After the animal kingdom drama of The Lion King (1994) and the revisionist history of Pocahontas (1995), Hunchback perhaps went darker than most of the films of the Disney renaissance, touching on themes of racial prejudice, Christian dogma, and even shades of physical lust (in the case of Frollo's musical soliloquy 'Hellfire,' all three at once). Hunchback continued an incredible hot streak for Disney's animation department that stretched back to 1989, bringing back directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, whose Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to score a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. Eventually, with the help of an enchanting Romani named Esmerelda (Demi Moore) and a sympathetic guard (Kevin Kline) - not to mention a trio of enchanted gargoyles! - 'Quasi' sets out to prove, as one of the songs goes, 'what makes a monster and what makes a man.'

From high above the city, he wishes to interact with citizens, against the protests of his villainous caretaker, Judge Claude Frollo (Tony Jay), who detests Quasimodo's physical deformities. As with all previous releases, Disney artist Lorelay Bove has designed the package with unique new illustrations inspired by the animated film.īased on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, Hunchback tells the story of Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), the bellringer for the Notre Dame cathedral. (Rumors had persisted of new mixes commissioned from recording engineer Bruce Botnick of both Hunchback and 1992's Aladdin.) Hunchback, like its predecessors, comes in a 2CD set featuring the full contents of the original soundtrack from 25 years ago, plus the entirety of Alan Menken's orchestral score, a baker's dozen of demos by Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, an outtake from the final film, and even a pair of translated numbers for a critically-acclaimed German-language stage version of the story.

It's only the third release in the series since two generous batches of titles in 20 an expansion of the music of animated films Robin Hood (1973) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) appeared in 20. Like the pealing bells over Paris, Walt Disney Records has heralded the arrival of one of its most beloved recent archival projects with the surprise, impending release of an expanded score to the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame - the 14th release in the label's Legacy Collection series.

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