Michael Arden's Quasimodo was more naive and boyish than the animated one.
DisneyFan09 wrote:
DisneyJedi wrote:he learns that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like Frollo.
Eeeeh...
Frollo was indeed cruel and wicked, but the townspeople weren't particularly kind to Quasi either. Remember Frollo's guards were the ones who started the mockery of Quasi and the townspeople were calling Quasi mean things.
Yes, but like I said Esmerelda and Phoebus were good people.
DisneyFan09 wrote:
Beauty and the Beast aren't comedies
While "Beauty and the Beast" has indeed it's fair share amount of drama, depth and substance, I will say that it's still quite comedic and light. It's not to say that it's a comedy, cause it isn't. But not as grave and serious as "The Lion King". But that's my subjective opinion, though You're allowed to disagree
I haven't seen The Lion King on Broadway, so I don't know how much more serious it is than Beauty and the Beast. I think both movies are the same as far as light and heavy at least.
ProfessorRatigan wrote: Hunchback, to me, has a depressive mood throughout that is occasionally alleviated by the Gargoyles, but, Lion King seems to have these very heavy scenes that get undercut by Timon & Pumbaa, who, as you've probably guessed, I consider two of the most foul, loathsome and selfish characters in Disney. I've honestly never understood why the Gargoyles, who mostly just try to cheer Quasimodo up, get major amounts of hate for their antics, but Timon & Pumbaa, who actively emotionally manipulate Simba into living a life of laziness and running away from his problems, make crude fart jokes and make fun of Simba whenever he opens himself up emotionally to them, are beloved. It really doesn't make sense to me.
I guess the reasons why the Gargoyles are loathed because they're more grating than Timon and Pumbaa. But that being said, it's not that Timon and Pumbaa are universally loved. They have their amount of haters as well.
And frankly, Pumbaa is the nicer one. He wanted to take Simba in, while Timon wouldn't. Timon is selfish, while Pumbaa is unfortunately too naive to realize Timon's selfishness. And yeah, while they do make fun of Simba's confession, it's wasn't a deliberate malice in their mockery (they feel bad when Simba gets up and leaves). And Timon goes through a minor arc.
Last edited by DisneyFan09 on Fri Jul 24, 2015 8:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
Maybe The Lion King has changed over the years but there was still a lot of humor when I saw it. All of the Timon and Pumbaa stuff from the movie and then some, plus the hyenas, Zazu, etc. There are some great serious moments too with all the added dramatic songs and intricate costumes and set pieces, but it's really family friendly.
Frankly that cheap type of humor stood out as even more annoying on stage, but comic relief can be done right. Even shows like Les Miserables have some comedy.
I know this may seem off-topic, but I finally saw the entire Berlin-version on YouTube (with subtitles of course, despite that German have similarities to Norwegian). I liked it, but it wasn't that different from The King's Academy version (which I saw on YouTube two years ago). But frankly, I liked the Berlin-version better. It gave the opening chants of "Bells of Notre Dame" more justice, as well with "Hellfire" and had "Balancing Act". But the thing I'll liked most from King's Academy version was "The Court of Miracles", which wasn't included in the Berlin version. Either way, I liked that Berlin-version gave the characters more depth. And Esmeralda obviously dies in that one
Gringoire was just as bad. Probably WORSE, actually, that little goat fucker. Seriously. He was WAY too into Djali. Saving the goat's life at the end and leaving Esmeralda to be taken by Frollo. If he had helped her then, the way SHE helped him in the Court of Miracles, she might have lived. But all he cared about was absconding with her goat. Creep.
For some reason Gringoire is my favorite character in the book. He's flawed, but I've always thought of him as a fun, mischevious and a quite optimistic character, actually. He looked for the best in most of the situations and was intriguing.
So happy that we get a CD recording at least, even though this show deserves to be on Broadway. I would rather see Hunchback get a Broadway run, then Pinocchio...
Favorite Disney-movies: Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Tangled, Frozen, Pirates, Enchanted, Prince of Persia, Tron, Oz The Great and Powerful
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're getting a cast recording of the show. But I think the album cover looks too plain. I mean, come on. Surely, they could've given us something like their past cast recording covers, like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King... Even the original cover art of the cast recording o Mary Poppins (a silhouette of the title characters formed from a bunch of cherry blossoms) was pretty unique.
Come on, Disney. Surely you can do better than this.
I'm sure (I hope at least!) that the cover is just a placeholder, and that the final cover will be revealed later:)
Favorite Disney-movies: Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan, Tangled, Frozen, Pirates, Enchanted, Prince of Persia, Tron, Oz The Great and Powerful
DisneyFan09 wrote:Just wondering, ProfessorRatigan; Which song of the new "Hunchback"-show is your favorite?
Oh, gee. I really like nearly everything. I haven't gotten around to hearing the NEW 'new' songs (the ones written especially for the English translation: Flight Into Egypt or the new In a Place of Miracles) so I can't comment on those. But I love Esmeralda, the Act 1 Finale, and Quasimodo's Made of Stone. I can't wait for the release of the album to hear all these songs with crisp, clear audio, instead of murky internet bootlegs.
Oh, gee. I really like nearly everything. I haven't gotten around to hearing the NEW 'new' songs (the ones written especially for the English translation: Flight Into Egypt or the new In a Place of Miracles) so I can't comment on those. But I love Esmeralda, the Act 1 Finale, and Quasimodo's Made of Stone. I can't wait for the release of the album to hear all these songs with crisp, clear audio, instead of murky internet bootlegs.
I like most of the new songs as well. Strangely enough, they didn't left an impression on me when I saw the show initially. But they've grown on me. I love "Balancing Act" and "On Top of the World". "Made of Stone" is indeed powerful, perhaps the most powerful song besides "Bells of Notre Dame" and "Hellfire". But it makes me cold for some reason.
What do you think about the German stage show in general? Do you think it enhances/improves the Disney version?
And just a note; My blog about "Hunchback" was NOT supposed to be an review. It was supposed to be an analysis. Yes, it may seem strange not nitpick about it, but I made it clear in my writing that it was NOT supposed to be an review (and if you actually read it, you noticed that my writing was not constructed as an review at all). So therefore, I'm stating it right now.
Menken confirms that Hunchback is not coming to Broadway.
Alan Menken wrote:With Newsies, we were honestly not thinking past anything but Papermill. With Hunchback - which I was so proud of, everyone was saying it's going to Broadway - but it's actually going for regional and amateur stock licensing, which is what it was designed for. There are so many factors outside of my control about what happens from here. I've trained myself not to think about it. It's too much energy and emotional energy to think about where we'll go next.
Stephen Schwartz also says that Hunchback will not be coming to Broadway.
In a Union-Tribune interview after the discussion, Schwartz noted that "Hunchback" is now about to be licensed for regional productions. That serves as more or less final confirmation that the show will not, as had once been speculated, receive a Broadway run (despite a Change.org petition drive launched by a fan from Vista).
And Schwartz seemed fine with that development: "What one wants for any show is for it have a (continued) life, wherever that may be", he said. Still, Schwartz couldn't help but note that this means "the two best shows I've done have never played New York."
Two best shows? Yes, Schwartz plays favorites. And to him, the best examples of his work in musical theater are "Hunchback" and the biblically based 1991 piece "Children of Eden," with music and lyrics by Schwartz and a book by John Caird.
Schwartz said his reasons for choosing those two are necessarily subjective, but come down to how well each show fulfilled its artistic mission.
Schwartz said one of the issues the musical didn't make it to Broadway was because of its big choir.
Q: Children of Eden has enjoyed enduring success in the community and educational theater circuit. Will you ever make an attempt to bring it on or Off-Broadway?
Stephen Schwartz: Well, the problem with Children of Eden is its size. It is written as a semi-oratorio, which means it has a big chorus that sings. So, in some ways it's similar to the issue with Hunchback of Notre Dame, which also is big because of the choir for Broadway. I mean, people always think Broadway shows as being sort of the biggest production. But actually, they're not because of the expense. You're actually limited in cast size and orchestra size, and there are bigger things, and much more you can do in other productions. For instance, the show that I've just done in Vienna has an orchestra of 35 people, which for Broadway you said I'd like to have basically The Magic Flute orchestra for this, you'd be laughed out of the room.
You're allowed to disagree
