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hello-robin-goodfellow · 4 years ago

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Top Five Favorite Books

TAGGED BY: @hmmm-what-am-i-doing

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The other famous novel by Victor Hugo. Written in 1831, Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is a rich, meandering tale that addresses messy relationships, fate, and the future of architecture in 1482. The English title is a misnomer, since the protagonist of the story is Esmeralda, the original title being a metaphor on the cathedral who serves as the central location of the novel, and Esmeralda herself (though one could argue the cathedral is itself a character). Victor Hugo strongly protested against the English title, as it turns the focus from the cathedral onto the characters.

The hunchback is Quasimodo, the deaf, one-eyed, hunchbacked, monstrously ugly bell-ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Abandoned outside the church at the age of four, he was taken in out of kindness by the Archdeacon of Josas, Claude Frollo, who raised him in the church and introduced him to the bells. When the hitherto chaste Frollo sees the romani girl Esmeralda dancing in the street one day, he finds himself stricken with lust, and doesn't know how to deal with it. So, sure as Love Makes You Evil, he grabs Quasimodo (for muscle) and tries to kidnap her. The attempt is foiled by Phoebus, Captain of the Archers. It is spectacularly not foiled by lovable slacker-poet Pierre Gringoire, who gets knocked out trying to save the girl.Later that night, however, Esmeralda temporarily marries the poet, to save his life from her friends at the Court of Miracles. That doesn't mean she's going to let her new "husband" touch her, mind you, or that she's going to give up her dreams of marrying Phoebus. Phoebus likes the look of her, himself, and although he's already engaged to his teenage cousin Fleur-de-Lys, he's not opposed to a bit on the side. Esmeralda's small kindness to Quasimodo when he is in the stocks for the kidnapping attempt (Frollo having let him take the fall) makes her an angel in Quasimodo's mind, and he is henceforth devoted to her. This eventually, and painfully, puts him in conflict with Frollo, whose combination of lust and loathing for Esmeralda makes him increasingly unstable. Amidst the drama and tragedy resulting from everybody's fatal obsessions, Hugo includes leisurely chapters on the architecture of Paris and the expected impact of the newly-developed printing press.

Frankenstein

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, usually abbreviated to Frankstein is a novel by Mary Shelley. It was originally published in 1818. It had a 1823 reprint without Shelley's involvement and a third edition in 1831, this time with significant edits from the author. Frankenstein is considered an Ur-Example of Science Fiction and inarguably has vast historical significance.

The novel tells of Dr. Victor Frankenstein who unlocks the secrets to Creating Life. He uses this knowledge to create an artificial man, larger and stronger than most mortals, by means which he chooses not to describe. While he is initially triumphant with his success, a few moments of observing the flailing and moaning patchwork being leaves Victor disgusted by and fearful of his creation. Realizing the ramifications of his success, he is horrified. He abandons the Creature and flees to his family's estate. In his absence, the Creature is forced to come to grips with suddenly finding itself alive and alone without explanation or guidance. He learns about humanity by watching a family cottage from afar, but is again driven off when he attempts to offer his friendship- one of many bad run-ins with humanity which leave the monster bitter and cynical. Eventually, the Creature comes to resent his creator, whom he views as his father, for abandoning the Creature to a life of torment, and decides to come home to seek vengeance against Frankenstein...

The subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, compares Victor Frankenstein to the Greek titan Prometheus, who brought the secret of fire from Mount Olympus to mortal men, reflecting on Frankenstein's spiritual would-be theft of the secret to creating life — but like Prometheus, Frankenstein also came to regret his transgression.note Many would say that Frankenstein was the ultimate warning of Science Is Bad, though similar stories were common throughout the industrial revolution and it is not even clear whether the act of creating the Monster was bad in itself, if the world wasn't ready for it, or Frankenstein was just a horrible and abusive parent.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a 1967 novel that won Gabriel García Márquez the Nobel Prize for Literature. It's become a staple of Spanish-speaking high school curricula everywhere. Arguably one of the most important pieces of literature written in the 20th century, or to put in context, almost as important as Don Quixote to Spanish speaking literature. Famous, among other things, for using every conceivable trope one could ever hope to fit in 28.8 oz of paper.

The book follows the story of the Buendía family and the town they create, Macondo, from its foundation to its end. Of course, it is told in a non-linear fashion with every generation having the same few names, as well as the same basic attributes (except for a pair of twins whose names are thought to have been accidentally switched at some point). Alongside the story of the Buendía family, there are an abundance of vignettes recounting both the everyday and the supernatural occurrences that shape the lives of the inhabitants of Macondo. The themes range widely, incorporating legendary figures (such as the Wandering Jew), historical events (Sir Francis Drake’s bombing of Rioacha, the Massacre of the Banana growers), and short stories about the love of two minor characters who never get to interfere with the main action. Believe it or not the story takes place in a time span of a hundred years.

Netflix has announced that it will be adapting the story into a television series.

The Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights, correctly known as The Tales of One Thousand and One Nights (Farsi Hezār-o yek šab, Arabic Kitāb 'alf layla wa-layla), is a massive collection of Fairy Tales drawn from sources as far apart as the Middle East, North Africa, India, and, to an extent, even China and Greece. It has for centuries shaped the European view of the [relative to Europe] "(Near) East" or "Orient", even though only some of the stories are widely known. In fact, early Arabic-language versions only contain about 300 nights. The 701 others were added later; most of the additions were by Arab writers, but European translators added some other folktales they'd collected in their editions. Some of these additions were based on other Arabian sources, but others, including Aladdin and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, were stolen by Antoine Galland (the French translator) from Syrian Maronite writer Hanna Diyab, who recounted those tales to Galland and based them on various aspects of his own life. Diyab's autobiography was found in 1993 and greatly expanded our understanding of these stories.

The Framing Device for the story cycle is the tale of King Shahryar and Shahrazad. The King's first wife had cheated on him, so he had her executed. Then, feeling that no woman could be trusted, he hit upon a plan only a powerful and insane tyrant could pull off: He'd marry a woman, spend the night with her, and then, in the morning, send her off to the royal Wazir (chancellor) to be executed. No woman would ever betray him again! After a great many wives were executed in this manner (Richard Burton's translation says the King did this for three years, which would be about 1,100 wives), the Wazir was running out of marriage prospects to present to the King. Then the Wazir's daughter, Shahrazad, came to him with a plan. Since her plan involved marrying the King, the Wazir objected in the strongest manner possible, but nothing would deter the girl, and finally he brought her to the King.

Come the wedding night, once he started putting the moves on her, she feigned becoming upset, and pleaded to see her younger sister one last time. The King acquiesced, and allowed Shahrazad's sister Dunyazad to stay in the room with them until dawn. Even while they consummated the marriage. Awkward. After that and the three of them went to sleep, the sisters woke up at midnight. Just as planned, Dunyazad asked Shahrazad to tell her a story, but by the morning she was not finished, and ended the story on a Cliffhanger. The awoken King was so hooked on the story that he postponed the execution for one night, in order to hear the rest. But after Scheherazade ended that story, it was still the middle of the night, and she started up another story, again ending on a cliffhanger in the morning. The nightly routine continued. Some of the stories were simple, some complex and multi-layered; sometimes a character in one story would begin to tell a second story, and sometimes the story was never actually ended because Scheherazade had gone on two or three layers and never returned to wrap up. Or sometimes she claimed she didn't know the ending, but had another tale that was even more intriguing than the unfinished one. But all of the stories were so compelling that the King could never bear to order her execution without hearing the ending. So Shahrazad kept up the stories for three years — in the meantime bearing Shahryar three sons — and finally, after 1,001 nights, she said that she had told all of her tales and was ready to die. But the King had fallen in love with her, and had been calmed by her entrancing stories. He declared that no woman in the kingdom was as wise as Shahrazad, and he made her his queen for keeps this time, and they lived Happily Ever After.

Unlike many legends which deal primarily with the deeds of the nobility (who after all were the ones who could afford to have a bard as a permanent resident at their palaces), Arabian Nights has the fascinating twist that it covers people from myriads of occupations in a highly-complex society.

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

A novel by Umberto Eco.

Yambo Bodoni has a problem. After suffering a stroke, he lost his episodic memory. Now he can't remember his name, family, or any aspects of his life. Thanks to a lifetime of work as an antiquarian book dealer in Milan, however, he can recall anything he's ever read. In order to rediscover his lost past, Yambo heads to his childhood hometown of Solara. As he pores through old newspapers, comics, and magazines, Yambo - and the reader - get glimpses into the often tragic and bittersweet reality of a boy coming of age in Italy during World War II.

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slashingdisneypasta · 1 year ago

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Here's a little something to ponder while you're away - feel free to skip it if it's too much like a request! Which Disney villains do you think would prefer a s/o who is sweet and gentle or even shy? Who likes 'em more on the bold and feisty side?

This is hard, because I don't believe people are either one or the other 😅 Like, it all depends on your mood every day! So these are more, which mood the villains prefer their S/O's to mostly be in 😅

Villains who would just love their S/O to be sweet, gentle, and shy:

Villains that like to feel like the smartest person in the room, and they prove it by talking a lot. So even if their quiet S/O is brainy as hell, they'll still feel big-brained and big-dicked cuz they're being listened to. Such as Captain Hook, Clayton, and Scar.

Similar to the villains above, but villains who are full of themselves. Attention seekers and holier-than-thou's. Such as Don Karnage, Chick Hicks, and Professor Ratigan, Judge Claude Frollo, the Horned King and Gaston.

Villains who like the quiet, like Lady Tremaine XD or just don't want to hear your opinion- like Cruella De Vil.

Villains that like to TEASE. Such as Maleficent, Jafar, Shere Khan and Ursula.

Manipulative fucks. Villains who think, since you're quiet, they can make you feel like they're all you have and make you do anything for them. Such as Mother Gothel, Greasy Weasel and Lotso.

Villains who just think you are so damn cute and sweet XD ^^ Such as Shan Yu ^^

Villains who would love their S/O to be bold and feisty:

Oogie Boogie.

Percival C McLeach

Prince Hans

Villains who will get turned on, seeing you take charge of their wayward henchmen or the rest of his damn patrol like Smartass Weasel.

#Sorry i kind of petered out with the second part! 😅

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ars-historia-est · 5 years ago

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Ten Favourite Characters

So, a while back I was tagged to make a list of ten of my favourite characters from any medium,and I had so much fun, that I decided to make a separate post with some of the quotes that give an insight to their characters and why I love them.

"Nothing human disgusts me, Mr. Shannon, unless it's unkind, violent."

Hannah Jelkes, The Night of the Iguana (Tennessee Williams)

"It's all nonsense, utter nonsense. It's myself, different aspects of myself. Nothing more. You don't think, do you, that because I've just added that, er, phrase I'm still doubtful and not sure that it's me and not in fact the devil?...I see it as plainly as I see you. Sometimes, though, I see it and yet I'm not sure that I see it, and sometimes I don't know which of us is real - me or him. It's all a lot of nonsense. Surely, you couldn't possibly have imagined that it really was the devil, could you?...You lowered your eyes just now...because you feel ashamed that while believing in the devil I should pretend not to believe in him and cunningly confront you with the question: does he or does he not really exist?"

Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin, Demons (Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky)

"Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot."

Dream of the Endless / Morpheus, The Sandman (Neil Gaiman)

"This is just the beginning. I've had strength enough to push myself forward -the spirit and character you lack. I've seen death under this roof, and gone out to look for what was mine, what belonged to me."

Adela, The House of Bernarda Alba (Federico García Lorca)

"I know now that no one can give you your honor. It’s something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what’s right."

Zuko, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko)

"I belong to an unlucky generation, astride between two worlds and ill-at-ease in both. And what is more, I am completely without illusions."

Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince di Salina, Il Gattopardo / The Leopard (Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa / Luchino Visconti)

"Oh, yes...behold here a symbol of all. She flies, she is joyous, she is just born; she seeks the spring, the open air, liberty: oh, yes! but let her come in contact with the fatal network, and the spider issues from it, the hideous spider! Poor dancer! poor, predestined fly! Let things take their course, Master Jacques, 'tis fate! Alas! Claude, thou art the spider! Claude, thou art the fly also! Thou wert flying towards learning, light, the sun. Thou hadst no other care than to reach the open air, the full daylight of eternal truth; but in precipitating thyself towards the dazzling window which opens upon the other world,--upon the world of brightness, intelligence, and science--blind fly! senseless, learned man! thou hast not perceived that subtle spider's web, stretched by destiny betwixt the light and thee--thou hast flung thyself headlong into it, and now thou art struggling with head broken and mangled wings between the iron antennae of fate! Master Jacques! Master Jacques! let the spider work its will!"

Dom Claude Frollo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor Hugo)

“I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”

Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)

"Now listen here," she said in a loud and clear voice. "If you think I will sell my fate and my body for your pleasure, you little scoundrel, you are very mistaken. I tell it for you and everyone to listen! I am not a whore, nor will I ever be, and for you no less, you pack of hungry wolves! Even if I marry Giorgos -and I never will- know this; my duty as an honest wife commands me one thing; to defend my husband's fortune from your claws! No! I won't ever let him give you one dime even! Never! Never! Never!...As for you, you little blackmailer, who dared to raise you hand unjustly against your elder sister, I despise you! You lowly little man! Out of my sight!"

Voula Papadelis, Junkermann (M. Karagatsis)

"Do you know what my most enduring image is, the one I've always admired the most? Of the woman fighting alone, faithful to an idea of herself and to the man she's chosen as her master, relying only on herself, ignominiously murdered by four heroes who are no more than cardboard cutouts...I can picture the engraving as if it were in front of me now - the river at night, the four scoundrels kneeling in prayer but without mercy. And on the other side of the river, the executioner raising his sword above the woman's bare neck..."

Liana Taillefer, The Club Dumas (Arturo Pérez-Reverte)

If anyone likes the idea, feel free to do it too! And don’t forget to tag me :)

And also, tell me if you want to see more similar content here :)

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snowballesmeralda · 4 years ago

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Hey is nave like the hunchaback of norte dame is what don t ster esmeralda it what of draw haple know You are owe Claude frollo🤗😍💖

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81scorp · 5 years ago

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My thoughts on Tangled

(Originally posted as an editorial on Deviantart Nov 17, 2015.)

In my "More thoughts on Frozen" editorial I wrote: "I like Frozen. Though not as much as I like Tangled."So let`s talk about Tangled.

And at last I see the SPOILERS

I didn`t have high expectations about this movie. Based on what I saw from the trailer it seemed to be not much more than a silly romp with lots of slapstick, kinda like The Emperor`s new groove. I wasn`t really interested in watching it until I saw a trailer with the scene where Flynn and Rapunzel sits in a boat and release lanterns into the sky. I thought to myself: "I think I`ll give it a watch."

Then there`s the name. It was originally gonna be called Rapunzel, but the big suits at Disney changed it. It has been theorized that they did it because The Princess and the Frog, while not unsuccessful at the box office, was not as successful as they had hoped, and they were afraid that boys wouldn`t see a movie with the word "Princess" or anything feminine in the title. I think it was a very insecure move from Disney, it`s like changing "The Little Mermaid" to "Beached". If they had kept the name "Rapunzel" and marketed it the way they did, with the trailers focusing on The Emperor`s new groove-like slapstick while playing Pink`s "Trouble", I and (I`d like to think that others, as well) would still have gone to see it. You might want to argue and say that the name change was justified because they changed the story from the original fairytale. They changed the story of The Little Mermaid and The Hunchback of Notredam too but still kept the name of the original.But what`s in a name? Surely, an animated Disney movie about a girl with insanely long hair and the thief that act as her guide by any other name would still be as sweet. Insecure name changing aside, the rest of the movie could still be good.

My Brother and I went to see it in the cinema...IN 3D!!!

A few minutes into the movie we got something I wasn`t prepared for: A musical number... in an animated Disney movie. At first my reaction was "What?" But a part of me said "Yeah, and? What`s so odd about a musical number in an animated Disney movie? You walked into The Princess and the Frog fully aware that there was gonna be singing and liked it. You`re just a little surprised because you never saw any clips or trailers that indicated that it was gonna be a musical. Now shut up and enjoy this Disney musical damnit!"

But putting that aside, "When will my life begin" is not a great song to open with. It is VERY upbeat, modern and pop-ish, which, considering the 18th century world it takes place in, makes it feel very anachronistic.I liked it a little more after repeated viewings though, so it`s a bit of an aquired taste.A part of it that I did like (without repeated viewings) was the last part that begins with "Tomorrow night the lights will appear, just like they do on my birthday each year". This part of the song felt like Rapunzel`s more vulnerable side, like her true face under the mask of cheerfulness that we heard in the first parts. The chores and hobbies that she sings about (like puzzles and darts and baking) are what she does to kill time and the boredom of isolation. In hindsight, the title alone: "When will my life begin" pretty much verifies that.It`s not a bad song by itself, just maybe not the best song to open this movie with.You might wonder "Isn`t `Healing incantation` technically the first song of the movie and why did it take you till `When will my life begin`to realize it was a musical?"

Well, "Healing incantation" was the first song, yes. But unlike "When will my life begin" it`s diegetic, they could still sing it even if this movie wasn`t a musical. Diegetic music comes from a person or object in the scene (like a radio or musical performer), while non-diegetic music is external to the narrative. In Rocky II when Rocky runs down the streets of Philadelphia and the song "Gonna fly now" is playing, we can hear the music but Rocky can`t, it`s non-diegetic.

"Mother knows best" sounded better though, it felt more fitted for a musical. I like that she both figuratively and literally tries to keep Rapunzel in the dark in the musical number. James Berardinelli from ReelViews commented on his website that "the songs were neither catchy nor memorable". I don`t completely agree with him. Sure, a few hours after I left the cinema I didn´t remember most of the songs, but I did remember the chorus to "Mother knows best". Many like to compare Mother Gothel to Cher and I can`t say that I don`t see why. But to me she reminds me more of Edina from Absolutely Fabulous. Both call their daughter "darling", are selfish and one of the worst days in Edina`s life... was the day she turned 30! Another popular comparison is the one between her and Claude Frollo from the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Both keep a ward locked up in a tall building and tell them that the world is a horrible place. In a way Claude Frollo is the worse villain because he has more authority, he has power over the guards and by that, some level of control over the city. While similar, there are some small differences in their, for lack of a better word, "parenting skills". Frollo`s are more about being stern and controlling Quasimodo with a respect based on fear, while Mother Gothel is more about emotional manipulation and sending mixed messages. She gives Rapunzel subtle insults one minute only to add a little "just kidding, you know I love you" the next. On a large scale Frollo is the worst, while on a smaller, personal level Mother Gothel is the worst. There is a little bit of tenderness in her cruelty. One thing that bugs me is the glorification and romanticism of the age of 16. Appearently that`s the best age to be, that`s when everything great and magical happens. I thought to myself when watching Tangled: "Please don`t make her 16. Make her some other age or just don`t mention it." Rapunzel`s age was 17 and the next day she was gonna turn 18. I thought "Thank you Disney! Thank you for avoiding this clichè and overrated age". In a way it turns it into a metaphor for growing up, becoming independent and leaving the nest. Yes, she is technically still underaged at first, but it is she that is in charge and Flynn doesn`t try anything romantic on her until after she turns 18. But most important of all: she`s not 16.

I liked the reprise of "When will my life begin" better than the first version because, like "Mother knows best" the music and instruments in it felt more fitting for a musical. That moment before she puts her foot on her grass you could see in her eyes that it may have been a small step for man, but it was a giant leap for Rapunzel.

Which was then followed by the emotional rollercoaster known as "The bi-polar scene". In her book "Making a good script great" Linda Seger wrote that conflict is the basis of drama, and this movie has a lot of conflict without feeling overcrowded. There`s Flynn VS the guards of Corona and Flynn VS the Stabbington brothers, both over which one gets the crown. There`s Rapunzel VS Mother Gothel, Rapunzel wants to leave her tower to see the rest of the world, or at least the floating lanterns, while Gothel wants to keep her in the tower.There`s also conflict that adds comedy. There`s Flynn VS Maximus, which is an extension of Flynn VS the guards, but funnier. Flynn VS Rapunzel, Rapunzel needs Flynn as her bodyguard/guide through the dangerous outside world, so she hides his satchel and uses it as leverage. Flynn just wants the crown so he can sell it and get stinking rich, so he tries to manipulate and scare Rapunzel into giving up her journey to see the lanterns. Then there`s Rapunzel VS herself. While happy that she is seeing the world she also feels guilty over disobeying her mother, which leads to the inner conflict seen in the previously mentioned "bi-polar scene".

Maximus the horse, who I mentioned earlier is a great character and a great source of comedy. He`s like Officer Zenigata from Lupin III. Pascal adds a little comedy too but doesn`t contribute as much to the story as Maximus. My guess is that he was created for the same reason that Robin was created for Batman. The creators thought that it would be better if Batman had someone to talk and explain things to so he wouldn`t seem like a complete nutjob that talks to himself. I don`t have much to say about "I`ve got a dream", it`s a fun, likeable song one would usually expect the comical side-characters to sing. Is it just me or doesn`t the chorus borrow a little from "She`ll be coming round the mountain"?

"She'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain, she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes"

"Though I do like breaking femurs, you can count me with the dreamers. Like everybody else, I've got a dream."

(Sure, the melody isn`t identical but the structure is somewhat similar.)

Flynn refusing to sing (at first) is not exactly new for a Disney musical, it had already been done in Enchanted. However this was (to my knowledge) the first time it was done in the Disney animated canon and it was done much funnier.

The scene where Rapunzel and Flynn...

Flynn: Eugene.

What?

Flynn: Eugene Fitzherbert.

OK. where Rapunzel and...Eugene

are trapped in a cave that`s filling up with water is similar to the trash-compactor scene in Star wars: It`s the dark moment, the part of the movie where it seems like there is no way out and all hope is lost. I like this scene, not just because of the suspense but also because it is where they open up to and start getting to know each other. But because this not just a big-budget movie but a Disney movie, and no director wants to depress the audience (unless you`re Lars von Trier), we know that they`re gonna make it, we just don`t know how. In the campfire scene we get more time for character development. We already know Rapunzel`s backstory but this is the first time that Fly-... Eugene gets to hear it. We (and Rapunzel) also find out that Eugene was an orphan who took his name from a fictional character who was everything he wanted to be. Rapunzel`s inner conflict shows up here too, but this time with a downplayed, more serious tone and not comically exaggerated.

Eugene: And you`re still gonna go back?

Rapunzel: No! Yes. (covers her face) It`s complicated. I`m probably alone in this but to me Eugene`s name change feels like a reflection of the movie`s name change. Eugene changed his name to Flynn Rider because he thought it would sound cooler, like how the big suits at Disney changed the movie`s name from Rapunzel because they thought it would sound cooler.

Rapunzel: For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider. Not much to say about the reprise of Mother knows best except that we get to see the more Frollo-ish side of Gothel. Since the tenderness doesn`t work she now tries to make Rapunzel respect her through fear. I love the Kingdom dance scene. It`s like that scene from The Little Mermaid when Ariel visits the town with Eric and for the first time gets to experience the world of humans. It`s a great example of visual storytelling, no dialogue is used or needed. Just like Ariel, Rapunzel gets to geek out and and explore this new world, try new things, new kinds of food and immerse herself in new books. I love the music in this scene. It has a nice medieval-ish feel to it, the kind of music you`d expect to hear in this world and time. Another interesting touch is that it starts out joyful but there`s a small ominous tone that grows bigger and louder as the music plays, as if forshadowing an impening doom.

This is followed by another really good scene: Rapunzel`s parents, another great example of visual storytelling where no dialogue is needed, the animation says it all.

Movie critic and comedian Doug Walker said in his review of this movie that the voice acting on Rapunzel and Eugene could have been better, not that the actors did a poor job, he was just always aware that there was a person behind a microphone. Personally I had no problem with Rapunzel`s and Eugene`s voice. Mandy Moore did a great job voicing Aerith in the first Kingdom Hearts game and I didn`t even know (at the time) it was her. I was aware that it was her before watching the movie, but while watching it I had no problem separating the voice from the celebrity and enjoying the movie. I didn`t even know who voiced Eugene, I looked it up and found that it was Zachary Levi, Chuck Bartowski from Chuck. He did his own singing too, I didn`t know he could sing. Is there anything that intersect can`t do?

I mention Doug Walker because what he felt about the original voice actors is what I felt about about the actors in the swedish-dubbed version. Måns Zelmerlöw (Eugene Fitzherbert) and Molly Sandèn (Rapunzel) were not bad, I just didn`t feel as invested with them as I was with the original version. Moore and Levi both have acting experience and their voices had a certain maturity. Sandèn and Zelmerlöw are both younger, singers and hasn`t had as much acting experience as Moore and Levi. (Sandèn`s experience in dubbing is, so far, limited to two Highschool Musical movies where she dubbed the songs.) The parts where they sing sound great though. Now, with that out of the way...I like "I see the light", don`t have much to say about it though, but more to say about the scene where it is sung. It is beautifully animated and directed. Eugene having prepared the two lanterns, one for each of them, shows that he is willing to go that little extra length for someone else, something the old Eugene (or Flynn) would not have done so easily, if at all. Another nice little detail in this scene is that the lantern that is about to sink into the water that Rapunzel pushes back up into the sky is her parents lantern.

How Maximus managed to get help from the Snugly Duckling thugs is not hard to imagine. Most likely scenario: He ran to the pub with one of Eugene`s wanted posters in his mouth and waved it in front of their faces.

Thug: What is it horse? Is the guy with the big freaky nose and his longhaired girlfriend in danger?

Maximus would nod and the thugs would huddle and start planning Eugene`s escape.

Is it a stretch that Rapunzel can remember things from when she was just a few days old? Maybe convenient but not unbelievable, Rapunzel was born under special circumstances after all. If she has healing hair why can`t she also have a super-memory and (from what I`ve read on the Disney wikia) super-strength? Seriously, she carries around a large amount of hair that no ordinary human would be able to carry as easily as she does. "But how was Gothel able to overpower her?"

one might wonder. I have a few theories.

A: Maybe she isn`t superstrong, maybe her hair is just very, very light.

B: She has some form of psychosomatic mental block that prevents her from overpowering Gothel.

C: Gothel, who managed to beat both the of Stabbington brothers, is really really good at fighting dirty. Wouldn`t surprise me if she used Rapunzel`s long hair to her advantage. Near the end of the movie Eugene dies but is brought back to life by a tear from Rapunzel. Typical Disney death, yes, but it makes sense, more sense than the original fairytale. In the original fairytale the prince got pushed out of the tower by Dame Gothel and landed in thorns below that damaged his eyes and blinded him. He later met Rapunzel who`s tears restored his sight. Unlike the movie it was never (to my knowledge at least) established before that moment that she had any form of healing powers, it just happened because of fairytale logic.So, does Rapunzel have healing tears now or was all her healing powers used up in that one tear? Don`t know, guess we`ll have to wait and see. I`m fine either way.The final scene where the kingdom celebrates Rapunzel`s return is... not bad or unnecessary, it`s just not as good as the previous scene where Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. It`s as if the filmmakers were afraid that their happy ending wasn`t happy enough. It`s the part where all the Snugly Duckling thugs had their dreams come true, for me it would have been enough to see them just partake in the festivities since we only heard them talk (or rather, sing) about their dreams but we never saw them struggle for them. Then again, not seeing them reach their goals that they sang about would feel like an unused chekov`s gun. I think the part with the Snugly Duckling thugs would have worked better without Eugene`s narration confirming that they all got exactly what they wanted, but I`m probably nitpicking here. Even if it was a typical Disney "Look! Everybody gets a happy ending!"-ending it was short and wasn`t bad.

And who doesn`t like a drunken, flirting dwarf in a diaper?

Sure, it has a few flaws but it`s one of my favourite movies.

That`s all I have for now but I`m not done yet. More thoughts on Tangled coming later. I thought that all of my thoughts on Tangled might be a little much to read if put into one editorial, so I decided to divide it into two.

#tangled #editorial #81scorp

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crossoverheaven · 6 years ago

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FAVORITE FICTIONAL VILLAINS OF ALL TIME

Been thinking of the major fictional villains who most resonated with me or stuck with me throughout the various points of my life. As you can see, there’s been quite a lot of them.

Akane Shinjo (SSSS Gridman) Akihiro Kurata (Digimon Data Squad) Akio Ohtori (Revolutionary Girl Utena) Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket) Aku (Samurai Jack) Alexis Kerib (SSSS Gridman) Anabelle (The Conjuring) Andrias Leviathan (Amphibia) Andross (Star Fox 64) Angelus (The Buffyverse) Antonio Fabiani (Nadja of Tomorrow) Antonio Salieri (Amadeus) Archibald P. Snatcher (The Boxtrolls) Ardyn Izunia (Final Fantasy XV) Art the Clown (Terrifier films) Ash Delgado (Elena of Avalor) Askeladd Olafson (Vinland Saga) AxeKnightmon (Digimon Fusion) Bane (Batman/the Dark Knight Rises) Beelzemon (Digimon Tamers) Ben Solo/Kylo Ren (Star Wars) Bernkastel (When They Cry) Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls) Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (The Gangs Of New York) Black Battler Ushiromiya (When They Cry) Bob Ewell (To Kill A Mockingbird) Bowser Koopa (Super Mario Bros.) Brainiac (Superman) Br’er Fox (Uncle Remus Stories) Bradford Buzzard (DuckTales) Brother Blood (Teen Titans) Briar Harvestar/The Hooded One (Bone) Buddy Pine/Syndrome (The Incredibles) Cain Madhouse (To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts) Canute the Great (Vinland Saga) Capricorn (Inkheart) Captain Hook (Peter Pan) Captain Vidal (Pan’s Labyrinth) Carmen Sandiego (Carmen Sandiego Series) Caroline/GLaDOS (Portal) Catra (She-Ra & The Princesses of Power) Cedric The Sorcerer (Sofia The First) Cell (Dragon Ball) Char Aznable (Mobile Suit Gundam) Charles Montgomery Burns (The Simpsons) Chrollo Lucilfer (Hunter x Hunter) Cipher Admins (Pokemon) Clay Puppington (Moral Orel) Cobra Commander (G.I. Joe) Colonel Muska (Castle In The Sky) Count Dracula (Many Works) Count Olaf (A Series Of Unfortunate Events) Cruella De Vil (The 101 Dalmatians) Chucky (Childs Play) Dabi/Touya Todoroki (My Hero Academia) Dahlia Hawthorne (Ace Attorney) Dark Bakura (Yu-Gi-Oh!) Darkseid (DC Universe) Darth Maul (Star Wars) Darth Vader (Star Wars) David Xanatos (Gargoyles) Demona (Gargoyles) Demon God Demigra (Dragon Ball Xenoverse) Derek Powers/Blight (Batman Beyond) Dewey Novak (Eureka 7) Dick Dastardly (Wacky Races) Diego Armando/Godot (Ace Attorney) Discord (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic) Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter) Don Karnage (Tale Spin) Donquixote Doflamingo (One Piece) Dom Claude Frollo (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame) Douglas Powers/Dr. Evil (Austin Powers Films) Dr. Albert Wily (MegaMan franchise) Dr. Drew “Dakken” Lipsky & Shego (Kim Possible) Dr. Emilia (Kipo & The Age of Wonderbeasts) Dr. Fu Manchu (Fu Manchu Series) Dr. Grace O’ Connor (Macross Frontier) Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas & Ferb) Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Eggman (Sonic The Hedgehog) Dr. Regal (MegaMan Battle Network/NT Warrior) Duke Igthorn (Adventures Of The Gummi Bears) Edmond Dantes (The Count Of Monte Cristo) Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Batman) Ego The Living Planet (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2) Elijah Price/Mr. Glass (Unbreakable and Glass) Emperor Griffon (Dark Chronicle) Emperor Pilaf (Dragon Ball) Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan) Eric Cartman (South Park) Erika Furudo (When They Cry) Erik Killmonger (Black Panther) Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (X-Men) Erik the Phantom (The Phantom Of The Opera) Eris (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas) Ernesto De la Cruz (Coco) Esteban Flores (Elena of Avalor) Eua/Featherine Augustus Aurora (When They Cry) EVA-Beatrice (When They Cry) Evil Emperor Zurg (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command) Fagin (Oliver Twist) Fat Cat (Chip N’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers) Felix Graham De Vanily (Miraculous) Fire Lord Ozai (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Francis Dolarhyde (Hannibal Series) Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare On Elm Street) Freeza (Dragon Ball) Gabriel Agreste (Miraculous) Gabriel May (Malignant) Gakuho Asano (Assassination Classroom) Ganondorf (The Legend Of Zelda) Gargoyle (Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water) Garland/Chaos (Final Fantasy) Gaston (Disney’s Beauty And The Beast) Gendo Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion) General Lunaris (DuckTales) General Woundwart (Watership Down) George Wickham (Pride And Prejudice) Ghirahim (The Legend of Zelda) Ghostface Killers (Scream series) Gollum (The Hobbit/Lord Of The Rings) Gothel (Rapunzel/Disney’s Tangled) Grand Admiral Thrawn (Star Wars) Grand Moff Tarkin (Star Wars) Grigori Rasputin (Anastasia) Griffith/Femto (Berserk) Gruntilda (Banjo-Kazooie) Gul Dukat (Star Trek) Gustavo Fring (Breaking Bad) Guzma (Pokemon Sun & Moon) Hades (Disney’s Hercules) Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal Series) Hans Gruber (Die Hard) Harry Roat (Wait Until Dark) Harvey Dent/Two-Face (Batman) Haruhi Suzumiya (The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya) Head/Tokio Tsunashi/Reiji Miyabi (Star Driver) Hector Barbossa (Pirates Of The Caribbean) Herman Preminger (Nadja of Tomorrow) Hexxus (Ferngully: The Last Rainforest) High Priest Zagato (Magic Knight Rayearth) Hisoka Morrow (Hunter x Hunter) Homelander (The Boys) Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) Hordak (She-Ra & The Princesses Of Power) Horde Prime (She-Ra & The Princesses Of Power) Hugo Oak/Scarlemagne (Kipo & The Age of Wonderbeasts) Hugo Strange (Batman) Iago (Shakespeare’s Othello) Injun Joe (The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer) Inspector Javert (Les Miserables) Invader Zim (Invader ZIM) Isabella (The Promised Neverland) IT/Pennywise (Stephen King’s IT) Ixis Naugus (Sonic The Hedgehog) Jafar (Disney’s Aladdin) Jareth the Goblin King (Labyrinth) Jervis Tetch/the Mad Hatter (Batman) Jinx (League of Legends) Joffrey Baratheon (A Song Of Ice And Fire) Johan Liebert (Naoki Urasawa’s Monster) Johanathan Crane/the Scarecrow (Batman) Judge Doom (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) Junko Enoshima / Monokuma (Danganronpa) Kanade Otonokoji (Danganronpa) Katsuhiko Jinnai (El Hazard) Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI) Ken Ichijoji/Digimon Emperor (Digimon Adventure 02) Kevin Wendell Crumb/The Horde (Split and Glass) Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects) Khan Noonien Singh (Star Trek) Kilgrave/The Purple Man (Jessica Jones) King Candy/Turbo (Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph) King Ghidorah (Godzilla) King Piccolo (Dragon Ball) Kinzo Ushiromiya (When They Cry) Kirei Kotomine (Fate series) Koba (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes) Kuja (Final Fantasy IX) Kurumi Tokisaki (Date A Live) Kuvira (The Legend of Korra) Kyubey (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) Lalo Salamanca (Better Call Saul) Lambdadelta/Witch Satoko (When They Cry) Lelouch Vi Britannia (Code Geass) Lex Luthor (DC Universe/Superman) Lila Rossi (Miraculous) Lionel Luthor (Smallville) Light Yagami (Death Note) Liquid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) Loki Laufeyson (Marvel Universe) Long Feng (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Long John Silver (Treasure Island) Lord Darcia III (Wolf’s Rain) Lord Ilpalazzo (Excel Saga) Lord Maliss (Happily Ever After) Lord Shen (Kung Fu Panda 2) Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter) Lotso Huggin’ Bear (Toy Story 3) Lucemon (Digimon Franchise) Lucifer/Satan (Biblical Lore) Lucy/Kaede (Elfen Lied) Lusamine (Pokemon Sun & Moon) Luxor Spawndroth (The Bibleman Adventure) Lysandre (Pokemon XY&Z) M. Bison (Street Fighter) Macbeth (Gargoyles) Magica De Spell (DuckTales) Majin Buu (Dragon Ball) Majora’s Mask (The Legend of Zelda) Makoto Shishio (Rurouni Kenshin) Maleficent (Disney’s Sleeping Beauty) Manfred von Karma (Ace Attorney) Marik Ishtar (Yu-Gi-Oh!) Marluxia (Kingdom Hearts) Martin Brenner (Stranger Things) Master Asia (Mobile Fighter G Gundam) Masquerade (Bakugan Battle Brawlers) Maximilian Pegasus (Yu-Gi-Oh!) Mayor Richard Wilkins (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) Megabyte (Reboot) Megatron (Beast Wars) Meruem (Hunter x Hunter) Mewtwo (Pokemon) Michael Myers (Halloween) Mikado Sannoji (Danganronpa) Minene Uryuu (The Future Diary) Miyo Takano (When They Cry) Mojo Jojo (The Powerpuff Girls) Mok Swagger (Rock And Rule) Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club) Monsieur Thenardier (Les Miserables) The Moon King (Kubo & The Two Strings) Morgan(a) Le Fey (Arthurian Lore) Morty Maxwell (Super Solvers Series) Mozenrath (Disney’s Aladdin: The Series) Mr. Dark (Something Wicked This Way Comes) Mr. Hyde (The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde) Mr. Potter (It’s A Wonderful Life) Murmur (The Future Diary) Myotismon (Digimon Adventure) Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa) Namor the Submariner (Marvel Universe) Nana Hiiragi (Talentless Nana) Nathaniel Essex/Mr. Sinister (X-Men) Necrozma (Pokemon Sun & Moon) Negaduck (Darkwing Duck) No Heart (The Care Bears Family) Noatak/Amon (The Legend Of Korra) Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man (Invincible) Norman Bates (Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho) Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin (Spider-Man) Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man) Oswald Cobblepot/the Penguin (Batman) Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (Batman) Percival McLeach (Disney’s The Rescuers Down Under) Pete (Classic Disney Shorts) Peter Pan (Once Upon A Time) Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish (A Song Of Ice And Fire) Pharaoh Ramses (The Ten Commandments & The Prince of Egypt) Philip Wittebane/Emperor Belos (The Owl House) Piedmon (Digimon Adventure) Pinky & the Brain (Animaniacs) Pitch Black (Rise Of The Guardians) President Coriolanus Snow (The Hunger Games) Prince Lotor (Voltron: Legendary Defender) Princess Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Professor Coldheart (Care Bears) Professor Hojo (Final Fantasy VII) Professor Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes) Professor Pericles (Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated) Professor Ratigan (Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective) Queen Jadis/the White Witch (The Chronicles Of Narnia) Ragyo Kiryuin & Nui Harime (Kill La Kill) Randall Flagg (Stephen King) Ransik (Power Rangers: Time Force) Ras Al Ghul (Batman) René Belloq (Raiders Of The Lost Arc) Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid) Rezo The Red Priest (The Slayers) Richard III (Shakespeare’s Richard III) Roderick Kingsley/The Hobgoblin (Spider-Man) Rosemary Applefield (Nadja of Tomorrow) Rufus Shinra (Final Fantasy VII) Rumpelstiltskin (Fairy Tales/Once Upon A Time) Ryoko Asakura (Haruhi Suzumiya Series) Sakyo (Yu Yu Hakusho) Saruman the White (The Lord Of The Rings) Satou Matsuzaka (Happy Sugar Life) Saul Goodman (Breaking Bad + Better Call Saul) Sauron (The Lord Of The Rings) Sayo Yasuda/Beatrice (When They Cry) Scar (Disney’s The Lion King) Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Batman) Senna Wales (Everworld) Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII) Seymour Guado (Final Fantasy X) Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) Sheev Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Star Wars) Sheldon J. Plankton (Spongebob Squarepants) Shere Khan (The Jungle Book & Tale Spin) Shinobu Sensui (Yu Yu Hakusho) Shinsuke Takasugi (Gintama) Shion Sonozaki (When They Cry) Shiragaki/All For One (My Hero Academia) Shiro/Yanagisawa (Assassination Classroom) Shuriki (Elena of Avalor) Silco (League of Legends) Simon Laurent (Infinity Train) Sin (Final Fantasy X) Sir Crocodile (One Piece) Sir Mordred (Arthurian Lore) Sir Isaac Westcott (Date A Live) Skeletor (Masters Of The Universe) Slade Wilson/Deathstroke the Terminator (DC Universe) Slappy the Dummy (Goosebumps) Smaug the Dragon (The Hobbit) Solego the Chaos God (Disney Afternoon) Sofia Falcone (Gotham) Sonia Reed (Fire Emblem) Souichi Tomoe (Sailor Moon) Souji Mikage (Revolutionary Girl Utena) Spinel (Steven Universe) Suigintou (Rozen Maiden) Suzaku (Yu Yu Hakusho) Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber Of Fleet Street) Tao Pai Pai (Dragon Ball) Tara “Terra” Markov (DC Universe) Taurus Bulba (Darkwing Duck) Team Galactic (Pokemon) Team Plasma (Pokemon) Team Rocket (Pokemon) Thaddeus Blinn (The Wish Giver) Thanos of Titan (Marvel Universe) Thales (Fire Emblem Three Houses) The Anti-Monitor (DC Universe) The Beagle Boys (Disney Comics) The Beast (Over The Garden Wall) The Big Bad Wolf (The Three Little Pigs) The Black Moon Clan (Sailor Moon) The Bonne Brothers (Mega Man Legends) The D-Reaper (Digimon Tamers) The Dark Kingdom (Sailor Moon) The Dead Moon Circus (Sailor Moon) The Demon/”Toby” (Paranormal Activity) The Devil Gundam (Mobile Fighter G Gundam) The Grand Duke Of Owls (Rockadoodle) The Grinch (Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas) The Headless Horseman (The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow) The Horned King (The Black Cauldron) The Joker (DC Universe/Batman) The Lich (Adventure Time) The Masked Mutant (Goosebumps) The Onceler (Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax) The Overlook Hotel (The Shining) The Sharptooth (The Land Before Time) The Shredder (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) The Toguro Brothers (Yu Yu Hakusho) The Wet Bandits (Home Alone) The Wicked Witch Of The West (The Wizard Of OZ) The Xenomorph (Alien) Tirek (My Little Pony) Toffee Of Septarsis (Star VS The Forces Of Evil) Tomura Shiragaki (My Hero Academia) Touga Kiryuu (Revolutionary Girl Utena) Trigon the Terrible (Teen Titans) Ultimecia (Final Fantasy VIII) Ultron (Marvel Universe) Uncle Gumbald (Adventure Time) Ursula the Sea Witch (Disney’s The Little Mermaid) Vaati the Wind Mage (The Legend of Zelda) Valmont And Metrueil (Dangerous Liaisons/Cruel Intentions) Valak (The Conjuring) Van Pelt (Jumanji) Varian (Disney’s Tangled: The Series) Varrick (The Legend Of Korra) Vecna/One (Stranger Things) Vegeta (Dragon Ball) Venom (Spider-Man) Vicious (Cowboy Bebop) Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein) Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze (Batman) Victor Von Doom (Marvel Universe) Volo (Pokemon Legends Arceus) Walter White (Breaking Bad) White Diamond (Steven Universe) Wile E Coyote (Looney Tunes) Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin (Marvel Universe) XANA (Code Lyoko) Xehanort/Xemnas (Kingdom Hearts Trinity) Xellos Metallium (The Slayers) Yukio Oikawa (Digimon Adventure 02) Yuno Gasai (The Future Diary) Yuri “Yurippe” Nakamura (Angel Beats!) Yzma & Kronk (Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove) Zaheer (The Legend Of Korra) Zamasu (Dragon Ball Super) Zant (The Legend of Zelda) Zhan Tiri (Disney’s Tangled: The Series) Zhao (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Zofis & Koko (Zatch Bell)

#Villains

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murroyilodel · 7 years ago

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The Art of the Hunchback of Notre Dame: Quasimodo (link) | Esmeralda (link) | Frollo (link) | Phoebus (link) | Clopin (link)

The Misshapen Bell-ringer

The character and his journey from oppression to freedom aroused empathy in many key contributors to the project. Marshall Toomey, the cleanup key for the character and an African-American, asserts, “I’ve lived Quasimodo’s life. I was one of the first people to get bussed in the early 1960s. I got called all kinds of names. I felt so inferior and so ugly. I know what’s in Quasimodo’s heart because of what I’ve been through in my life.” Writer Noni White asserts, “Someone once said that anti-Semitism is a light sleeper. All bigotry is a light sleeper. Because Quasimodo and the [Romani] are outcasts, the story touches a universal theme: Why can’t we see each other as human beings and not judge one another based on looks, beliefs, or race?”

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Taking that step forward required the filmmakers to extract the essence of some of literature’s more memorable and sharply etched characters Hugo evokes Quasimodo, for instance, as “a giant broken in pieces and badly reassembled,” with “a huge head sprouting red hair; between the two shoulders an enormous hump, the repercussions of which were evident at the front; a system of thighs and legs so strangely warped that they met only at the knees and looked, from the front, like two scythe-blades joined at the handle; broad feet and monstrous hands.” Still, beneath the surface, “There was a radiance about that somber and unhappy face.”

In the novel Quasimodo may be viewed as a symbol of the unacknowledged evil of his guardian, Claude Frollo, as well as a scapegoat for the fears and superstitions of the medieval populace. Yet the Disney filmmakers saw that behind these misconceptions lay another Quasimodo entirely. Observes concept artist Jean Gillmore, “Quasimodo was limited not so much by his own physical restrictions as by people’s opinions of him. People of that time feared anything out of the ordinary, and Quasimodo embodied those fears, fuelled by the superstitions and dogma of the church. To them something that hideous on the outside must also be hideous inside.”

Rather than dwell solely on the physical qualities of the character, whom Hugo variously describes as “a living chimera,” and “hunchbacked, one-eyed, and lame,” and with a “dome for a back and twisted columns for legs,” the Disney moviemakers chose to dramatize Quasimodo’s internal struggle with the shame, insecurities, and self-loathing Frollo has created in him. Don Hahn, who previously produced Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King before being asked to produce The Hunchback of Notre Dame, views Quasimodo as “an abused child who has to struggle far less with his physical challenges than with the huge oppression of being told by his father figure, Frollo, that he is a monster, a freak unfit to venture out into the world.” Kirk Wise terms the relationship of Quasimodo and Frollo “classically dysfunctional. Frollo constantly reminds Quasimodo of how ugly, how worthless, he is and whenever the poor kid gets his hopes up, Frollo smashes them down. It’s almost like some insidious form of brainwashing that keeps Quasimodo in a trance.”

The moviemakers determined that their Quasimodo should hew close to the age Hugo ascribes to him, about twenty, rather than the fortyish man he appears to be in previous film versions. The choice lends him an innocent appeal. Hugo’s conception that Quasimodo was “vicious in fact because he was anti-social; he was anti-social because he was ugly” evolved in the filmmakers’ minds to a more modern conceit. Gary Trousdale maintains that it was crucial for Quasimodo to not be “malevolent, bitter, and vicious, but a put-upon guy who, beneath his surface appearance and his being emotionally stunted, has a loving heart of gold.” “It’s not so much how much he looks, it’s a really his inner soul trying to break free,” concurs Kirk Wise.

No Disney animated character, from Mickey Mouse to Captain John Smith or from Snow White to Pocahontas, has sprung easily into existence. Few could have presented more challenges than Quasimodo, whose transcendent spirit can be glimpsed only be those willing to see beyond his unconventional outward appearance. Key decisions were required as to how he would look and move, and how great his physical challenges should be. It had been suggested, for instance, that half his face might be deformed, but hidden under a cascade of beautiful hair. The filmmakers vetoed that notion because, as writer Bob Tzudiker put it, “This is a story of someone who must overcome his perception of his own deformity. If we hid his deformity, we’d be avoiding telling the story.” Many of the Studio’s most gifted artists – among them Joe Grant, Burny Mattinson, Ed Gombert, Jean Gillmore, Thom Enriquez, Rick Maki, Geefwee Boedoe, Kevin Harkey, James Baxter, and Rowland Wilson – created prototypical inspirational approaches to the character that ranged from nightmare creatures to singular-looking boys. In the end, a blend of the designs of illustrator Peter DeSeve, whose surrealistic style is perhaps known best from his New Yorker work, and animator James Baxter, best known for his work on Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, were chosen to balance Hugo’s Quasimodo with Disney’s. From the first moment Quasimodo appears on screen, lovingly urging a hesitant, frightened young pigeon to at last fly free of Notre Dame, the character, as animated by Baxter, appears sympathetic, psychologically battered, winsome, a full-hearted and appealing underdog. “James Baxter’s animation of Quasimodo is so moving, that it’s easy to forget that the performance as created with a pencil and paper,” producer Don Hahn says. “The energy from his animation is something audiences can feel when they look at the screen.”

Baxter designed Quasimodo with a stress on horizontal shapes rather than vertical ones. Says Baxter, “His shape contrasts deliberately with the other major characters, especially Frollo, who is very tall and Gothic. Frollo seems to fit in with the Gothic architecture while Quasi doesn’t.” Despite Quasimodo’s physical appearance, he had to be designed to be very adept and active. “He’s deformed but not disabled,” says Baxter. “His being bent over was a metaphor for his wanting to hide. We wanted him wrapped in on himself, able to bend over and cower in his most oppressed moments.”

The artists of the layout, background and effects departments worked to create an environment for Quasimodo which reflected his character and his moods. Psychologically, the cathedral is, in Baxter’s words, “Quasi’s comfort zone. When he’s on his own or with the gargoyles he’s at ease; it’s very different from when he’s in the square.” Says head of layout Ed Ghertner, “There are places in the belltower where Quasimodo has all these found and manufactured objects and they really tell you a lot about who he is, what his preoccupations are.” As the movie progresses the color and environment change subtly to suggest changes in Quasi’s mood. “Though his environment starts out cold, it becomes warmer when he shows his space to Esmeralda and magical and ethereal when he dreams of heaven’s light,” says head of backgrounds Lisa Keene.

It is through his relationship with another element of the cathedral, the gargoyles Hugo, Victor, and Laverne, that the directors chose to reveal an important aspect of Quasimodo’s character. Voiced by Jason Alexander, Charles Kimbrough, and Mary Wickes, respectively (Jane Withers took on the role of Laverne after Mary Wickes passed away in October 1995), “the gargoyles help us see the warm and funny side of Quasi that shuts down when Frollo’s around,” says Gary Trousdale. “Not only does this add humour and lightness to the film, it shows an aspect of his character you wouldn’t otherwise see, an aspect that he isn’t allowed to express to others.”

To voice and sing the character, Tom Hulce, an Oscar nominee for his role as Mozart in Amadeus, was, according to coproducer Roy Cohn, “the guy as soon as we heard him sing because he has this wonderful, innocent quality to his voice, yet it still has the kind of power and depth you’d expect from Quasimodo.” Hulce got put to the test on “Out There,” the song written for Quasimodo by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz in which the character’s feelings well up, compelling him to express his longing for one sing day amid the throngs he watches from the distant heights of the belltower:

All my life I wonder how it feels to pass a day, Not above them, But part of them…

For Gary Trousdale, the song “defines Quasimodo as a yearning, child-like guy watching life pass him by from the belltower, as frustrated as anyone might be if the Tournament of Roses Parade or Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade passed by your window, but you could never go.” Victor Hugo probably never imagined his malformed, melancholy creation breaking forth into song. Yet, Baxter’s animation, Menken’s melody, and Schwartz’s lyrics speak powerfully of the character’s lonely isolation, oppression, and feeling of being an outsider.

#the hunchback of notre dame #hunchback of notre dame #mickeyandcompany #quasimodo #frollo #esmeralda #phoebus #clopin #disney #concept art #hunchback disney

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