Originally I was going to do a more broad stroke casting for Eva Noblezada that should be casted as a voice actress for a new Disney Princess type character.
And while I do think that Disney should go back to their roots and cast Broadway talents for their animated characters after doing the Norm Lewis post I do think Eva Noblezada would make a great choice for Esmeralda in the Disney theatrical version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
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As I mention in my hypothetical casting post for Dasha Grady, there are a few names to come up in the conversations about who should be cast as Esmeralda. One of the names that come up is singer/actress Bianca Mihai
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Thirty years ago today Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” was released in movie theaters.
Its legacy, not to be confused with the album of the same name, is fairly mixed. It lauded for being Disney’s darkest work that deals with more serious issues. It’s also criticized for its attempt of levity with gargoyles. The gargoyles especially Hugo adds cognitive dissonance to the narrative and tone. Frollo and “Hellfire” are praised for being one of best Disney villains and “Hellfire” is considered by many to be the best villain song of all times not just in Disney movies. It’s also criticized for its representation of the Romani people as well as Esmeralda picking Phoebus over Quasimodo as well as hyper sexualizing Esmeralda.
It’s simultaneously an underrated gem yet the most well-known film adaptation of the novel.
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If you are like me, you’re probably on the fan-casting side the internet, like such sites as mycast. Anyway if your are on The Hunchback of Notre Dame side of that site, which is more niche too be sure, you would see that one of the most frequent suggestions for Esmeralda is actress/singer Dasha Grady. Typically this is more for the “mythical” Disney live action remake but that’s only because it’s more popular for speculations.
Read More →Since January 26th is canonically Esmeralda’s birthday (from the novel) let’s do a Hypothetical casting for the dancer herself.
Very often when I do these Fan-cast posts I tend to ground them in some kind already establish movie take for an adaptation. Like either a Live action Disney version (which is selfed) or Notre Dame de Paris (which is never going to happen). But for this post let’s just take more by the novel interpretation and consider Bruna Marquezine for the role of Esmeralda.
Read More →Way back in the early 2010s, Tim Burton was in talks to develop a version of The Hunchback with Josh Brolin. That version however has never since materialized but there always seems to whispers and murmurs of it every now again. The most “recent” one is an article from 2019 from Backstage though that article was only updated 2019 and originally came out in March 2011 when the news first broke. It does seem that this project is dead and according to the article Burton’s involvement was contingent on the outcome of the script.
However if Burton ever got it into his head to actually develop his vision for a movie version of Hunchback, Jenna Ortega would be a likely choice for Esmeralda. This is due to Ortega becoming Burton’s muse and Burton preferring to work with the same actors for his projects. So the question is would Jenna Ortega make a good Esmeralda?
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A while ago well I did a post on Vincent Cassel for Frollo, and someone suggested in the comments that Deva Cassel, his daughter, would make a good Esmeralda, though with a different person playing as Frollo obviously.
Flash forward till now, recently Netflix released a mini series version of The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) based on the 1958 novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. The novel was made in a highly-acclaimed movie in 1963. Now I have never read the book or seen the movie but the costumes are lauded very highly so it’s been on my radar. So when I learned there was a new version on Netflix I watched it and Deva Cassel’s involvement was bonus for the purposes of a fan-cast.
Deva Cassel herself is the daughter of Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci, so she defiantly luck out in the genetic pool department.
I’m starting to get a little hesitant with fan-casting Esmeralda because how depictions of her character and back-story have shifted over time and representation. If she is to be a member of a specific group of people than casting should be more reflective of that choice made by a production. If and it’s a BIG if a version were to go for more by-the-book approach to Esmeralda’s backstory OR if the production wanted to emulate Gina Lollobrigida’s Esmeralda in some kind of subterfuge then I could see Deva Cassel fitting the role. I think she works in a very narrow specific characterization of Esmeralda.
As far as acting goes, she is still rather inexperienced. Prior to The Leopard she has three other credits with one being released later this year and the other being the voice of Ennui in the Italian dub of Inside Out 2. So it’s hard to gauge how she would play Esmeralda. But given her role in The Leopard as a sultry ambitious young lady, Angelica Sedara, she seems to have only one look which is sultry and alluring. She either needs more experience acting, more direction or more acting classes. It’s hard to judge since Angelica comes off as sexy yet cool and Esmeralda should be effortless and warm.
Though I guess she did fine voicing Ennui but again Ennui lacks warmth, that just the role.
Deva Cassel is no doubt very striking and beautiful and given the type of Esmeralda, she could be a good fit for the role. I just would hope she could pull off Esmeralda’s personality, or maybe the production would just curtail the role for her style.
Though if you do watch The Leopard, there is a love triangle that is similar, not exact, to the Esmeralda, Phoebus and Fleur de Lys dynamic. It’’s definitely a classic love triangle trope to be sure.
Since it’s Valentine’s Day, let’s celebrate 5 times that Quasimodo and Esmeralda* actually got together at the end as a romantic couple. And not in the tragic way like in the novel but in the happy romance kind. (* one of the “Esmeraldas” has a different name but she is essentially Esmeralda.)
This odd modern comedic retelling does in fact have these two getting together at the end. It’s a weird version to be sure but it does have it’s moments and it’s a nice change of pace for a live-action version having these two get together at the end.
While this Children’s TV Show version doesn’t in fact have Quasimodo and Esmeralda officially as couple, they are cute and flirty with each other and it was clear that was the direction for these two had the show gone on longer.
The Jetlag version ends with Esmeralda and Quasimodo running off together after a very loving embrace.
Melody is essentially Esmeralda in all except in name, so she counts. While the Enchanted Tales version is decidedly mediocre these two get married at the end and that is very romance. (Very Romance is a Bluey-ism)
While this is a fake musical from the 90s show The Critic, it still counts! In the show “Hunch” is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and it’s clear that Esmeralda and Quasimodo has a romantic attachment. (Put a pin in this one for now.)
