Well, summer's over, but we're still struggling through a lot; The pandemic, social unrest, and hurricane season. All that's missing now is an alien invasion! Still, we all need to stay strong and keep the faith.
I shall now be finishing my look at certain Disney films by saving the best for last: I'll be looking at a real gem, easily one of my favorite Disney movies which is jam- packed with theological significance: Their 1996 masterpiece, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame.'
(Credit for this image goes to the user Valyrian Wildfire on the Disney Wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame/Gallery?file=THBOND_Second_Poster.jpg)
It is a rather loose adaptation of the classic novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. It manages to take that dark and tragic story, and make it more family- friendly while still having tons of emotional weight.
This movie is the story of Quasimodo (Voice of Tom Hulce), the deformed but pure- hearted bellringer who lives up in the tower of Paris's legendary Notre Dame Cathedral. Quasimodo longs desperately to leave the bell tower and be out among the people of Paris, living the kinds of lives that they have. He is routinely prevented from doing this by his father- figure, the merciless Judge Claude Frollo (Voice of the late Tony Jay), who insists that the world is a dangerous, intolerant place where he'll never be accepted by anyone. Thus, the closest thing to friends Quasimodo has are three gargoyles that he routinely talks to. Early in the movie, Quasi sneaks out during the big Festival of Fools carnival, starts to mingle a bit with the crowd who at first think he is wearing a mask, and he even has a little fun for a while before things go horribly wrong.
It is a rather loose adaptation of the classic novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. It manages to take that dark and tragic story, and make it more family- friendly while still having tons of emotional weight.
This movie is the story of Quasimodo (Voice of Tom Hulce), the deformed but pure- hearted bellringer who lives up in the tower of Paris's legendary Notre Dame Cathedral. Quasimodo longs desperately to leave the bell tower and be out among the people of Paris, living the kinds of lives that they have. He is routinely prevented from doing this by his father- figure, the merciless Judge Claude Frollo (Voice of the late Tony Jay), who insists that the world is a dangerous, intolerant place where he'll never be accepted by anyone. Thus, the closest thing to friends Quasimodo has are three gargoyles that he routinely talks to. Early in the movie, Quasi sneaks out during the big Festival of Fools carnival, starts to mingle a bit with the crowd who at first think he is wearing a mask, and he even has a little fun for a while before things go horribly wrong.
Nevertheless, even then, there's a bit of a blessing, as he meets the beautiful and free- spirited Gypsy dancer Esmeralda (Voice of Demi Moore). She quickly befriends him, but is soon forced to hide in Notre Dame herself and declare sanctuary after she openly stands up to Frollo, who is determined to destroy all Gypsies in France. It seems that the hateful tyrant has developed a perverse attraction to Esmeralda, and to assuage his own guilt over this, he wants to force her to either marry him or be burned as a witch. Quasimodo secretly helps her escape, and an enraged Frollo amps up his persecution of Gypsies in order to try and find her. It all helps to answer a question that the Gypsy leader Clopin asks at the start of the film, "What makes a monster, and what makes a man?"
There's only really one flaw in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' and it's a pretty prominent one that a lot of the fans point out: The three gargoyles. They are are clearly meant to be comic relief supporting characters, but the problem is, for the most part, they aren't funny AT ALL, and can get on your nerves at times (Especially a fat one named Hugo, voiced by Jason Alexander). Also, the movie is kind of inconsistent on if they're alive or not; For most of the first half of the film, it appears as though Quasimodo is merely pretending that they are alive so that he can have someone to talk to in his loneliness. If they had stuck with that all through the film, it would have worked, albeit been a little depressing. However, by the film's climax, we see they really are alive as they help Quasi fight off Frollo's troops. Make up your mind, writers! Their song, "A Guy Like You," is also easily the weak link among the film's otherwise flawless soundtrack. About the only positive thing to say about the gargoyles is that one of them makes a pretty funny nod to 'The Wizard of Oz' in the film's climax.
Now that that's out of the way, let me just say that other than that, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is a truly magnificent film, my #2 all- time favorite Disney film after 'Beauty and the Beast.' The story has a maturity to it that most Disney animated films lack, it's one that largely appears to have been tailored slightly more towards adults than towards children, similar to what Pixar would go on to do with their own Parisian- set film, 'Ratatouille.' It has incredibly deep and dramatic moments throughout it, and some good amounts of action as well.
Quasimodo is a wonderful protagonist. He wrestles with his competing loyalties, and just seeks so desperately to be accepted by the rest of the world. His physical design is perfect at displaying his deformity, yet having it not be so grotesque as to freak out children who may watch it. Tom Hulce brings so much emotion and heart to his performance. Even just simple lines such as, while trying to persuade a formerly- wounded bird to take flight again, "If I could pick a day to fly, this would be it" will deeply move you. His songs will really tug at your heart- strings, too.
Esmeralda steals every scene she's in. Right from her first real scene we immediately grow to like her, as we see her bravely standing up to Frollo in order to help Quasimodo escape an awful situation, and then lead the guards on a merry chase through the Festival until she gets to the cathedral. Her courage, compassion, and selflessness as she repeatedly comes to the aid of the other heroes are so inspirational. It's easy to see why nearly every male character in the film quickly starts falling for her. Her pet goat Djali (Pronounced "Jolly") is cute and funny, too.
Judge Frollo stands out as being the single best Disney villain I've ever come across. He's cruel, twisted, well- developed, and often pretty frightening in scenes (The segments regarding his sick infatuation with Esmeralda WILL make you shudder). Through his persecution of the Gypsies, he is seen doing all manner of heartless, evil things to people who have done nothing to him, whose only crime is existing. Then, of course, there's the awful ways he treats Quasimodo, routinely berating and manipulating him. What makes Frollo even more despicable is that he has the gall to insist that he is committing all these horrible acts in the name of God. Tony Jay's performance as his voice is nothing short of brilliant. His deep, powerful voice can seem kind and nurturing (Albeit in an obviously superficial way) at one point, then dripping with hate and malice mere seconds later. He also proves to have a good singing voice too, as he first duets briefly with Quasimodo early on when trying to convince the poor little fellow not to go to the festival, then REALLY shines with his wonderful (In a terrifying sort of way) villain- song "Hellfire," which I'll talk a little more about later in this article.
Another neat character from this movie is the soldier Phoebus, who is hired to be Frollo's captain of the guard at the start of the movie, but quickly finds his views on many subjects changing. What's great about his change is that it doesn't happen all at once in a single moment, as it would in a more lazily- written story, but instead is done much more gradually. We see early on that he does disagree with many of Frollo's policies, but he grudgingly follows along with them because it's his job. Nevertheless, as the film continues, we see how increasingly disgusted he is becoming at the things Frollo is forcing him to do to so many innocent people. When Frollo midway through the movie orders Phoebus to burn down a windmill that had a family locked inside, that's finally the last straw. Phoebus defies this order, saves the family, and becomes a major force for good the rest of the film. An additional plus to Phoebus is the great work Kevin Kline does as his voice actor. In particular, in his first scene as he deals with a pair of rude guards, Kline's voice acting makes an already very funny scene even more so!
Also, even though he is only a minor character, the cathedral's Archdeacon was great, too. The late David Ogden Stiers (Who by that point had already become a veteran Disney voice actor through his work as Cogsworth in 'Beauty and the Beast' and John Ratcliffe in 'Pocahontas') brings a lot of strength and sincerity to the Archdeacon's scenes, and helps show that, while some people may exploit the Christian faith for evil purposes, there are also many people like him who are genuinely holy and rightfully use their faith to motivate themselves and others to do good and build God's Kingdom on Earth.
The visuals and animation in this movie are incredible. The color scheme is incredibly diverse, from bright colors for the scenes in the Festival of Fools, to much darker tones for the more serious and intense moments. All the backgrounds and environments are beautifully rendered, ESPECIALLY Notre Dame. Both inside and outside, there is so much detail and care in every element of it, to the extent that the cathedral is almost an additional character itself. It looks especially good in the climax, as the big battle with Frollo's troops is raging and we see fire and molten metal pouring out everywhere.
The songs in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' are nearly all hits. They demonstrate a marvelous emotional range, from the happy and rather chaotic song "Topsy- Turvy Day" that Clopin sings during the Festival of Fools, to dark and frightening songs like "Hellfire" and "The Court of Miracles," to wonderfully moving songs like Quasimodo's "Out There" and Esmeralda's "God Help the Outcasts." The narrative song "The Bells of Notre Dame" even manages to combine all of these emotions in a single song!
I had actually been planning to eventually do an entry about 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' on this blog for years now, as it's the sort of film that's pretty much tailor- made for a blog that combines pop culture and Christian theology. It deals heavily with so many theological points, it would be nearly impossible to list them all.
One of the first is using the evil Judge Frollo as a cautionary example of avoiding hypocrisy and falseness in our faith. As I explained earlier, one of his most loathsome qualities is that he not only does so many evil things to so many people who've done nothing to him, but he then tries to justify it all in the name of God. He might outwardly profess righteousness and piety, but beneath it all he's a heartless legalist for whom the concept of "Love thy neighbor as yourself" means nothing, and to whom the Christian faith is really just something for him to exploit for his own purposes. He'd have felt right at home among the corrupt Pharisees who had Jesus crucified. Frollo particularly shows his true colors in the film's climax, as he orders his troops to physically breach the cathedral by breaking down its front doors in order to get to Esmeralda and Quasimodo inside who had just declared sanctuary. From someone who outwardly professed such piety and holiness, to both defy the concept of sanctuary and desecrate such a sacred place in that way made it clear to everyone just how fraudulent his supposed devotion to the Lord really was.
There are many verses in the Bible which condemn this false faith. 2 Corinthians 11: 13- 15 says "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds." In addition, Titus 1:16 says about those sorts of people, "They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work." . There are many people who claim to know God, but like Frollo in the film, are in fact frauds and hypocrites doing Satan's work while outwardly putting on a seemingly righteous facade and twisting the faith for their own purposes. Their deeds prove how phony they truly are. A real- life example of this I have recently seen is from a certain gentleman who shall remain nameless, on a certain "Christian" website he runs which shall also remain nameless. I won't say where because I earnestly do not want to give this guy any more web traffic than he is already getting. I myself only go to his site for laughs. Among other things, he's the sort of guy who regularly says that America is a rotten Hell- spawned hole in the earth, largely because things now aren't exactly the way they were back in the 1950's if not earlier. He claims what he is doing is "Ministry," that he is preaching the Gospel through his website, but his nearly all of his posts have him spewing all kinds of incredibly hateful, intentionally- insulting things about others while then claiming he's not trying to be "Unkind," and often praising himself for his own righteousness (i.e. He once put up a link to a media- watchdog- group's web page talking about some TV shows that week which featured objectionable content, and he commented, "I thank God that I don't watch any of those shows!" I could almost picture the smug expression on his face as he typed that).
There's only really one flaw in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' and it's a pretty prominent one that a lot of the fans point out: The three gargoyles. They are are clearly meant to be comic relief supporting characters, but the problem is, for the most part, they aren't funny AT ALL, and can get on your nerves at times (Especially a fat one named Hugo, voiced by Jason Alexander). Also, the movie is kind of inconsistent on if they're alive or not; For most of the first half of the film, it appears as though Quasimodo is merely pretending that they are alive so that he can have someone to talk to in his loneliness. If they had stuck with that all through the film, it would have worked, albeit been a little depressing. However, by the film's climax, we see they really are alive as they help Quasi fight off Frollo's troops. Make up your mind, writers! Their song, "A Guy Like You," is also easily the weak link among the film's otherwise flawless soundtrack. About the only positive thing to say about the gargoyles is that one of them makes a pretty funny nod to 'The Wizard of Oz' in the film's climax.
Now that that's out of the way, let me just say that other than that, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is a truly magnificent film, my #2 all- time favorite Disney film after 'Beauty and the Beast.' The story has a maturity to it that most Disney animated films lack, it's one that largely appears to have been tailored slightly more towards adults than towards children, similar to what Pixar would go on to do with their own Parisian- set film, 'Ratatouille.' It has incredibly deep and dramatic moments throughout it, and some good amounts of action as well.
Quasimodo is a wonderful protagonist. He wrestles with his competing loyalties, and just seeks so desperately to be accepted by the rest of the world. His physical design is perfect at displaying his deformity, yet having it not be so grotesque as to freak out children who may watch it. Tom Hulce brings so much emotion and heart to his performance. Even just simple lines such as, while trying to persuade a formerly- wounded bird to take flight again, "If I could pick a day to fly, this would be it" will deeply move you. His songs will really tug at your heart- strings, too.
Esmeralda steals every scene she's in. Right from her first real scene we immediately grow to like her, as we see her bravely standing up to Frollo in order to help Quasimodo escape an awful situation, and then lead the guards on a merry chase through the Festival until she gets to the cathedral. Her courage, compassion, and selflessness as she repeatedly comes to the aid of the other heroes are so inspirational. It's easy to see why nearly every male character in the film quickly starts falling for her. Her pet goat Djali (Pronounced "Jolly") is cute and funny, too.
Judge Frollo stands out as being the single best Disney villain I've ever come across. He's cruel, twisted, well- developed, and often pretty frightening in scenes (The segments regarding his sick infatuation with Esmeralda WILL make you shudder). Through his persecution of the Gypsies, he is seen doing all manner of heartless, evil things to people who have done nothing to him, whose only crime is existing. Then, of course, there's the awful ways he treats Quasimodo, routinely berating and manipulating him. What makes Frollo even more despicable is that he has the gall to insist that he is committing all these horrible acts in the name of God. Tony Jay's performance as his voice is nothing short of brilliant. His deep, powerful voice can seem kind and nurturing (Albeit in an obviously superficial way) at one point, then dripping with hate and malice mere seconds later. He also proves to have a good singing voice too, as he first duets briefly with Quasimodo early on when trying to convince the poor little fellow not to go to the festival, then REALLY shines with his wonderful (In a terrifying sort of way) villain- song "Hellfire," which I'll talk a little more about later in this article.
Another neat character from this movie is the soldier Phoebus, who is hired to be Frollo's captain of the guard at the start of the movie, but quickly finds his views on many subjects changing. What's great about his change is that it doesn't happen all at once in a single moment, as it would in a more lazily- written story, but instead is done much more gradually. We see early on that he does disagree with many of Frollo's policies, but he grudgingly follows along with them because it's his job. Nevertheless, as the film continues, we see how increasingly disgusted he is becoming at the things Frollo is forcing him to do to so many innocent people. When Frollo midway through the movie orders Phoebus to burn down a windmill that had a family locked inside, that's finally the last straw. Phoebus defies this order, saves the family, and becomes a major force for good the rest of the film. An additional plus to Phoebus is the great work Kevin Kline does as his voice actor. In particular, in his first scene as he deals with a pair of rude guards, Kline's voice acting makes an already very funny scene even more so!
Also, even though he is only a minor character, the cathedral's Archdeacon was great, too. The late David Ogden Stiers (Who by that point had already become a veteran Disney voice actor through his work as Cogsworth in 'Beauty and the Beast' and John Ratcliffe in 'Pocahontas') brings a lot of strength and sincerity to the Archdeacon's scenes, and helps show that, while some people may exploit the Christian faith for evil purposes, there are also many people like him who are genuinely holy and rightfully use their faith to motivate themselves and others to do good and build God's Kingdom on Earth.
The visuals and animation in this movie are incredible. The color scheme is incredibly diverse, from bright colors for the scenes in the Festival of Fools, to much darker tones for the more serious and intense moments. All the backgrounds and environments are beautifully rendered, ESPECIALLY Notre Dame. Both inside and outside, there is so much detail and care in every element of it, to the extent that the cathedral is almost an additional character itself. It looks especially good in the climax, as the big battle with Frollo's troops is raging and we see fire and molten metal pouring out everywhere.
The songs in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' are nearly all hits. They demonstrate a marvelous emotional range, from the happy and rather chaotic song "Topsy- Turvy Day" that Clopin sings during the Festival of Fools, to dark and frightening songs like "Hellfire" and "The Court of Miracles," to wonderfully moving songs like Quasimodo's "Out There" and Esmeralda's "God Help the Outcasts." The narrative song "The Bells of Notre Dame" even manages to combine all of these emotions in a single song!
I had actually been planning to eventually do an entry about 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' on this blog for years now, as it's the sort of film that's pretty much tailor- made for a blog that combines pop culture and Christian theology. It deals heavily with so many theological points, it would be nearly impossible to list them all.
One of the first is using the evil Judge Frollo as a cautionary example of avoiding hypocrisy and falseness in our faith. As I explained earlier, one of his most loathsome qualities is that he not only does so many evil things to so many people who've done nothing to him, but he then tries to justify it all in the name of God. He might outwardly profess righteousness and piety, but beneath it all he's a heartless legalist for whom the concept of "Love thy neighbor as yourself" means nothing, and to whom the Christian faith is really just something for him to exploit for his own purposes. He'd have felt right at home among the corrupt Pharisees who had Jesus crucified. Frollo particularly shows his true colors in the film's climax, as he orders his troops to physically breach the cathedral by breaking down its front doors in order to get to Esmeralda and Quasimodo inside who had just declared sanctuary. From someone who outwardly professed such piety and holiness, to both defy the concept of sanctuary and desecrate such a sacred place in that way made it clear to everyone just how fraudulent his supposed devotion to the Lord really was.
There are many verses in the Bible which condemn this false faith. 2 Corinthians 11: 13- 15 says "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds." In addition, Titus 1:16 says about those sorts of people, "They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work." . There are many people who claim to know God, but like Frollo in the film, are in fact frauds and hypocrites doing Satan's work while outwardly putting on a seemingly righteous facade and twisting the faith for their own purposes. Their deeds prove how phony they truly are. A real- life example of this I have recently seen is from a certain gentleman who shall remain nameless, on a certain "Christian" website he runs which shall also remain nameless. I won't say where because I earnestly do not want to give this guy any more web traffic than he is already getting. I myself only go to his site for laughs. Among other things, he's the sort of guy who regularly says that America is a rotten Hell- spawned hole in the earth, largely because things now aren't exactly the way they were back in the 1950's if not earlier. He claims what he is doing is "Ministry," that he is preaching the Gospel through his website, but his nearly all of his posts have him spewing all kinds of incredibly hateful, intentionally- insulting things about others while then claiming he's not trying to be "Unkind," and often praising himself for his own righteousness (i.e. He once put up a link to a media- watchdog- group's web page talking about some TV shows that week which featured objectionable content, and he commented, "I thank God that I don't watch any of those shows!" I could almost picture the smug expression on his face as he typed that).
A frequent theme in many of his articles over the last couple years is him basically waging a one- man online war against a church near him that he believes has wronged him. Practically every other post of his recently has him insulting this church, its leaders and its members (At times by name), claiming that they are "Apostate," "Satanic," and so on. In an article he put out a couple months ago, this guy (Who regularly rants about how "Immoral" and "Trashy" the world is) openly called the people at that church an obscene name, the sort of name that any parents reading this would probably wash their kids' mouths out with soap for using; All he did to veil/ censor the word was use dollar- signs instead of s's. This was on a supposedly "Christian" website! If this guy watched 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' he'd probably think Frollo was the hero of the story! May we all strive to avoid such hypocrisy and fraud, and instead live out a genuine faith in Jesus Christ, and let our actions be a reflection of the good work that God has done in our hearts.
Now, for the next point: A great message/ allegory in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' can be found by looking at arguably the two best songs in the film: Esmeralda's song "God Help the Outcasts," and Frollo's song "Hellfire." To help convey this, I'll let you listen in on each song before talking about them. First, we'll check out "Hellfire":
Now, for the next point: A great message/ allegory in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' can be found by looking at arguably the two best songs in the film: Esmeralda's song "God Help the Outcasts," and Frollo's song "Hellfire." To help convey this, I'll let you listen in on each song before talking about them. First, we'll check out "Hellfire":
(This video was posted on Youtube by the user MrHJona at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3NoDEu7kpg)
In "Hellfire," Frollo right out of the gate praises how supposedly righteous he himself is while blaming Esmeralda for his own moral failure of lusting after her. As the song goes on, he even has the audacity to blame God Himself for it, when he sings "It's not my fault, if in God's plan, He made the Devil so much stronger than a man!" Frollo is literally blaming everyone other than himself for his own sin. This theological blame- shifting is contrasted further by the chanting in Latin heard in the background. Although this video of the song doesn't show it, the chanting is the Archdeacon and the other priests at Notre Dame performing the Confiteor (A Roman Catholic prayer of penitence) as they begin the evening vespers. Roughly translated, the prayer/ chanting is the Archdeacon and the other priests confessing that they have sinned, admitting that their sins are their own fault, and asking God's forgiveness. Unlike Frollo's blame- shifting and self- righteousness, they have recognized that they have sinned, and that forgiveness can only be found through seeking God's limitless grace and mercy.
In "Hellfire," Frollo right out of the gate praises how supposedly righteous he himself is while blaming Esmeralda for his own moral failure of lusting after her. As the song goes on, he even has the audacity to blame God Himself for it, when he sings "It's not my fault, if in God's plan, He made the Devil so much stronger than a man!" Frollo is literally blaming everyone other than himself for his own sin. This theological blame- shifting is contrasted further by the chanting in Latin heard in the background. Although this video of the song doesn't show it, the chanting is the Archdeacon and the other priests at Notre Dame performing the Confiteor (A Roman Catholic prayer of penitence) as they begin the evening vespers. Roughly translated, the prayer/ chanting is the Archdeacon and the other priests confessing that they have sinned, admitting that their sins are their own fault, and asking God's forgiveness. Unlike Frollo's blame- shifting and self- righteousness, they have recognized that they have sinned, and that forgiveness can only be found through seeking God's limitless grace and mercy.
Now, on the other side of the theological coin, let's have a listen to "God Help the Outcasts":
(This video was posted on Youtube by the user Holy007, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEEpavnk7Uw)
To quote Morgan Freeman's depiction of God in 'Bruce Almighty,' "Now, THAT'S a prayer." While Frollo starts out his song by professing his righteousness, Esmeralda starts "God Help the Outcasts" by openly expressing her uncertainty and that, as a member of a despised group, she doesn't know if she's even worthy to come to God in prayer. Nevertheless, she has a prayer that needs to be heard. She humbly beseeches God to help protect her fellow Gypsies amid all the hate and persecution they are facing, because without His help, they have no chance. She openly says that she does not personally need anything for herself (Contrasting to the worshipers in the song's bridge asking for selfish, worldly things), but merely seeks for her people to be saved from being wiped out. She even demonstrates a surprisingly strong theological understanding early on by saying that she wonders "Were You once an outcast, too?" Jesus and His disciples were indeed outcasts, who faced persecution and death in order to help bring God's salvation to the world, so He would indeed identify strongly with Esmeralda and with what she and her people are facing. A humble yet true faith expressed through a beautiful, sincere prayer.
I bring this up because the attitudes expressed in these two songs (Frollo's blame- shifting and spiritual snobbery in "Hellfire," and Esmeralda's meek intercessions in "God Help the Outcasts") present, I think, a perfect allegory for the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector which Jesus told in Luke 18:9- 14. Both men went into the Temple to pray. The Pharisee gave a "Prayer" basically praising himself for how good and holy he supposedly was, and looking down on others who did not measure up to his own moral standards. The tax collector, in contrast, would not even lift up his own head, but merely begged God in prayer to have mercy on a sinner like him. Jesus noted that, of the two men, it was the tax collector whose prayer was heard and who left the Temple justified in God's eyes, for he demonstrated simple faith and humility through his prayer. Such is how we all should be. We should resist the temptation to spiritual pride and looking down on others, and instead recognize that we are all the same in God's eyes, sinners in need of a Savior.
A final theological message to be taken from Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is on true beauty. At the opening of the film, the Gypsy leader Clopin says that Quasimodo's story is "The story of a man, and a monster," and explains that the real riddle of the story is to figure out which is which. Initially, we all think the "Monster" in the story is Quasimodo due to his deformed appearance. However, as is often the case in Disney's films, appearances are deceiving. It becomes clear that really Frollo is the monster, and Quasimodo is the man, due to what they each have inside, in their hearts and souls. Quasimodo's outer appearance conceals the kindness, love, courage, and indeed beauty he possesses deep down. This is most definitely a Godly principle. 1 Peter 3:3-4 instructs us, "Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." In addition, 1 Samuel 16:7 says "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."" While the secular world judges people based on their outward appearances, God judges people based on their true character, what is in their hearts. A kind, gentle, Godly spirit is the truest, most everlasting beauty a person can possess. May we all seek such beauty in our own lives.
That concludes my look at Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' a true animated masterpiece which drives home the vital lessons of avoiding hypocrisy and false faith, acting with humility and simple devotion to God, and what true beauty looks like.
I've enjoyed this look at a few Disney films, and hope all of you did, as well. I may perhaps look at some more in the future, but for now, I'll turn my attention on this blog to other fare for a while.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Until next time, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!
I bring this up because the attitudes expressed in these two songs (Frollo's blame- shifting and spiritual snobbery in "Hellfire," and Esmeralda's meek intercessions in "God Help the Outcasts") present, I think, a perfect allegory for the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector which Jesus told in Luke 18:9- 14. Both men went into the Temple to pray. The Pharisee gave a "Prayer" basically praising himself for how good and holy he supposedly was, and looking down on others who did not measure up to his own moral standards. The tax collector, in contrast, would not even lift up his own head, but merely begged God in prayer to have mercy on a sinner like him. Jesus noted that, of the two men, it was the tax collector whose prayer was heard and who left the Temple justified in God's eyes, for he demonstrated simple faith and humility through his prayer. Such is how we all should be. We should resist the temptation to spiritual pride and looking down on others, and instead recognize that we are all the same in God's eyes, sinners in need of a Savior.
A final theological message to be taken from Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' is on true beauty. At the opening of the film, the Gypsy leader Clopin says that Quasimodo's story is "The story of a man, and a monster," and explains that the real riddle of the story is to figure out which is which. Initially, we all think the "Monster" in the story is Quasimodo due to his deformed appearance. However, as is often the case in Disney's films, appearances are deceiving. It becomes clear that really Frollo is the monster, and Quasimodo is the man, due to what they each have inside, in their hearts and souls. Quasimodo's outer appearance conceals the kindness, love, courage, and indeed beauty he possesses deep down. This is most definitely a Godly principle. 1 Peter 3:3-4 instructs us, "Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." In addition, 1 Samuel 16:7 says "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."" While the secular world judges people based on their outward appearances, God judges people based on their true character, what is in their hearts. A kind, gentle, Godly spirit is the truest, most everlasting beauty a person can possess. May we all seek such beauty in our own lives.
That concludes my look at Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame,' a true animated masterpiece which drives home the vital lessons of avoiding hypocrisy and false faith, acting with humility and simple devotion to God, and what true beauty looks like.
I've enjoyed this look at a few Disney films, and hope all of you did, as well. I may perhaps look at some more in the future, but for now, I'll turn my attention on this blog to other fare for a while.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Until next time, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!
Awesome Blog Adam.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Blog Adam.
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