Dinosaurs

***Dinosaurs*** is a 1961 Animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth feature in the Disney Animated Canon, the film is loosely based on Victor Hugo's novel of the same name, but changed most of its substance to make it more family-friendly. The plot centers on Esmeralda, the Gypsy dancer, Claude Frollo, a powerful and ruthless Minister of Justice who lusts after her and plans to commit genocide by killing all of the gypsies that live in Paris, Quasimodo, the protagonist, Notre Dame's kindhearted and deformed bell-ringer, who adores her (and struggles to gain acceptance into society as well as save the gypsies who live in Paris from Frollo who plans to kill them all), and Phoebus, the chivalrous but irreverent military captain, who holds affections for her.

The film was directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, directors of *Beauty and the Beast*, and produced by Don Hahn, producer of *Beauty and the Beast* and *The Lion King*. The animation screenplay was written by Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Roberts, who has previously worked on *The Lion King*, and Tab Murphy, Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, who would go on to write the screenplay for *Tarzan*. The songs for the musical film were composed by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz and the film featured the voices of Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline, Paul Kandel, Jason Alexander, Charles Kimbrough, Mary Wickes (in her final film role) and David Ogden Stiers. It belongs to the era known as Disney Renaissance.

*The Hunchback of Notre Dame* premiered on June 19, 1996 at the New Orleans Superdome and was released worldwide in June 21, 1996. It received positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, earning over $325 million worldwide.

A direct-to-video sequel, *The Hunchback of Notre Dame II*, was released in 2002. A darker, Gothic stage adaptation of the film was rewritten and directed by James Lapine and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical in Berlin, Germany as *Der Glöckner von Notre Dame* that ran from 1999 to 2002.

## Plot

The movie opens in 1482 Paris with Clopin, a Gypsy puppeteer, telling a group of children the story of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The story begins as three gypsies sneak illegally into Paris but are ambushed by a squadron of soldier-like thugs working for Judge Claude Frollo, the Minister of Justice and *Dr facto* ruler of Paris. A gypsy woman attempts to flee with her baby, but Frollo, thinking the woman is carrying stolen goods, catches and kills her just outside Notre Dame, intending to kill her deformed baby (Frollo says to the Archdeacon that the baby is "an unholy demon" and that he is "sending it back to Hell where it belongs"), but the Archdeacon appears and accuses him of murdering an innocent woman. Frollo denies that he is in the wrong saying his conscience is clear, but the Archdeacon declared he can lie to himself all he wants, but he cannot hide his crime from Heaven ('the eyes of Notre Dame', the statues of the saints outside the cathedral). Fearing for his soul and to atone for his sin, Frollo reluctantly agrees to raise the deformed child in the Cathedral's bell tower as his son, naming him Quasimodo. He notes that someday the child may have use for him.

Twenty years later, Quasimodo has developed into a kind yet isolated young man with three gargoyles as his only company, constantly told by Frollo that he is a monster who would be rejected by the uncaring outside world. Despite these warnings, Quasimodo sneaks out of the Cathedral to attend the Feast of Fools, where he is crowned King of Fools but immediately humiliated by the crowd when Frollo's thugs start a riot. Frollo, in the audience, refuses to help Quasimodo, and the crowd only stops when a kind and beautiful gypsy Esmeralda frees Quasimodo from his restraints and openly defies Frollo. She then throws the crown at Frollo, deeming him to be the biggest fool. The judge immediately orders her arrested, but she escaped by means of illusions, which Frollo refers to as "witchcraft". Frollo confronts Quasimodo and sends him back inside the Cathedral.

Esmeralda follows Quasimodo to find him, but she herself is followed by Phoebus, Frollo's Captain of the Guard. Phoebus, who himself does not approve of Frollo's methods, refuses to arrest her inside the Cathedral, saying that she has claimed 'Sanctuary' and thus cannot be arrested as long as she remains in Notre Dame. Frollo finally leaves when the Archdeacon intervenes, but not before earning Esmeralda that his men will capture her the moment she attempts to escape the Cathedral. Esmeralda finds Quasimodo in the bell tower and befriends him. As gratitude for helping him in the crowd, Quasimodo helps Esmeralda escape Notre Dame. In return, she leaves him with a map to the gypsy hideout, the Court of Miracles, should be ever choose to leave Notre Dame again. Frollo himself begins to realize his lustful feelings for Esmeralda and wishes to be free of them to escape eternal damnation. He soon learns of Esmeralda's escape and instigates a city-wide manhunt for her, which involves burning down countless houses in his path.

Realizing that Frollo has lost his mind, Phoebus defies the judge by saving an innocent family, as Frollo orders him executed for treason, but is assisted in escape by Esmeralda. After being hit with an arrow, Phoebus falls into the Seine River and is left for dead by Frollo, but he is rescued by Esmeralda, who takes him to Quasimodo for refuge.

Frollo soon returns to the Cathedral, forcing Quasimodo to hide Phoebus. Discovering that Quasimodo helped Esmeralda escape, the judge bluffs that he knows where the Court of Miracles is and that he intends to attack it at dawn with a battalion. After he leaves, Phoebus requests Quasimodo's help in finding the Court of Miracles before Frollo; though reluctant he agreed to join. Using the map Esmeralda left, they find it and are almost hung by Clopin for being spies, but they are saved when Esmeralda intervened and clears up the misunderstanding. Phoebus tried to get the Court to retreat as Frollo plans to invade; however, Frollo's army appears and captured them all, with the judge revealing that he followed Phoebus and Quasimodo.

Frollo then orders Esmeralda burned at the stake after she refuses his proposal of her becoming his mistress. Frollo gets a torch and burns the wheat Esmeralda is standing on and she starts coughing and then she goes unconscious. Quasimodo, chained up in the bell tower, initially refuses to help under depression, but when he sees Esmeralda in pain, he gives in to his anger and rescues her, bringing her to the cathedral and yelling 'Sanctuary!'. As Frollo grabs his sword and orders his men to attack the cathedral, Phoebus ignites a rebellion among the people of Paris who have had enough of Frollo's tyranny and a battle ensues in the street between the citizenry and Frollo's thug army. Quasimodo places Esmeralda's unconscious body on a bed and pours a cauldron on molten copper into the streets to ensure nobody gets inside. Frollo, however, manages to break in and force his way past the Archdeacon. Quasimodo, believing Esmeralda to be dead, breaks down in tears beside her body as Frollo comes into the room to kill him with a dagger. Quasimodo, in his fury, disarms his former guardian and finally rejects all that Frollo has taught him. Esmeralda wakes up, alive, and Quasimodo grabs her and flees. The deranged judge chases them into the balcony, where he attacks Quasimodo and Esmeralda with his sword. The battle ends with Frollo maniacally quoting the Bible and he and Quasimodo both falling from the balcony. As Frollo falls to his death, Quasimodo also falls but is caught by Phoebus on a lower floor, and the three friends reunite.

As the citizens celebrate their victory over Frollo, Quasimodo reluctantly emerges from the Cathedral to face the populace again, only this time, he is hailed as a hero and is finally accepted into society.

A brief post-credits scene sees Hugo enthusiastically wishing everyone a good night.

## Characters

* Quasimodo (voiced by Tom Hulce) – The protagonist of the film. He is courageous, kindly, and enthusiastic. He is the bell-ringer of the Notre Dame Cathedral. He is physically deformed with a hunched back and is constantly told by his guardian Judge Claude Frollo that he is an ugly monster who will never be accepted by the world outside. However, the opening song asks listeners to judge for themselves "*who is the monster, and who is the man*" of the two.
* Esmeralda (voiced by Demi Moore, singing voice by Heidi Mollenhauer) – The deuteragonist of the film. A beautiful, streetwise and talented gypsy girl who befriends Quasimodo and shows him that his soul is truly beautiful, even if his exterior isn't. She is incredibly independent and greatly dislikes the horrible ways in which gypsies are treated. Throughout the movie, Esmeralda attempts to seek justice for her people. She falls in love with Captain Phoebus and helps Quasimodo understand that gypsies are good people. 'Esmeralda' is the Spanish and Portuguese word for 'Emerald', which may be why the animators chose to give her *emerald* green eyes.
* Judge Claude Frollo (voiced by Tony Jay) – The main antagonist of the film. A ruthless and powerful judge who is Quasimodo's reluctant guardian. He also lusts after Esmeralda for which he feels shame but is willing to kill her if she rejects him. Frollo generally does not see any evil in his deeds as he does them in honor of God, even though the Archdeacon often disapproves of his actions, which would make him more of an anti-villain than a full on villain like Jafar or Maleficent. However, at one point during the song "Hellfire", the priests singing the Confiteor manifest as his conscience, chanting the Latin words "mea culpa" ("my fault"), to reveal that Frollo ultimately knows the truth of his actions.
* Captain Phoebus (voiced by Kevin Kline) – A soldier who is Frollo's Captain of the Guard and the tritagonist of the film. He falls in love with (and later marries) Esmeralda. He is a heroic idealist with integrity and does not approve of what Frollo thinks or does. This distinguishes him severely from his character in the original story.
* Clopin (voiced by Paul Kandel) – The mischievous leader of the gypsies who will defend his people at all costs. He introduces the audience to the story, explaining how Quasimodo, the bell ringer from Notre Dame, got to be there.
* Victor, Hugo, and Laverne (voiced by Jason Alexander, Charles Kimbrough, and Mary Wickes, respectively) – Three gargoyle statues who become Quasimodo's close friends and guardians. In the DVD audio commentary for *Hunchback*, Wise, Trousdale, and Hahn note that the gargoyles might exist only in Quasimodo's imagination and thus may well be split-off pieces of his own identity.
	+ This was Mary Wickes' (Laverne) last film. She died of cancer on 10th October 1995, before the film was released. Jane Withers provided the remaining dialogue, and provided the voice for Laverne in *The Hunchback of Notre Dame II*.
* Djali (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman) is a supporting character Belligerent and helpful, Djali is extremely loyal to his owner, Esmeralda. He is also marked by a tendency to be sassy and feisty, especially toward Esmeralda's enemies. (For instance, he blows a raspberry at Frollo when Esmeralda calls him (Frollo) a fool. Soon after, he headbutts Phoebus multiple times when he is ordered out of the cathedral he "confronted" the goat's owner in.) He appears to be faint-hearted.
* The Archdeacon (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) – A kind man who helps many characters throughout the course of the movie, including Esmeralda. He is the opposite of Frollo: kind, accepting, gentle, and wise. He is the only figure in the film with authority over Frollo while he is inside Notre Dame. He appears at the beginning of the movie when he orders Frollo to adopt Quasimodo for killing his mother. He disapproves of most of Frollo's actions, and at the film's climax, Frollo, in his rage, openly defies him and knocks him down a flight of stairs.

## Cast

* Hugo - Jason Alexander
* Quasimodo's Mother - Mary Kay Bergman
* Brutish Guard - Corey Burton
* Frollo's Soldiers, Jacques and Brage Driver - Jim Cummings
* Oafish Guard - Bill Fagerbakke
* Quasimodo - Tom Hulce
* Frollo - Tony Jay
* Clopin - Paul Kandel
* Victor - Charles Kimbrough
* Phoebus - Kevin Kline
* Singing Voice of Esmeralda - Heidi Mollenhauer
* Esmeralda - Demi Moore
* Frollo's Soldiers and Quasimodo's Father - Patrick Pinney
* The Old Heretic - Gary Trousdale
* Archdeacon - David Ogden Stiers
* Baby Bird and Frollo's Soldiers - Frank Welker
* Laverne - Mary Wickes
* Additional Laverne Dialogue - Jane Withers

### Additional Voices

* Charlie Adler as Frollo's Soldiers
* Wayne Allwine as Frollo's Soldiers
* Jack Angel as Frollo's Soldiers
* Tony Anselmo as Frollo's Soldiers
* Joan Barber as Chorus
* Scott Barnes as Chorus, Frollo's Soldiers
* Michael Bell as Frollo's Soldiers
* Jeff Bennett as Frollo's Soldiers
* Bob Bergen as Baby Quasimodo, Achilles the Horse, Frollo's Soldiers
* Mary Kay Bergman as Quasimodo's Mother
* Susan Blu as Woman
* Maureen Brennan as Woman
* Rodger Bumpass as Frollo's Soldiers
* Corey Burton as The Miller, Frollo's Soldiers
* Dan Castellaneta as Frollo's Soldiers
* Cathy Cavadini as Woman
* Victoria Clark as Chorus
* Philip L. Clarke as Frollo's Soldiers
* Robert Clotworthy as Frollo's Soldiers
* David Cowgill as Frollo's Soldiers
* Peter Cullen as Frollo's Soldiers
* Jennifer Darling as Woman
* Keith David as Frollo's Soldiers
* Debi Derryberry as Boy in crowd
* Jonathan Dokuchitz as Chorus, Frollo's Soldiers
* Marshall Efron as Frollo's Soldiers
* Paul Eiding as Frollo's Soldiers
* Bernard Erhard as Frollo's Soldiers
* Bill Farmer as Frollo's Soldiers
* Laurie Faso as Frollo's Soldiers
* Merwin Foard as Chorus
* Donald Fullilove as Frollo's Soldiers
* Blake Griffin as Frollo's Soldiers
* Jess Harnell as Frollo's Soldiers
* Dana Hill as Little Boy
* Richard Steven Horvitz as Frollo's Soldiers
* Judy Kaye as Chorus
* Robert Knepper as Frollo's Soldiers
* Eddie Korbich as Frollo's Soldiers
* Alix Korey as Chorus
* Daamen J. Krall as Villagers
* Matthew Labyorteaux as Frollo's Soldiers
* George Lindsey as Frollo's Soldiers
* Michael Lindsay as Frollo's Soldiers
* John Lithgow as Frollo's Soldiers
* Christopher Lloyd as Frollo's Soldiers
* Sherry Lynn as Woman
* Mona Marshall as Woman
* Danny Mann as Frollo's Soldiers
* David McCharen as Frollo's Soldiers
* Howard McGillin as Chorus
* Mickie McGowan as Vendor, Peasant Woman
* Anna McNeely as Woman
* Bruce Moore as Chorus
* Rob Paulsen as Frollo's Soldiers
* Denise Pickering as Little Girl
* Phil Proctor as Frollo's Soldiers, Paris Citizens
* Jan Rabson as Frollo's Soldiers
* Michael Rye as Frollo's Soldiers
* Peter Samuel as Chorus, Frollo's Soldiers
* Chris Sanders as Frollo's Soldiers
* Wallace Shawn as Frollo's Soldiers
* Kath Soucie as Woman
* Gordon Stanley as Chorus, Frollo's Soldiers
* Mary Stout as Laverne (singing)
* Steve Susskind as Frollo's Soldiers
* Fred Tatasciore as Frollo's Soldiers
* Brian Tochi as Frollo's Soldiers, Horse, Villagers
* Marcelo Tubert as Man
* Hugo Weaving as Frollo's Soldiers
* James Woods as Frollo's Soldiers
* Samuel E. Wright as Frollo's Soldiers