Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #41: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #40: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000).

Looking back, Atlantis seemed like a sure winner. From the directors of the magnificent Beauty and the Beast (which in my opinion is the finest Disney animated film, a sentiment not shared by my A113 colleagues, but one that seems pretty popular within the Twitter community) and the also very good Hunchback of Notre Dame, the film offered an adventure like no other. Staying away from the "Broadway style" that they employed for their previous two films, directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise - and producer Don Hahn - created a superb looking film that unfortunately suffers from a lack of heart and too many characters, which only serves to make the already contrived plot even more confusing.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #34: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #33: Pocahontas (1995)

In the same vein as Pocahontas, Disney attempted a darker tone for its next feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Based on Victor Hugo's famed novel, the film had again assembled a high-calibre crew: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, directors of the beloved Beauty and the Beast, were helming the project; acclaimed producer Don Hahn was producing and Alan Menken returned for scoring duties. What set this film apart from the other animated films was that Disney dealt with themes of religion, virtue, lust and intolerance, among others, and the challenge was to make this film still suitable for all audiences. They didn't entirely succeeded on that front but I think that is a positive thing, because Hunchback appeals to an adult audience in a way few Disney films have.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Blu-ray Review - Pretty Nice Looking For a Hunchback

©Disney

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is available to own on Disney Blu-ray™ from 15th April 2013

Alongside Aladdin (the hi-def release of which, there still isn't a firm US release date for), three really rather good animated Disney films are coming to UK Blu-ray players on 15th April: Mulan, Brother Bear and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (and, yes, I did just call Brother Bear rather good). The latter three releases are already out Stateside, but Disney were kind enough to send me out advance review copies of the UK releases of the films, - check out our Aladdin Blu-ray review here - second on the agenda: Hunchback.