There one big major glaring plot-hole in the Jetlag version of the Hunhcback of Notre Dame .
During the ill-fate meeting of Esmeralda and Phoebus, after Phoebus is stab by Frollo, Frollo rips Esmeralda’s necklace off and throws it in the river where it drift down to Quasimodo who seems to be in the general area during the stabbing.
Why was he there? The film makes no indication of him following either Esmeralda or Frollo. Was he out taking a midnight scroll? In the words of the Nostalia Critc “Explain Movie, Explain.”
Now when Esmeralda realizes that Frollo is the one who stabbed Phoebus she runs to tell Quasimodo who doesn’t believe her. But When Quasimodo confronts Frollo at the end on bridge he says that he saw him stab the captain.
So Quasimodo saw Frollo stab Phoebus but didn’t believe it? Or he saw it but didn’t know it was Frollo but we never see him come to the realization that Frollo did it? In fact, we never see Quasimodo realize that Frollo is no longer a nice person and inflicting pain on Esmeralda, the woman he loves.
In the book Quasimodo sees Frollo laughing at a dying Esmeralda and throws him off Notre Dame but he does it in a fit of rage but never quite understood why he did it. In the Jetlag version he sees Frollo trying to kill Esmeralda and he all like ‘yeah I saw you stab that guy even though I never really thought about it or seemed to even care about that incident, so you’re bad guy now it’s time to get wet and inconvenienced’ and over the bridge he goes. Got to wonder how high that bridge was, I mean Frollo’s comeuppance is getting wet whereas Quasimodo and Esmeralda may get to live happy ever after but they are chased out Paris and are basically criminals. But then again searching for logic or a deeper meaning to things in the Jetlag version is pointless as it was rushed, not thought out and lazy.
Next Jetlag Article – The Epic Conclusion