111 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame

(Original Airdate - November 4th, 2018)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 34th Disney animated feature film and the seventh produced during the Disney Renaissance, it is loosely based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay written by Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and the writing team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. Featuring the voices of Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, and Kevin Kline, the film follows Quasimodo, the deformed and confined bell-ringer of Notre Dame, and his yearning to explore the outside world and be accepted by society, against the wishes of his cruel, puritanical foster father Claude Frollo, who also wants to exterminate Paris' Romani population.

The film is considered to be one of Disney's darkest animated films due to its mature subject matter such as infanticide, lust, damnation, antiziganism, genocide, and sin, despite the changes made from the original source material in order to ensure a G rating from the MPAA. The musical score was written by Alan Menken, with songs written by Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who had previously collaborated on Pocahontas (1995). The pair later also collaborated on 2007's Enchanted.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered at the Louisiana Superdome on June 19, 1996, and was released in the United States on June 21, to generally positive reviews. It was a commercial success, grossing over $325 million worldwide and becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1996. The film received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for its musical score. A stage adaptation of the film was produced by Walt Disney Theatrical in 1999. A direct-to-video sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, was released in 2002.

HAIKUs--
"Quasimodo sad.
The bellringer of Paris,
Is he King of Fools?" -Spro

"Hey, Quasimodo!
Who's that sarcastic gargoyle?
It's George Constanza." -MC