The Hunchback of Notre Dame

**The Hunchback of Notre Dame** is a UK VHS release by Disney Videos on 24th February 1997 and 22nd May 2000 and is a UK DVD release by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on 20th May 2002.

## Description

DISNEY'S CLASSIC, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, IS A RESOUNDING ANIMATED WONDER THAT'LL DAZZLE YOU EVERY TIME!

IT IS AN ENTERTAINMENT EXTRAVAGANZA PACKED WITH MUSIC, MERRIMENT AND SOME OF THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS EVER CREATED.

## Cast

* 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, sexy, streetwise, talented, and always-barefoot 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.
* 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-hero than a villain. 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 tritagonistof 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*.
* 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.

## Trivia

* The back cover shows a warning under the BBFC U certificate that reads: “Some scenes may be upsetting for very young children.” This is one of two Disney releases labelled with this warning, with the other being the 1995 release of *The Lion King* (1994).

## Trailers and info

### Original 1997 release (Version 1)

1. Disney Videos Piracy Warning
2. Hercules (Coming ~~MCMXCVII~~ 1997) (Coming Soon to a Cinema Near You)
3. Aladdin and the King of Thieves (Now Available Only on Video)
4. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Available Easter 1997) (Coming Soon on Video) (Coming Soon from Disney Videos)
5. The Rescuers (Available to Own May 1997)
6. A Goofy Movie (Coming Soon on Video)
7. Oliver and Company (Short Version) (Available Soon on Video)
8. Disneyland Paris 1997 (UK) (with British voiceover, Richard Briers)

### Original 1997 release (Version 2)

1. Disney Videos Piracy Warning
2. Hercules (Coming ~~MCMXCVII~~ 1997) (Coming Soon to a Cinema Near You)
3. Aladdin and the King of Thieves (Now Available Only on Video)
4. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Available Easter 1997) (Coming Soon on Video) (Coming Soon from Disney Videos)
5. The Rescuers (Available to Own May 1997)
6. A Goofy Movie (Coming Soon on Video)
7. Oliver and Company (Short Version) (Available Soon on Video)
8. Cinderella (Coming Soon on Video)
9. Disneyland Paris 1997 (UK) (with British voiceover, Richard Briers)

### 2000 Re-release

1. Disney Videos Piracy Warning
2. Hercules (Coming Soon on Video)
3. Tarzan (Coming Soon on Video)
4. Sleeping Beauty (Now Awakening on Video)
5. Walt Disney World Resort in Florida 2000 (Create the memories of a lifetime)