Phoebus | The Hunchblog of Notre Dame

21May 2012

Hunchback Zodiacs

by jess

Astrological Zodiac with corresponding Hunchback character find which character you are. I’m Master Florain the deaf judge who is too vain to admit he’s deaf…… not sure how I feel about that. (For this I ignored the characters birthdays since two are mentioned in the book and I also based this off the book)

Aries – Phoebus (March 21-April 19)

Aries Phoebus

Pros – Independent, Generous, Optimistic, Enthusiastic, Courageous
Cons – Moody, Short tempered, Self-involved, Impulsive, Impatient

Taurus -Jehan (April 20 – May 20)

Taurus Jehan

Pros – Dependable, Persistent, Loyal, Patient, Generous
Cons – Stubborn, Laziness, Possessive, Materialistic, Self-indulging

Gemini -Esmeralda (May 21-June 20)

Gemini Esmeralda

Pros- Energetic, Clever, Imaginative, Witty, Adaptable
Con- Superficial, Impulsive, Restless, Devious, Indecisive

Cancer -Quasimodo (June 21 -July 22)

Cancer Quasimodo

Pros -Loyalty, Dependable, Caring, Adaptable, Responsive
Cons – Moody, Clingy, Self-pitying, Oversensitive, Self-absorbed

Leo -Fleur de Lys (July 23 -Aug 22)

Leo Fleur de Lys

Pros – Confident, Ambitious, Generous, Loyal, Encouraging
Cons -Pretentious, Domineering, Melodramatic, Stubborn, Vain

Virgo -Clopin (Aug 23- Sept 22)

Virgo Clopin

Pros -Analytical, Observant, Helpful, Reliable, Precise
Cons -Skeptical, Fussy, Inflexible, Cold, Interfering

Libra – Master Florian (Sept 23 – Oct 22)

Libra Master Florian

Pros – Diplomatic, Graceful, Peaceful, Idealistic, Hospitable
Cons – Superficial, Vain, Indecisive, Unreliable

Scorpio – Frollo (Oct 23 – Nov 21)

Scorpio Frollo

Pros -Loyal, Passionate, Resourceful, Observant, Dynamic
Cons -Jealous, Obsessive, Suspicious, Manipulative, Unyielding

Sagittarius -Djali (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Sagittarius Djali

Pros – Independence
Cons – Unemotional

Capricorn – Louis (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Capricorn King Louis

Pros – Responsible, Patient, Ambitious, Resourceful, Loyal
Cons -Dictatorial, Inhibited, Conceited, Distrusting, Unimaginative

Aquarius -Gringoire (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Aquarius Gringoire

Pros -Witty, Clever, Humanitarian, Inventive, Original
Cons -Stubborn, Unemotional, Sarcastic, Rebellious, Aloof

Pieces -Sister Gudule (Feb 19 – March 20)

Pieces Sister Gudule

Pros – Compassionate, Adaptable, Accepting, Devoted, Imaginative
Cons – Oversensitive, Indecisive, Self-pitying, Lazy, Escapist

Which character is your Zodiac Sign?

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19May 2012

Anne Meson in Notre Dame de Paris

by jess

Today we’re going to look at Anne Meson.

Anne Meson as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris

Meson has played both Esmeralda and Fleur de Lys. Other Actresses who shares this distinction are Julie Zenatti, Chiara di Bari and Jessica Grove. She is one of 10 actors that have been in two casts that are in different languages (Garou, Daniel Lavoie, Bruno Pelletier, Luck Merville, Natasha St.Pier, Matt Laurent, Robert Marien, Chiara Di Bari, Dennis Ten Vergert and Tim Driesen)

Meson when she was younger was the French Disney ambassador and sang songs for Oliver, Little Mermaid and Chip and Dale, Rescue Rangers. She sang Part of that World on the Little Mermiad 1990 sound track

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FZdkvzguus

Recently I found her website and I wanted to share the Notre Dame bits;

Anne Meson as Esmeralda in Morgdor Cast with Cyril NiccolaÃ¯ as Gringoire & Laurent BÃ n as Phoebus

Anne Meson as Esmeralda in Morgdor Cast

Anne Meson as Fleur de Lys in the Las Vegas Cast Notre Dame de Paris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVorTyvVzmA&list=FLCmjM77B5AUW7TzpJKcHnYg&index=1&feature=plpp_video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAC2Wb8bDWY&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rgUEigAu0Q&feature=plcp&context=C3469516UDOEgsToPDskL21ee98ty58pY_5zh9yd5P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCnu-Oyk0tw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6F8wB6YI88

I wish I could have seen more of her performances.

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16May 2012

Simply Winsome; A Character Review of the 1923 Version of Esmeralda

by jess

Esmeralda Hunchback of Notre Dame Patsy Ruth Miller 1923

I think the 1923 version of Hunchback of Notre Dame is the best depiction of Esmeralda in an movie. She captures the original charm of Esmeralda from the book. She is young, sweet, free-spirited, innocent, romantic and a bit shallow. Let’s face it, Esmeralda is not a particularly deep character. She is not battling her own inner-demons nor is struggling against the social system. She just a young girl who likes to dance and the 1923 version allows her to be that character.

Esmeralda Rejecting Frollo Hunchback of Notre Dame Patsy Ruth Miller 1923

Unlike the Esmeralda of the novel the 1923 version has a bit more backbone and is more realistic. In the book Esmeralda is afraid of Frollo, in the 1923 she seems to ignore him or at most is just indifferent to him. Her behaving this way towards the Frollo character does make their relationship less dramatic though.

Esmeralda Rejecting Phoebus Hunchback of Notre Dame Patsy Ruth Miller 1923

Also in the book there is no issue for her about Phoebus’ nobility. In the 1923 version Esmeralda does understand the social differences between them and at one point tries to rejects him however she retracts that very quickly. It may seem like a contrived sub-plot but it does add a bit of maturity to her character that we don’t see in the book.

Esmeralda Rejecting Quasimodo Hunchback of Notre Dame Patsy Ruth Miller 1923

Much like novel Esmeralda the 1923 doesn’t have lot of depth her characterization, basically her motivation is love and nothing else. I appreciate that movie kept her character simple and sweet like she is in book, it’s a nice foil to subsequent Esmeraldas who are either more mature or have a cause.

Esmeralda Hunchback of Notre Dame Patsy Ruth Miller 1923

Next Time- Jehan a.k.a Not Frollo

Jehan Frollo (Brandon Hurst) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

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02May 2012

Three Basic Problems with the Plot of the 1923 version of The Hunchback Notre Dame

by jess

There are three basic problems with the plot the 1923 version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame; its strong adherence to parts that don’t make any sense in the scope of the movie, the changes that had to be made to appease the almighty censors, and Lon Chaney.

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

The last problem really isn’t a problem but if you watch the opening scene you can see what I mean. The opening scene starts with the Feast of Fool and then it cuts away to Lon Chaney as Quasimodo basically mocking people from atop Notre Dame. I do appreciate that this is the only version to have Quasimodo that has a basic dislike for people like he does in the book which this scene shows nicely but to just an awkward way to introduce Lon Chaney as Quasimodo to the viewers and it ruins the pacing and makes the beginning boring.

Jehan Frollo (Brandon Hurst) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

The second issue has to do with censorship laws of the time. The law that pertains to Hunchback is a movie couldn’t cast a priest in a negative light, meaning we can’t have a Priest lusting after a women. So much like the 1939 the role of the Frollo sinner is cast on the “Jehan” character the “Claude” character is the saintly priest. Unlike the 1939 version Jehan in this version has no reason why he can’t make a straight up move on Esmeralda. Nothing is stopping him; no conflict of her being a Gypsy or no implied religious morality getting in the way. He’s just a coward with no real personality or motivation.

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller) and Jehan Frollo (Brandon Hurst) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

There is no confliction for this Jehan so there is no interest. The plot of the book is hinged on Frollo’s obsession with Esmeralda so if there is no torment where does the interest to the plot lie? Well in this case the interest to the plot is Lon Chaney’s Quasimodo, so back to that issue, remember this film started the “Quasimodo is main character” mentality that the many of the films buy in to .

Gudule (Gladya Brockwell) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

The finally issue is a weird one to be an issue because when we compare movies to book there is a part of us that wishes that the movie would follow the book perfectly and we get up annoy by what the movie misses or adds. However it is hard to make a movie follow the book perfectly as they are two different median for story telling. One aspect of the book that I wish made into more movies is the Sister Gudule sub-plot. Sister Gudule is Esmeralda’s mother. The 1923 version is one of the few version to have this sub-plot however it goes no where. We get the back story of how Esmeralda was taken and we see Gudule curse her and then as Esmeralda is about to die Gudule realizes Esmeralda is her child and then I guess she dies. So Esmeralda doesn’t learn this, it amounts to nothing. It was just there because it was in the book but if Esmeralda doesn’t learns this and where is the emotion in the end what was the point?

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller), Phoebus (Norman Kelly) and Clopin (Ernest Torrence) Ball Scene Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

Another sub-plot that was added was this division of the nobel and the poor. Now this was a bigger point in the 1939 version here’s it amount to one scene where Phoebus brings Esmeralda to a party and he dresses up and tries to pass her off as a Princess and the party is broken up by Clopin and Esmeralda sadly rejects Phoebus. Like Gudule, these scene that revolve around the classes don’t add to very much to the over all plot

Esmeralda (Pasty Ruth Miller) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

It’s not that entire plot and pacing of the 1923 version is bad it’s just following the book too closely wrecked the pacing and the removal of Frollo’s torment ruins the emotional intensity. The “Chaney being forced” to the audiences was just the opening so it wasn’t a major problem but it’s the reason why the film doesn’t have a very strong opening scene.

Next Time- Characters starting with Quasimodo

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney), Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller) and Gudule (Gladys Brockwell) Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923

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30Apr 2012

Watch the 1923 version of Hunchback on youtube

by jess

watch the 1923 on youtube in one handy long video, no but serious it’s very nice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dm09QfKsOQ

Or you could buy the DVD from amazon and listen to former make-up artist Michael Blake praise Lon Chaney and butcher the character’s name for an hour and forty minute i(namely Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Phoebus). Though I have to admit it was funny because it was kind of obvious that he had never read the book. Because in the book Frollo tries to force himself on Esmeralda and Quasimodo saves her, in the movie Frollo, be it Jehan in this case, does this and Quasimodo save her butBlake this scene is just the product of silent movies tropes and praise the movie for having Qausimodo save her and not Phoebus, :facepalms:

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29Apr 2012

Hunchback Kart

by jess

Which Notre Dame Character would win in race a la Mario Kart , car racing with random weapons and weird tracks. (based on book)

Hunchback of Notre dame meets Mario Kart Disney

Hunchback Kart

I would say that Quasimdo wouldn’t because of his vision. Frollo would just follow Esmeralda so he wouldn’t win. Sister Gudule won’t win either because she too busy looking for her baby. Jehan could win but he would try to aim for coins and prizes. Esmeralda could win as she quick but she is flighty too and might get distracted by Phoebus. Gringoire might do well but he also might get distracted. Phoebus could win because he’s a no-good cheater but he might let a lady win you know in order to sleep with them later. Clopin could win but like Jehan he might go after coins and prizes. Djali could do well as she a very talented goat but I would say Fleur de Lys would win most of the time because she is cold calculating bitch who always win, let’s not forget she’s the only character in the book to have a “happy ending.”

Which Hunchback do you think would win in a battle royale kart race? I chose the book but feel free to use Disney in your response ^^

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15Apr 2012

What did the Hunchback of Notre Dame think of Marketing Ploy

by jess

I mentioned last week that I went to Anime Boston(4/6-4/9) and I had a great time, I got sick but I had a great time. But one of the best parts was that me and my sister’s AMV (Anime Music Video) won Best Comedy. Now since I shamelessly self-promote I wanted to post it here but since it has nothing to with Hunchback I decided to show it to the characters of the Hunchback and asked them what they thought.

The Video

Their Reactions

Quaismodo – It lacked soul and depth but I liked, will you be my friend now?
Esmeralda – They look like princes who ride white horses, I loved it
Frollo– Such an empty hollow video that turns my eyes from god (Maybe if I join a Boy band she’ll love me)
Phoebus – I found my purpose, I going to join a Boy Band
Gringoire – I suppose it was amusing but I could write a much more amusing song and edit a better AMV.
Clopin – That would provide the perfect distraction for pick-pocketing
Fleur de Lys – I really didn’t care for it.
Jehan– I love it, can you loan me 5 bucks?

Man, there is no pleasing some people.

Anime- Ouran High School Host Club
Song – Pop song by Jon Lajoie [Explicit]
Edited by the Warlike Swans (Me and my Sister)

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03Apr 2012

The Disney Stage Show of Notre Dame

by jess

Frollo Puppet

The stage show of Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Disney Parks is like a high school production where the show has a high budget but the cast isn’t really that talented. Wait a second that’s pretty much what this is. Expect they’re actually college students interning (slave labor) there for the summer. So what is the stage show about? All it is a rehashing of the movie. That’s it. I’m basing this review off these videos which you can watch it HERE. (I’m sorry for the pictures)

Frollo interrupting the couple in Notre Dame a.k.a Not Grope Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Stage Show picture image

Frollo interrupting the couple a.k.a Not Grope

A Guy Like you

Frollo finding out Esmeralda escape a.k.a Not Hellfire

But is the show bad? Yes, yes it. Everything that you love is gone, i.e Frollo. Well that’s not true Frollo is there and he gets line or two but there is not grope and no Hellfire basically what makes Frollo a character is gone. Frollo is just a plot point. Also they kept a guy like you over hellfire which seems like a big “Fuck-you” to audience.

Clopin's singnature pose

But how are the other actors? Umm, not so good. We’ll start with the best, Clopin at least he can sing well. Though he strikes the same pose and hand movements over and over.

Phoebus... that is all

Quasimodo with a plastic model Esmeralda

The Gargoyles... they get more lines than Frollo

Phoebus is meh. Quasimodo is forgettable. The gargoyles are annoying.

Esmeralda

And then there is Esmeralda. First off I say this with out trying to be offensive but she sounds like she from a 30’s movies. Other than that her acting is weak and over-the-top and she’s not a great singer. I think she was cast for the splits she does during the dance.

Esmeralda's Kneepad

And she wears knee pads during the dance which I found hilarious.

Frollo Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Stage Show picture image

Frollo he's too cool for this play

Frollo’s not even a character so he doesn’t count. But even still he’s WAY cooler even with no personality.

Djali as a Marionette Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Stage Show

Djali as a Marionette.... where can I get one?

So the setting and the plot were okay. The whole puppet thing for the backstory was weird and a little silly. I mean I get why the did, because it’s Clopin’s puppet show, but to see a big Frollo puppet was too funny for me. I have a bad habit of laughing at puppet play even when that are suppose to be serious. Also Djali as a marionette was unnecessary. Actually Djali was unnecessary and that pains me to say.

Spire Turn during Out there

Also I just want to mention that you know in “Out There” where the camera spins around Quasimodo while he’s on the spire yeah, they do that here except while the performer sings on a platform, two guys spin said platform around, it very silly and awkward.

More Puppets dolls Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Stage Show picture image

More Puppets erm I mean Dolls

Basically the whole thing a very rushed feeling and it over superficial, I mean it’s a appropriate, given that it’s in a Disney park. It’s flash and no substance. It subtracts too much from the movie and if their intent was to take that film and make it even more “Kid Friendly” why not do an after-story or sequel. Frollo doesn’t do anything cool here so who cares if he’s in the show. It at least could have been more interesting than seeing a water-down version of a classic story that Disney already watered down.

Getting the Lead out

On the plus side, I liked the extras and the lead pouring was cool.

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31Mar 2012

Asian Tour Cast Pictures

by jess

More Pictures from the Asian Tour.

: Cast Finale Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Ian Carlyle as Clopin Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Candice Parise as Esmeralda Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Lily-Jane Young as Fleur de Lys and Matt Laurent as Quasimodo Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Robert Marien as Frollo Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Candice Parise as Esmeralda and Robert Marien as Frollo Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Lily-Jane Young as Fleur de Lys Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Stephen Webb as Phoebus and Ian Carlyle as Clopin Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

: Matt Laurent as Quasimodo Notre Dame de Paris Asian Tour

Trying a new Format. Like? Or did you prefer the old way I handled these posts, let me know… or I’ll just continue till these Asian Tour Pictures run out

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30Mar 2012