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I'd consider Hunchback of Notre Dame to be Disney's possible best film... were it not for the gargoyles.

Uzumaki Goku

Uzumaki Goku

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,296
Seriously, every time these 3 are on screen, they completely suck all the fun out of the movie (so to speak) Now there's some nice ambiguity as to whether or not they are real or just a figment of Quasimodo's imagination. (even though the end seems to imply that they're real) Like how do you make Jason Alexander not funny? This movie found a way. Like I love the atmosphere of Hunchback, the setting, the music... the voice acting is incredible... but then the Gargoyles show up and it gets very cringe. Am I alone in this?
 
skillzilla81

skillzilla81

Self-requested temporary ban
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Oct 25, 2017
10,043
It's my favorite Disney film even with the gargoyles. The songs and themes are that strong in it.

The Bells of Notre Dame and Hellfire have yet to be topped in Disney's films for me.

But yeah, the gargoyles fucking suck.
 
Terrell

Terrell

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,624
Canada
You're not alone. The ending has a few issues, as well, but overall, the characters felt very complete, even some of the side-characters like the opening narrator, which is a rarity for Disney. And the topics they cover are just about never used in tandem, even in adult-oriented live-action pieces. You'd be hard-pressed to find a movie that tackles racial oppression, religious hypocrisy, abuse of power, gaslighting, etc. in the same piece, especially with the kind of sheer emotional depth that Hunchback achieves in less than 2 hours. And then the gargoyles come on the screen and spit in the face of all of it.
 
Aaron

Aaron

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Oct 25, 2017
18,077
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This is the one live action Disney remake I wholly endorse, just because it has so much potential. It was clearly held back by needing to fit within the Disney formula that had been so popular at the time.
 
Omanisat

Omanisat

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Sep 25, 2018
2,396
North Bay, Canada
DiipuSurotu said:
There are theories that they aren't real? First time I read this
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The original plan was to only ever have Quasi talking to them, the implication being he'd gone mad from the isolation and was talking to statues. You can sort of see it in the film; as I recall aside from the ending the only character to interact with the gargoyles other then Quasi is the goat.

*also they're not gargoyles they're grotesques*
 
Reym

Reym

Member
Jul 15, 2019
2,663
Omanisat said:
The original plan was to only ever have Quasi talking to them, the implication being he'd gone mad from the isolation and was talking to statues. You can sort of see it in the film; as I recall the only character to interact with the gargoyles other then Quasi's the goat.
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The only thing that actually ruins it is that they affect the battle at the end. Really wish those scenes weren't there.
 
Calamari41

Calamari41

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Oct 25, 2017
7,099
Aaron said:
This is the one live action Disney remake I wholly endorse, just because it has so much potential. It was clearly held back by needing to fit within the Disney formula that had been so popular at the time.
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I feel like this would be less a "Disney remake" and more just a new live action adaptation of the book.
 
Wanderer5

Wanderer5

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Oct 25, 2017
10,987
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Still one of my favorite disney films, in spite of those damn gargoyles ha ha. I liked the chorus group from the stage musical more.
 
Alpheus

Alpheus

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Oct 25, 2017
7,655
It has the best Disney score for me personally, second would be Pocahontas' score. Mermaid would be 3rd and B&tB would be 4th. idk if i have a solid 5th place maybe The Rescuers: Down Under.
 
SwampBastard

SwampBastard

The Fallen
Nov 1, 2017
11,040
I haven't seen this movie, but I felt the same way about the dogs in Up. The "squirrel" shtick was super annoying and unfunny. And the fucking Minions in Despicable Me ruined what was otherwise a pretty alright animated movie. I will never understand why people thought the Minions were funny.
 
Pau

Pau

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Oct 25, 2017
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Luckily the stage musical completely writes them out and replaces them with the saint statues who are very clearly part of Quasimodo's psyche, and have a chilling pay off. They aren't really meant to be there for comedic effect, also serve as narrators, and generally have very lovely singing parts. Too bad the live-action film isn't going to be based on it. It's just so good. Seriously, if they had done the stage musical's plot and music, the animated film would have easily been the best Disney film.

It's the saint statues that whisper to Quasimodo to kill Frollo.

Here are the songs featuring the saint statues:

On Top of the World

Somewhat of a replacement of A Guy Like You in that the statues encourage Quasimodo to interact with Esmeralda. Also includes her. It's a really cute song.

Flight into Egypt

Another replacement for A Guy Like You, this time focusing on motivating Quasimodo to go find her after she goes into hiding. Probably one of the weakest new songs.

Made of Stone

Quasimodo rejects the statues and blames them for everything that's gone wrong. One of the best new songs and it's really frustrating that we won't see it in a live-action film.

Finale

The statues are part of the whole finale, which is basically Sanctuary! from the animated film except everyone gets to sing, not just the Latin chorus. Besides the spoiler at the beginning of the post, it also features a really cool bit where Quasimodo sounds like he's chanting a spell before pouring molten lead on the soldiers.
 
Shang

Shang

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Oct 27, 2017
1,664
Watch the stage adaptations, preferably the German one, Der Glöckner von Notre Dame. In that it's clearer that the gargoyles are just figments of Quasi's imagination, and
they're the ones who prod Quasi into killing Frollo.
The ending was also changed to be more in line with the novel's. The US book changed things further and got rid of the gargoyles completely. I wasn't too fond of the chorus in place of Clopin's narration, but damn if Patrick Page didn't nail Frollo's voice.

There have been rumors going back to the Eisner days that ABC wanted to do a live action adaptation. With the success of The Little Mermaid Live maybe they'll actually do it, but I fear they won't go as dark as it needs to be.
 
Calamari41

Calamari41

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,099
GraphicViolets said:
Most Disney films have sources in books or fairy tales.
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Yeah, but in most cases they're adaptations of stories with a hundred different tellings or they end up as the definitive versions themselves, for better or worse. With Hunchback, the novel is still the definitive telling of the story.

Peter Pan is interesting because it is a pretty faithful adaptation of the stage play, so to bring a new movie in line with the book would be something beyond a remake.
 
Inugami

Inugami

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Oct 25, 2017
14,995
It's clear they were a late addition forced in by execs who wanted some happy meal toys to be made.
 
BadWolf

BadWolf

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,148
KojiKnight said:
It's clear they were a late addition forced in by execs who wanted some happy meal toys to be made.
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The film was a lot darker initially (iirc the opening scene, Hellfire etc. are from the first darker script).

They did it before with Pocahontas as well.

Pocahontas ended up a lot more serious and then the execs thought there should be humor since it's a Disney film so they stuck in the dog, raccoon etc.
 
Cipher Peon

Cipher Peon

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Oct 25, 2017
7,824
It's my favorite Disney film.

Marvel movies have way more immersion and tension shattering jokes and yet I try to get over it.... mostly.

The gargoyles are horrible but the movie is a masterpiece otherwise so they're just phone breaks I guess 🤷‍♀️
 
blazenumb1

blazenumb1

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Oct 28, 2017
641
Honestly didn't think this movie had much of a fan base. Not a troll post, legitimately thought this was considered one of lower tier movies.
 
Polioliolio

Polioliolio

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Nov 6, 2017
5,397
Even as a kid at the time, I felt the merchandising of Quasimodo wearing the king of fools or whatever clothing seemed to be missing the point. He's abused terribly and it was all a joke to fuck with him. So you put that on a cereal bowl? Christ, Disney.
 
Aadiboy

Aadiboy

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Nov 4, 2017
3,652
I can understand why they put the gargoyles in. Without them, Quasimodo would have no one to talk to or interact with for large parts of the movie.
 
Pau

Pau

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Oct 25, 2017
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Shang said:
Watch the stage adaptations, preferably the German one, Der Glöckner von Notre Dame. In that it's clearer that the gargoyles are just figments of Quasi's imagination, and
they're the ones who prod Quasi into killing Frollo.
The ending was also changed to be more in line with the novel's. The US book changed things further and got rid of the gargoyles completely. I wasn't too fond of the chorus in place of Clopin's narration, but damn if Patrick Page didn't nail Frollo's voice.

There have been rumors going back to the Eisner days that ABC wanted to do a live action adaptation. With the success of The Little Mermaid Live maybe they'll actually do it, but I fear they won't go as dark as it needs to be.
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I haven't seen the original German version, but the statues do the same as the gargoyles in your version. I like how we basically had the same spoiler. :P
 
GraphicViolets

GraphicViolets

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Oct 25, 2017
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Shiloh said:
...Hamlet?
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h_1152x864.jpg
 
cjbenny

cjbenny

Member
Oct 29, 2017
199
Totally agree OP, it's probably in my top 3 Disney animated films. I truly wish they didn't bother with the comic relief portions with the gargoyles. When the movie goes full crazy (Frollo horny over a gypsy while singing a song about hell and with demonic faceless entities judging him or him trying to burn entire families alive), I feel like it reaches some near operatic grandeur, for an animated Disney film lol. Would it have been totally off putting? Yeah, but I think it would have made the movie absolutely memorable even amongst the other titans in the Disney Renaissance.
 

Deleted member 11413

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Oct 27, 2017
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Hellfire is probably the best song from any Disney film. I don't really hate the Gargoyles, they were trying to soften the edges of what is otherwise a very hard and dark story. The execution was not amazing on that but I get why they are there.
 
fontguy

fontguy

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Oct 8, 2018
16,154
How many Disney movies don't have at least one super annoying, unfunny character always there to ruin a good scene?
 
King Kingo

King Kingo

Banned
Dec 3, 2019
7,656
I love this movie so much. From the themes to the soundtrack, It's dark for all the right reasons.



Here's the Disney broadway soundtrack if anybody wants to indulge in its greatness.

Reym said:
The only thing that actually ruins it is that they affect the battle at the end. Really wish those scenes weren't there.
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Same, that's a sour spot for myself.
 
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