Where do you begin to discuss the differences between Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame and Victor Hugo’s original novel Notre Dame de Paris?
I guess it easier to discuss the similarities. They both take place in Paris, there is a hunchback who is the bell ringer of Notre Dame and a pretty gypsy girl and the main characters are attractive to her. She has a goat and is dancers. There names are the same (Quasimodo, Claude Frollo, Esmeralda, Djali, Phoebus, and Clopin) and that’s pretty much it.
Good Night everybody.
2026 edit- I mean yes. The Disney version is very divergent from the source as are many of the adaptations of the novel into other medium form are.
However credit where credit is due an aspect of the novel that the Disney version gets right is perceptive of three men on one woman. Which of those perceptive is healthy and which is toxic. This version nails that part of the novel.
I’d also add that Disney Quasimodo’s attitude towards Esmeralda shifts from being school crush which idealize her to accepting her own feelings towards for Phoebus and still choosing to save her life is very healthy. That should be more discussed than “Quasimodo not getting the girl.”
No Seriously next time we’ll go through the major differences.
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