The Gargoyles were by in large, the biggest flaw in Disney’s The Hunchback in Notre Dame. Out of the three Gargoyles, Hugo was the most annoying. He was loud, brash and stupid. In June 2013 Disney released a teaser trailer for Frozen that featured Olaf and Sven trying to get Olaf’s carrot nose on ice. This was not a good introduction to Olaf because all he did was laugh. For many people they thought this snowman was going to be annoying. Perhaps not as annoying as Hugo but still annoying. As it turns out Olaf wasn’t annoying, he was likable.
Olaf vs Hugo
Olaf and Hugo are polar opposites while still being very similar. They are both short comic relief sidekick who are of the magically variety that help the main protagonist. But where Hugo is loud, Olaf has a soft tone most of the time, where Hugo talks about looks all the time, Olaf talks about people’s warmth. Olaf seems to have a childlike innocences while Hugo is more affective. Olaf wants warm hugs and to see summer while Hugo wants Quasimodo to get a girlfriend or to at least gain some self-worth.
Anna and Olaf
And this makes sense with their characters. Olaf is newly given life in the movie so his innocence makes sense. I’m sure Disney could have made him loud rough talking like so many of the 90’s sidekick but the soft innocence worked so much better and was refreshing.
Hugo playing poker Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hugo on the other hand was a product of the other Disney movie cashing in on the wisecracking sidekicks. His affectedness makes sense if you think of him as part of an old work structure. It could make sense if he was a facet of Quasimodo’s personality too. Maybe Hugo is Quasimodo’s Id personified (more on this in a future blog post).
Sven and Olaf from Frozen
While Hugo brings down The Hunchback of Notre Dame, it’s not really his fault that he is a product of the Disney Standard of the time. He is a colossal fail and that why Olaf, Sven and even Tangled sidekicks are refreshing and seem better by comparison. Olaf clear winner.