THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

"What makes a monster and what makes a man" - the main ideology behind Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' isn't something an animated kid's film would usually tackle. Adapting any Victor Hugo tale is already a heavy feat, but this also needs to be a mainstream family feature from the company with the Mouse Mascot - that's not a challenge, that's insane.

Infanticide, lust, damnation, antagonism, genocide and sin, the themes of Disney's 'Hunchback', doesn't that sound like something you want to introduce the kids to. In 1996, for any of these themes to be in any children's media was quite groundbreaking, and the fact that they attempted to tackle any of this idea is part of the staying power of the film and the reason we still celebrate it to this day. But that's not to say the film isn't without problems - the gargoyles being the biggest - but when it works, man, it's one of the most powerful Disney films.

There is an epicness baked into the foundation of the 'Hunchback' story. Paris, the setting of Notre Dame, is already grand enough, but once again Disney's musical genius Alan Menken along with Stephen Schwartz truly went to a god-like level here. 'The Bells of Notre Dame' perfectly welcomes you into the darker world of the film with its overall operatic score. 'Out There' is another beautiful song up there with the best from the 90s Disney musicals. 'Topsy Turvy' is a fun celebration song, while 'God Help the Outcasts' is a truly moving song. 'A Guy Like You' is the worst of the bunch, and perfectly illustrates all the problems with the film and how badly the gargoyles were integrated into the story. 'The Court of Miracles' is one of those forgotten Disney tracks, but it's a really catchy number. Still, the star of the show is 'Hellfire', easy Disney's darkest song put to screen. Judge Frollo lustfully confronting Esmeralda - accompanied with the jaw-dropping animation - makes him one of the studio's best villains.

The gargoyles. They are often the point of contention when talking about how this film is a masterpiece, and yes, they do weigh the film down, but everything around them is so strong. They simply should not have been there - or, at least, not voiced by Jason Alexander. Since they were used so heavily in the marketing along with the 'Festival of Fools' scene, it's a big reason why the film underperformed and caused outrage. If you are a fan of the source material, you watch the trailers with lines like "they butchered my boy" and don't want to watch, while if you're a parent it looks like a fun Disney film, which is the complete opposite of what the film is.