Reference or Homage to Hunchback in Popular YA Book

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I was reading Leigh Bardugo’s Crooked Kingdom when I noticed a weird line:

Passage from Leigh Bardugo's Crooked Kingdom that reads like a hunchback reference.
An Homage???

Now to anyone else this wouldn’t ring any “bells” but I see what you did there. It’s an oddly worded description. A guess is that this passage was originally evocative of Hugo’s character much like Martin did in A Feast for Crows. I think this particular line got edited but the framing is still present enough. There are multiple other ways to convey the imagery without linking the words “humped,” “back” with “cathedral” together.

Still it a fun little homage if true.

Hooked on a Hunchback Reference

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Quasimodo in Animaniacs hooked on a ceiling picture image

Quasimodo in Animaniacs

It’s another Hunchback of Notre Dame reference from Animaniacs. This one occurs in Season 1 episode  4 called Hooked on a Ceiling. The episode is the Yakko, Wakko and Dot help Michelangelo help painting the ceiling of the  Sistine Chapel. During the episode the bells start ringing which annoys Michelangelo and he goes to yell at the hunchback bell ringer who is claiming Sanctuary. You can tell it going to be Quasimodo the second the bells ring.

Notre Dame spotting in an anime

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Notre Dame Rebel Ookami shoujo to kuro ouji picture image

Le Rebels Notre Dame in Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji

I was watching this crappy anime called  Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji, which means Wolf Girl and Black Prince and I saw in the background Le Rebels Notre Dame. It was really nothing but I have so many question. Like what is it supposed to be? Even my meager French skills knows it poor grammar which the irony of my own english grammar is not lost on me.  But is it a play or a cafe or shop?

Maybe it’s a reference?  There is a High School in Missouri that is called Notre Dame Rebels but I doubt that is it. Once I figured out how to write it in Japanese I found mostly random pictures  of motorcycles and Moomin stuff, which is pretty great. So I have no idea what this means but the fact that saw in the background is pretty good.

And Really this anime was bad, don’t watch.

Quasimodo Reference in A Trivia Game

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I was over a friend’s house and we decided to play this game a call Smart Ass. It’s a trivia card game and it’s really fun. So it was mine turn to read one of the cards and the player who guessed the answer right  landed a  bonus tile, so I had to read a card from the hard-ass pile. On card you have a choice of two questions  and I kid you not this is the card I drew to read.

Quasimodo Card from the game Smart Ass picture image

Quasimodo Card from the game Smart Ass

 

Even though I knew the player knew the answer I had to pick the Hunchback reference. Smart Ass is also really fun, I would recommend it plus it has a Hunchback reference so clearly it’s awesome.

I won the first game, and the next two games I kept getting bad rolls that forced me back three spaces but it’s a really fun game. Photo credit to my pal Jackie ^^.

Final Fantasy 14 Hunchback Reference

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For those of you who read the blog, you know I like Final Fantasy. I have been playing the franchise’s second MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV; A Realm Reborn. FF14 has a lot of references to a lot of things for titles of quests. I was doing a quest to level up one of my classes  and the quest was called Topsy-Turvy Time. For the quest you just have to gather scaffolding logs, hence the name.

Topsy-Turvy Final Fantasy XIV; A Realm Reborn picture image

Topsy-Turvy Time Levequest

I don’t know about you but when I hear the words “Topsy-Turvy” I go to the Disney song right away. Is it a direct reference to Hunchback? Only the localization team knows for certain but I think it is and that all that matters.

There could be more references to Hunchback in game but I’m sure there are more Disney ones.

30 Rock Reference

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30 Rock, Hunchback picture image

30 Rock, Hunchback

In the first episode of  7th season of the 30 Rock we are treated to a Hunchback reference. Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy are talking about the new fall shows and one of them is called “hunchback ” which is meant to parody all the sexy vampire shows. It uses the water scene from the 1923 version.  It stars Jonathan Silverman as Dr Fantastico. I have no idea what that means.  But I love 30 Rock and was so happy to this reference.

The Nanny Hunchback Reference V.2

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Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) & Margaret (Nicholle Tom) in The Nanny S02x10 picture image

Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) & Margaret (Nicholle Tom) in The Nanny S02x10

Season 2 episode 10 of The Nanny entitled “The Whine Cellar” has a Hunchback reference. Fran Fine is throwing a party for her mother and when Margaret asks if they’ll be any boys her age there, Fran’s mother suggests they set her up with Cousin Irving who is “a nice boy with a wonderful personality.” Fran retorts with ” is he still ringing the bell at Notre dame?”

Watch the full episode here, reference starts at 1:42.

Notre Dame de Paris Reference in AB FAB

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Ab fab or Absolutely Fabulous is one of my favorite television shows ever. It’s a comedy show from England. It’s about two middle-aged  women who think they are hip and trendy. And the main character’s daughter is their unfashionable, mature foil. The show is very funny and blends physical comedy with wit.

Anyway in season 4 episode 3, entitled Paris, they all go to Paris and there is a reference to Notre Dame de Paris the musical albeit, the London cast.

Watch the video for the full reference. Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o-lIosEyFE

Hunchback reference – The Nanny

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In Season 4 episode 8 of The Nanny there is a reference to Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s pretty obvious that they are refering to the Disney since it was topical at the time.

It starts with the Nanny, Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) complaining that her employer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy ) isn’t taking her and his daughter Grace (Madeline Zima) to the movies. Maxwell’s buiness partner, C.C. (Lauren Lane)  chimes in by saying that Maxwell will go insane if he has to see “The Hunchback” agian and then the butler Niles (Daniel Davis) who hates C.C. retorts with “Well why don’t you quit”. If you watch the show you’d know that C.C and Niles are always insulting each other, so it’s a “cute” topical reference.

Reference starts at about 2:52
http://youtu.be/UXIu1HMhvxI

 

The Nanny has at least one more Hunchback reference but that is for another post

A Notre Dame Reference in an anime

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In 2010, I saw the first few episodes of an anime called Blessings of the Campanella (Shukufuku no Campanella). I confess, I watch it mainly because of the word “Campanella” which can mean either a Free Standing Bell Tower like the Tower of Piza or Little Bell. So  I was surpise by the Hunchback of Notre Dame reference which many people have overlooked. (Looked though the comments no one mentioned it)

Meet Agnes Boulange.

Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella

 

Agnes is a street performer who performs more or less in front of a Cathedral that looks identical to Notre Dame de Paris.

Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella

Notre Dame de Paris depicted in Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Notre Dame de Paris depicted in Shukufuku no Campanella

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a street performer Agnes makes automatic puppets (automata) dance.  She even has a special puppet that can speak and takes money (Djali’s counterpart). This puppet is called Tango and it’s one of the few automata puppets that can speak (spoiler; there are like two).

Agnes with her dancing automata puppets Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Agnes with her dancing automata puppets Shukufuku no Campanella

Agnes and Tango Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Agnes and Tango Shukufuku no Campanella

Tango, Agnes' speaking automata puppet Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Tango, Agnes' speaking automata puppet Shukufuku no Campanella

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the sake clarification. Hunchback’s leading lady, Esmerlada, is a street performer who dances for the people outside of Notre Dame de Paris but for those who don’t know her birth name is Agnes. So to have a woman named Agnes performing infront of a building that is clearly Notre Dame de Paris is a clear reference to Victor Hugo’s book. The special peforming “animal” is  just a special bonus. Plus like goats, cats are associated with witches,  but I think it’s just meant to be a cute animal in the anime.

Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Agnes Boulange from Shukufuku no Campanella

Esmeralda Illustration Image picture

19th century Illustration of Esmeralda

 

 

 

 

 

I also want to mention that within the context of the anime, the world is a Fantasy which takes place in a city called Ert’Aria and the characters’ name do not follow a cultural scheme. One’s name is English in origins, another Italian. Agnes is the french one.

The anime itself is not very good. It’s a Fantasy-Harem (one male and several females) but if you’re curious or just want to see the reference for yourself you can watch the first episode on youtube with Japanese subtitles. Watch Here

Oddly, it is not available on DVD (at least in the States) however if you’re interested in either the audio CDs or the video game.

 

Agnes performing with Tango and the dancing automata puppets Shukufuku no Campanella picture image

Agnes performing with Tango and the dancing automata puppets