The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Review

The Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame

One of the best companion pieces to the Disney version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame is The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney Miniature).

Concept art of Quasimodo saving Esmeralda from the Art of the Hunchback

It’s for all intended purpose thisis an art book. It has tons of concept art, production stills, sketches, illustrations from the novel, and art by Victor Hugo. (Hugo’s own art work is gorgeous). However the major flaw with it is its size. It’s tiny for something that is an art book. Here’s a picture of it compare to my Final Fantasy IX art book (I had this book for a while).

Size comparison of The Art of the Hunchback of Notre to The Art of Final Fantasy IX

The Hunchback art book is 5.6 inches by 4.3 inches compare to the art Final Fantasy IX which is 11.8 inches by 9.3 inches. However I think this isn’t suppose to be a true art book as much a more in depth look behind movie’s creation.

Concept Art for Esmeralda Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame

The book has a ton of information about the background on the book, characters and a lot of how the movie art plays with light and shadows. It’s a very interesting read although Stephen Rebello does make one big generalization. In the Quasimodo chapter page 57, he writes ” Victor Hugo probably never imagined his malformed, melancholy creation breaking forth into song.” Hugo himself wrote a libretto for Louise Bertin’s opera La Esmeralda . Making Hugo the first person to adapt the novel. Considering Hugo wrote Quasimodo an aria, I think it’s safe to say that he did imagine him breaking out into song. On a side note, that aria  was only piece people liked from the opera. You can listen to it here

Concept Art of Quasimodo from the Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame

Anyway despite that generalization it is well researched and an interesting read with lots of great artwork. I would highly recommend it for fans of the Disney movie.