Why The Hunchback of Notre Dame is still one of Disney's best movies

Many Disney animated classics have retained immense relevance in the years since their release. Movies like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid have a timeless quality that has led multiple generations to grow up with them as if each movie was just released. A 1996 Disney production, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, did not enjoy this same level of mainstream permanency. It's a shame, because it's arguably one of the bravest and best movies Disney has ever made. So now, on January 6th - the day the picture's "Festival of Fools" takes place - I'd like to shine a light on one of my favorite movies and a truly underrated Disney classic.

Right off the bat, Hunchback tells you this is something special, because "The Bells of Notre Dame" is one of Disney's best opening songs. Framed in the form of a tale told by street artist Clopin, the tragic backstory of Notre Dame's titular hunchback, Quasimodo, is brilliantly told. The most fearsome villain in Disney's catalog, Judge Claude Frollo, is established within minutes as an unrepentant, bigoted religious sycophant. I mean, in the first five minutes of the movie, we see him trying to drop a baby down a well right after killing his mother, and the only reason he doesn't is because the archdeacon tells him that he will go to hell. You won't get that in Frozen.

I could write entire paragraphs on each song, because the combination of acclaimed Disney legend Alan Menken and revered Stephen Schwartz is nothing short of exceptional. The collaboration with Menken/Howard Ashman and Menken/Tim Rice is among Disney's best scores, perfectly capturing the film's darker, more dramatic tone.

The sequence that best sums this up is "Heaven's Light/Hellfire", which contrasts Quasimodo's celestial vision of Demi Moore-voiced Esmerelda with Frollo's dark longing for her. "Hellfire", in particular, is a musical number that I have no hesitation in calling a masterpiece. It's literally a song about the bad guy desperately drawn to Esmeralda and deciding that if she doesn't choose to be with him (the much older guy who relentlessly persecutes her and her people) he'll have to kill her. It's a very dark thing.

The Latin chant of "mea culpa" which implies that Frollo knows his actions are mixed poorly with the expressive animation (which was inspected frame by frame by the animators to ensure it never exceeds a note G) makes it one of the most terrifying, daring and memorable sequences of any House of Mouse production.

The fact that Disney was willing to portray aspects of Catholicism in such a negative light was incredibly bold for the company, and likely plays a role in the film being less referenced than others Disney Renaissance classics, alongside the overall darker tone than movies like Mulan or Tarzan.

At the same time, Hunchback was not against showing the positive aspects of religion alongside its dark side. Characters like the Archdeacon represent those who don't just use religion as an excuse for bigotry, while the song "God Help the Outcasts" is a beautiful meditation on how different people view and interact with religion for different reasons.

I'm not even a particularly religious person at this point in my life, but as someone who was raised in a Catholic family, the song feels like an incredible examination of the different kinds of beliefs I would have been witness in my childhood years. Some people pray for themselves while others pray for others, with Esmerelda being established as a selfless and compassionate character.

In the same vein, the story never shy away from showing both the intense darkness and the inspiring light that pervades every corner of Notre Dame. Quasimodo is the film's brightest aspect, as the downtrodden and constantly belittled protagonist always sees the best in people and tries to help everyone. His whole song, "Out There", is simply about wanting to live and being accepted by the ordinary people of France whom he almost idolizes. There's a purity to him that doesn't feel out of place or unrealistic, as it ensures the story has a shining pillar that can be returned to its da...