Art and Animation: Burbank Film's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1986)

Unlike the majority of these animated adaptations, the animation is fairly fluid.

There are these great watercolor skies, which are wonderfully moody and atmospheric. Buildings are also well done, and give an almost dreamlike quality to certain scenes.

The character designs are right out of a Hannah Barbara cartoon, as you can see. Gringoire is a dead ringer of Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

Widely Considered Disney's Worst Film

The 1986 version was released during a dark period of animation. Disney had essentially died out, sleepwalking through flops like The Black Cauldron. The adult animation industry, popularized by directors like Ralph Bakshi and his film Fritz The Cat, was also in a downward spiral. Television animation had become nothing more than cynical advertising vehicles, ordering boys and girls across the country to buy the latest He Man action figure or Rainbow Bright doll.

It wasn't until Who Framed Roger Rabbit and later  when animation had its renaissance.
The Little Mermaid

Burbank Films Austrailia specialized in faithful adaptations of classic fiction for children. They made many animated films, such as Peter Pan and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hunchback was one of several films made in 1986.

Quasimodo seen through the crack in the door

With the quantity of films per year, it's obvious why the animation isn't anything amazing. But, considering the circumstances, I have come to apreciate it more. Coming back to animation from the 80s, especially stuff made for television, has been a challenge. A lot of it is so poor, both the writing and the artistry, that I can barely tolerate it. It's all so cynical and condescending, and cheap. Characters barely move. This is not the case with The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's almost miraculous in that sense.

There are even a few inventive shots, for an animated film anyway. The most unique is example is when the camera peers, in first person, through a crack as Quasimodo walks toward the camera. There is even a little lighting effect, it's really nice.

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