Blog Entry #8 Why "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is Disney's greatest and most underrated film
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is both Disney's darkest and most impactful film, beautifully covering intense topics such as sexual repression, lust, sin, hypocrisy, racial genocide, and the use of religion to justify committing horrendous acts. The visuals, soundtrack, character development and storytelling make it a must watch for any Disney fan.
The film opens up with a stunning artistic rendition of the Notre Dame Cathedral, accompanied by a orchestra piece by Alan Menken, the man who wrote the songs for "The Little Mermaid," sure to grab anyones attention.
The opening scenes also introduce the villain, Judge Claude Frollo, "a man who saw corruption everywhere except within." He uses his authority to order a group of innocent Gypsies, a group of people he despises, to be arrested for stealing, which ultimately leads to a woman dying and Frollo being left with the "stolen items," her baby. When he discovers the baby is deformed Frollo does not hesitate to take the baby to a well ready to drop it. When confronted by an archdeacon, the symbol for morality/gods judgement, he explains his actions as "sending an unholy demon back to hell." Despite his decision to raise the baby, Frollo does not change his ways as later on he becomes infatuated with a gypsy woman and confronts his sexual desires, which are forbidden under god. However, instead of acknowledging lust as a sin he has committed, he places the blame onto the woman stating his sin is not his fault, and what the woman has done is commit witchcraft. He uses this as a justification to have her marry him or for her to burn at the stake.
Great blog post! I couldn't agree with you more: Judge Frollo is a terrifying villain, and for good reason. Why is he so scary? Because of the simple fact that he reminds us of people that we could run into at any moment. He reminds us of the sinful desires that we ourselves can be tempted with, and that realization is what is truly terrifying. This movie was truly a masterpiece, and it certainly stands out among other Disney movies.
ReplyDeleteI've seen clips and scenes of this movie before, but I haven't sat down to watch it in its entirety. This post is convincing me to watch this film as I like when animated movies touch upon dark topics that seem to be demonstrated in this one. I like the description of the main villain being a man who denied himself of seeing corruption within himself and instead would seek it out from others, even from those who had none. Villains like these are fascinating to me as they seem more realistic like someone you would meet in real life, similarly to Mother Gothel's behavior and mistreatment towards Rapunzel in the movie Tangled.
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