Who's ready for Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

while I'd likely bring my kids to see this, I don't have a lot of interest in disney shows on b'way. I've only been truly impressed with one, and I cannot STAND to be in the theater with that many ill behaved children.

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No.

You want to move another Disney movie to Broadway? HERCULES. That one's been screaming for a stage adaption. The rest are just "movies on stage".

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I remember when Walt Disney World's MGM Studios had a stage adaptation of Hunchback running. It was before they started experimenting with the big Circle of Life show or the Tarzan stunt spectacular. It was actually really good. The music translated well to the stage and they actually went much darker than you would expect. It was more the fire and brimstone elements than the cutesy singing gargoyles and hope for humanity element. Of course, they did use a lot of puppetry, but the stage was pretty small.

I'm all for it if they don't whitewash all the tension and social issues out when they make it a two act show. The movie still had the fool's day sequence where everyone mocked the hunchback, Esmeralda's sad little song about outcasts, and Frollo literally singing about the flaming pits of hell. It wasn't all sunshine and lollipops until the last five minutes. Then they ruined it. But up till the point, it was pretty dark for a Disney animated musical.

"HUNCHBACK is one of Disney's weakest animated films."

Tarzan, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, The Rescuers, The Aristocats, Fox and the Hound, Oliver & Company, Robin Hood, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, Home on the Range, Brother Bear, Treasure Planet, Atlantis, The Emperor's New Groove...

All movies that I love, but THESE are the weakest of the Disney animated films. HUNCHBACK is faaar from it. In fact, I see it as one of the best.

It's one of the most beautiful scores of all the Disney films, the story is very dark as mentioned and it's fabulously written to make it fit into the Disney genre. Let's not forget, in the actual story, Quasimodo is even more deformed, monster like, deaf, NOT a sweetheart and Esmerelda (even after he saves her life, the first time) is still repulsed and terrified of him. I LOVE the character they gave Quasi and the emotion and depth. Disney may change things to make them cutesy and lighter, but in the process, sometimes it actually works for the better. And we always seem to focus on the negative in this, and never the positive. Disney doesn't ruin EVERYTHING by putting the Disney spin on it. There's a reason these films were such huge successes, it was the Disney spin on the stories that made them more appealing to a wider audience, and sometimes even made the story itself better. I don't know about you, but I prefer the Disney versions of The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas over any other. And when you hear these titles, most people automatically think of the Disney films. Not Hans Christian Anderson or Arabic folk tales. There's a reason for that.

While I agree, they would most likely cut the things that made the European production so great out, (Esmerelda dying, Quasimodo killing Frollo) even with the movie stuff added back in, that wouldn't mean the show would be awful. It's still dark and dramatic in tone. Unless they make it cutesy and just cut out half the story, there's no way it can't be a dramatic, epic, dark story. There is no way they wouldn't squeeze the last drop out of "Hell Fire" on stage. Why would they take the risk in a family FILM and not on Broadway? More people have seen the movie than anyone would ever see on Broadway.

The MGM show was fabulous and you can watch the entire thing, Pro-Shot here:
http://vimeo.com/3878526

I have a soft spot in my heart for HUNCHBACK (as you can probably tell, lol) As a kid, seeing the movie, I walked away thinking it was good, but still prefering Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. As I got older, especially as of late, I have begun to appreciate the story and beautiful music and the humanness of it all. This is one of the only movies in the Disney Renaissance era, where I could actually BELIEVE it happened. The rest are all fairy tales and talking animals. It's just the most real, and that's why I think it would lend itself so well to stage. Better than any Disney film. And also...I must hear "Out There" sung on the Broadway stage before I die. lol

Thank you for endulging me. :)

I've been ready for like 4 years. I love the new songs (including the new arrangement of Someday) and James Lapine's book. It's so dark and draws so much emotion and power. And the innovative set with the cubes...yeah it better be amazing. And they best not change the ending.

I like my Quasi like I like my Tobias Ragg: Mentally retarded and ultimately validated by murderous vengeance. And I like my Esmeralda like I like my Lovette: Incinerated.