My Review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame · 11:15pm Nov 28th, 2020
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
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Hello there! Here is my review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame! This has got to be my second favorite Disney movie of all time, and there are plenty of reasons why it is such. This film has a compelling storyline, a few wonderful characters you can relate to, a creepy yet realistic villain, a strong moral, and a dark yet emotional tone. I didn’t have a high opinion about this movie the first time I watched it as a kid, but years later, I started to have a much more fun time the more I watched it. To be honest though, I was never creeped out by its disturbing theme or by the things that were rather... unsettling as it did to plenty of viewers. I just have no idea why. But let’s get right into it, shall we?
1). First off, Quasimodo is a very interesting character and protagonist. He is not one of my favorite characters in the Disney universe, but he is at least interesting to look at. The young man has been adopted and raised by a cruel judge and been held isolated from the world. As twenty years have passed, he relishes a desire to “be out there” which his first song is inspired by. Speaking of which, Out There is one of my favorite Disney songs ever! It’s authentic, beautifully sung and composed, and full of meaning. He wants to be out there in the world and experience what it’s like to be no longer cooped up between walls. It helps develop his character and becomes a beginning sign of his progression throughout the film. Tom Hulce was amazing in his role as the young hunchback.
Later on, he meets with our supporting characters Esmeralda and Captain Phoebus. Together, they go on a dangerous journey while things get more clear as to who is the monster and who is the man.
2). Okay, I do have to admit the main problem with the film: the talking gargoyles. At least Timon and Pumbaa were funny to some degree, but these downgrades were just not funny at all and said some cringeworthy lines of dialogue at the worst time possible. The gags were not funny, and I wish we didn’t waste time with them. I don’t hate them as a lot of people do, but I just simply dislike them. Oh, and Jason Alexander was the one who voiced one of them named Hugo. Yeah... a very talented actor had to play that mediocre role.
3). Demi Moore did great as Esmeralda. Her character is actually good! Finally, there is a female Disney character I can look back and say, “She should be a Disney Princess!!” Seriously, she is so underrated as a character. The way she was actually strong and courageous and useful is very noteworthy. Can we please see her again in modern Disney today? Please?
4). Captain Phoebus was a good character. He is actually a lot more entertaining than the try-hard gargoyles. He also progressed very well as a character and developed to the point where he can no longer take orders from his corrupt superior and actually take a stand with the outcasts. Speaking of corruption, this is where it leads to the strongest contender for best Disney villain:
5). 
Ladies and gentlemen, Judge Claude Frollo has got to be the most terrifying yet realistic Disney villain you can EVER see in a Disney film. Although Scar is my favorite one, Frollo is definitely one of the best villains of all time. He is sinister, sadistic, self-righteous, short-tempered, manipulative, creepy, hypocritical, and overall terrifying. He looks upon himself as some holy man of God and thinks that he is doing everything right in His sight whereas he commits every sin in the book. The late Tony Jay was phenomenal as Frollo. I wish he was still alive today. My gosh, I can imagine how many kids Frollo scared as they watched the film. Oh... and he somehow managed to gain many fangirls over the years because of... ughhh, I’ll be disgusted. You get my point. Speaking of disgusting, he makes yet another popular villain song and one of the most memorable Disney villain songs ever.
Yeah, and with that, I’m ending this review. The movie is wonderful, the musical notes are terrific, the animation is masterfully done, the story is intriguing and full of depth, and the characters (at least some) are written well with meaning and purpose. For that, it gets a 10/10!
Peace!
You know what, I never understood what the archdeacon meant by, "You can lie to yourself and your minions. You can claim that you haven't a qualm. But you can never run from nor hide what you've done from the eyes...the very eyes of Notre Dame!!!", as a kid until recently. He was referring to the eyes of the statues. They never blink and saw everything Frollo did.
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Indeed. Quite powerful words.