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     The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1996  G  ANIMATED  1h 31min
CAST— Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Tony Jay, Jason Alexander, Heidi Mollenhauer, Paul Kandel, Charles Kimbrough, Mary Wickes, Jane Withers, David Ogden Stiers
MUSIC— Alan Menken  DIRECTORS— Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise  BASED ON— The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (novel), by Victor Hugo

     Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel gets Disney-fied in this ambitious yet contrived animated feature. Tom Hulce voices Quasimodo, a sadly misshapen Parisian with a heart of gold. Because of his monstrous form his guardian, a vile magistrate, banishes him to the bell tower of the church where Quasimodo grows up as the bell ringer. His friends, three typical stooge-like stone gargoyles, encourage him to defy his master and attend the yearly festival down below. There he is ostracized by the crowd; the only one to show him kindness is another outcast, a beautiful gypsy dancer named Esmeralda. Quasimodo falls for her, she falls for a handsome soldier (Beauty and the Beast it isn’t). Quasimodo soon begins to treasure the two lovers as friends, which seems to be good enough for him. A story as mature as it is Gothic, with numerous forgettable musical numbers, you might wanna wait a few years before viewing with the little ones.
OUR RATING— **
FOLLOWED BY— The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)
ORIGINAL— The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923/1939/1957)