The Hunchback Of Notre Dame :: essays research papers

     A gem that has several very visible flaws yet, with these flaws, "TheHunchback of Notre Dame" shines as the best from the Disney factory yet.For, at first, the company name and movie title didnt quite appear to sitwell together. You dont marry the king of novel knightly gloom (Mr. VictorHugo) with one of the worlds most beloved (if non biggest) animationcompanies and expect the usual world population to be at the reception hardlyexpect even Mr. Walt Disney to pat himself on the shoulder blade (or whatsleft of it) for allowing a hideous hunchback to be transformed into a GeneKelly-Incredible tower combo type of hero.     This "hero" is Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), which by the focusing means half-formed.Its about his distorted education (whoever teaches the alphabet usingabomination, blasphemy, condemnation, damnation and eternal damnation ?),his shame (being crowned the king of fools), his first love and hisbig, big heart. Its about how our outward appearances should not matter(sounds familiar?). Its about believing in yourself but not beingself-righteous. And its about reliving the magic of Oscar-nominated"Beauty and the Beast", directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale (both,incidentally, were also responsible for "Hunchback".)     Wise and Trousdale obviously had a vision that didnt exactly conform toyour usual "and they lived jubilantly ever after" type of fairy tale. Theyemployed a lot of artistic license when rewrite the plot. It was, afterall, a cartoon but they didnt allow it to become an excuse to dissolve thepoignancy and tragedy into nothingness. Quasimodo did not get the girl.Nobody exactly lived "happily ever after". There was an amazing amount ofimplicit blood and violence. All that with Quasimodos unrestrainedoutburst near the end and the best animated man-made representation of thekiss contribute to the real emotions that flowed fr om the characters.      Talking about being real, the drawings in "Hunchback" were simplybreathtaking. The two directors and chief artists actually made their wayto the famed Notre Dame cathedral in Paris to experience first hand themagnificence and beauty of it. For ten whole days, they walked through,looked from, sat on, literally lived and disenfranchised Notre Dame. The artistseven "swatched" some dirt just to match the colour The result was suchartistry that even George Lucas and Steven Spielberg would have wanted tocall their own. The scenes in the market place, the panoramic view of thesteps of Notre Dame and beyond all left me gaping in wonder and sheerexcitement that such representation could be possible through animationits all thanks to computer animation.