Techtite's DVD Reviews!

The resulting "follow your heart" lesson in humanity [in Hunchback of Notre Dame II] is exceptional...even when the animation quality is not.

---from the review

--------------------

Also Available:

Batman Vs. Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero.

-------------

Sidebar ::

-------------

Is that Jennifer singing some of the songs? Yes, it is, which helps enhance the strength of her character Madeline's role in the feature. Even the best of Disney's modern classics (Mulan, Aladdin), has a voice for the spoken dialog and a separate singer for the songs the character sings. In this, Jennifer assists in both character voice, and the songs...and the feature is much better because of it.

Dropping stone jaws...? I'll try to explain my misgivings of one of the final shots, without spoiling too much. Madeline makes a comment about her love for Quasi that causes the gargoyle's mouths to comically drop...and even, to crack off their stone bodies! While this is of course meant as a joke, it lacks cohesion, when these gargoyles are supposed to be Quasi's best friends. Why should they be so shocked that a girl finally saw him for the cool guy he is? Aside from this, though, I had only the greatest of regards for this direct-to-video sequel. Well done!

-----------------

Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted!

------------------

Disney's "The Hunchback of 

Notre Dame II"

Click picture to order this DVD

Or...buy The Hunchback of Notre Dame II on VHS, TODAY!

A Techtite Review

The Film : Personally, I really wanted to like Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (the first film). I suppose it was so hard to like, because the film's creators found it so hard to love the title character themselves. If Disney was going to make such a mature, maudlin story into a pixie-dust romp for the kiddies, they should have revamped the ending, a la The Little Mermaid. After all, if they could give Ariel a modern, "happily ever after" ending, why not Quasimodo? The implied message seemed to be that some people are too "ugly" on the outside to be worthy of happiness ever after. Say it ain't so, Mickey!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, a direct-to-video sequel, sets out to correct this error. The story is set soon after the first film, when Esmerelda (still voiced by Demi Moore) and her handsome suitor, Phoebus (Kevin Kline), now have a child, Zephyr (Haley Joel Osment). Zephyr thinks of Quasimodo (Tom Hulce) as his best friend, and visits him as much as Esmerelda and Phoebes do. One day, they go together to the circus that just came to town, where Quasi becomes smitten with a cute magician's assistant named Madeline (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Unbeknownst to Quasi, is that the nefarious circus' magician, Sarousch, is out to steal the cathedral's golden bell...and intends to use the unwilling Madeline as a diversion. It is up to Quasi to return the bell where it belongs, though he needs Madeline's help. Can he trust her? The resulting "follow your heart" lesson in humanity is exceptional...even when the animation quality is not.

Of course, it's hard to not add spoilers to a review like this, when the best part of this film is that it corrects the disappointing ending of its predecessor. How can I explain this, without spoiling the ending? Suffice to say, like in all good Disney films, the main stars live happily ever after, whether they have a hunchback or not. That's the message in this sequel's finale, and it's a very sweet, well played, heartfelt one. The lesson kids can learn here, is that Quasimodo is in truth no different in his insecurities than you or me; even the adorable Madeline is no more sure about her true beauty than Quasimodo. She thinks of herself as rather plain; a nobody. Quasi shows her she's so much more in his eyes, and in time, she learns that there's so much more to love in Quasi. This is a very sweet story that families will love to watch more than once.

Unfortunately, the animation is still very direct-to-video quality, thanks to Disney's Television Animation Department. Their work lately has been a mixture of impressive efforts (Little Mermaid 2), vs. downright insults to the classic fare (Cinderella 2). This film is closer to the former...though falls short at times in animation quality. Some may say it's as good as Lady & the Tramp 2; others may remark that some scenes seem "rushed" for a 2002 deadline. This is a shame when considering how much effort went into getting all the original voices back, as well as impressive newcomers like Jennifer Love Hewitt and Haley Joel Osment.  However, younger kids are very forgiving when it comes to animation quality on television (have you ever seen Ed, Edd & Eddy on Cartoon Network?), so they should be able to enjoy the film as-is, regardless of it not looking as top-quality as a cinematic feature.

In the end, I can say this much; if you even slightly liked the original enough to buy it, you need this video to accompany it. This is the finale we've all wanted, and regardless of the animation limitations, it's a sweet story that the whole family will love. Upon last month's release of Cinderella 2, I was quite disturbed at the downward spiral of Disney's TV video dept. With this release, they've truly redeemed themselves.

The DVD :  Kid movies are a hard medium to make bonus material for. Regardless, we adults prefer the occasional "audio commentary" or "behind the scenes" featurette once and again. Well, one out of two isn't too bad; this disc includes a behind-the-scenes special starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. At just under 5 minutes, it was apparently originally intended as a small short to be played on The Disney Channel on cable, though it still says what needs to be said about this film, and includes many nice anecdotes by Hewitt.

A "Festival of Fun Activity" adds a bonus feature Disney's DVD dept. is getting good at; short, interactive children's games that can be played right on your home DVD player. In this case, the fun is doubled: "Bells of Notre Dame," which appears to be a color matching puzzle, and "Puppet Theater." It's a nice diversion for the kids, and enhances the fun of the purchase of the DVD version.

The value of the third bonus feature is a tough call. It's cute, though it still seems like someone ruched to add just-one-more-bonus to the DVD. It's a poem, called "It's not Easy being a Gargoyle," and is narrated by Jason Alexander. The animation as this poem is told is a mish-mash of movie clips from the original 2 films, plus some still shots with well-photographed cloudy sunsets in the distance. It's a nice idea, though it may only be seen once by your family. Still, it's worth clicking on.

Click picture to order this DVD

Or...buy The Hunchback of Notre Dame II on VHS, TODAY!

Got a review you'd like to share? Techtite will post 2 of the best "guest" reviews received for any product, online, for all the world to see!