The Hunchback of Notre Dame II

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
DVD cover
Directed by	Bradley Raymond
Screenplay by	Flip Kobler Cindy Marcus Jule Selbo
Based on	The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Produced by	Chris Henderson Hiroshi Saotome Stephen Swofford
Starring	Tom Hulce Jennifer Love Hewitt Demi Moore Kevin Kline Jason Alexander Haley Joel Osment Michael McKean
Edited by	Colleen Halsey Peter Lonsdale
Music by	Carl Johnson
Production company	Walt Disney Television Animation
Distributed by	Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release date	March 19, 2002 (2002-03-19)
Running time	68 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II is a 2002 American animated musical film directed by Bradley Raymond. It is a direct-to-video sequel to Disney's 1996 animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The film was produced by the Japanese office of Walt Disney Animation and Walt Disney Television Animation, while it was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Many of the actors from the original film reprise their roles, with the addition of new characters played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, Michael McKean and Haley Joel Osment. Critical reception was mostly negative.

Plot

Six years after Claude Frollo's death, Quasimodo is now an accepted member of Parisian society but he still lives in Notre-Dame de Paris. Captain Phoebus now serves under the new Minister of Justice. He and Esmeralda are now married and have a son named Zephyr who has a close friendship with Quasimodo.

A circus troupe called Cirque de Sarousch comes as part of an event called Le Jour d'Amour where romance is celebrated and couples declare their love. Unbeknownst to anyone, the members of the circus troupe are thieves who steal from their audiences. The owner named Sarousch plans to steal Notre Dame's most beloved bell, La Fidèle. The inside is decorated with beige-gold and enormous jewels. He sends an aspiring high-wire girl named Madellaine to pretend to love Quasimodo in order to discover the whereabouts of La Fidèle.

She meets Quasimodo without seeing his face. They get along quite well but when she sees his face, she runs away. Victor, Hugo and Laverne convince him to go to the circus in order to see her again. At the circus, Sarousch captures the audience's attention by making an elephant disappear while his subordinates steal from the audience.

After the magic show, Madellaine tells him that she does not want to be part of his scheme anymore but he reminds her of her past: when she was six years old, she was an orphan who he caught trying to steal money from him. He could have reported her to Judge Claude Frollo but he decided to employ her in exchange for food and somewhere to live.

When she sees Quasimodo playing with Zephyr, she ceases to be scared of his appearance. She takes her sightseeing around Paris but thunderstorm forces them to go inside Notre Dame. He takes the opportunity to give her a figurine of her that he created. She kisses him on the forehead and leaves. This causes him to faint out of happiness.

The next day, he goes to Esmeralda for advice because he feels weird. She realizes that he is in love with Madellaine and tells him that he needs to confess his feelings. When Phoebus reveals that he has discovered a connection between reports of robberies in the city and the circus, this makes Quasimodo, Esmerelda and Zephyr angry with him because Quasimodo does not think that Madellaine is involved, Esmerelda thinks that he carries prejudice against the Romani and Zephyr likes the circus.

Sarousch threatens Madellaine that he will kill Quasimodo unless she keeps Quasimodo occupied while he steals La Fidèle. Phoebus questions him about the robberies and finds a stolen jewel. Realizing that he can use this to his advantage, he lies that Madellaine is a lifelong thief and he is covering for her crimes.

While Quasimodo and Madellaine go for a walk, Sarousch and two of his subordinates sneak into Notre Dame. Victor, Hugo and Laverne try to stop the thieves but they get trapped under another bell. Zephyr and Djali who watch Sarousch make La Fidèle disappear decide to learn where he is taking it.

Laverne bangs her head against the bell in order to alert everyone outside. After the new Archdeacon reveals that La Fidèle has been stolen, Phoebus realizes that Sarousch tricked him and sends his soldiers around Paris. Quasimodo accuses Madellaine of never loving him and breaks off their relationship.

He frees Victor, Hugo and Laverne who tell him that Zephyr is pursuing Sarousch. While the thieves take La Fidèle through the Catacombs of Paris, they discover Zephyr and Djali who have stowed away on their boat. Djali manages to escape from them and goes through a tunnel. When Madellaine reveals that Sarousch has taken La Fidèle underground, Phoebus decides to search around the catacombs and reluctantly brings Madellaine.

In the Catacombs, the search party encounters Djali who leads them to the thieves and Zephyr. Sarousch has taken Zephyr hostage and blackmails Phoebus into opening a gate for him. After Madellaine pleads with Quasimodo to trust her, he lassos a rock in order to create a tightrope that she walks across. She uses her high-wire skills in order to rescue Zephyr and reunite him with his parents. Sarousch is given a life sentence in prison for his crimes.

During Le Jour d'Amour, a number of romantic couples including Phoebus and Esmeralda declare their love while Quasimodo rings La Fidèle. He and Madellaine declare their own love and share their first kiss while Zephyr rings La Fidèle.

Voice cast

• Tom Hulce as Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame.
• Jennifer Love Hewitt as Madellaine, a former thief and circus troupe member who Quasimodo falls for.
• Michael McKean as Sarousch, the leader of the circus troupe.
• Demi Moore as Esmeralda, a Romani woman and a friend of Quasimodo.
• Kevin Kline as Captain Phoebus, a soldier, friend of Quasimodo, and Esmeralda's husband.
• Haley Joel Osment as Zephyr, the son of Esmeralda and Phoebus.
• Paul Kandel as Clopin Trouillefou, the leader of the Roma.
• Charles Kimbrough as Victor, a gargoyle.
• Jason Alexander as Hugo, a gargoyle.
• Jane Withers as Laverne, a gargoyle. This was Withers’ last film before her death.
• Jim Cummings as the Archdeacon, the lead priest at Notre Dame. The archdeacon in the first film died sometime before the events of this film.
• Joe Lala as Guard #1
• Frank Welker as Achilles, Phoebus' horse. He was previously voiced by Bob Bergen in the first film.
  • Frank Welker also voices Djali, Esmeralda's goat, replacing the late Mary Kay Bergman.
• April Winchell as Lady DeBurne

Home media

As announced on August 21, 2000, the film was originally going to be released on DVD and VHS on August 28, 2001. However, the release date was delayed to March 19, 2002, to coincide with the VHS/DVD re-release of the original film.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 22% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10.

DVDactive said it was an "unusually chintzy production", noting "the characters are slightly off-model, their movements are stilted, optical zooms are used in place of animated camera moves, animation cycles are over-used, and painted highlights float around between frames". It compared it to the company's television shows, adding it looks "cheap", "old", and "awful". It concluded by saying "it is mercifully short – under an hour without credits." Hi-Def Digest said "There's really no point in wasting your time watching this subpar sequel of an already ho-hum movie", rating it 1.5 stars. PopMatters notes "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II both addresses and cheapens the previous movie's notes of melancholy, as it sets about finding Quasimodo a romantic partner". DVD Talk says "the story...somehow stretches what might have once been a 12-minute segment of the Smurfs to over an hour", and concludes that "the whole thing has the awful feel of a cash grab".

Songs

This was the final film credit for Angela Morley who orchestrated Carl Johnson's score.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Le Jour D'Amour"	Randy Petersen & Kevin Quinn	Paul Kandel, Tom Hulce, Charles Kimbrough, Jason Alexander, Jane Withers & Chorus
2.	"An Ordinary Miracle"	Walter Edgar Kennon	Tom Hulce
3.	"I'd Stick with You"	Walter Edgar Kennon	Haley Joel Osment & Tom Hulce
4.	"Fa la la la Fallen In Love"	Walter Edgar Kennon	Charles Kimbrough, Jason Alexander, Jane Withers & Chorus
5.	"I'm Gonna Love You (Madellaine's Love Song)"	Jennifer Love Hewitt & Chris Canute	Jennifer Love Hewitt

External links

• Official website
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame II at IMDb