The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Year: 1996
Stars: Tom Hulce, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline, Demi Moore, Heidi Mollenhauer (voices)
The last film of the Bank Holiday weekend, the adverts for this Disney film made it look as if it could be enjoyable - and I'd never seen it before.
The plot follows Quasimodo, the hunchback who is locked up in the bell tower of the Notre Dame until he escapes to go to the Festival of Fools. There he meets the gypsy Esmeralda, and the Guard Phoebus. Their attempts to escape from Quasimodo's guardian, Frollo, are what make up the majority of the film.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame deals with some pretty adult issues, particularly when focussing on Frollo - the most evil, but perhaps the most interesting, of all the characters here. However, kids may well be unlikely to notice - or will at least simply enjoy how evil the character is and not worry about the issues behind it.
Having said that, there are some lags in the film and I have seen films that engage my attention far more successfully from beginning to end. On top of that, whilst most of the songs are enjoyable, some do grate a little, and none are particularly memorable. Not a bad Disney effort, but not my favourite.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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