The Hunchback of KB

***The Hunchback of KB*** is a 2010 stop-motion animated musical drama film which is based on the 1996 Disney animated film *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*, which in turn is based on the 1831 novel of the same name written by Victor Hugo. Some of the songs from the original film were re-adapted with corresponding contemporary hits.

It is KB Fan Fiction's 14th feature film and their first film of 2010.

## Premise

The film mostly follows the 1996 Disney animated film and also adapts several scenes from other adaptations and the original novel. Although the film is still set in the late 15th century, it contains numerous anachronisms such as a television set.

Set in Paris, France, Quasimodo, the hunchback bell-ringer of Notre Dame's cathedral meets a beautiful gypsy dancer, Esmeralda, and falls in love with her. So does Quasimodo's guardian, Judge Claude Frollo. But Esmeralda's in love with a handsome soldier. But when a mob mistakes her for a witch, it's up to Quasimodo to rescue her and claim sanctuary for her in the cathedral.

## Plot

The song "Heaven Can Wait" by We The Kings in the film is a recurring motif in the film.

Clopin, a Romani puppeteer, narrates the origin of the titular hunchback ("Heaven Can Wait"). In 1480, a group of Romani sneak illegally into Paris, but are ambushed by Judge Claude Frollo, Paris' Minister of Justice, and his soldiers. A Romani woman in the group attempts to flee with her deformed baby, but Frollo chases and kills her outside Notre Dame. He tries to kill the baby as well, but the cathedral's archdeacon intervenes and accuses Frollo of murdering an innocent woman. To atone for his sin, Frollo reluctantly agrees to raise the deformed child in Notre Dame as his son, naming him "Quasimodo".

Twenty years later in 1500, Quasimodo develops into a kind yet isolated young man, though still deformed and now with a pronounced hunchback, who has lived inside the cathedral his entire life. A trio of living stone gargoyles—Victor, Hugo, and Laverne—serve as Quasimodo's only company, and encourage him to attend the annually-held Festival of Fools ("World Behind My Wall" by Tokio Hotel). Despite Frollo's warnings that he would be scorned for his deformity, Quasimodo attends the festival ("Topsy Turvy" and "Fergalicious" by Fergie as a dance song) and is celebrated for his awkward appearance, only to be humiliated by the crowd after two of Frollo's guards start a riot. Frollo refuses to help Quasimodo, but Esmeralda, a kind and gutsy gypsy woman, intervenes by freeing the hunchback and giving him some water to drink, and uses a magic trick to evade arrest. Frollo confronts Quasimodo and sends him back inside the cathedral.

Esmeralda follows Quasimodo inside, only to be followed herself by Captain Phoebus of Frollo's guard. Phoebus refuses to arrest her for alleged witchcraft inside Notre Dame and instead tells Frollo that she has claimed asylum inside the church; the archdeacon orders Frollo and his men out. Esmeralda finds and befriends Quasimodo ("Only Time by Enya"), who helps her escape Notre Dame out of gratitude for defending him. She entrusts Quasimodo a pendant containing a map to the gypsies' hideout, the Court of Miracles. Frollo soon develops lustful feelings for Esmeralda and, upon realizing them, begs the Virgin Mary to save him from her "spell" to avoid eternal damnation ("Hellfire").

When Frollo discovers that she escaped, he approaches King Louis XII, King of France, asking for special powers to stop a 'gypsy witch' to protect Paris, which he is granted. With his new powers, Frollo instigates a citywide manhunt for her which involves bribing and arresting gypsies and setting fire to countless houses in his way. Horrified when Frollo orders him to burn down a building with a family inside, Phoebus openly defies him, and Frollo orders him executed. While fleeing, Phoebus is struck by an arrow and falls into the River Seine, but Esmeralda rescues him and takes him to Notre Dame for refuge. The gargoyles encourage Quasimodo to confess his feelings for Esmeralda, but he is heartbroken to discover she and Phoebus have fallen in love.

Frollo returns to Notre Dame later that night and discovers that Quasimodo helped Esmeralda escape. He bluffs to Quasimodo, saying that he knows about the Court of Miracles and that he intends to attack at dawn with his men. Using the amulet Esmeralda gave him, Quasimodo and Phoebus find the court to warn the gypsies, only for Frollo to follow them and capture all the gypsies present. Quasimodo is then sentenced to be flogged and turned on the pillory for two hours. Frollo visits Esmeralda, who is awaiting her execution, telling her that he can save her if she accepts being with him. When Esmeralda refuses, he threatens Phoebus' life and attempts to assault her. He halts when Esmeralda cries out in protest, allowing her to have a final conversation with Phoebus. Phoebus pleads for her to accept Frollo's offer to save herself, which Esmeralda refuses to do.

Frollo prepares to burn Esmeralda at the stake after she rejects his advances, but Quasimodo rescues her and brings her to the cathedral. Phoebus releases the gypsies and rallies the Paris citizens against Frollo and his men, who try to break into the cathedral. Meanwhile, Clopin writes a flyer pamphlet, which is then read by Frollo to Louis. After seeing a crowd protesting against the removal of Notre Dame's sanctuary law, Louis realizes that the pamphlet is creating public opinion, which can influence kings to make decisions. However, Frollo warns and advises him against public opinion, saying that it is dangerous. After the archdeacon arrives to inform Louis of Notre Dame's attack and that Esmeralda is innocent, Louis demands to know who the real murderer is, to which Frollo confesses his crime to Louis and walks away, leaving Louis shocked. In response, the King orders Frollo's arrest and then talks to the archdeacon about the pamphlet.

Quasimodo and the gargoyles pour molten lead onto the streets to ensure no one enters, but Frollo successfully manages to get inside after escaping the King's guards. Quasimodo, believing Esmeralda to be dead, breaks down in tears beside her unconscious body as Frollo comes into the room to kill him with a dagger. Although he was stabbed three times, Quasimodo, in his fury, disarms his former guardian and finally rejects all that Frollo had taught him. Esmeralda wakes up, alive, and Quasimodo grabs her and flees. Frollo pursues Quasimodo and Esmeralda to the balcony where he and Quasimodo fight and both fall over the edge. Frollo falls to his death, while Quasimodo is caught by Phoebus on a lower floor.

Afterward, Quasimodo comes to accept that Phoebus and Esmeralda are in love, and he gives them his blessing. Later that morning, Esmeralda is pardoned by the King and freed from her death sentence due to the success of Clopin's pamphlet and the archdeacon. Her Gypsy people are also finally freed. Esmeralda and Phoebus encourage Quasimodo to leave the cathedral into the outside world, where the citizens hail him as a hero and accept him into society. ("Heaven Can Wait")

## Trivia

* Neither Esmeralda's goat Djali nor Phoebus' horse Achilles appear in the film.

### Anachronisms

* The Symap font has been used extensively in the film as an alternative writing script.
* A television set can be seen at the bell tower.
* The water bottle handed by Esmeralda to Quasimodo in the film is a plastic bottle labeled Peri-Aid from Nando's.
* Bicycles, motorcycles and a Vespa scooter can be seen on the streets.
* Clopin uses a typewriter to write the flyer pamphlet.

### References to other *Hunchback* films

The film mostly follows the 1996 Disney animated film and also adapts several scenes from other adaptations.

### References to the Disney franchise

These references are not based on the movie, since the film largely follows the movie.

* The Festival of Fools features an arcade which contains the games *Chiseler*, *Le Food Feud*, *Catch The Fool*, *Upsy Daisy*, *Inside Outwords*, a picture puzzle and a bowling game. These games are taken from the *Topsy Turvy Games*.