THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200027
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 105 lines
MICKEY, DONALD, Bambi and now. . . Quasi?
Quasi?
``The Hunchback of Notre Dame,'' the 34th full-length animated feature from the Walt Disney studio, is certain, like the others, to create its own set of new pop folk legends.
But will kids cotton to the featured hero, the woebegone, deformed Quasimodo, the bell ringer of Notre Dame?
``We knew it was dark. We knew it was serious,'' said Kirk Wise, who co-directed with Gary Trousdale. ``But we also knew the basic Disney plot was there - an outcast who comes from the outside to become a part of society.''
Quasi and his stone gargoyle pals - Victor, Hugo, and Laverne - are going to be everywhere from fast-food chains to toy stores.
The Disney publicity machine is awesome in its onslaught. The world premiere of the film was staged in New Orleans' Super Dome with four screens and a projected 65,000 guests.
If ``The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' takes in anything less than $100 million at the box office, it will be a disappointment. Studio pundits are predicting a $200 million take, but admit that this one is a risk.
In spite of what looks like a sure-fire summer event, there are unnerving rumblings. Victor Hugo's novel, first published in 1831, was an indictment of the Catholic church and conditions in poverty-ridden 15th century Paris - hardly the usual fodder for a Disney musical.
The resulting film is the most sophisticated musical yet attempted by Disney. It's a Broadway musical complete with romantic plot and even (shudder) sexual obsession. It has a villain, Frollo, who is both subtle and psychologically repressed.
It is, in a word, quasi-adult and quasi-complex. There are no little bunnies hopping about.
Will kids beg for a Quasi lunchbox next school year? Will adults walk out humming the songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz? Will the gargoyles, Victor, Hugo and Laverne, provide enough comedy for the youngest ticketbuyers?
Wander the halls of the Disney studio's huge new animation building and you'll hear nothing but predictable optimism.
``The studio had formerly tried Lewis Carroll and Rudyard Kipling, so we felt justified in trying Victor Hugo,'' said Don Hahn, the film's producer. ``We didn't really look at the other film versions of `Hunchback' too much. We went back to the original book, with the idea of doing our own version but keeping the spirit of the original.
``Our theory is that our films can exist on several different levels. We have the sexual obsession and we have the subtexts, but they will go right over the heads of children.''
He thinks the studio can escape the wrath of what he calls the ``Hugo police'' - fans of the classic novel.
In this version, Quasimodo, the bellringer with hunched back and twisted face, is still an outsider, but he now he is much younger, only 20. He's controlled by the villainous Frollo, who tells Quasi that he should never leave the church because everyone hates him.
When Quasi does leave, he is crowned the King of Fools at the Festival of Fools (sorta like Norfolk's Doo Dah parade) and meets shapely Esmeralda, the gypsy dancing girl (with the voice of Demi Moore).
Begun in 1993, the film was labored over by 620 artists, half of whom were actually animators. It's the first time computerized techniques have been used so extensively. Computers were used, for example, with the ballroom scene in ``Beauty and the Beast'' and with largely inanimate objects in ``Pocahontas'' but directors Wise and Trousdale admit that computers were used throughout ``Hunchback'' - particularly to create a crowd of 7,000 extras for the ``Feast of Fools'' scene.
The directors and the animators had their way with this one - without the interference of executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, who left the studio in a huff. The story of how Katzenberg stopped production on ``Lion King'' to create a softer ending is well known. If he had been in charge, ``Hunchback'' would be much lighter and more comedic. If it flops, you can bet Katzenberg, now with Steven Spielberg at the Dream Works, will be the first to say, ``I told you so.''
Tom Hulce, having been nominated for an Oscar for playing Mozart in ``Amadeus,'' knows that Quasi is the role that will carve him an immortal place in filmdom.
``I auditioned for the part,'' he said. ``I was very uncertain about it, even after I got the role. I'd never sung with a 67-piece orchestra before. The quality of the production was amazing. I couldn't actually hear my voice. There were so many musicians. It was scary.''
He said that Quasimodo was more monstrous, older and with more of a speech impediment in early rehearsals.
``We experimented, endlessly. At one point I was ready to call in and say `Things just aren't happen-ing.' ''
Producer Haun said that ``Tom had the sweetness and vulnerability that we needed for the role - plus he has a great singing voice. He was perfect.''
Reminded that his recording of ``Out There'' will probably sell a million albums in the next few months, actor Hulce shudders, ``Does Barbra Streisand know about this? I assure you that, recording-wise, I don't have the same deal as Bette Midler has. My contract is something like 20 pages long and full of tiny print. I never have finished reading it.'' (Midler has recorded ``God Help the Outcast,'' Esmeralda's song in the film, as a single.)
What's next? A musical version of ``Richard III''? ILLUSTRATION: WALT DISNEY PICTURES
Color photo
Esmeralda befriends Quasimodo in the Disney adaption of "The
Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Quasimodo basks in glory when he is crowned ``King of Fools.''
Gypsy Esmeralda's voice is supplied by Demi Moore and the voice of
Phoebus, the captain of the guards, is done by Kevin Kline. by CNB