Topsy Turvy follows in the path of the big show stopping music numbers of Disney. Other songs like this included (but not limited to) Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid), Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast) and A Friend Like Me ( Aladdin). Unlike these, Topsy Turvy is not a show stopper, it doesn’t stop the movie for the sake of a spectacle, but instead  Topsy Turvy propels the plot forward.

 

Clopin during the Feast of Fools Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin during the Feast of Fools Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

There is a lot that happens within the course of the song with regards to story telling. The festive starts and Quasimodo gets caught in the swing of it, Quasimodo meets Esmeralda, Esmeralda dances getting the attention of Quasimodo, Phoebus and Frollo, the King of Fools contest starts, and Quasimodo is crown the king.  There so much that happens that the song is broken up into four part essentually. These parts are well connected and the last portation with Quasimodo as the King of Fools features a keynote change to denote the ending of the song.

Clopin Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback Notre Dame picture image

Clopin Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback Notre Dame

Quasimodo Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Disney Esmeralda Hunchback of Notre Dame Dance picture image

Esmeralda's Dance Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as the song is concerned it’s fun. It’s very celbratory, the lyrics are clever and Paul Kandel does well singing it. It’s the only Disney song to use a word meaning prostitutes. The line “Join the bums and theives and strumpets,” a strumpets is an old fashion word for a prostitute or a harlot. Kind of intresting that the only Dinsey song to use a word for prostitute would also feature a pole dance.

 

Reversal Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Reversal Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quasimodo reacting to the craziness Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo reacting to the craziness Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Topsy Turvy CG Crowd Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Topsy Turvy CG Crowd Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The visuals help make this song memorable. There lots of  reversals to help keep the momentum going and the fun up. This visually also give Quasimodo something to react to and since he is seeing all this craziness for the first time, Quasimodo acts as the audience in this song.  There is a cast of thousand. The crowds were made using CG and at the time were a feat but the crowd in movie hasn’t aged well.

 

Clopin Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback Notre Dame image picture

Clopin Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback Notre Dame

The song has several reference that harken back to Victor Hugo’s Novel. First the lyrics mention the date a being January 6, which is the day the Feast of Fools took place on. Of course the movie doesn’t seem to take place in winter, then again it could just be unseasonably warm.

 

 

 

Disney Esmeralda Hunchback of Notre Dame Dance picture Image

Esmeralda's Dance Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

Another Reference is Clopin referring to Esmeralda as “La Esmeralda”. Esmeralda in the book is very often referenced to with the article “La.”

 

 

 

 

Shock the Priest Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Shock the Priest Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

The last reference and probably the most interesting. Is on the line “shock the priest” Clopin is holding a Frollo puppet. This is a clear reference to Frollo being a priest in the book.

 

 

 

Quasimodo as the King of Fools Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo as the King of Fools Topsy Turvy Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

The song itself is fine, it big and fun but it’s not my favorite. I would position this song in the middle of the ranking  however I can understand why many would like it, it’s a fun song that adds to the movie and alludes to the book very appropriately.

 

Next Song – God Help the Outcast

Esmeralda Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame singing "God Help the Outcast" picture image

Esmeralda singing "God Help the Outcast" Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

http://youtu.be/7DCALg2levk

Frollo and Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo and Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Frollo and Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo and Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out There is for all intended purposes is a solo but its prelude is duet between Frollo and Quasimodo. Frollo sings about how awful the world is as a means for controlling Quasimodo. When Frollo departs the scene, the mood of the song changes into  Quasimodo singing about a yearning to venture beyond the tower and go flocking with the normal people.

 

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Ariel Disney The Little Mermaid picture image

Ariel Disney The Little Mermaid

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is no good way to say it, Out There is a knock off of “Part of your World” from the Little Mermaid.  Lots of Disney characters sing this “wanting more” type of song but Out There and Part of that World express the some thought. And it’s interesting that they both point to a direction; up for Ariel and down for Quasimodo and they both mention a desire for the sun and to be with “the people”. They also kind of look alike, red hair and they both wear green.

 

 

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

So how is the song on a music level? Got say, the song it’s self is pretty typical Disney fare. It’s one of the typical songs you’ll hear in a Disney movie, the dreamer’s song. It’s usually the main character singing about wanting something more. This song is just Quasimodo singing about even if just one day he wants to apart of the people. The music is fine, it’s nice and symphomatic. The lyrics are very repetitive: he wants to be to live a day with the regular people, I get. Quasimodo does come off naive to think that just because people live “out there” this qualifies them as normal and he also insinuates that it’s a gift for them to be normal despite the whole issue with gypsies who have to live in catacombs to avoid Frollo’s genocide tendencies.

 

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

The singing is where this song fails for me. Hulce’s vibrato  has too much of a wobble for me. I think this fast vibrato is meant to give Quasimodo an innocence and naivety but it too much wobble. The wobbly vibrato ruins Hulce’s performance for me and do think he a decent enough singer otherwise.

 

 

 

 

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quasimodo singing "Out There" Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney picture image

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best part of the song in the movie is the visuals. I remember the first time I saw it, the part where Quasimodo slid down the buttress was my favorite visual, I thought it looked fun, of course as a kid I thought it was a water slide and not a support structure.  I really enjoy Quasimodo interacting with the Notre Dame, he may be dreaming on being on terra firma but Notre Dame is like his private playground.

 

Belle, Carpet, Pumbaa Disney Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King

Belle, Carpet, and Pumbaa

Frollo in the Square during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo in the Square during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Satellite Dish during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Satellite Dish during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a few things that appear in the song that many viewers don’t seem to notice. The first are cameos, which people do notice. The Cameos are Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Pumba (The Lion King) and Carpet (Aladdin). Two other things, is Frollo can be seen in the square as Quasimodo is looking down and a satillite dish can be seen on a house in the bird’s view of Paris or La Cite in this case.

 

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

So the song is by no means in the top tier of the songs in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, it by no means is it the worst. It’s just a VERY typical formulaic Disney song.

 

Next Time –Topsy Turvy

Clopin during the Feast of Fools Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin during the Feast of Fools Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

So I’m stilly working on my writ-up on Out There but I finshed a new lens on Quasimodo al la Notre Dame. Those Notre Dame actors lenses are a lot of work but there worth it. I’ll add to the Squidoo page later.

 

Garou as Quasimodo Notre Dame de Paris image picture

Garou as Quasimodo Notre Dame de Paris

http://www.squidoo.com/quasimodo_notre_dame_de_paris

 

Also I made this promaotional “DMV” (Disney Music Video) . It’s basically a summary of the movie to music from the movie. It was made back in June.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

What can we say about Disney’s Archdeacon in terms of looks? Well he’s old, he has white hair, he has long bushy sideburns and eyebrows.  He has a square-ish face with a bulbous nose. He’s not much of a looker.

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Archdeacon Stopped Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much like the 1939 version his duds look modern and not medieval. I give Disney a little credit this vestments  look less modern than the 1939 version, but not enough to praise Disney for their  astute costume research.

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Archdeacon is also ages during the film. When we first see him in the flashback,  his hair is just grayish black.  In the DVD commentary, the directors made a point of mentioning how Frollo looked 20 years younger in the flashback, and in a subtle was he does a little bit but you can really see it with the Archdeacon’s look. Mainly because Frollo goes from ashen gray to gray whereas the Archdeacon goes from grayish black to white.  Not sure who is older, Frollo or the Archdeacon, my guess would be the Archdeacon.

David Ogden Stiers  voice of the Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre dame picture image

David Ogden Stiers, voice of the Archdeacon

Cogsworth from Disney Beauty and the Beast picture image

Cogsworth from Disney Beauty and the Beast

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Archdeacon also bares a striking resemblance to his Voice Actor David Ogden Stiers. It’s part of Disney’s process to record the voice actors during their recodring session and infuse the voice actore into character’s animation and character design. This would mean that the Archdeacon and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast look-alike

 

 

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Smile picture image

Archdeacon smiling oddly Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

That’s pretty much it,  he’s not in the movie for long and he only kind of a main characters so I think his looks are more functional than indicative of personality. But he does make a creepy smile. Expressions  are one thing Disney excels at.  (I don’t know,  I find that smile really odd, maybe it’s the half closed eyes and the downward tilt of his head and the upward eyebrow.)

 

Well that’s it, we’re done with the character analysis of Disney (Hooray!)

Next Time – Voice Acting….

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Frollo's Long is nose and he wears a truss/dress Disney Hunhcback of Notre Dame picture image
Frollo’s Long is nose and he wears a truss/dress Disney Hunhcback of Notre Dame

Hugo, Victor and Laverne are the agents of forced levity in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. They all have distinct personally and looks.

Hugo Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Hugo Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Hugo is the short and fat one. He has a pig nose, thin horns that point straight up, bat-like wings, hooves for hand, rounded teeth and animal-like ears. He also for some reason is the only one of the three gargoyles to have a belly button. Hugo is the most animal looking among the three. This is he is the crudest and I think Disney thinks that he’s the funniest, in the infantile sense so he has to look somewhat amusing or people are going to believe he’s the “funny” one.

Victor Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Victor Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Victor is the tallest  and largest of the three. He also the most muscular of the three. He’s the only one not to have horns, instead he has elf-like ears, large angel wings, an underbite, two fanged teeth and his hands are more like claws , almost human but a tad more beastly than human. His nose is stylized but almost human. His more human-like form is  indicative of his prissy-like, prime, introverted personality.

Victor and Laverne singing A Guy like you Disney Hunchback of Notre dame picture image
Victor and Laverne singing A Guy like you Disney Hunchback of Notre dame

Laverne is the female of the group. She has the most human-like hands. Her face looks old and she has no teeth. She has cherub wings, fatter and short horns than Hugo and there’re wider. She also have like a crown like detail that frames her horns. Her ears and nose like the most human too except her nose is a bit bulbous.  Her no nonsense, tell it like it is personality is the reason why her features look more human than Victor and Hugo. The human-look enables Laverne to be take more seriously. I mean if she looked like Hugo, I doubt people who believe her “old women who tells it like it is” persona.

Gargoyle Concept Art Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Gargoyle Concept Art Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Gargoyles Concept Art Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Gargoyles Concept Art Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Gargoyle Concept Art Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Gargoyle Concept Art Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Looking at the concept art, the gargoyles went through a lot of revisions. But the gargoyles went through at lot of revisions as the film progress during the course of it’s animation.  It was originally convinced that these three gargoyles were the stone mason’s cast-off and they’re something of outcast which is why Quasimodo gravitated towards these three, if the imagination theory is true (which like so many other things in this movie is inconsistent in it’s execution).  The film never did played this angle. Also they were going to have tiny imperfections like a chip ear, but that was never realized either in the film.

Stains on Gargoyles Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Stains on Gargoyles Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Early in the production and this can be seen on the gargoyles in their  introductory scene, the gargoyles have stains on them from the elements. The studio had maps for each gargoyle in order to keep the stains consistently placed.  Then the idea was abandoned as the film progress.  Funny it’s it, they tried so hard to be consistent on a detail that few noticed and then abandoned it but they very inconsistent with the light in the characters eyes.

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image
Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Next Time – The Looks of the Archdeacon

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