The Film
About 16 years ago, Disney decided to make a film out of Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It seemed like a bit of an odd choice for Disney, given the dark nature of the subject matter. That said, not only did Disney's adaptation get some decent reviews, but it also tripled its budget and sparked a direct-to-video sequel. Both are packaged up into The Hunchback of Notre Dame: 2 Movie Collection.
As mentioned, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a weird film -- at least for kids. It starts off with the evil Judge Claude Frollo (voiced by Tony Jay) killing a young gypsy woman, after which he's basically guilted into bringing up her deformed baby. He names the boy Quasimoto (Tom Hulce) and locks him in a bell tower. Not exactly fluffy, cutesy fare, now is it? However, the film really works. Oh sure, the wee ones may be creeped out by the characters, the violence and maybe even some of the romantic moments. It's just a wonderful story and it's presented here nicely, via a slew of fun characters and famous voices, most notably Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Charles Kimbrough, Jason Alexander, and Mary Wickes.
That said, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is definitely the type film where lightning wouldn't strike twice. My point is proven perfectly via The Hunchback of Notre Dame II. All of the principal voices return, but the animation is subpar (see "The Picture"), which could be forgiven if the plot was halfway decent. Instead, it involves Quasi looking for love and trying to save his damsel from another pair of evil clutches. The original film may be a hard enough sell for kids; the follow-up, however, is just a mess.
The Picture
The Hunchback of Notre Dame doesn't exactly have the same magic as other Disney films, but it looks decent enough on Blu-ray. The film absolutely looks best during daytime scenes. Unfortunately, there's a lot of darker imagery, which is sort of dim and murky. The 1.78:1 image isn't bad by any sense of the word, but it's certainly not Disney's best.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II has a cheap look to it. It looks like one of those rip-off versions of the movie that you'd find in buried in the Walmart bargain bin. The animation just isn't what you'd expect from Disney -- even one of the studio's current direct-to-video releases. That said, this 1.66:1 transfer is definitely more colorful than its original.
The Sound
For both films, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track fares a little better than the image. Again, it's not the immersive audio experience you'd typically find packaged with Disney films. However, the dialogue is always clear and there's a lot of sound effects to ring through the surrounds. Most notable are the bells, the thunder and the echos from the bell tower. However, both films are busting with songs, which deliver the most oomph on each track.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
If you absolutely need to collect every Disney release, The Hunchback of Notre Dame: 2-Movie Collection is a decent purchase. That said, I could think of at least 10 other Disney films to buy first -- and that's just off the top of my head. This one is forgotten for a reason. The AV isn't as magical as most of Disney's other efforts, but the story is great. It just may be for an acquired, more mature taste.
Product Details
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