5. The Supporting Characters
One of the things that makes Hunchback such a memorable film is not the lead character, but the wonderfully colorful cast of characters that he is surrounded by. In an effective kids movie, you need a wide range of characters to keep their full attentions. You need comical, loving, strong, and scary and everything else and
Hunchback more than supplies all of it. Its range of characters, from the completely comic, to one of the best movie villains Disney has ever produced, the film keeps you enthralled because you have real emotions for the characters; you feel bad, happy, angry, or sad depending on their actions. Despite being animated, they carry heavy emotional weight. For starters, you have the wonderful Esmerelda. Voiced by Demi Moore, Esmerelda gives the movie some of its most emotional moments acting as what appears to be the only kind hearted person in Paris. She's strong, brave, and unselfish. In her most triumphant moment she is the only one willing to stand up to Frollo as he has allowed Quasimodo to be tortured by the public. For Quasimodo, she acts as the one person willing to show him compassion, willing to look past the deformity. She shows him that there is good in the world. For us, the audience, she is the one truly selfless individual in the film. She cares for Quasimodo, as much as we do at that point, and serves as our voice in sympathizing with Quasimodo. As an audience, we can't voice our opinions on the cruelty that we watch him face, and so she serves as our way of communicating our feelings. Along with Esmerelda, you have Phoebus, Captain of the Guard, the only seemingly stereotypically Disney character in the whole film, not that that's a bad thing. Voiced by Kevin Kline, Phoebus serves as our traditional knight in shining armor, yet he begins the film
working for Frollo. Instead of watching our hero swoop in to save the day like we'd expect, we watch as he transitions from a uniform following orders to a real person who isn't willing to just follow orders thoughtlessly. Instead, he realizes that what Frollo wants to do is wrong and cruel and he decides that he will not be a part of it. In his climactic moment, Frollo commands him to burn down a windmill with a family still inside, but he refuses. Frollo then does it himself, before Phoebus charges in, risking his own life to save the family. What makes Phoebus unique from the normal hero is not his deeds, but the way in which he watch him find his own moral values along the way. Rounding out the important supporting cast of characters are Quasimodo's friends, the talking gargoyles, Victor, Hugo, and Laverne. Named after the author of the source novel, there has been much debate over whether or not the gargoyles are figments of Quasi's imagination. Throughout the film, they serve as not only the comic relief, but as his confidantes and friends. They help convince him to venture out, on the day he meets Esmerelda, and they give him the courage to help her. Now, some argue that they have to be real, as in real talking gargoyles, because they help Quasimodo in the climactic final battle. However, I feel that they are not. Instead Quasimodo imagines them, having no friends for the majority of his life. They serve as his conscience and companions to get him through the rough times of living a life of solitude. As for the helping him in the battle, I feel it was Disney's choice to keep Quasimodo an innocent character, by not having him be so violent. Also, if they are figments of his imagination, than he imagines than helping him out because he is so innocent. He feels as if he could never have done all that alone, and so imagines that he has had help, despite actually doing it all himself.