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"Welcome. I am Irrin. I watch over this area because I know the most about it: I lived through it. I hope you enjoy your stay, and maybe learn a few things. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask." 
Welcome! Come on in, enjoy your stay. :-) This is my Hunchback of Notre Dame page. I've been meaning to do a page like this for a while, but have met with a few difficulties. For one, my written fanfic has been 'borrowed' on more than one occasion, so I don't think I'm going to have Irrin's story availible anymore. If anyone is interested in reading it, please let me know. Another difficulty I've run into is a lack of images. I used to have a ton of HBoND images, but for some reason I can't find them. For now I'm going to have to use actual photos I've taken of the HBoND stage show in Florida. Hopefully I can find my images and other photos soon, because they're a lot better than these ones. I even have a photo of me with Russell, the main actor who played Clopin in the stage show, but I can't find that right now either. 
Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885) Ahh, one of my favorite pictures of Hugo. :-) When you learn a lot about him as I have, you find out that he was a great man. He loved his family very much, especially children, and was known to be silly from time to time. At the same time, he was an incredibly wise and considerate man. He has many famous writings that have been translated into just about every language of the world, making him one of the most widely known French writters. Several of his writtings, such as Les Miserables and Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) have been made into numerous plays and movies. Notre Dame de Paris was written in 1831. Although many argue over it, Hugo wrote it for the main purpose of saving Notre Dame. That's right, because of new fashion trends in his day and age many 'old' monuments were either being redone, or destroyed completely. Hugo was appalled by this, and so wrote HBoND in order to raise awarness and hopefully get others to share his view. In fact, an entire chapter of the book ("Bird's eye view of Paris") ONLY discusses and describes Paris, but Notre Dame and the 'old section' in general. Because of his work, Notre Dame was saved from destruction, restored, and still stands for us today. HBoND is a wonderful novel, and I highly suggest it to anyone. Of course, I suggest you read the full unabriged version instead of the abridged version, which I've found distorts the story. The only reason the unabridged version might be difficult for some to read is because it's written in what is considered "olde english." That never fazed me though, and I loved the book. I was very happy when I learned enough French to be able to read the book in it's actual original version. :-) If you would like to learn more about Victor Hugo and his works, I've provided some links below. Victor Hugo - A wonderful site that has a detailed biogrophy of Victor Hugo, complete with images. The only drawback for some would be the fact that it is written entirely in French. Liste des oeuvres de Victor Hugo - If you haven't already guessed from the title, this page is a list of Victor Hugo's works, but again, is written in French. Victor Hugo - Another fine biography site, but this time in English. :-) 
If you haven't already guessed, I love the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I also really like Disney's movie version of it, but like most movie remakes of the original, it has some issues. I can understand the lack of some parts, such as death, because it IS a Disney film, and it was intended for children, but I can also understand why the French were very upset with this version. I would be too. For one thing, Gringoire, the MAIN character of the book, is no where to be seen in the film. Supposedly Disney's Phoebus is the combination of Gringoire and Phoebus from the book, but in my opinion that's an impossible thing to do. All dissing aside, Disney's movie is a good movie by itself, but isn't by any means a reproduction of the novel. So putting comparisons aside, the rest of my webpage will basically be based on Disney's version of the story. Even though I love the movie, I highly suggest reading the novel too. :-) 
The HBoND advertising sign and the full cast of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame stage show at the Backlot Theatre. Pretty much every time I've been to Florida since the release of the movie I have gone to the Backlot Theatre in Disney's MGM Studios and watched the HBoND. Usually with my little sister Debi, and usually several times. ;-) We would always get there early so we could sit right on the runway where the actors get REALLY close to you. That's actually how I got the attention of Russell, the actor who played Clopin, and got to meet him afterwards. I've taken tons of photos of this show, and yet I can barely find any of them. -insert mumble about moving- In any case, I've taken the ones I can find and am displaying them here. First a little about the show/novel/history of the HBoND, then character profiles. :-) 
Ah the stage. This is where it all begins. I think Disney did and excellent job of building this stage for the show. Even though their space is limited, they managed to accomplish a LOT. Multiple levels, hidden exits/effects positioning, robe-swinging ability... :-) All in all a great stage for a great show. All of the actors are extremely talented and make the show even better. 
Disney presents the stage show in much the same way it opened the movie - like a play. A puppet show to be precise. :-) And of course, the play is told and guided by our favorite puppiter/King of Gypsies, Clopin. The interesting this is that the novel begins during a play being put on by Gringoire, but is quickly interrupted by Esmeralda's dancing and the Festival of Fools chosing of the King of Fools. Poor Gringoire. ;-) Within the first few chapters you are introduced to all of the main characters, and even get to know a bit of their history. Just a note - I WISH I had a cloak like that. :-) 
As I mentioned above, it was the proceedings of the Festival of Fools that interrupted and effectively ended Gringoire's play. The Feast of Fools was an actually French holiday celebrated on the 6th of January each year until the German occupation ended it, and it never really rivived after that. During the Feast high ranked officials, generally those of the Government and the Church, would become 'commoners' for a day and switch places with common folk. One of the reasons it's called "Topsy Turvy." ;-) Another note: I love the face the stiltwalker behind Clopin is making. ;-) 
Okay, I know this picture is odd, but there's a story behind it. :-) I was holding up my camera, setting myself up for a perfect shot of Clopin as he introduced the Festival of Fools and the actors comming up the runway, when one of those actors, the one who stands on his hands and changes into a different face card, bent down right in front of me and yelled "Take a picture!" I was so shocked and suprised that I did. The guy then clapped and went on his way. I'm actually suprised the picture turned out at all. I also took a few moments to recover from my near heart attack. ;-) 
Although the circumstances differ between the novel and the movie, in essence the same thing takes place: The crowd tortures Quasimodo while being spun and whipped. Quasi cries out for water, and the only one with a heart enough to give him any is the Gypsy woman Esmeralda. This causes quite a stir, especially when Esmeralda frees Quasimodo of his restraints. Esmeralda doesn't care though, she can take care of herself quite well, and besides, she hates Frollo. Yes, that part of the story is the same as well: Frollo is the one who brought Quasimodo into the church and cared for him as he grew up. Several differences though: Frollo didn't actually kill Quasimodo's mom. Quasi was left on the 'orphan's bench' of the church one day. Since Frollo was the deacon (quite a change there too) he decided the deformed boy could stay and as he grew employed him as the bellringer, which made him deaf. In any case, Quasi falls in love with the beautiful Esmeralda because of her kindness, which of course causes a huge problem because Quasi also loves his master and the one who raised him, Frollo. 
Not something mentioned at all in Disney's version, but throughout the entire novel Esmeralda is searching for something - her past. I don't want to get too much into it, because it will spoil the book. Read the book! It's awesome. :-) Just to mention though, Esmeralda also gets into a bit of a mess because she falls in love with Phoebus - an engaged Captain of the Guard. Oops. ;-) Gringoire of course (long story) like Esmeralda's goat, Djali, more than he likes her. ;-) Like I said, the story is great, go read it! :-) Again, I appologize for my lack of photos and such, I can't believe I can't find the TONS of photos I've taken of this show. In any case, on to the character profiles. :-) 
Quasimodo. Yes, just as Clopin says at the beginning of the movie, Quasimodo's name really does mean "half-formed." He was named such because even as a baby he had a huge lump over his eye that made him practically blind in that eye, and a curved back (why he was called the Hunchback.) As he grows up he rings the bells which makes him incredibly strong, but also renders him deaf. Quasi amazingly more or less learns how to read lips, and Frollo and he devise a strange hand signal way of communicating. Because he lives up in the bell towers, and because he is so deformed, Quasi's only real 'friends' are the gargoyles that adorn Notre Dame. I thought it was cute in Disney's movie that they actually came to life and talked to him. :-) Unfortunately that never happened for the real Quasimodo. Quasimodo was voiced by Tom Hulce. I think Disney did a cute thing when they named the gargoyles: Victor, Hugo, and Laverne. ;-) An attempt to honor Victor Hugo I'm sure. Victor was voiced by Charles Kimbrough, Hugo was voiced by Jason Alexander, and Laverne was voiced by Mary Wickes. Unfortunately, Mary Wickes died before production of the movie was over, and so was never actually able to see it finished. She was a long time friend of Disney, and has done many voices for many beloved characters for them, and so they did a small tribute to her by giving her the very last line in the movie. 
Frollo. Yeah, Frollo's a pretty nasty guy in both the novel and the movie. The main differences between the two being his position change and the fact that in the novel he didn't kill Quasi's mom. In the novel he was interesting in the fact that in a way, he was an outcast too. He was very intelligent, and spent most of his time learning, studying, and experimenting (he dabbled in alchemy.) For some odd reason, even when he was young, like around 20ish when he found Quasi, his hair was "white like an older gentleman's." Supposedly that was because he never really left his labratory. Yes, in both the novel and movie he hated Gypsies. And yes, he fell in love with Esmeralda in both cases too, but I think what he did in the novel was a little more interesting. :-) Again, you'll have to read it to find out. ;-) Frollo was voiced by Tony Jay. Although technically Frollo was the Archdeacon in the novel, in the movie he wasn't. The Archdeacon was voiced by yet another Disney favorite and voice of many characters, David Ogden Stiers. 
Phoebus. Ah, the Captain of the Guard. Like I said before, there's no way he could have supstituted for Gringoire - their storylines clash too much to do that. In any case, I always though Phoebus was interesting in the fact that he was engaged to marry his second cousin, but didn't really want to, mostly because she was boring. ;-) He actually had returned from the wars for the sole purpose of getting married, but of course that's not ALL that happened to him in his time off. ;-) Yes, in the novel Phoebus gets critically injured as well, just not by an arrow. Phoebus was voiced by Kevin Kline. 
Esmeralda and Djali. Ah, Esmeralda. Probably the centerpiece of the storyline and second main character. Without meaning to, Esmeralda found herself the center of many men's affections, which of course led to a lot of trouble. When Gringoire stumbled upon the Court of Miracles and was about to be hung, Esmeralda was the only one kind enough to step in and save him. Of course, that meant 'marrying' him. (They smashed a jug and however many pieces it broke into was how long Gringoire has to stay and work with the Gypsies.) Of course Esmeralda and Gringoire had no interest in each other. Actually, Gringoire was much more interested in Esmeralda's beloved goat, Djali, mostly because of how intelligent she was and her lovely gilded horns. Esmeralda obviously fell in love with Phoebus, and even taught Djali how to spell his name using lettered blocks. Unfortunately Quasi and Frollo both fall in love with her, and all this love business leads to big trouble. Esmeralda was voiced by Demi Moore and her singing voice was Heidi Mollenhauer. Djali was 'voiced' by Gary Trousdale. 
Clopin. I like saving the best for last. :-) Ah Clopin. Obviously, my favorite character. ;-) His full name is Clopin Trouillefou, and he was the King of the Gypsies. He actually wasn't seen a whole lot in the novel except at key moments, but because of his part in the movie he has become many people's favorite character. Actually, he was the first cartoon character to be listed on the 50 most sexy people, largely due to the fact that he had such a huge fan-based following on the internet. It was described as 'cult-like' even because of the literally thousands of webpages that popped up in honor of him, hundreds of fanfics written, etc. There were even groups such as 'Clopin Secret Girlfriends' and 'Clopin's harem' members. :-) Unfortunately, a lot of those sites have gone down since then. :-( The hardcore fans still remain though, and those are the ones that matter. Like I mentioned earlier, I too wrote about Clopin, but for entirely different purposes. Clopin was voiced (and provided the singing voice as well) by the wonderfully talented Paul Kandel, my favorite voice actor. :-) (That's right, he comes first, and THEN Jeff Bennett ;-) ) Paul Kandel is another Disney favorite, and has voiced many characters for them, but none nearly as beloved as Clopin. If you're a fan as well, or want to find out more about him, you can click one of the links below. The Paul Kandel Page - a page dedicated to him by another fan of Clopin. :-) Short Interview with Paul Kandel - The short interview with him that appeared in the Disney Adventures magazine. 
Some of Paul Kandel's other accomplishments: On/Off Broadway:Jesus Christ Superstar as King Herod, Ismay in Titanic, Uncle Ernie in The Who's Tommy (Tony nomination), Marley in A Christmas Carol, The Visit, Fanny (Paper Mill), Kabe in One Flea Spare (Obie Award-Best Play) at NYSF, Earth and Sky (Second Stage), 20 fingers, 20 toes (WPA), Taming of the Shrew (TNA), Scrambled Feet, Nightclub Cantana (his first role in 1976), Two Grown Men (Village Gate), Luigi Gaudi in Lucky Stiff. Movies/TV:Memoirs of Sally Hemmings as Pierre Du Pont, Full Moon High, The Client (guest starred in first episode as a murderer on CBS), Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night as Duke Rausch, Fool's Fire, Law & Order as a reporter, Loving as Mr. Phillips, Clopin in Disney's Hunchback and Hunchback 2, Several voices (thief triplets) in Disney's Aladdin and the King of Thieves, just about every other Disney movie ;-), and yes, even a commercial: a Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercial as a wacky scientist. :-) I know that probably isn't any where near all the work he's done, but unfortunately that was all I could find. :-( I think I'm actually going to try to become a little brave and write to him. Maybe then I'll find out all the work he's done. That would be cool. :-) If anyone knows something I've missed, please mail me. Return to Top Last updated on: March 26, 2003 |
