Make up class_Kit Russ_Winter 2011

Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Writing for Animation Assignment Presented by Kit Russ

1. Why did you choose such feature? Explain.

I chose The Hunchback of Notre Dame because it is simply one of my favorite movies done by Disney. The music is rich and beautiful, especially the scores written by Alan Menken, who used Latin verses borrowed from Mozart’s Requiem; the chorus repeating the phrase “Kyrie Eleison” (Lord have Mercy) at the most powerful moments in the film. To me, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of Disney’s most powerful films due to the hidden message it sends out about how God is the only righteous Judge and that even the Church itself falls short of His glory. At least that's my personal interpretation.

2. Create a possible premise from your chosen animated feature.

Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge Paris of gypsy scum. One night he tries to arrest a woman only to accidentally kill her when he wrestles a bundle from her arms. As it turns out, that bundle was a misshapen child. The Archdeacon of Notre Dame stops Frollo from casting the baby into a well and guilts him into raising it as his own. Frollo reluctantly agrees.

Twenty years later, the child, having been named Quasimodo (half-formed), is the stir-crazy bell ringer of Notre Dame who merely wants to attend the Festival of Fools. This year, however, Quasi’s three gargoyle friends goad him into sneaking out. Once there, he enjoys the celebration and takes part in the various activities where he meets Esmeralda, a beautiful and spirited gyspy woman, who ends up saving him from the cruelty of the peasants.

Now Frollo is after Esmeralda, determined to make her his or she will burn at the stake. Meanwhile, Quasi is struggling to deal with his feelings for Esmeralda even though she is in love with Phoebus, the heroic and honorable captain of the guard. Eventually Frollo’s fanatical obsession with Esmeralda has led him to declare war on Notre Dame itself, leaving Quasi, Esmeralda, and Phoebus having to team up in order to defeat him and save Paris.

3. How would you describe the feature in high-concept?

It is 1482 in Paris, France where being different was a sin. There, a misshapen man is taken in by a self-righteous judge and must fight against him in order to save his gypsy friend and all of Paris from his fanatical devotion.

4. Describe the Format.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 2D action/adventure/romantic/drama that is about 91 minutes in length. It teaches us that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that even a so called “monster” can be a hero.

5. What is the target audience?

Like most Disney films, it is a crossover designed to target both children and adults.

6. How did the feature approach its intended audience?

The three gargoyles—Victor, Hugo, and Laverne—as well as Esmeralda’s goat Djali appeal to the kiddies as wise-cracking gag animals whereas Frollo’s lusting after Esmeralda just floats on over their heads, but is picked up by the older audience.

7. Describe the needs and wants of the Main Character (be specific).

Quasimodo wants to be accepted and not feared by everyone in Paris, but in order to achieve this goal; he needs to save Paris itself from Frollo’s righteously fanatical reign.

8. Excluding the main character. Mention three characters and describe their motivations, goals and unique way of looking at life.

Esmeralda: Esmeralda is a free-spirited gypsy and Quasimodo’s first friend outside of Notre Dame. She doesn’t look at people based on appearance, but rather character and for that, she becomes the object of Quasimodo’s affections, even if she only thinks about him platonically. Her goal is to make the people realize that it’s wrong to judge people based upon their appearance.

Frollo: Quasimodo’s caretaker. Frollo is a hyper-righteous man obsessed with wiping out sin, but he forgets to look at his own crimes. He falls in lust with Esmeralda and wants to kill her because he is appalled by his feelings for a gypsy “witch.” This drives him to not only burn down most of Paris, but lay siege upon Notre Dame itself.

Phoebus: The heroic captain of the guard. He is very honorable, disobeying orders from Frollo when he was told to burn the house of an innocent family to the ground. Like Quasimodo, he is also in love with Esmeralda, and it becomes his goal to help her and Quasi defeat Frollo.

9. How does this feature approach characters' backstory?

It shows where Quasimodo came from and what happened to his mother; however, no other character is given much backstory. This was illustrated in the very beginning of the movie with epic music and dynamic action.

10. Make a list describing briefly three funny gags throughout the story.

1. There is this old man who appears two times in the movie. The first time he is in a cage at the festival of fools. He’s freed as the cage breaks through sheer luck, but as he celebrates with a cheer of “I’m free! I’m free!” he trips and falls in the stocks, which slam shut and trap him to which he yells “dang it!” The second time is during the final battle at Notre Dame. While Phoebus and a guard are fighting, the lock on the stocks breaks and man is freed. However, as he is celebrating he falls into the sewer and once again yells “dang it!”

2. During the Final battle at Notre Dame, Laverne the gargoyle, who is always being followed by pigeons, sends all of the birds after the guards to chase them as he says, “Fly my pretties! Fly!” This is a parody of the Wizard of Oz.

3. During the final battle, Hugo, the fat gargoyle, eats a bunch of flint and rocks, and flies in a circle making airplane noises before shooting the rocks out of his mouth like a Gatling gun at the soldiers trying to storm the cathedral. This is funny because neither of those inventions existed until much later.

11. How would you describe the World?

The Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place in 15^th Century (1482 to be precise) Paris, France, back when it was part of the Holy Roman Empire. At the time, Paris was nothing more than a medieval city so most of the architecture, technology, and fashion reflect that.

12. If you had the opportunity, what would you change about the story? Explain.

I could never bring myself to change anything about the story in a sense that it is a precious childhood memory for me. Even if it isn’t totally faithful to the book, that’s alright with me too because the book was filled with a lot of sexual content with a minor (the Esmeralda in the book was only fourteen.) I think the way Disney handled it was highly appropriate and I wouldn’t change a thing.

13. Do you think this feature can be made into an animated series? Explain.

Not in a million years would it be a series. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end to this story, which is the perfect format for a movie. It’s bad enough they made a sequel.