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﻿<title﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, A Disney Worth Seeing - Review﻿</title>﻿

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﻿<b﻿>﻿A Disney Worth Seeing

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by Andrew Thompson﻿<br﻿>﻿

﻿<i﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, September 1996﻿</i>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

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﻿<font﻿ ﻿size="1"﻿>﻿Review of Disney's ﻿<i﻿>﻿The Hunchback of Notre Dame﻿</i>﻿</font>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿


Although Disney has been slagged in the past for some of its ventures in historical revisionism that gloss over the more unsavory aspects of history and re-institutionalize the glorious hegemony of family values and love-conquers-all trivial mush, something may have gone wrong with the formula. In fact, just as Disney has been under scrutiny from the reactionary, right-wing "American Life League" -- which had no problem with trash like the re-worked Pocahontas -- they make a daring move and release The Hunchback of Notre Dame. For whatever reason, the moralism of this film is far less stilted and regressive in comparison to some previous 

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In one scene, the film's villain, Frollo, who has been modified considerably from the Victor Hugo classic, repents to god for his sin of desire for the protagonist Esmerelda. In a brilliant depiction of the influence of christian morality, Frollo's sexual repression leads him to conclude that it is he who has been victimized and that Esmerelda, the gypsy witch that she is, must burn at the stake. Meanwhile, Esmerelda's tentative dabbling in religion inside the cathedral exposes the belligerence and hypocrisy of the aristocracy as they 

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Another notable aspect of this film is its relative gay-positiveness. Although there have always been "sissy" characters in Disney flicks, Quasimodo's imaginary friend Hugo -- a gargoyle come alive -- revels without shame in sheer camp, often doing drag. This aspect of the sub-plot is further explored via his homoerotic attraction to the impish goat that is Esmerelda's sidekick. If one wanted to stretch it, Quasimodo's song about escaping the cathedral "out there," could be read, and has by some, as a longing for the death of the closet. 

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Despite these marked improvements for Disney, some persistent problems remain. This is especially notable in the duplicitous nature of Esmerelda. Although she is not the frail Sleeping Beauty of the past, her cries against injustice come from a similarly emaciated body, one more analogous with fashion runway victims than with Parisian peasants. Indeed, despite her fearless and strident condemnations of the ruling class, at the climax of the film Quasimodo is seen holding her above his head, as much a trophy as a friend that he has rescued. 

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Still, if you're a fan of the genre or spend time in the company of children who insist on Disney, this is probably your best bet for celluloid with a social conscience. The depiction at the end of the film of a peasant rebellion is priceless and the attempt made to address issues of race, class and gender should stimulate some discussion and cause avid young minds to pose some serious questions. 

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