I know you'll see his name in the opening credits, but you might watch the entire production without remembering that Mandy Patinkin is in the movie. He's completely unrecognizable, and he masks his voice to talk like he's deaf. I'm famously good at recognizing people, but I couldn't see him inside Quasimodo at all. Well done! Quite frankly, I didn't think he had such great acting talents inside him. He was truly wonderful.
This tv version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is very similar to the Disney version, and with good reason: Mandy was going to give voice to the character in 1996 until creative differences led him to leave the production and create a real-people version of his own. So, when you see Esmerelda's white goat, the discovery of baby Quasimodo on the church steps, and the Festival of Fools, you understand. Salma Hayek plays the tantalizing gypsy, and it's easy to see why Archbishop Frollo (played by Richard Harris) feels such temptation. This version delves pretty deep into that angle of the plot (but, then again, so does Disney), and Richard whips himself whenever he gets impure thoughts.
Like every version of this classic French story, there are some scenes that are just too sad to watch. I've never been able to make it through Quasimodo's humiliation in the town square; that's where the handy fast-forward button comes in. The rest of the movie is very good, especially as a real-people companion to the Disney classic. Jim Dale plays Clopin, and if you grew up seeing him in the Carry On films, or listening to his Broadway recording of Barnum, you'll be delighted to see him in such a fitting role.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence and torture scenes, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
