“Honest” Poster

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Recently so-call Honest Posters of some Disney movies have come out. They were made by Christine Gritmon and Nick Nadel from TheFW. The Poster were of Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This is the Hunchback one,

 

"Honest" Hunchback of Notre Dame Poster picture image

“Honest” Hunchback of Notre Dame Poster

Gah……… where do I start? Because I have a few issues with this.

First here is the write-up on it “Different take: This poster highlights how Esmeralda chooses the handsome but insincere soldier, Phoebus, over the crippled Quasimodo. The phrase emphasizes how Esmeralda chooses the handsome but insincere soldier, Phoebus, over the crippled ‘nice guy’ Quasimodo.”

How was Phoebus insincere? What does Phoebus do that warrants that adjective? Besides Phoebus may have a saratic personality but I guess saving a family doesn’t qualify him as “Nice guy”? But why do people still bring this up over and over? Esmeralda picking Phoebus over Quasimodo. Why can’t they deal with a protagonist not getting the girl? Why is Esmeralda considered some prize that Quasimodo is entitled to base on the fact that he is the protagonist? I get that is this meant to be funny but this comes back to the Esmeralda not picking Quasimodo because he both ugly and nice. When the point is she treats me more like a brother than a romantic interest. Quasimodo as anything but a friend never enters her mind.  This line of thinking that Esmeralda is shallow because she didn’t reciprocate Quasimodo’s half baked crushed is sexist. Shame on you.

The Actors in the Wishbone version

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Just a little info on the Actor who appeared in the Wishbone version Hunchback.

Soccer the Dog as Wishbone, picture image

Soccer the Dog as Wishbone

Soccer the Dog was a veteran Jack Russell actor. He was most known for playing Wishbone on the PBS show.  He beat out 100 dog who audition for the role. He was also in many commercials for such companies like Nike  and Mighty Dog Food.

 

Larry Brantley picture image

Larry Brantley

 

Larry Brantley is a former stand-up comedian and radio spokesman. He specializes in character voices.  He currently works on Boz the bear.

Lanell Pena, picture image

Lanell Pena

 

Lanell Pena played a lot parts on Wishbone in the literary segments of the show. Mostly notably she played Scheherazade in the Wishbone version of Thousand and one nights (One Thousand and One Tails). Pena has also appears in a few television series and movie. Currently she teaches acting at A &M University and KD Studios/College.

 

Sean Hennigan, picture image

Sean Hennigan

Sean Hennigan, like Pena also played a lot parts on Wishbone in the literary segments of the show. Hennigan appeared in 24 episode of Wishbone and notably played he played a lot of the villains.  Hennigan has appeared in a lot Television shows  and he has been voice acting in anime dubs. Notably in immensely popular One Piece, Baccano! and Romeo x Juliet. he has appeared in a movies like 3:10 to Yuma.

Acting in the Wishbone Version of Hunchback

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The acting is the Wishbone version is decent. I don’t think any of the roles were that much of challenge since the materials is very much at its core basics, so you don’t get the rich complexity of Quasimodo, Frollo or even Esmeralda in this version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

 

Frollo (Sean Hennigan), The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Frollo (Sean Hennigan), The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

That said, there are moments where the actors showcase the characters very well.  Sean Hennigan, who played Frollo, does a great job communicating Frollo’s obsession  in both a menacing way and in a more coxing way. He goes back and forth between facets  with great ease.

 

Esmeralda (Lanell Pena), Wishbone, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda (Lanell Pena), The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

 

Lanell Pena, who played Esmeralda, also does a good job of showing how she starts as put-off by Quasimodo and gradually comes to see him for the soul he is (I hesitate to say person because Quasimodo is a puppy). I also like how she tells off Frollo.

 

Wishbone as Quasimodo, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame, picture image

Wishbone as Quasimodo, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

 

Then we have Wishbone as Quasimodo. Wishbone is played by a few entities. First, the dogs. Wishbone was mainly played by a veteran dog actor “Soccer” though I believe they used a few other dogs for a shots. Wishbone’s voice was played Larry Brantley. Brantley has great comic timing and his quips make the literary tales fun. Animal acting it hard to say if it “good” or not because the looks and movements are all tricks.  All in all though I think the depiction of Quasimodo in this version is a fine one. Plus it’s the cutest depiction of Quasimodo ever. (I’m a dog person, although  Quasimodo as a cute would be adorable as well)

 

 

Next Time Wishbone Article- Conclusions

Wishbone as Quasimodo, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame, picture image

Wishbone as Quasimodo, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

 

Fan-Art 06-14-13

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I composed this using the  Geisha Creator on Azaleas Dolls. It’s inspired by Esmeralda from Notre Dame de Paris.

Notre Dame de Paris Esmeralda made with Geisha Creator on Azaleas Dolls

Notre Dame de Paris Esmeralda made with Geisha Creator on Azaleas Dolls

Horoscope 06-13-13

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Today’s Horoscopes from the novel of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is thus;

Esmeralda gives Quasimodo a drop of water (Maureen O'Hara, Charles Laughton) 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

“Without a word she approached the sufferer, who vainly writhed and twisted to avoid her, and loosening a gourd from her girdle, she raised it gently to the parched lips of the miserable wretch.”

Help with come to you even if you don’t want it at first.

 

Gothic Hunchback

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These pictures were from a Futuristic Gothic Musical Version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame done in 2011. Scott Walter who played Frollo (and Clopin) received a lot of praise for his Frollo.

Ron Pederson as Quasimodo, Hunchback pictureimage

Ron Pederson as Quasimodo, Hunchback

Scott Walters as Claude Frollo & Ava Markus as La Esmeralda, Hunchback picture image

Scott Walters as Claude Frollo & Ava Markus as La Esmeralda, Hunchback

Scott Walters as Claude Frollo, Hunchback picture image

Scott Walters as Claude Frollo, Hunchback

Scott Walters & Jeremy Baumung as Pierre Gringoire, Hunchback

Scott Walters & Jeremy Baumung as Pierre Gringoire, Hunchback

Such cool weird costume ^^ I would love to see this version.

The Production Values of Wishbone

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The production values is where the Wishbone version of Hunchback fails. I have seen more conniving ren-faires. Though it being a PBS show I’m not going to completely bash it because it doesn’t have the same budget as a movie or regular Tv show.

Composite shot in the Wishbone, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Composite shot in the Wishbone, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

One the biggest problems is the composite shots with Notre Dame in the background. The shot they used  of Notre Dame has a very strong green and blue tone whereas the production uses a lot of warm tons. The contrast is jarring and it takes the viewer out of the story because it looks overly fake.

Painted Stone Set, Wishbone The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Painted Stone Set, Wishbone The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

The sets look very much like sets. The don’t have much age or personality but you seldom notice the sets  to begin with.  Really the nicest you can say about the sets is they’re dull. I mean you can just tell that the stone is painted.

Puppy Gargoyle, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Puppy Gargoyle, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

However the dog gargoyle while it does not look like stone at all is is at least cute and clever.

Wishbone's Hunchback Costume, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Wishbone’s Hunchback Costume, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

The only costume I think were made  for this production was Wishbone’s Quasimodo costumes. A hunchback dog costume in 1995 seem to have been made custom but all the other costume just look like theater costumes. They are not interesting but they are   serve their purpose.

Esmeralda (Lanell Pena), Wishbone, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda (Lanell Pena), The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

I will say I’m happy Esmeralda is not in bright red but what is up with her hair? Is that Lanell Pena’s natural hair or is it a wig? I found it very distracting especially since Lanell Pena is very pretty.

Nice Angle, Wishbone, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Nice Angle, Wishbone, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

One of the major strength in this version is the camera work. The use of the camera make this interesting and diminishes impact the fake looking sets.  I really like the shot of the crowd parting to reveal Esmeralda. There are just a lot of good interesting angles.

Wishbone as Quasimodo with a Gargoyle-Dog, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame, picture image

Wishbone as Quasimodo with a Gargoyle-Dog, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame

For the part the production values on this version are really weak however the acting is not bad.

Next article the acting.

Esmeralda (Lanell Pena), Wishbone, The Hunchdog of Notre Dame picture image

Esmeralda (Lanell Pena), The Hunchdog of Notre Dame