The Music of the Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame – A Guy Like You

 

After the intensity of Hellfire, the movie gets a little dark. Frollo goes on a tear extorting Gypsies, arresting people, attempting to kill people including Phoebus and burning a good portion of Paris. After these scenes the movie needs some levity, after all this is a children movie. The levity we’re given is A Guy Like You. I hate this song, there I said it, I hate a Guy like you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a Guy like you the gargoyles once again build Quasimodo expectations of  Esmeralda being love with him. They tell Quasimodo that since he’s special, she has to be in love with him.  What examples does the song give that  Quasimodo is special? Well he has “something more”, vague statement song. But the song is mainly focused on his looks. Sure there being positive about it but that’s all they can say about Quasimodo is that he looks special. It’s interesting, the movie’s moral is about looking beyond superficiality but this song really only talks about his looks not how amazing or kind or even talented he is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The song has some good musicality, it’s sung well (though Jason Alexander can’t seem to pronounce Dieu), and it has some clever lyrics but it’s annoying. It tries to have that certain Disney magic but it just doesn’t. I’m little hard-press to categorize it to the Disney song scheme. I would say it’s a sidekick song but those numbers are usually fun and most of the time a show stopper.  A Guy like you stops the movie but not in a good way. After so much drama this just weak levity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there is all the anachronism. I dislike the use of anachronism in this movie on the part of the gargoyles. It made sense with the Genie in Aladdin, he’s a supernatural magical entity with cosmic power. With the gargoyles they’re part of the architecture, how can know what poker is, hairspray, Mozart and grand pianos and the like. Here is a list of all the anachronism just from a A Guy like you ( if you know of more let me know, the links are pictures from the song)

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Modern playing cards, there were cards but not the playing card and the card here look too modern

– Paris as the city of Love (not in 15th century),

– Accordion music is used, it’s basic form for wasn’t created till 1822

– Cigar, Hugo smokes a sausage like cigar and Laverne is smoking  cigar at the poker table, your a decade too early for that. Victor and also wear visors.

– Poker wasn’t invented till 1937

– Barber shop is too modern

– Hair spray, 1940s

– Mozart 1756-1791, I get that it’s a reference to Tom Hulce as Mozart in Amadeus.

– Croissant, 19th century

– Grand Piano, well the Piano concept was it until the 17th century

– Laverne wears a Feather Boa, Feather Boa were documented in 1820 but they could have been wore in the 17th century but in the 1480s nope

– Victor wears a bow tie, Bow ties  flourished 18th century not in the 15th

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously Disney thinks they can get alway with anachronisms when a character is magical but they can’t. The fact that you’re seeing less and less of this referential and  anachronism humor in their movies means I guess Disney learned it’s lesson but this type of humor wasn’t that funny to begin with. I’m sure the song was meant to be hilarious and/or witty but it’s neither. It’s the most light-heart song but it’s the weakest in the movie.

 

Next Time – Court of Miracles