Until their 34th animated feature, Disney had been primarily focused on fun, family-friendly kid fare. Happy musicals, with lovable characters and handsome or beautiful protagonists saving the day. Stories like Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty filled their filmography, with only the occasional The Black Cauldron. However, it wasn't until 1996, with the release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, that Disney finally released a truly different film. Unlike their previous works, Hunchback was a film with real emotion that dealt with more mature topics such as religion, damnation, and cruelty. Yet it was still able to remain an enjoyable kids movie due to the pompous musical numbers and child-friendly humor. If you don't know it, the story follows the character of Quasimodo. Born to gypsies, but highly deformed, his mother is killed and he is left in the care of her murderer Judge Claude Frollo. Now, all grown up, he is forced to live in the bell tower of Notre Dame, working by ringing the bells, and learning all he knows of the world from Frollo, who is on a self-deemed "righteous" mission to wipe out all gypsies. After venturing out one day, he meets the kind young gypsy Emerald and learns that the world may not be as cruel as he has been taught. And so, throughout the film, we are tasked with answer the question, given to us by the narrator Clopin, 'what makes a monster and what makes a man?'. Growing up, Hunchback was, and remains, my favorite Disney movie. If you have never seen it, I beg you, go out and see it immediately. It really is fantastic and here are the 5 reasons why. Hope you enjoy!