The Hunchback of Notre Dame

(I refer to the Disney movie, not the original or any other adaptation. The Disney version that most people have heard of. Just FYI.)

One of my favourite icebreakers to use when making conversation with people is, "What's your favourite Disney movie?". This is a great question for many reasons. First of all I've noticed that almost everyone I've asked this to has named a different one (often titles I've totally forgotten about), their reasons can tell you a fair bit about the person you're talking to, and it can lead on to some very interesting conversations.

And for some reason on some parts of the internet, it is commonly accepted that "Make a Man out of You", from Mulan, is the best Disney song ever. The people this is commonly accepted by, oddly enough, are usually the ones who forget about Frollo's fantastic monologue song ("Hellfire") in Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Anyway. Here is where I explain why I love Hunchback so much. I will continue under the assumption that you have seen the film, though avoiding major spoilers.


Hunchback is a very ballsy film on Disney's part. It challenges a lot of widespread tropes and clichés in animated kids' films, and raises a lot of interesting questions, right from the start.

The very first song has our narrator take us back in time for a prologue and without a shred of subtlety asks us, "What makes a monster and what makes a man?". This becomes a major theme for the whole film- while our titular hunchback, Quasimodo, is physically what one might call a "monster", he's actually a very gentle and modest soul, contrasting nicely with Frollo- who while maintaining the appearance of nobility is actually extremely cruel.
Speaking of Frollo's cruelty (and of masquerading it as nobility), the premise of the film sees him keeping Quasimodo locked up in the upper floors of Notre Dame- Quasi is raised by Frollo, rarely if ever meets anyone else, and is never allowed outside. He's told this is for his protection- that the world is a cruel and terrible place that would instantly shun and despise him- but in reality this arrangement is merely Frollo attempting to hide the "abomination". As the film progresses, he (like half the cast, it seems) develops an obsession with Esmerelda, though in the second act it's not immediately clear whether the obsession is rooted in lust or hatred- his internal conflict here is powerfully brought out in the aforementioned "Hellfire" song.
The real kicker here, though, is that unlike conventional Disney villains, Frollo believes himself to be doing the right thing. Through all of it he has it in his head that he is the most righteous person in Paris and every terrible deed he performs is the will of God.
That right there? Disney challenging religion. In a kids' film. That takes balls.
Well, not necessarily challenging religion as a whole, but religion as blind justification for a personal agenda. But again, by Disney standards this is serious business.

Continuing on, Quasimodo himself is a character I find highly relate-able. Moreso a few years ago. After all, he's a 20-year-old man who has never been outside. (Ba-dum-TSH!)
A product of his isolation (forced upon him by a guardian who instilled him with a cynical view of the world that never entirely took) is the fact he has no friends, save for the stone gargoyles.
This is where my favourite observation comes in- you will note that the gargoyles never actually talk to anyone besides Quasimodo, and are never seen to be moving or doing anything animated while characters other than Quasimodo are present (with exceptions in the case of comic relief, but never anything that contributes to the plot). Which tells me, quite simply, that Quasi's friends are not magical talking gargoyles. They are boring, mundane gargoyles that he brings to life in his imagination. They are quite literally imaginary friends. (And that is an oxymoron.) For lack of anyone else to talk to, he holds entire conversations (and later, a song) with what are, essentially, the voices in his head.

I was going to talk more about Esmerelda in this paragraph, and what she means to Quasimodo, but I really can't do that without spoiling the ending. Which I shall not be doing here lest the one person who hasn't seen it should have that ruined.
Suffice it to say that it's widely considered the most ballsy move ever made in an animated Disney film.

Hunchback really is a film with a lot of depth to it and is, in fact, a whole lot darker than it appears at first glance.

Watch this film. Seriously.

Rant over.