The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 animated film)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 animated film produced by The Walt Disney Company based on Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. While the basic structure remains, the movie is by any means not a guide to the novel. The plot is centered on the gypsy girl Esmeralda; Claude Frollo, powerful and ruthless priest, lusts after her. Quasimodo, protagonist and the kind-hearted but deformed bellringer of Notre Dame, adores her. Phoebus, the chivalrous if irreverent military captain, holds affections for her. The character of Grimgoire is absent entirely, and Quasimodo's sidekick trio of gargoyles - Victor, Hugo and Laverne - would look rather out of place in the book, as would the eventual ending.

Adaptations

This was adapted into a darker, more gothic musical production re-written and directed by James Lapine and produced by the Disney theatrical branch in Germany, of which a soundtrack was recorded in German. It was very successful and played from 1999 to 2002 before closing. More recently, The Bellringer of Notre Dame (as it has been renamed) has been scheduled for a live action TV film on ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney, as well as a possible American theatrical production, like Disney's other successful musical adaptations of their films now playing on Broadway.

Related Topics:
James Lapine - The Wonderful World of Disney

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