7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A deformed bellringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancing girl.
Starring: Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline, Paul KandelFamily | 100% |
Animation | 88% |
Musical | 44% |
Period | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Russian: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Disney is keenly aware of the appeal and reach of its catalog, down to the best and worst films under the Mouse House banner. Titles like Cinderella and Peter Pan arrive separately and to great fanfare, while other titles shuffle onto shelves en masse, sans the red-carpet treatment afforded their Platinum and Diamond Edition brethren. Last year, it was The Aristocats, The Rescuers, The Rescuers Down Under, Pocahontas, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, The Tigger Movie and Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure, all of which released in a single week in August. This year the mois du jour is March, and the releases include Robert Zemeckis's Who Framed Roger Rabbit (the fan-favorite odd man out in the March 12th lineup) and a trio of 2-Movie Collection Blu-rays: The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, Mulan and Mulan II, and Brother Bear and Brother Bear 2. (Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Atlantis: Milo's Return were originally set for March 12th as well but were unceremoniously and indefinitely delayed without explanation.) And, once again, the deluge is another hit or miss affair, with a classic live-action/animation hybrid, three solid (or at least decent) animated features and a near-unbearable batch of direct-to-video misfires.
Like Mulan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame isn't a true classic, or at least not an undisputed classic. For all its majesty and weight, Disney's 34th animated feature makes a few misguided steps that prevent it from reaching true greatness. Still, it remains one of Disney Animation's most beautiful traditionally animated films and something of a masterpiece in numerous circles.
For all the beauty and stunning animation on display, The Hunchback of Notre Dame's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer has a few issues worth noting. Banding and artifacting appear from time to time (although rarely to any debilitating degree, minus the skies behind Frollo during Phoebus' near-execution), aliasing graces a handful of shots and darker scenes are at odds with the presentation's contrast leveling. Still, the good far outweighs the bad, making any mishap in the image an easily overlooked deformity. Colors are warm and vibrant, with bold primaries, rich purples and golds, and deep blacks. Detail is excellent too. The animators' line art is crisp and clean on the whole, the brushstrokes and textures of the hand-painted backgrounds are wonderfully resolved, and the CG elements fare well, even under high definition scrutiny. Moreover, significant macroblocking, crush, noise and other anomalies are either kept to a bare minimum or nowhere to be found, and most scenes come within a hair's breadth of perfection. The studio's technical encode isn't as proficient as other Disney Animation Blu-ray presentations, but it's close enough to earn respectable marks.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame bellows from its bell tower with a strong, stalwart DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. LFE output resonates with power and presence, infusing weight and gravitas into both the dramatic and musical narrative that develop. The rear speakers, meanwhile, help bring the Parisian streets, Gypsy hideaways and vast Notre Dame Cathedral sound as busy, bustling or as sacred as each locale should. Directional effects are free to roam and pans are disarmingly smooth, while dynamics bring nuance to the film's already intricate sound design. And dialogue is crystal clear, perfectly grounded and carefully prioritized within the mix... which is unfortunately something I can't quite say about the song lyrics. Though always intelligible and typically balanced within each song, there are occasions where lyrics are overwhelmed by soaring orchestration. It doesn't ever emerge as a worrisome issue, but audiophiles will notice it all the same. That said, The Hunchback of Notre Dame's lossless audio pairs neatly with its video presentation to produce a stirring spectacle. It isn't ideal, but it isn't without grand merit either.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a worthy addition to any Disney Animation collection. It's flawed, yes. But it has too much to offer to allow a few chatty gargoyles and cringe-inducing gags to spoil one of the later Disney Renaissance's best films. The Hunchback of Notre Dame II is not a worthy sequel, though, so consider yourself warned. Fortunately, both trips to Notre Dame are blessed with strong AV presentations, even if special features are few and far between. So add this one to your cart for The Hunchback of Notre Dame alone, treat the sequel as an extra and reap the singular reward.
2002
1998
Ultimate Collector's Edition
2009
1999
2003
The Signature Collection
1955
1970
25th Anniversary Edition
1988
Diamond Edition
1967
1990
1981
1999
1997
1998
2006
Censored Version
2002
Los Tres Caballeros
1944
2006
Peter Pan 2 | Special Edition
2002
2004