The Hunchback of Notre Dame was an arguably well produced Disney cartoon. However, it was relatively unsuccessful in regards of it's profit and legacy upon fans. After watching it again recently for the first time in almost ten years, I am starting to pick up on why I so rarely asked my parents to put in the VHS of Hunchback and instead re watched The Little Mermaid and The Lion King hundreds of times.
1. The beginning sequence is terrifying and slightly traumatizing for a Disney film. I'm pretty sure the attempt to throw a newborn into a well is pretty high ranking on the list of troubling images that one can show a child.
2. The song lyrics aren't friendly. Even for a villain they are a little hard to swallow. "You're deformed, and you're ugly." to which, Quasimodo replies "I'm a monster and I am ugly." Not necessarily as catchy and relatable as "we used to be best buddies, and now we're not. " (One of the most negative lines in the Frozen Soundtrack)
3. I don't think it is the amount of violence that would bother kids, but the intensity of the actions that are portrayed that would make any adult uncomfortable. Just watched a group of "Gypsy" families, kids, parents, grandparents sobbing as they are handcuffed to one another and pushed into a small carriage. Then the carriage is ordered to be thrown into the river. This is seriously material pulled from horror films I believe.
4. Now a family is locked in their house, the dad pleading for mercy. The punishment they are receiving for "harboring gypsies" is now to have their house set on fire with them inside. I actually double-check to make sure I am watching the right version of this film. Yup. Disney right on the front cover.
5. The moments of humor are so dark that I am actually starting to find the idea of children under the age of twelve watching this insanely comical. As one of the gargoyles sings a light jazzy tune about love, he sings the lines "Of all the guys she could dangle..." while released a string of puppets that have nooses tied around their necks. Nothing like a simulated hanging to lighten the mood everyone!
6. I can feel physical pain in my heart watching Esmerelda kiss Mr. Blonde in Shining Armor. As they share a passionate embrace, the screen cuts to tears streaming down Quasimodo's cheeks and his hand clutching a piece from a deck of cards with a heart on it.
7. This isn't a specific moment, but rather an epiphany about this film and it's lack of success. Keep in mind I haven't made it to the end yet either. I keep trying to rack up the positive moments as well as the incredibly depressing ones, but I legitimately can't muster up one moment of happiness that didn't lead to something tragic.
8. Quick question, how did the city of Paris go from completely dark, with fire erupting from several locations and literal lava spewing from the roof of Notre Dame itself, to being completely intact and sunny within a couple of minutes?
Quasi's life arguably has been the worst in all of Disney history. He almost killed at birth for being physically deformed, then he is physically and mentally abused by a sadistic man who locks him away from all human interaction. Because of this, Quasi then develops a mental disorder to protect himself, in which he views inanimate objects as live creatures. The one day he leaves his isolated fortress, he is publicly humiliated by being tied up and physically harassed by a mob of people who taunt him the entire time. Then he falls in love with a woman, who works arguably as a stripper, and at once feels joy in his life. But, she falls in love with a handsome, muscular soldier instead, who Quasi must risk his life for in order to protect. Then at the end of the film, he insists that the two of them be together as a couple, because even though she is his reason for living, Quasi knows that she doesn't love him.
...Hopefully this blog post was as depressing for you to read as watching this movie was depressing for me. There was so little to relate to that even at the end of the film you are left feeling empty and unsatisfied by the town cheering on Quasi because the audience knows how meaningless fame was for him. Not to mention the whole conflict of the movie centered around the racial slur of "gypsy" and the stereotypes that accompany an entire ethnicity of individuals.
I guess you can't win them all Disney.
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