“The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
4/5 ****
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, is a 1996 Disney film inspired by the Victor Hugo novel of the same name. The film tells the story of Quasimodo (Tom Hulce) who, because of his physical deformities, is forced to live in the belltower of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris by Judge Frollo (Tony Jay). After being publicly humiliated, Quasimodo is saved by a Romani woman named Esmerelda (Demi Moore). The two form a close friendship and, along with Captain Phoebus (Kevin Kline), work to break free of Frollo’s grasp.
This is one of Disney’s darkest films, with themes of lust, genocide and the consequences of unchecked religious power. Despite overall being a success upon release, the film was controversial for many different reasons. Parents felt that the film’s mature themes were too dark for children to see. Meanwhile, fans of the original novel felt that the film stripped away and simplified all that made the story meaningful. Finally, there are many criticisms to be made of Disney’s treatment of the Romani characters in the film. The background Romani characters are drawn as caricatures and a racial slur is used to describe them throughout the film. While those criticisms should definitely be addressed when discussing this film, they do not take away from me finding this film a near masterpiece.
This film has an incredibly dark and terrifying villain in Judge Claude Frollo. Frollo is an extremely manipulative and racist person who holds a lot of political power as the Minister of Justice. The most terrifying part about Frollo’s character is that he truly believes that he is in the right and performing God’s will. Even when he is committing atrocities like murdering a young mother and nearly drowning her baby in a well because they are Romani, he believes that he is freeing Paris from evil. Frollo also believes that his abuse of Quasimodo is justified and that the boy should be locked away from society because of his physical deformities. In one horrible scene, when Quasimodo is publicly humiliated and tortured after leaving the bell tower, Frollo turns away while Quasimodo begs for help. When Phoebus asks Frollo for permission to intervene, Frollo responds by saying that “a lesson needs to be learned here.”
However, Frollo’s lust for Esmerelda is the most uncomfortable part of the film. Frollo grows to believe that Esmerelda is the Devil sent by God to test his faith. This leads to Frollo making her choose to either marry him or burn at the stake, all with the belief that he is “saving” her from burning in Hell. Frollo’s lust for Esmerelda is consistent with the fact that throughout history, non-white women have been sexualized and objectified, being seen as lustful, sinful creatures. Like so many oppressed groups, however, those labels were created by white people who wished to demonize “the other.” It is also worth noting that while Frollo is trying to make Esmerelda “his,” he is also leading a campaign to wipe out her people.
It is important to acknowledge that Disney did not do a good job in representing the Romani people. As stated earlier, the Romani characters are referred to as a racial slur for the entire film and all the Romani characters (save for Esmerelda and Quasimodo’s mother) are drawn as caricatures. While the film does a good job in humanizing the Romani people and shedding light on the centuries of oppression they have faced, the film still promotes harmful stereotypes.
Another criticism is that, while it is clear that Quasimodo’s parents are Romani, he himself is white. Obviously, Romani people with lighter skin and features exist, but it is unlikely for his parents to naturally give birth to a baby with light skin, red hair and light green eyes. It is more likely that Quasimodo was adopted. While the idea of this Romani couple adopting an abandoned child is very heartwarming, it is important to note that Romani people have been accused of kidnapping white children throughout history as a way to demonize them. The concept was in the original Victor Hugo novel, with Esmerelda originally being a French girl kidnapped by the Roma.
Unfortunately, this stereotype persists to this day, for many Romani children with lighter skin and hair have been temporarily taken away from their families with the belief they were kidnapped. Instead of making Quasimodo Romani like he is in the novel, Disney made him white, feeding into the myth that Romani people kidnap white children. Frollo even says that Quasimodo’s mother is holding “stolen goods.” Also, Esmerelda, despite being written as a headstrong and complex character, is also sexualized throughout the film, tying into the stereotype that Romani women are naturally more promiscuous and are seductresses. While Esmerelda herself is not promiscuous, her character is designed in a very sexual way. She also is shown to preform magic tricks, which ties into the stereotype that all Romani people are magical or witches.
Another element that makes this film fall short of being a masterpiece are the gargoyles that Quasimodo talks to. Victor, Hugo and Laverne (Charles Kimbrough, Jason Alexander and Mary Wickles) are meant to provide comic relief; however, their presence causes a complete whiplash in tone. Their humor is not balanced well with the rest of the film. When a film has themes as dark as genocide, it is essential for the comic relief to fit the tone. There is also an implication that the gargoyles are all figments of Quasimodo’s imagination after years of near total isolation, but if that is the case, it is not executed well at all. In my opinion, if the gargoyles were taken out, or were at least added in a way that fit with the overall tone of the film, this would easily be five out of five stars.
Overall, this film is amazing. This is one of Disney’s darkest films to date and is arguably one of their best. The Gothic aesthetic, powerful music and impressive visuals make it extremely immersive. Disney created a truly terrifying and real villain in Frollo with his use of manipulation tactics and horrifying mindset that he is doing God’s will. While I love this film, the gargoyles still annoy me, and it is important to acknowledge that Disney did very little research into Romani history and culture. As a result, kids who grew up with this film (like myself) learned harmful stereotypes and misinformation about Romani history and culture as fact. Media has the power to shape us, and filmmakers must remember that.