Melody & Quasimodo, Enchanted Tales, Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Melody & Quasimodo, Enchanted Tales, Hunchback of Notre Dame

The second song in the Enchanted Tales Version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame might be least awful. It has its issues but of all the songs it’s the least that toys with your sanity.

Melody and Quasimodo  Enchanted Tales Hunchback of Notre Dame  picture image

Melody and Quasimodo

Let’s just call this song “The Bells all Ring.” It’s the love song of the movie as it sung by Melody and Quasimodo about love. This song comes out of no where, like whiplash. Quasimodo comments on her magic and BAM singing mice. That’s right, fucking singing mice, why? I have no earthly idea.

Melody and Quasimodo  Enchanted Tales Hunchback of Notre Dame  picture image

Melody and Quasimodo

The song uses bell imagery to show that they hear music when the see or are with each other. Two things, they took the bell imagery too far as they sing about alarms clocks and telephones. Even if this movie has no idea the time period it’s set in, it is made to look medieval, alarm clocks and telephones should not be mentioned. Second, the idea that they are in love and hear music is sweet or would be if they they had more than 2 minutes of interaction with each other.

Melody and Quasimodo  Enchanted Tales Hunchback of Notre Dame  picture image

Melody and Quasimodo

The music is cheesy but it’s cheesy song so it’s not so bad. There are some really nice bell sounds. The most cheesy it goes is the little twinkle sounds.

Melody and Quasimodo Enchanted Tales Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Melody and Quasimodo

The lyrics with exception of the alarm and the telephone are ok. They are a little repeated and the ding dong ding lines are dumb but there are some good one. Like “When I’m looking at you it’s so sublime, I can feel the bells within me chime.” Yeah the lyrics are cheesy but given the other songs this movie, it’s is like a masterwork although the lyrics are mostly dumb.

Random Mice Enchanted Tales Hunchback of Notre Dame  picture image

Random Mice

Animation like the rest of the movie is bad. They repeat the mice choir and the lips sync is just cringe worthy.

Melody and Quasimodo  with the random mice Enchanted Tales Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Melody and Quasimodo with the random mice

Of all the songs, this is the only one that makes sense in a Hunchback movie. Sure, it’s a love song between Quasimodo and an Esmeralda-stand-in with bell imagery but fits in to the story. And it’s the only song that feels intentional and part of the narrative. Which is saying something as it comes out of nowhere.

Melody and Quasimodo Enchanted Tales picture image

Melody and Quasimodo

Saying it’s the least awful song is not saying a lot, it’s still a bad song. This song is also played over the credit so the movie thinks it’s the best too.

Next Time; Stupid Song Number Three

Melody, a.k.a Not Esmeralda in Jail awaiting death, Enchanted Tales, Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Melody, a.k.a Not Esmeralda in Jail awaiting death

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunchback of Nowhere has several big nods and several small nods to the original book and to the Disney movie.

Eustace falling off the barn, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere picture image

Eustace falling off the barn, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere

The bigs one are handbells and the trapezes. Both are clever tweaks on the massive Cathedral bells and Quasimodo’s acrobatics. Though why are there trapezes in the Bagge’s barn, I have no idea. Another big one is at the climax of the episode, Eustace falls from the roof. This is a clear reference to Frollo falling from Notre Dame. So it would seem that the barn is playing Notre Dame in this episode.

Courage, Quasimodo & the handbells, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere picture image

Courage, Quasimodo & the handbells, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere

The theory is made evident by a rose window in the barn. You can see it when Quasimodo is playing the bells when Courage finds him in the barn.

Quasimodo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere picture image

Quasimodo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere

Then there is Quasimodo uttering the line “Out there.” This is defiantly a reference to the Disney movie where Quasimodo sings a song called “Out There” in which he hopes for a day in the normal world. In the episode Quasimodo says the line with hope and optimism.

Swinging Quasimodo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere picture image

Swinging Quasimodo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere

The references are clear, playful and do not bog down the episode. They feel fairly natural within the brief time constraints of the episode though I confess the trapeze while cute is a bit of a stretch.

Next Time; Conclusion

Quasimodo reading an insult, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere picture image

Quasimodo reading an insult, Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Hunchback of Nowhere

The Bells of Notre Dame picture image

The Bells of Notre Dame

Weighting in at an impressive 13271kg and singing a lovely F#2; Meet Emmanuel, the leader of the group.

Marie, the Glamorous one,  weighs 6023kg and belts a delightful G#2.

Gabriel, the Shy one, weighs 4162 kg and makes a sweet A#2.

The Heart-breaker of the ensemble, Anne Geneviève weighs  3477 kg and omits an enticing B2.

Denis, the Smooth one weighs 2502 kg and serenades the people with a  cool C#3.

Marcel, the Cute one weighs 1925 kg and  makes an angelic D#3.

Étienne, the Graceful one, weighs  1494 kg chants a magical E#3.

Bad-Boy, Benoît-Joseph, weighs 1309 kg blasts a strong F#3.

Maurice, the Heartthrob of the group, weight 1011 kg and charms the ladies with his seductive G#3.

Jean-Marie, the Wild  one, weights 782 kg and makes a daring A#3.

Check their live performance for Notre Dame 850 birthday

(Personality traits of the bells are meant for humor purposes only)

And she getting new bells that will sound closer to how they sounded in Medieval times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxln9JP-B3Y

 

 

Quasimodo walks into a bar, strolls straight up to the barman and says, “I’ll have a whisky please.”

The barman says, “Bells alright?”

Quasimodo replies, “Mind your own business.”

(Bells is a brand of Whisky)

Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) & Margaret (Nicholle Tom) in The Nanny S02x10 picture image

Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) & Margaret (Nicholle Tom) in The Nanny S02x10

Season 2 episode 10 of The Nanny entitled “The Whine Cellar” has a Hunchback reference. Fran Fine is throwing a party for her mother and when Margaret asks if they’ll be any boys her age there, Fran’s mother suggests they set her up with Cousin Irving who is “a nice boy with a wonderful personality.” Fran retorts with ” is he still ringing the bell at Notre dame?”

Watch the full episode here, reference starts at 1:42.

Click the letter to make it red when you have found a word, Enjoy.

N P A R I S G G O M F
O H U N C H B A C K L
T O G R I N G O I R E
R E A B D T A O G N U
E B I G A L A C Q I R
D U E G N R I L A J D
A S S N C U D O E G E
M R M D E U R P Y Y L
E M E M L O D I F P Y
C N R B K L I N R S S
E R A E E E D H O Y P
R D L L A D O A L A M
L D D L N G N D L I C
Q U A S I M O D O H G

Words to Find:

Bells
Clopin
Dance
Djali
Esmeralda
FleurdeLys
Frollo
Goat

Gringoire
Gypsy
Hunchback
NotreDame
Paris
Phoebus
Quasimodo

This Word Search generated with the Artistic Network Word Search Generator.

In all seriousness Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame really only has the basic premise of the original novel. All the characters differ in attitudes and backstorys. The way the story unfolds and comes to its conclusion is different because of the characters.

The biggest difference is the Characters;

Frollo Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney picture image

Frollo Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney

 

In making Frollo a judge and not a priest we loss his turmoil which makes Frollo an interesting and complex character. I really don’t care as much about his lust and obsession for Esmeralda just because he hate Gypsies. Also in the book, his obsession occurs slowly. He sees her and is instantly taken by her youthful beauty. After that he begins stalking her and by kidnapping her he forces the the plot to take action. In the Disney movie, Quasimodo doesn’t have the some loyalty and Frollo abuses him by telling him he’s a monster and keeps him locked in the tower. In the book Frollo did no such thing and Quasimodo could leave  Notre Dame if he wished.

 

 

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo during Out There Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quasimodo in the Disney movie is very much like Ariel. He wants to live with the normal people. He is very naive, kind and gentle. In the book, Quasimodo is kind and loyal  to those who have been kind to him  i.e Frollo and Esmeralda. However, Quasimodo is also angry and doesn’t really like people. He would never want to leave Notre Dame as Notre Dame is his universe. He loves Notre Dame so much that he is very much  a part of it and his lovers are bells. The relationship between Quasimodo and Notre Dame is destroyed in the Disney version as Notre Dame is not so much a sanctuary but a prison. Also in the movie Disney he briefly mentions the bell but you don’t get the sense that he loves the bells. I also don’t see this Quasimodo killing Frollo in fit of rage or lying down next to Esmeralda to die.

 

 

Disney Esmeralda Hunchback of Notre Dame Dance picture image

Esmeralda’s Dance Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

Esmeralda is the polar opposition between Disney movie and the book. In the book she is at least part French and is young, beautiful, naive, shallow, childish and kind of dumb. In the Disney movie, while she is beautiful, she has none of the other traits, though the youth is debatable.  She is confident and is in control of her sexual appeal. In the Disney version she is a full Gypsy and we are never given any sense of her backstory. In the book she was unaware of her beauty and she lacks any worldliness. This naivety is what gets her into trouble in the book and ultimately is what kills her and not a passion for social justice.

 

 

 

Phoebus Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Phoebus Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Phoebus in the book is a jerk who is kind of dumb and just wants to sleep with pretty girls. Also he is two-timing cheat, who despite being engaged he tries sleeps with every good-looking girl he can.  In the Disney version is he is noble, moral and likes to crack bad jokes.  Not like book Phoebus at all.

 

 

Clopin Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Clopin in the book in the leader of the Court of Miracles, not the Gypsies. The Leader of the Gypsy in the book was the Duke of Egypt. Typically, the leader of the Court of Miracles and the Leader of the Gypsy get fused into one which is  Clopin. That’s a minor issue. Compared to Frollo, Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Phoebus; Disney Clopin’s differences are not so bad. He tells stories like Gringoiore (a character in book) and is the leader of the Court of Miracles; he’s two characters in one, or three.

 

 

Djali Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Djali Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Djali in the Disney movie is a pretty minor character who doesn’t do anything other than add some charm and humor. In the book however Djali is pretty essential to the plot. Djali is the prime evidence for why Esmeralda is convicted of being a witch. Goats were considered to be representational of the devil and the tricks innocence tricks Djali performed like spelling and telling the time were thought to be the work of witchcraft by the judges in the book. Of course, since the plot veers so far the book it doesn’t really matter. Djali’s main function in the movie is a cute sidekick who sells toys to children.

 

The Gargoyles do not count, they’re not in the book.

 

Xed Gargoyles Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame image picture

 Gargoyles Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

It really does seems like someone early in production took the cliff notes of Hugo’s book, throw them into a blender, strained, added water and poured out the Disney Plot. Then that  got re-written by those people who didn’t read. And the differences in the characters in proof that.

 

Next time – Minor Differences,

Clopin Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin with puppet during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Bells of Notre Dame is the opening to the movie. Click Here to get The Bells Of Notre Dame

http://youtu.be/Tv4W0VkoUfM

The Opening Shot of  Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

The Opening Shot of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame

Paris Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame  picture image

Paris during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Clopin Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bells of Notre Dame starts off like The 1939  version, very appropriately with Bells  and Latin choir  (unlike the 1939 version). The bells grow in intensity till the title screen goes away and the opening scene starts and  the melody of the  refrain from Hellfire is heard. From this you get a major sense of drama before you see a single person. Then tone turns gentle and quite, then intense, then more intense. This song is like a roller coaster.

 

Clopin with Puppet bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin with Puppet during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quasimodo's Mother Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo's Mother Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Frollo Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bells of Notre Dame does a few things for the movie, it introduces three main character, showcases Notre Dame’s importance as the setting of the film and explains the relationship between Quasimodo and Frollo. Disney had a bit of the problem with nature of Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, Frollo isn’t the colossal jerk he is in the Book. He takes Quasimodo in after being moved by empathy for him, not by getting scared by a Statue and the Archdeacon because he murder an innocent women in front of the most important spiritual centers in France and fears hell that takes the baby of his victim as an act of contrition. But Disney villains are never ones for charitable act so Frollo is co-forced into  looking after Quasimodo. The Bells of Notre Dame also presents the viewers with the moral of the story, “what makes a monster and what makes a man”.

 

Frollo chases Quasimodo's mother during The Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo chases Quasimodo's mother during The Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quasimodo's Mother Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo's Mother Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Murder of Quasimodo's Mother Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

The Murder of Quasimodo's Mother Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Song also sets up the tone of the movie. Disney boosts that Hunchback is their darkest film, and yes it is, but it is after all a Disney film and there is a lot of “humor” in it. The Bells of Notre Dame present both facets, the humor, light-hearted Disney Flair and the darker aspects. The dark aspect are easy to see, the backstory, Frollo kills a women, tries to kill a baby and saddled into raising it. The humor comes from Clopin regaling the children with his puppet (love the Clopin Puppet). But even Clopin here is delighting in the dark dramatics of the story.

 

Frollo Hunchback of Notre Dame seeing Quasimodo for the 1st time Disney picture image

Frollo seeing Quasimodo for the 1st time Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Well Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

The Well Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

But is the song itself successful? Yes, yes it. I would so that it’s one of the best song in the movie right up there with Hellfire. It’s dramatic,  epic, and grand. Unlike Hellfire which has a benefits of being more  focused, Bells of Notre Dame has to fulfill it’s purpose and  has a lot of ground to cover musically. It’s starts with a Latin choir, goes into a more gentle tone and the gets  darker as the Gypsies are introduced along with Frollo, The Choir returns but more intense as Frollo  chases Quasimodo’s mother. There are so many vignettes in this song that it could have been a mess but it’s handle musically very well and the music intensifies the dramatics of the action.

Frollo in fear for his soul Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo in fear for his soul during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Notre Dame Sees all Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Notre Dame Sees all Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

Frollo and Baby Quasimodo bells Disney Hunch back of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo and Baby Quasimodo during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunch back of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

Originally this wasn’t even going to be a song, it was going to be spoken dialogue. I’m glad they made it into a song because it’s one of the better songs in the movie. It was the perfect way for the movie to start. Your given a tone, setting, characters, motivation, drama, and some light humor. I would say it’s one the best Disney’s openings. Seriously, Clopin’s crescendo at the end is amazing, it’s probably the single greatest bit of singing in the movie, maybe even Disney History.

Clopin Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Clopin during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

A Puppet of Quasimodo bells Disney Hunchback of notre dame picture image

A Puppet of Quasimodo during the Bells of Notre Dame Disney Hunchback of notre dame

Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Bells Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Time – Part of that World,  oh wait, I mean Out There.

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

Quasimodo singing "Out There" Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame