I found this Fan-Art here and thought it was GENIUS and I had to post it;
Notre Dame de Paris Fan-art featuring the Simpsons
It’s the Simpsons as Notre Dame de Paris character pose from the end shot of Belle. Which Looks like this
Notre Dame de Paris end shot from Belle with Garou, Daniel Lavoie, Patrick Fiori and Helene Segara
Ah, the voice acting in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. Some of it’s great, some it is just ok and some of the casting is off, which seems to weaken the believability of the characters. This is more or less in the order of rank, as I see it or hear it.. yeah.. I know lame joke.
Tony Jay
The highlight of the voices in the movie is Tony Jay’s rendition of Judge Claude Frollo. Jay’s cold sounding baritone mixed with his british accent makes for the perfect bad guy voice. He gives Frollo’s voice an air calm control that at any second could explode into fevered anger. Also his voice is seductive, you can believe this guy is a charmer and yet he speaks with command and authority. Jay’s voice helps make Frollo a more interesting character.
Jay had been a veteran Disney voice actor and voice actor in general. He’s been in a number of Disney related films and television shows as well many other non disney films, television and recordings of broadway shows. On his IMDB page he has 150 credits but I think he most known for Frollo mainly because Frollo is a horrible person and his voice accentuates brilliantly.
Tony Jay was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting.
Paul Kandel
Paul Kandel voiced Clopin and is a Broadway performer. He’s probably the best singer in the film (the crescendo at the end of Bells of Notre Dame gets me every single time) and that’s probably why he ended up with the most songs in the movie. In fact Clopin sings more than he actually speaks. Kandel gives Clopin a sense of fun and whimsy but he also gives him a flair for the dramatics which is a boon for the introductory scene since it’s not funny.
David Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers voiced the Archdeacon. Stiers like Jay is a veteran voice actor and has been in many major Disney movies. He’s also primarily a television actor. Stiers runs the gambit of tones with the Archdeacon’s voice; tenderness, command, authority, concern and a little amusement (the Archdeacon sounded a little amused when he thinking about Esmeralda’s merry chase). Just because the Archdeacon is by all account a glorified extra Stiers’ voice helps makes the character more interesting.
Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline voiced Phoebus. Kline does well as Phoebus but I think he falls short of Jay and Kandel because I mean really, Phoebus isn’t a hard role to play. Phoebus has a dry wit but so Kline, I mean Kline is practically playing himself. I give Kline credit, he made Phoebus funnier than probably was originally intended which makes him more interesting as character. Because without the humor would Phoebus have been memorable? My guess is no. Kline is also partly responsible for Achilles’ name. He insistent that horse have a name, so they gave the Phoebus’ horse a name at Kline’s insistent.
Fun Fact about Kline’s process – to get into the character of playing a knight, Kline held a sword in hand during recording sessions. He even ruined some recordings because he would hit the microphone (accidently, I’m sure.)
Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander voiced Hugo. As much as I dislike the gargoyles, I think the voice acting is fine. Jason Alexander is best known as George Costanza on Seinfeld. George is uptight and neurotic, the total opposite of Hugo. Hugo is fun-loving and laid back. I think Alexander does very well in the role. But again, is a fun-loving partier a demanding role? No, not really.
Charles Kimbrough
Charles Kimbrough voiced Victor. Kimbrough has been in many types of media; film, TV and voice acting. Kimbrough does well enough as the prim, more serious-minded Victor, but it’s hard to lay out Victor’s personality compare to Hugo and Laverne. So it’s hard to identify how well Kimbrough did as Victor.
Mary Wickes
Mary Wickes voiced Laverne. Later in Wickes’ career she played cranky old ladies. Two of the movies I remember her in were Little Women (Aunt March) and Sister Act (Sister Mary Lazarus), both characters are tell-it-like-it-is, cranky old ladies much like Laverne. So while she does well in the role she definitely playing her type of role.
Jane Withers
I want to mention Jane Withers briefly. Mary Wickes died as the film was being recorded and so Jane Withers stepped in to finish the recording and took over the role of Laverne. There are some lines where Wickes started and Withers finished, which is testament to Withers; acting to able to sound almost identical to Wickes.
Tom Hulce
Tom Hulce voiced of Quasimodo. Tom Hulce is most known for his role in Amadeus Mozart. I do not find any fault with Hulce’s acting, I think he does a good job giving Quasimodo tenderness, gentleness and a bit of pitiable emo-ness. I also think Hulce does well exhibiting both Quasimodo’s natural disposition and in contrast to his attitude when he’s with Frollo. So Why is Hulce’s performance second to the last on this Blog post? Well that is because I wonder what the directors were smoking in making Quasimodo a school boy that’s gentle and sweet. Quasimodo is suppose to be gentle but only to Esmeralda. He’s not suppose have a school boy. I can understand why Disney did this and I understand why Hulce’s voice is good for this type of role but just because I can understand it doesn’t mean I have to condone it. Honestly they made Quasimodo into a Disney Princess. Hulce has a clear voice which is a commonality to the Disney Princess trope. Think about, Quasimodo is a Disney princess, he just a male and not very pretty.
Demi Moore
Demi Moore voiced of Esmeralda. Like Quasimodo, I think casting was way off. I get that they wanted something different. The directors liked Moore’s husky and rough tone of voice and they liked that she also had a tenderness to it, but Moore ages the character. It’s weird looking at the concept art, how youthful Esmeralda started and how mature she looks/acts in the movie. I understand that the decision to cast Moore was intentional and as part the process of animation is that Esmeralda took on Moore’s looks and mannerism but I don’t think the pay off was good in the long run. I think Esmeralda is too much like Moore and effectively Moore was playing herself (or at the most her type-cast role) so she didn’t exactly have to exert her acting prowess. Also I think Moore got the role due to sex appeal and popularity. And point Deductions for being the only one of the cast not able to sing her character’s song, though if can’t sing than she can’t sing, but they could have just had Heidi Mollenhauer do the role in it enitety, she is an singer/actress after all. They fact they they didn’t just mean that Moore was cast for her popularity and appeal.
Shout Outs/Kudos to:
Gary Trousdale
-Shout out/Kudos to Gary Trousdale voice of Djali (that not a bleat) and the Old Heretic.
Corey Burton
Bill Fagerbakke
-Shout out/Kudos to Corey Burton and Bill Fagerbakke, Brutish and Oafish Guards these two made those characters hilarious.
Agree or Disagree, I’d love to know your opinions
Next Time- Going to Start Looking Music/Songs, starting off with beginning “The Bells of Notre Dame”
Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
What can we say about Disney’s Archdeacon in terms of looks? Well he’s old, he has white hair, he has long bushy sideburns and eyebrows. He has a square-ish face with a bulbous nose. He’s not much of a looker.
Archdeacon Stopped Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Much like the 1939 version his duds look modern and not medieval. I give Disney a little credit this vestments look less modern than the 1939 version, but not enough to praise Disney for their astute costume research.
Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Archdeacon Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Archdeacon is also ages during the film. When we first see him in the flashback, his hair is just grayish black. In the DVD commentary
David Ogden Stiers, voice of the Archdeacon
Cogsworth from Disney Beauty and the Beast
The Archdeacon also bares a striking resemblance to his Voice Actor David Ogden Stiers. It’s part of Disney’s process to record the voice actors during their recodring session and infuse the voice actore into character’s animation and character design. This would mean that the Archdeacon and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast look-alike
Archdeacon smiling oddly Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
That’s pretty much it, he’s not in the movie for long and he only kind of a main characters so I think his looks are more functional than indicative of personality. But he does make a creepy smile. Expressions are one thing Disney excels at. (I don’t know, I find that smile really odd, maybe it’s the half closed eyes and the downward tilt of his head and the upward eyebrow.)
Well that’s it, we’re done with the character analysis of Disney (Hooray!)
Next Time – Voice Acting….
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Hugo, Victor and Laverne are the agents of forced levity in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame. They all have distinct personally and looks.
Hugo is the short and fat one. He has a pig nose, thin horns that point straight up, bat-like wings, hooves for hand, rounded teeth and animal-like ears. He also for some reason is the only one of the three gargoyles to have a belly button. Hugo is the most animal looking among the three. This is he is the crudest and I think Disney thinks that he’s the funniest, in the infantile sense so he has to look somewhat amusing or people are going to believe he’s the “funny” one.
Victor is the tallest and largest of the three. He also the most muscular of the three. He’s the only one not to have horns, instead he has elf-like ears, large angel wings, an underbite, two fanged teeth and his hands are more like claws , almost human but a tad more beastly than human. His nose is stylized but almost human. His more human-like form is indicative of his prissy-like, prime, introverted personality.
Laverne is the female of the group. She has the most human-like hands. Her face looks old and she has no teeth. She has cherub wings, fatter and short horns than Hugo and there’re wider. She also have like a crown like detail that frames her horns. Her ears and nose like the most human too except her nose is a bit bulbous. Her no nonsense, tell it like it is personality is the reason why her features look more human than Victor and Hugo. The human-look enables Laverne to be take more seriously. I mean if she looked like Hugo, I doubt people who believe her “old women who tells it like it is” persona.
Looking at the concept art
Early in the production and this can be seen on the gargoyles in their introductory scene, the gargoyles have stains on them from the elements. The studio had maps for each gargoyle in order to keep the stains consistently placed. Then the idea was abandoned as the film progress. Funny it’s it, they tried so hard to be consistent on a detail that few noticed and then abandoned it but they very inconsistent with the light in the characters eyes.
Next Time – The Looks of the Archdeacon
This is a little photoshop image I did. It’s essentially Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Esmeralda, Quasimodo, and Phoebus in the costumes of their counterparts from Notre Dame de Paris. The costumes are like Digital Textures.
Disney Hunchback characters cosplaying as Notre Dame de Paris Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Phoebus
Here are the pictures I used from Notre Dame de Paris for the fan-art;
Helene Segara as Esmeralda from Notre Dame de Paris
Garou as Quasimodo from Notre Dame de Paris
Patrick Fiori as Phoebus from Notre Dame de Paris
Clopin with Puppet Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
I’ve already mention Clopin’s over all look in his character analysis.
so to re-cap
“Clopin has looks very similar to Kuzco from the Emperor’s New Groove. Has a long pointy long face, straight long black hair, pointy nose, and thin. Clopin is older and has a few age lines, balding (a little bit) a beard, bushy eye brows and some missing teeth. Clopin gets two costumes, a performance look and a casual look. Unlike Esmeralda he is seen more in this performance outfit. It Harlequin that is purple and yellow with bells on his neck piece, a purple mask, and long back gloves. He has wears a purple hat with a big yellow feather. The hat is akin to the one that Thomas Mitchell wore in the 1939 version. Clopin casual costume looks similar to this performance garb but it all purple and less festive. He also wears the same hat. Like Esmeralda and Djali, Clopin also wears a single golden hoop earring. He cosplays (costume play) as Frollo. He also makes awesome expressions.”
Clopin noticing Quasimodo during the Feast of Fools Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Kuzco from The Emperor's new Groove Disney
Clopin Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Clopin’s look is kinda a model look of certain Disney characters. Much like how Disney villains can fall into two basic groups, thin and big, the good guys have their models too. For instance the fathers in Disney movies are usually dumpy old men.
Human Lumiere and Babette Disney Beauty and the Beast
Clopin at the end Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
The point I’m getting at is Clopin is reminiscent to the look of other characters like him; the larger-than life sidekick. Typically this character is not human, Sebastian, Lumiere ( through is human spends the bulk of the movie as a candlestick), Genie, Timon, Mushu etc, etc . However take a look at Lumiere as human, and you can see the resembles to Clopin. Lumiere has a long face, pionty nose, and thin. Of course Clopin is a little more rough around the edges but Lumiere works in a castle and Clopin is a busker. But they are both entertainer, (what was Lumiere’s job exactly?)
Clopin with Frollo Puppet Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Human Lumiere Disney Beauty and the Beast
One could say that Kuzco as man character doesn’t fall into this catgeory and Clopin similarity to Lumiere is a considence. I would that Kuzco is pretty over the top and spend most of his time as Llama so I think he can fit into the category and he a slight exception.
Clopin Disney Hunchback Notre Dame
So Clopin’s look follows a grand tradition of Disney character design which places character into convientional models which aids them in their quest for more money, by making the same old stuff. Actually Disney can you go back to the same old stuff, I miss it.
Concept Art of Clopin Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
And for no reason Clopin’s Concept Art.
Next Time – I suppose logically it would be the Gargoyles (Shudders)
Victor, Hugo and Laverne singing A Guy like you Disney Hunchback of Notre dame
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Phoebus is the dashing and handsome captain of the guard. Due to this namesake, Phoebus (Apollo) he has a very yellow look, gold armor, blond hair and a beard. He has a bit of a Roman look. His beard, with cape his hair style, aquiline nose are all more Roman than late medieval. Oddly enough, Phoebus’ only describe featured in the book is his mustache which is in the “Burgundian Style.” Phoebus is first Disney guy to get facial hair, so kudos to Disney for at least taking something from the book as a basis. Well one could argue that in the 23 version and the 39 version Phoebus had a mustache, so who knows what Disney was going off of, besides the production crew. At least they went there and gave him some form of facial hair The important this is that Phoebus should be handsome, he can be a jerk, a hero or a gloried extra but he must be a pretty boy, and Disney at least did that.
Phoebus concept art isn’t much different than how he appears in the movie. However he looks like John Smith from Pocahontas. For More Concept Art of Hunchback
I mean, It’s John Smith with a beard.
Phoebus wears the most useless armor ever, honestly I don’t know why he bothers with it, maybe the gold makes him feels special or pretty but clearly it’s just for show. Djali hits him in the gut and inflicts some pain but when a candelabra hits him the face he shakes it off. He gets shot with an arrow through back (and yet it almost got his heart) and he nearly drowns in it. Frankly he’s better off without it.
Phoebus’ look is pretty generic looking considering the rest of the characters. He’s conventially handsome with a slight roman look mix with a little John Smith through for good measure. The result is a tad on the boring which is why his look didn’t change much from the concept art.
Next Time – Clopin
I was hoping to post the Phoebus installment of “Let’s get Superficial” today since I won’t be able do it this weekend, however it’s been delayed and it’s not ready yet. But since I’m trying to update more often (two-three times a week), I’ve made this for fun;
Find the differences and leave a comment with the answers. There are 6 differences in total. There are not meant to be too hard or too challenging, just fun. I’ll post the original picture next time. So have fun. ^_^
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Esmeralda is the most divergent character in the Disney version from the book in both looks and personality. I already talked about her personality, now let’s look at her looks.
The Disney Esmeralda looks 100% a traveler*. She has a darker complexion, dark hair, and light green eyes (with no glint). Her eyes also do not change color pending on how much light is in the space, which kind of makes them look witchy. She keeps her hair pulled back which it creates volume. This bigger hair makes her look older. When her hair is down she looks younger. Her hair also has a slight curl. Though in the middle of the epic running away from Frollo, her hair looks straight but that could just be inconsistencies in animation or the wind, take your pick. But it does look straight. However it also fair to point out that this voluminous hairstyle was on trend in the late 90s.
Her age is very vague. Most of the Disney characters have a rough age range or they just say how old they are like Ariel and Jasmine. With this shift in Disney heroines being somewhat more independent and less dreamy, they appear to be older than the typical “Disney princess” (except Tiana, I would say she is like a compromise between the archetypal Princess and the confident independent heroine of the late 90s).
The question is how old is Disney’s Esmeralda? With the age inflation that Disney implements, I’d say she most likely 22 at the youngest, which is “old” for a Disney heroine. The long and short of it is, Esmeralda is meant to be older like “she’s been around.” This is not my phasing, watch the commentary, it’s the scene where Esmeralda is helping Quasimodo from the pillory. To listen to the commentary, The DVD.
One reason why this version made her older could have been to help establish her relationship with Quasimodo as more maternal, more like a big sister than romantic. This could have made her pairing with Phoebus appear more palatable for the audience, though given a lot of bad-faith internet discourse it didn’t really work that way.
Against the original novel by Victor Hugo, Esmeralda’s looks are very different. Esmeralda is never described in graphic detail but she’s described as very beautiful frequently by many characters. Disney Esmeralda is meant to be beautiful certainly but she is never called beautiful in the movie. The closest mention to her looks is Clopin saying she’s “The Finest Girl is France.”
Esmeralda in the book is not genetically a full traveler*. Her mother is a French women and while her Father could have been a traveler, it is never actually mentioned who was her father.
Esmeralda has a golden skin tone, black hair and black eyes. Part of Esmeralda’s charm in the book is her innocence and her total unawareness of her own beauty. Disney’s Esmeralda is the complete and utter opposite; she knows her appeal, exploits it and given that quote by the director Kirk Wise that I mention earlier, I’m not sure how innocent is in the movie. So it safe to say that Disney did not use Hugo for even a basis of Esmeralda’s design.
Looking at the concept art, Esmeralda started off looking more youthful and somehow along the way she lost the youthful look. My guess the vocal inspiration turned the tables on the character design. Alas Demi’s Moore doesn’t sound youthful, at least not when the film was recording the voices. For More Concept Art of Hunchback
It’s actually not Disney’s fault that Esmeralda’s looks/acts sexy whereas Hugo’s Esmeralda did not. The fault lies in the film history of Hunchback movies.
Esmeralda has long been depicted as sexy or at least no stranger to feminine charms. Esmeralda has also been depicted by actresses who are more known for their sex appeal. Such actresses have been Stacia Napierkowska, Theda Bara, Gina Lollobrigida and Salma Hayak. Also Disney models their characters after the voice actor playing them, so with the choice of Demi Moore it was inevitable that Disney Esmeralda was going to be sexy and follow the line of sexy Esmeraldas.
In a featurette of the movie, Moore said she could see herself in Esmeralda’s animation. While Disney took their cues from the 1939 version, I think Esmeralda’s look was based somewhat on Gina Lollobrigida’s Esmeralda as well as Demi Moore (maybe, I can’t really tell, I haven’t seen a ton of Moore’s films discern her mannerism and/or acting style in Esmeralda’s animation.)
*Since 2021 the blog has been using the words Travelers or Nomads to convey the group of people that Esmeralda is associated with while trying to be respectful. You can read that post here. I do tend to favor the travelers usage.
Next Time Phoebus
Judge Claude Frollo
As I mention in my Character analysis of Frollo, he is of the elegant Disney Villain variety. Other Villains include but are not limited to, Jafar, Yzma and Doctor Facilier. Frollo is thin and tall, (perfect super model body). He has a very angler face and a hook nose. Like many of the characters he has small eyes. Oddly enough he has grey hair but black eyebrows which are thin. Thin eyebrow makes one look older and fuller brow make one look younger. So Disney Frollo is old, and considering he looked old in the back story, he’s probably clocks in at 60 or so.
Frollo and Phoebus Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
Frollo Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney
Judge Claude Frollo
He wears a long black robe with purple and red elements. As I also mentioned in my 1939 costume post, long black slabs of fabric look very unapproachable and it’s like a giant arrow that says” I’m a bad guy”. The first time you see Frollo, you know this be the villain. Of Course a big black scary horse helps, plus he arrests people for no reason. However his clothes assert his evil.
Frollo and Quasimodo Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney
Frollo and an illusion of Esmeralda during Hellfire
Frollo Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney
So how does Disney Frollo compare with Frollo in the book? Well in the book Frollo’s face is described as austere, calm and sombre. He’s bald with a few gray hair that form a natural tonsure. He has a broad forehead that is furrowed with wrinkles and deep-set eyes. His eyes are the only thing expressive about him. Frollo is also 35 in the book. Which is supposed to be old but the idea is that he’s not too old, just old to shallow 16 year-old. Disney Frollo’s does has an austere look but Disney didn’t base Frollo’ s design off the book. They based it off of Sir Cedric Hardwicke’s look. They have the same dower look that gives way to insane bat-shit crazy looks. They have the same framing locks which is impossible not to notice. Disney’s Frollo is just older and balder, though he’s only balding. But it doesn’t take a genius to see where Disney got their inspiration from. Disney Frollo is almost an exact copy of Hardwicke’s Frollo.
Lemud Illustration of Frollo
Frollo Hunchback of Notre Dame Disney
Jehan Frollo (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame
Next up Esmeralda the “pretty” one
Esmeralda singing "God Help the Outcast" Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
