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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
267 .......................... 315
__________________________
November 12th
—— 1996 ——
THE
HUNCHBACK
OF
NOTRE DAME
—— animation ——
DISNEY CLASSIC no.34
I have a hunch y'all came back because you really wanted
to hear the ugly truth about this notable Disney film...
In my honest and humble opinion, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ is another entry in the ever-popular Renaissance era that just didn’t deliver or do justice to their modern magnum opus, that is ‘The Lion King’. To me, it seemed like Disney had a hard time hitting as hard as they did with that film, failing to come back with something truly refreshing, magnificent and magical. Sadly, Disney's take on the deformed isn’t their return to form, but more of a formal retelling of the same fundamental strokes that isn’t as daring or different as it should be, nor does it separate itself from the norm as much as you would think....
The most obvious imperfection in the mirrored image of a familiar filmic feel, is how uneven and uncertain it all feels to me. I caught myself changing my thoughts about the movie so many times throughout… the opening was indeed grand but felt hollow and almost too blown out in visual and aural bonanza… like it was trying too hard. I admit though, that the ultimate presentation of Quasimodo himself worked well and was well-handled. After the overblown opening, it feels like the film searches for a tone to tack along with, but without ever attaching itself to any specific one. It stumbles along, trying to figure out whether this disfigured adventure wants to be dark or light, quiet or energetic, elaborate or just entertaining. I do realize that the two worlds should be portrayed per their differences and that Quasimodo’s world should feel distanced as well, from all that is ordinary. All this, kind of makes the movie more boring to me and I never feel connected to the story itself, only the characters, and even that is only a few of them, specially and almost solely Quasimodo and Esmeralda. It feels plain a lot of the times and there isn’t truly any charm to it. The Notre Dame itself is well done though, all the way from the bottom to the very top of the bell-towers and Quasimodo’s home. A lot of detail is present here and I like that.
When I talk about a shift in tone, I also sense a shift in quality, since some scenes seem amazing and call back memories to the magic from Disney’s very best classics, while other scenes come off less impressive and immediately feels rushed and not really followed through with – even the animation seems off and uneven in a few places, though it does bring groundbreaking visuals still. Furthermore, Disney seemed to struggle with how to tell a story that is very dark and disturbing within its source material, but making its way to the big screen as a blown-out ballad or compilation of copy-paste elements, that admittedly has its high-points, but pales in comparison to past Disney movies and Victor Hugo’s sinister source material. It doesn’t help much that a movie about “beauty and the beast” already came out only five years ago, which did everything much better. I mean, even the posters for the movies look familiar, hell, even the directors are the same! I do admire the bravery of the basic outline of this movie; it seems like there is potential hidden here, some brave themes of lust, racism and of course the beauty on the inside. That also remains one of the best things about the film – the actual outline and base for this movie, while the execution simply doesn't match it…
Quasimodo, while not as well-rounded as in the book, is not a quasi-caricature at all, he feels genuine, humble and kind-hearted. The main villain is an interesting one, in the way he is heavily connected to the hero and can manipulate and control him and create his perception of the world and the people within it. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t live up to that set-up. Esmeralda was by far my favorite character and I love how Disney departed from the usual stuff and made a female lead, who isn’t a princess, who isn’t white or wonderful, but a gipsy on the street fighting for food; she is a black woman, who is very strong and independent. Disney even adds the classic "Prince Charming" but twists his roots and makes him handsome, but very human, humble, grounded and kind. He even has an interesting conclusion to his character, which also departs from the usual Disney endings… yet kind of doesn't. What the movie really misses though, in my opinion, is an "Under the Sea", "A Whole New World" or "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". ‘Pocahontas’ was no masterpiece either, but it did have "Colors of the Wind". This film has one or two semi-great songs, but none of them really reaches the same highs as previous outings.
Ultimately, ‘The Hunchback from Notre Dame’ is fairly good entertainment, but it never lives up to its potential, themes or daring subjects. It misses personality, magic and charm, but the standout scenes keeps pulling it up from mediocracy and I mostly leave this slightly disappointed, while still thinking of it as an enjoyable fun run through familiar tropes. But in my opinion, we are honestly beginning to stumble below Disney standards at this point. It should be said though, that rewatches have saved semi-good movies more than once before, which was the case with ‘101 Dalmatians’ for example – a movie I liked a lot more on a second watch. But for now, I have a very fractured feeling towards this film…
__________________________
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
267 .......................... 315
__________________________
November 12th
—— 1996 ——
THE
HUNCHBACK
OF
NOTRE DAME
—— animation ——
DISNEY CLASSIC no.34
I have a hunch y'all came back because you really wanted
to hear the ugly truth about this notable Disney film...
In my honest and humble opinion, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ is another entry in the ever-popular Renaissance era that just didn’t deliver or do justice to their modern magnum opus, that is ‘The Lion King’. To me, it seemed like Disney had a hard time hitting as hard as they did with that film, failing to come back with something truly refreshing, magnificent and magical. Sadly, Disney's take on the deformed isn’t their return to form, but more of a formal retelling of the same fundamental strokes that isn’t as daring or different as it should be, nor does it separate itself from the norm as much as you would think....
The most obvious imperfection in the mirrored image of a familiar filmic feel, is how uneven and uncertain it all feels to me. I caught myself changing my thoughts about the movie so many times throughout… the opening was indeed grand but felt hollow and almost too blown out in visual and aural bonanza… like it was trying too hard. I admit though, that the ultimate presentation of Quasimodo himself worked well and was well-handled. After the overblown opening, it feels like the film searches for a tone to tack along with, but without ever attaching itself to any specific one. It stumbles along, trying to figure out whether this disfigured adventure wants to be dark or light, quiet or energetic, elaborate or just entertaining. I do realize that the two worlds should be portrayed per their differences and that Quasimodo’s world should feel distanced as well, from all that is ordinary. All this, kind of makes the movie more boring to me and I never feel connected to the story itself, only the characters, and even that is only a few of them, specially and almost solely Quasimodo and Esmeralda. It feels plain a lot of the times and there isn’t truly any charm to it. The Notre Dame itself is well done though, all the way from the bottom to the very top of the bell-towers and Quasimodo’s home. A lot of detail is present here and I like that.
When I talk about a shift in tone, I also sense a shift in quality, since some scenes seem amazing and call back memories to the magic from Disney’s very best classics, while other scenes come off less impressive and immediately feels rushed and not really followed through with – even the animation seems off and uneven in a few places, though it does bring groundbreaking visuals still. Furthermore, Disney seemed to struggle with how to tell a story that is very dark and disturbing within its source material, but making its way to the big screen as a blown-out ballad or compilation of copy-paste elements, that admittedly has its high-points, but pales in comparison to past Disney movies and Victor Hugo’s sinister source material. It doesn’t help much that a movie about “beauty and the beast” already came out only five years ago, which did everything much better. I mean, even the posters for the movies look familiar, hell, even the directors are the same! I do admire the bravery of the basic outline of this movie; it seems like there is potential hidden here, some brave themes of lust, racism and of course the beauty on the inside. That also remains one of the best things about the film – the actual outline and base for this movie, while the execution simply doesn't match it…
Quasimodo, while not as well-rounded as in the book, is not a quasi-caricature at all, he feels genuine, humble and kind-hearted. The main villain is an interesting one, in the way he is heavily connected to the hero and can manipulate and control him and create his perception of the world and the people within it. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t live up to that set-up. Esmeralda was by far my favorite character and I love how Disney departed from the usual stuff and made a female lead, who isn’t a princess, who isn’t white or wonderful, but a gipsy on the street fighting for food; she is a black woman, who is very strong and independent. Disney even adds the classic "Prince Charming" but twists his roots and makes him handsome, but very human, humble, grounded and kind. He even has an interesting conclusion to his character, which also departs from the usual Disney endings… yet kind of doesn't. What the movie really misses though, in my opinion, is an "Under the Sea", "A Whole New World" or "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". ‘Pocahontas’ was no masterpiece either, but it did have "Colors of the Wind". This film has one or two semi-great songs, but none of them really reaches the same highs as previous outings.
Ultimately, ‘The Hunchback from Notre Dame’ is fairly good entertainment, but it never lives up to its potential, themes or daring subjects. It misses personality, magic and charm, but the standout scenes keeps pulling it up from mediocracy and I mostly leave this slightly disappointed, while still thinking of it as an enjoyable fun run through familiar tropes. But in my opinion, we are honestly beginning to stumble below Disney standards at this point. It should be said though, that rewatches have saved semi-good movies more than once before, which was the case with ‘101 Dalmatians’ for example – a movie I liked a lot more on a second watch. But for now, I have a very fractured feeling towards this film…
__________________________