay) finds the baby and almost drops the baby down a well but is stopped by the Archdeacon (David Odgen Stiers). He talks Frollo until adoping it as his son and has the baby live in the bell tower. Frollo names the baby Quasimodo which believe it or not means "half-formed". As and adult Quasimodo is voiced by Tom Hulce. Parents I reccomend if you are going to let your kids watch this, I reccomend you to watch it with them.

Rating:
Summary: horrible
Review: I hated this movie. I saw it in theater and i never want to see it again. The worst disney movie ever.

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I'm sixteen years old. I watched this movie with the children I was babysitting. I loved it. It even made me want to read the book. The music is inspiring and this movie teaches children a good lesson: you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. The music for this movie is wonderful. So far, from what I've read of the book, there are some drastic changes to make the movie less dark and depressing. I understand these changes, for a childrens audience, but if it were a movie for adults, I think that its inacuracy takes some of the realism out of the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to all the naysayers
Review: I don't think that movies necessarily have to follow the text and sometimes just using the text as the base starting point from which you can add/delete things can result in a product just as creative (take Disney's Jungle Book and Tarzan, for examples). The Hunchback of Notre Dame does this and makes the story touching and heart-felt in the traditional Disney fashion and I think it is appropriate for children (considering all the junk they usually watch on television). Having said all this, I think the movie would not be as rewarding to watch without the AMAZING soundtrack. Talk about creating atmosphere.

Rating:
Summary: BAD BAD BAD !
Review: Sweet Lord. I truly wonder if Disney ever read this book. As far as I see it, if it was their goal to decipate a classic tale,it was GOTHIC for god's sake, then they undoubtebly accomplished their goal. Sure it's beatiful,but animation should be judged by the depth of it's story,ESPECIALLY when it's a novel such as this one. I don't know how Disney could have ruined it, but they did( the charecters are so fleshed out, I dont know how Disney disregarded the tortured soul of the Hunchback, and made him a happy singing fellow, but they did.Also, the Hunchback was horrible, the only thing I saw wrong with him was the fact that he had a hump. If it was that way in the book He MIGHT have been accepted, but in the book he is a deformed freak.I feel sorry that Victor Hugo's tireless efforts put into the research of his novel, can be unrespected in such a manner. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is such an UNobvious choice for a family film, that I'm not even sure why they tried. For all you people who like the film, I pity you, read the book. See the wonders of Victor Hugo's amazing talent for description, but the fact that you liked it was your opinion. This is mine, this film is a discrace to not only the novel, but classic literature in itself, it should have never been made...

Rating:
Summary: Very Nice Story
Review: Excellent Movie, the starting theme music makes it worth watching the whole movie.... truly a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Victor Hugo did about 78 RPM when this came out.
Review: If there had never been a classic book called "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" this would have stood well on its own. But if you're going to base a movie on a classic novel, it behooves you to pay attention to the story. It wasn't just the fact they changed the ending it was that they tore the heart and soul out of Hugo's work to make a musical caricature. It's not suitable for children and it's not mature enough for adults. This was made during Disney's "Oh Gawd, we're out of original ideas!" period. They started cribbing the classics in desperation and that's ALWAYS a bad idea. It suffers badly by comparison to the original.

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking Animation
Review: The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tarzan have probably the best animation of any other disney film. The movie starts out when a juggler called Clopin was telling a couple of children about a Man and a Monster. At the beginning of the movie Frollo puts Quasimodo'd Father in prison and kills his mother on the steps of Notre Dame. 20 years later Quasi attends the Feast of Fools. After getting teased and tonted by the crowd, a kind gypsy called Esmerelda stops the mob and helpd Quasimodo. Frollo is inraged and want's to execute her. Esmerelda claims sanctuary in Notre Dame and has to saty their or else she'll get caught. After forming a relationship with Esmerelda a kind captain of the guards called Pheobus wins Esmerelda's heart. Frollo want's Esmerelda, Pheobus and Quasimodo all out of his life. Frollo gets Esmerelda and Pheobus and chains Quasi into the Cathedral. Quasi breaks out of the chains and rescues Esmerelda. Frollo breaks into Notre Dame and fights Quasimodo on to of the Cathedral. Frollo falls off the Cathedral and falls into a lake of burned iron. All in All this one of the best movies Disney has to offer. Do yourself a favour and get this film!

Rating:
Summary: A great dark side twist to it
Review: Yes it is a Disney animated movie but hey what is a disney animated movie without it being realsed to kids????!!!!!!???
It is probly my favorit Disney animated movie
It is good to me becuase of its somewhat dark side with Frolo all in all it can be handled by kids just not kids who are really young and I cant wait untill I get it on DVD!.