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Hunchback of Notre Dame II
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // G // March 19, 2002
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Only mere weeks after releasing what I would consider the company's worst major animated release (the direct-to-vid "Cinderella II"), I tried to have somewhat higher hopes for a series that seemed equally unlikely for sequelization, "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame". This sequel doesn't approach the original's dark tone or remarkable animation, but thanks to several factors, it remains an enjoyable - if not that memorable - little flick.
While most of the characters from the original return, the big surprise is that most of the big-name talent has returned to provide the voices. Phoebus and Esmeralda (Kevin Kline and Demi Moore) are now together and have a child named Zephyr (Haley Joel Osment). All three are friends with Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), whose feelings are a bit hurt as the film begins, as the "Festival D'Amour" has started and Quasimodo's all by himself. He retreats to the tower, where he's accompanied by returning sidekicks Laverne (Jane Withers), Hugo (Jason Alexander) and Victor (Charles Kimbrough).
The Cirque De Sarouch (sort of the evil Cirque De Soleil, I suppose) arrives in town, featuring Madeline (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a quiet, but beautiful girl who is shy and made to believe that she can't make it on her own. Quasi falls in love with her and she eventually begins to fall for him, but does she have other plans in mind?
While it's not as paper-thin as the excuse for three small stories in "Cinderella II", "Hunchback of Notre Dame II"'s 68 minutes are made up of a lot of tunes that seem more like filler as well as a lot of familiar elements from the first picture. Still, thanks to the excellent voice work, the less-than-interesting dialogue is more energetic and emotional than it would have been otherwise. The animation is not very good - it's about on the level of what you might see on a Saturday morning, if that. Still, as these direct-to-video flicks go, "Hunchback II" is a fairly solid attempt and doesn't seem too much like just another opportunity for Disney to cash in.
The DVD
VIDEO: Disney presents "Hunchback of Notre Dame II" in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. The animation is, again, not very good - there's little detail or depth to the animation and the color palette seems rather limited in comparison to some of the more major animated outings. Sharpness here seems okay, if not particularly remarkable. There didn't seem to be a great deal of flaws throughout the picture aside from a few minor instances of pixelation. Colors looked nicely saturated, if not as rich as most recent animated pictures.
SOUND: As with some of Disney's other recent direct-to-vid features, "Hunchback II" is presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 versions. The film's soundtrack is more agressive than these minor animated features are, as the surrounds actually bring some decent ambient sounds and the score to the party. The audio quality in both the Dolby Digital and DTS editions remained pretty similar, as both versions of the soundtrack came through crisply, if not in a very dynamic fashion.
MENUS: Quite well-done fully animated menus with film clips as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: A couple of featurettes, including one where some hyper kids discuss Love Hewitt's musical contributions to the flick, as well as a pair of "Sneak Peak" trailers for other Disney titles.
Final Thoughts: As direct-to-vid Disney flicks go, "Hunchback II" doesn't provide much of a story, but the top-notch cast providing voices for the characters at least gives it their best. Disney's DVD edition provides respectable image quality for the decent animation, very good sound and minimal supplements.
Only mere weeks after releasing what I would consider the company's worst major animated release (the direct-to-vid "Cinderella II"), I tried to have somewhat higher hopes for a series that seemed equally unlikely for sequelization, "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame". This sequel doesn't approach the original's dark tone or remarkable animation, but thanks to several factors, it remains an enjoyable - if not that memorable - little flick.
While most of the characters from the original return, the big surprise is that most of the big-name talent has returned to provide the voices. Phoebus and Esmeralda (Kevin Kline and Demi Moore) are now together and have a child named Zephyr (Haley Joel Osment). All three are friends with Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), whose feelings are a bit hurt as the film begins, as the "Festival D'Amour" has started and Quasimodo's all by himself. He retreats to the tower, where he's accompanied by returning sidekicks Laverne (Jane Withers), Hugo (Jason Alexander) and Victor (Charles Kimbrough).
The Cirque De Sarouch (sort of the evil Cirque De Soleil, I suppose) arrives in town, featuring Madeline (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a quiet, but beautiful girl who is shy and made to believe that she can't make it on her own. Quasi falls in love with her and she eventually begins to fall for him, but does she have other plans in mind?
While it's not as paper-thin as the excuse for three small stories in "Cinderella II", "Hunchback of Notre Dame II"'s 68 minutes are made up of a lot of tunes that seem more like filler as well as a lot of familiar elements from the first picture. Still, thanks to the excellent voice work, the less-than-interesting dialogue is more energetic and emotional than it would have been otherwise. The animation is not very good - it's about on the level of what you might see on a Saturday morning, if that. Still, as these direct-to-video flicks go, "Hunchback II" is a fairly solid attempt and doesn't seem too much like just another opportunity for Disney to cash in.
The DVD
VIDEO: Disney presents "Hunchback of Notre Dame II" in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. The animation is, again, not very good - there's little detail or depth to the animation and the color palette seems rather limited in comparison to some of the more major animated outings. Sharpness here seems okay, if not particularly remarkable. There didn't seem to be a great deal of flaws throughout the picture aside from a few minor instances of pixelation. Colors looked nicely saturated, if not as rich as most recent animated pictures.
SOUND: As with some of Disney's other recent direct-to-vid features, "Hunchback II" is presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 versions. The film's soundtrack is more agressive than these minor animated features are, as the surrounds actually bring some decent ambient sounds and the score to the party. The audio quality in both the Dolby Digital and DTS editions remained pretty similar, as both versions of the soundtrack came through crisply, if not in a very dynamic fashion.
MENUS: Quite well-done fully animated menus with film clips as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: A couple of featurettes, including one where some hyper kids discuss Love Hewitt's musical contributions to the flick, as well as a pair of "Sneak Peak" trailers for other Disney titles.
Final Thoughts: As direct-to-vid Disney flicks go, "Hunchback II" doesn't provide much of a story, but the top-notch cast providing voices for the characters at least gives it their best. Disney's DVD edition provides respectable image quality for the decent animation, very good sound and minimal supplements.
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