Quasimodo (voiced by Tom Hulce) is a meek, lonely creature imprisoned in a bell tower by his cruel father figure, Judge Frollo (Tony Jay). The Hunchback of Notre Dame is unusually ambitious even for a lush ’90s Disney production, adapting a Victor Hugo novel rather than a fairy or folk tale. Yet both films are worth greater consideration than their slight also-ran reputations may imply, especially for fans of mainstream feature animation produced in the waning but still artistically vital years of the hand-drawn, 2D style. Two of those movies, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) and Mulan (1998) make their Blu-ray debuts without quite the same fanfare as the biggest movies in the Disney vault no designations of platinum, diamond, enchanted crystal, etc., need apply here. After the escalating financial and critical triumphs of Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994), Disney’s release slate in the second half of the decade couldn’t help but succeed and disappoint all at once, as their annual releases were buoyed into hit status by the Disney brand while failing to hit the peaks of popularity or acclaim of the company’s just-designated new golden age.
The late-’90s output of Walt Disney Feature Animation occupies an odd place in the company’s legacy.
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