The Hunchback of Notre Dame Movie Review

Disney's animation studio just about hit rock bottom in 1996, following its worst film ever, Pocahontas, with another weak entry, a difficult adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel.

It's typical of 1990s Disney: unlikely hero (Tom Hulce, as Quisimodo), who falls for a ravishing beauty (Demi Moore, as a gypsy gal), while goofy sidekicks (three stone gargoyles) crack jokes. Every five minutes, someone bursts into song. And yet none of this is kid-friendly, and little of it will be of interest to adults.

The animation is generally fine (especially the backgrounds and cityscapes), but the story is so boilerplate and the songs so unbearable that Hunchback is hardly a worthwhile film. The studio would learn to trim down the music with unsung stories like Tarzan and focus more on broad comedy instead of ridiculous historical/classics adaptations with movies like The Emperor's New Groove. And just when you thought they had it right, they went and made Atlantis.

Groan.

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