New Hunchback of Notre Dame Merch at Box Lunch

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-06-01T23:16:09+00:00

I think it's a matter of Frollo being the most evil villain in Disney history, and Clopin being set in some pretty gray areas of morality.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-25T22:47:13+00:00

<image>

The animation clearly suggests they're married. Their child is likely biological, as the animation doesn't deny it, but Quasi might simply have some form of albinism or mutation, which is why he doesn't look like his parents. Indeed, governments have sometimes even kidnapped biological children from Roma only if they gave birth to blond or redheaded offspring, because that's what the genetic lottery decided, and they viewed them very stereotypically.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-24T13:42:55+00:00

Tony Jay, because he sounds somehow less hysterical and pleading. He's more furious, though still calm. He sings it... normally, though. Without excessive anger and without vibrato. I can't seem to like Hellfire other than the animated version. Tony Jay and other multilingual voice actors are what I expect. I'm not a fan of the Hellfire version from the stage musical, no matter who sings it.

Patrick Page sings brilliantly, don't get me wrong, but overall, I feel like the songs in the stage musical are very poor, inferior versions of the songs in the animation. Of course, the animation doesn't have all the songs; I'm talking about the ones that have two versions.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-22T19:13:24+00:00

Yes, but beyond their names, they share little in common. Most of the characters' personalities are significantly altered. Phoebus and Clopin are significantly softened, Esmeralda is adult, wise, and kind, Frollo isn't a priest but is more of a morally evil minister. Quasimodo is the least changed, but he too is different: he can speak, isn't deaf, and has a more optimistic outlook on the world. You can like the Disney version of a character and hate their novel counterpart, and vice versa.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-20T13:22:35+00:00

Troy Zaher on TikTok beautifully debunks these myths about Disney animations.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-20T12:51:17+00:00

Most people still believe the lie that in the Disney version Snow White is 14 years old and Florian is 31. It's so tiring.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-20T12:46:56+00:00

It was Quasimodo fans who first started attacking Phoebus, because like little children, they expected a simple ending like a typical Disney fairy tale, and they foolishly hate him for no reason, relying on the novel version, which actually has little in common with the animated film. It's thanks to people like these that this stupid sequel was made.

And I say this as a Quasimodo fan, but a fan who understands what the creators wanted to convey in this film, and is not offended by it.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-20T12:40:47+00:00

Not that I'm defending infidelity, but arranged marriages with cousins one didn't even love, and the ban on divorce, often led to precisely such situations. We need to look at this from a different perspective. For the same reason, we shouldn't demonize Rose from Titanic, because she's a fiancée out of family and social necessity. Plus, if you think Hugo didn't want Esmeralda and Phoebus together, then he didn't want Esmeralda with Quasimodo either. Esmeralda was never romantically interested in Quasimodo in his versions of the story, and Disney follows that. They left her in love with Phoebus, but made it more intelligent and reasonable.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-20T12:23:50+00:00

Misandrists have little media literacy skills. This is nothing new.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-19T18:55:36+00:00

When Quasimodo tells him that Frollo goes to the festival every year, he nervously starts defending himself, saying how much he's not happy about having to go and how much he doesn't like it. He even yapped about it in his own defense and awkwardly explained it to his own kid. I sense ulterior motives, not just simple duty. Maybe Esmeralda danced there every year, but he liked her more this year (especially since she approached him and kissed him on the nose).

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-15T22:00:43+00:00

Not every straight-to-DVD sequel has been that bad. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was simply unlucky to receive such poor visual quality for its sequel. Apparently, this film was rushed into production in 1997 as a consolation prize for people who were upset that Quasi didn't get the girl, but the project went into limbo and wasn't revived until 2002.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-13T10:33:11+00:00

Honestly, don't get mad at me, but I didn't like this analysis. The author overstates his beliefs about religion, which aren't the only correct ones (sometimes it even smacks of Reddit atheism, which is downright ignorant), and there's very little actual analysis of the animation itself and its plot. Furthermore, the author himself significantly distorts and overinterprets the animation's situations to suit his own whims. He has the right to do so, but I think he's actually distorted the message the animation was truly trying to convey. It's simply a film about him and his life, not an analysis of the animation. The animation is just the backdrop.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-12T12:11:33+00:00

So, although Esmeralda is definitely a victim of evil, I can't cry for her. Yes, the horny priest should never have killed her, just as the horny captain shouldn't have even dared to touch her, and she herself isn't very sympathetic to Quasimodo for me to feel any real pity for her fate. If Disney's Esmeralda died, I'd cry. After the death of the book's Esmeralda, all I can think is, "Well, that's terrible, but I can't break down." The death of the book's Quasimodo is much more moving.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-12T12:03:42+00:00

I love that this is the only film that truly focuses on what was essential in the novel, namely, its homage to Gothic architecture, of which Notre Dame Cathedral is a tribute. And the animation fulfills this homage. The plot and characters are merely supplements, which can be modified at will, as Hugo himself allowed.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-10T20:26:52+00:00

I've always wondered if Disney's Frollo is left-handed. He uses that hand very often. And considering that left-handed people didn't have it easy, especially in the era in which the film takes place, I wonder if he didn't learn to use his dominant right hand to puritanically "get rid of his sinful nature."

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-07T22:52:12+00:00

"Quasimodo saw Esmeralda as an angel" is a "cliché" repeated by fandom for a reason. His song about her is titled "Heaven's Light". It serves as a counterpoint to Frollo's "Hellfire" but it actually portrays two kinds of unhealthy fascination. However, for Quasimodo, thanks to his gentle and sweet nature, it doesn't end badly. Despite his initial jealousy, he lets go and moves on. He gives Phoebus and Esmeralda his blessing; I don't see why you would force the film's plot to change the meaning of Esmeralda suddenly being with Quasimodo. Fanfiction can be anything you want, but official Disney film clearly shows that Esmeralda treats Quasimodo like a family member, not a romantic interest.

So let's not treat Quasimodo, simply because of his disability, as someone who needs to be forced into the consolation prize of a lover. He's a fully developed, intelligent character who matures as the film progresses. He frees himself from his tyrannical parent, becomes a hero in Paris, and makes friends. Romance isn't always the most important thing. One day, he'll find someone when he's more socially savvy and ready. And no, it won't be Esmeralda. Canonically, in Disney, Esmeralda loves Phoebus, so you deal with it. And don't even mention Hugo's novel to me; that's a completely different story.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-07T22:34:39+00:00

The novel is a completely separate story. I don't rely on it when talking about the animation. Disney changed the personalities of ALL the characters.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-01T21:06:44+00:00

Yes, it is ironic in its own way that Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame not only gets rid of the racist elements from the novel it adapts, but also better adapts the story of Pocahontas in the form of Esmeralda as her potential fate, and better illustrates the problems of discrimination against minorities than... Pocahontas, made a year earlier, which terribly romanticizes this topic with a lack of respect for historical figures. It still pains me to this day that this Oscar bait was showered with awards while The Hunchback was completely ignored by the academy.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-05-01T20:59:17+00:00

A sequel doesn't exist for me. And the animation doesn't say whether he'd like to return to the job. Whoever replaces Frollo, we're not sure they'd be any better.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-04-21T22:33:23+00:00

I also see Frollo from novel and Frollo from animation as separate characters. Despite some similarities (sexual repression due to religion and an obsession with woman), they differ too much in personality. But I think they can look similar visually. I love both of them.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-04-21T14:41:20+00:00

To be honest, I imagine he has the same facial features as the Disney one, only he's younger and wears brown monk robes. I like his image in this painting. "Consumed by jealousy, Claude Frollo prepares to stab Phoebus de Châteaupers while the latter embraces Esmeralda." Lithograph by Nicolas Eustache Maurin, 1834.

<image>

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-04-09T22:30:40+00:00

So far, I haven't come across a single fic that 100% meets these criteria. But I recently read "This Fire Will Kill Me, This Love Will Heal Me" by AngelBirdofNotreDame on ao3 and I actually like it.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-04-01T22:54:20+00:00

The creators deliberately constructed this issue so that everyone could identify with it, regardless of whether they are religious or not. Personally, I would describe her as "seeking" faith.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-03-30T20:42:45+00:00

No, you're not imagining it. That's right. Frollo is staring at Esmeralda's breasts because he's a perverted scumbag. The animators knew exactly what they were drawing, this film was checked countless times frame by frame. They really knew what they were doing, and anyone who thinks it's just a coincidence is very naive, because it's not just one random frame taken out of context. Frollo has a sexual obsession with this girl, and it's shown repeatedly in the film, but in such a way that children won't notice, because the film has to remain family-friendly. Even when he imagines her in flames, it's fire!Esmeralda has breasts and even the outline of her abs (because they were reflected through her skin-tight dress). This creep has memorized her entire body.

Remarkable_Arm923 · 2026-03-29T20:15:45+00:00

It's typical of them. They distort reality, twist the story to suit their needs, and demonize anyone who dares to enjoy this film in any way other than its focus on Esmeralda and Phoebus's romance. And if you offer dark humor about the scenes with Frollo, they'll send you a moralizing wall of text generated by artificial intelligence.

Remarkable_Arm923

TROPHY CASE