The Hunchback of Notre Dame II: Musical Hell Review #68 

If that jewelled bell was there from the start, why didn't Quasi show Esmeralda when he was showing her around the bell tower in the first film? "Quasi, what's that bell over there?" "Oh, that's the sequel plot, you don't have to worry about that... yet."

All right, no good way to ask this, why is Zepher so white? Shouldn’t his skin tone be more of a mixture of Phoebes’ and Esmeralda’s? Zepher looks like Phoebes just asexually reproduced

I can see what the writers were trying to do with this romance: Quasimodo is judged negatively by his ugliness, while Madeline is the other extreme and is judged negatively by her beauty, only seen as a pretty face. That idea by itself could work if the concept of giving the hunchback a girlfriend wasn't so unessessary.

As someone who lists “Hunchback” in her top three Disney movies, this actually hurts my heart to watch.

Hunchback is one of the best animated films ever made. This sequel was a straight up slap in the face.

"Imagine someone to love who loves you." Breathtaking lyrical genius

4:00 the little girl who hugged Quasi at the end of the first movie has not aged even though Zephyr is around 6 or 7. Hmm....

"Sarouche's Rafiki impression" omg I'm dying!

*"IMAGINE SOMEONE TO LOVE WHO LOVES YOU"* ....what?

(singing) Hellfire! Dark fire! Now Hunchback 2 it's your turn! You've sealed your own fate! It's time that you now burn!

Since Quasimodo and Madelaine were both sheltred their whole lives the awkward flirting kind of makes sense, and it could have worked if: - it was intentionally awkward, and i am sure it isn't. it's trying to be cute and endearing but it's mostly just cringe worthy. - If the flirting wasn't just awkard but also funny. - if they ever bonded over their backstory, seriously the movie makes sarouche and madelaine's relationship mirror Frollo and Quasimodo's but it goes absolutly nowhere.

I remember hating this. I was too young to know why but I hated it... Also wouldn't encrusting the inside of a bell ruin the gems? Also stop ruining Phoebus!

Gotta love how this sequel had the whole villain-turns-heroes-against-each-other-with-misunderstanding-and-misdirection trope when the original movie actually averted this - when Frollo makes it to the Court of Miracles, he claims that Quasimodo intentionally helped him get there, and Esmerelda doesn't buy it for a second. Le sigh.

My question is: why does Zephyr look like Phoebus when Esmeralda has like all of the dominant genes?

I consider this to be the worst Disney sequel ever made. It has little to no understanding of its predecessor, which pretty much makes it pointless. As you said, it practically spits in the face of the original movie. The animation quality is BAD, even for a Disney sequel. The story is generic, and screws with the characters's personalities, Phoebus being especially guilty of this. The new ones aren't particularly interesting, and I cannot stand the villain. This whole movie is terrible. Just stick with the first one, and pretend this one doesn't exist.

What also made Quasimodo falling in love with Madeleine after one meeting is that there’s no good reason for it. He fell for Esmarelda in the original because she was the first person to show him kindness without caring much for his appearance while also challenging Frollo’s assertion that he was a monster. Madeleine just made some awkward jokes and ran away when she saw his face. While it’s not impossible to still fall in love, it shouldn’t have been as quick or as hard as it was in the original.

8:11 did anyone else notice that Esmerelda`s eyes are blue instead of the emerald green that they were in the original film?

he wants to steal a big-ass bell? she's got a meg ryan haircut in medieval France? I gotta stop looking for logic in Disney sequels

Of all the many, many, many things wrong with this film, the greatest drop in quality has to be the score. I personally think that Hunchback has the best score in any Disney film (despite the existence of "A Guy Like You") and this is bad even by cheapquel standards.

Off the top of my head: being the son of gypsies, Quasimodo has the gypsy spirit, wishing to see more of the world. But he's duty-bound to the tower and the bells, as he truly has come to love them and how they've shaped him as a person. He is able to quell the gypsy spirit and remain content at his duties, especially now that he's allowed to venture outside the belltower. So when the Romani come back to Paris after several years, Quasimodo goes with Esmeralda to greet them in the catacombs, as they're still somewhat feared and disrespected even after Frolo is gone. He feels at ease with them and befriends a few of them, including a young woman who adores Paris and wishes she could remain. When she finds out Quasimodo lives at the top of the bell tower, she begs Esmeralda to convince him to bring her up there so she can see the city in all its glory just once. This gives a parallel to the original with someone on the outside wishing for something Quasimodo took for granted' the astoundingly beautiful Notre Dame tower, its magnificent bells and the breathtaking view of the city that most never get to see in their lifetimes. Under better circumstances, it might have been an amazing place to live for him. This young woman is initially a little put off by Quasimodo who reluctantly agrees to sneak her up there, but she slowly learns to swallow her fear of his appearance, especially when he fulfills his promise and shows her the view of the city from the top of the tower. Instantly smitten, she is reluctant to leave, but does so, asking if she can return. Quasimodo reluctantly agrees. So, several scenes of her visiting and the two of them getting to know each other better, in a short time, they've become fast friends. Esmeralda continues to encourage this friendship, while feeling guilty because she knows the Romani can't stay. Tensions are rising again and the citizens who accept the Romani are at odds with the citizens who don't. By this point in time, Quasimodo and 'Emma' (as I'm calling her for convenience) are beginning to fall for each other and 'Emma' is using her fascination with the church and the city as a half excuse just to visit him. Once again, as a civil disruption erupts in the city, Quasimodo is forced to help Emma escape, lest she wind up trapped just like Esmeralda was. They make it out of the city and Emma begs him to come with her, to escape with the Romani. Quasimodo is left with a choice. Now, standing just at the reaches of the outer limits of the city, for the first time, he feels the pull of the road, of the gypsy spirit, as well as his love for Emma. But he also feels his love for the city of Paris and his newfound friends within, as well as the fear of what he might find out on the road. He tells her he wants to leave, but he feels that he needs to learn how, first, how to let go and how to step away from something he cares for in order to learn how to care for something else. He feels Paris still needs him. Emma then chooses to stay with him, stating that the Romani always return to the city and she has grown to love it just as he does. Until the Romani return, she will remain with Quasimodo and when they do, perhaps one day, they'll both be ready to face the open road together. AND THIS WAS JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO WRITE MORE OR LESS PROMISING IDEAS!!

This movie angers me on so many levels, like why did they have Madeline save the annoying son of Phoebus and Esmeralda aside for redemption when at best she is a mediocre acrobat when Quasimodo who is so skilled at acrobats that he might as well join the Assassins Order from Assassin’s Creed. While all the art in this movie is atrocious, the thing that suffered the most in this building was the Notre Dame Cathedral. In the first movie the Cathedral was so huge that the two towers pierced the clouds and the detail put into the animation for it was stunning. But in the sequel the building somehow shrunk and became a lot less detailed. Of course the villain sucked, you have Frollo who was a perverted, abusive, and genocidal maniac who believed he was doing the work of God, then this loser from the sequel is just some boring fop who thinks he is gorgeous when he is really not that attractive. Also yes Phoebus in the books was a jerk, but the one in the movies wasn’t, in fact he was a genuinely nice guy which makes the sequel’s depiction of him a joke. Also I have no problem with Quasimodo finding love, but he deserves so much better than this ham fisted love story we were presented with.

The fact that it’s very nearly all the original voice cast makes it even more depressing for some reason

I hate this movie so much that I can muster ten sins of my own for it: 1. Failed understanding of its source material/ Obvious downgrade (or even moreover the fact that this movie even exists, as it is not their most popular, and definitely one of the more controversial). 2. All the damn songs! (Save for the opening one which is tolerable, but ultimately forgettable) 3. Zephyr 4. La Fidale and it's metaphor with how stupid this movie treats its audience. 5. The fix-it fix that I feel significantly downgrades Quasi's character. 6. Sarouche 7. Madeline and Quasi's awkward talk that almost makes the High School Musical universe seem plausible. 8. Phoebus' character derailment (I feel that it was leaning towards a case of 'Ron the Deatheater') 9. The Gargoyles are back and worse than ever (Although they do have a moment at the end where their mouths literally detach and drop to the ground, the funniest they've ever been-though sadly not enough to be a saving grace) 10. The failed attempt at a climax. We've learned a little while back that the animation was by TMS (best known for 'Batman: the Animated Series', 'Pinkie and the Brain', 'Animaniacs', and 'Akira'). These are very talented animators just not allowed to be used to their full potential. What a waste! (Then again, I've known several other talented animators and artists being forced to animated crap!) Also, I agree that Achilles is too good for this movie-he's the only one to have anything resembling entertainment.

16:25 Not to mention that Madeline is apparently too stupid to realize how capable a Quasi is of defending himself-he hoisted Phoebus (fully-armored, mind you) off the floor in the first movie for crying out loud!

8:37 That woman's earlobes would be torn in reality from the way he yanks the earring out. Thank god this is just crappy animation, though, and not live action.

Oh, no Diva. See, Disney HAS to remind people of their much better movies via Easter eggs so that people who were unlucky enough to have this be their first disney movie realize, "Huh. That first one was really misleading. This is awesome!"

Even the bells sound like they can't stand to be in this movie. Also, bless you for your comment on the animation! I went to college for animation and illustration and while I'm more well-versed in the latter category, I know bad animation when I see it and while this isn't the worst animation that I've seen (don't ask) it's a real slap in the face compared to its predecessor. But, okay, that bit with Achilles was pretty funny.

I can imagine Tom Hulce in the recording booth, reading the script and thinking "I was in Amadeus, for God's sake! They expect me to say this shit?!"

Coming Soon: Hunchback of Notre Dame III: Hugo's Christmas Adventure

How to fix this movie: *Put more budget and effort in the animation. *Tone down Zephyr and the gargoyles a bit. *Have a darker villain with some sort of prejudice of downright evil intentions like Frollo had. *Instead of a bell filled with jewels, let’s have a bell that looks weird, rusty or worn but has a beautiful ringing. *Don’t exaggerate the romantic themes and stop slapping poor Quasi with the “you don’t have a girlfriend” thing. *Deepen Madellaine’s character. *And lastly, put more heart and inspiration in your songs. If you have trouble, ask a profesional composer for help.

Surprised Zephyr wasn't a sin...he's annoying on an unearthly level.

Truly, reading about Victor Hugo’s love of the Parisian sewer system is a fate worse than death.

Why does it look older than the original?

I guess the whole idea with Madeleine is that she's under Sarouch's control in a realistic abusive relationship. It happens that victims of abuse don't do anything to escape because they feel they'll never get away. They don't call the authorities, don't ask for help, don't tell their friends and family. I feel like that's what they were going for. But they failed because it was too dark. Also, I would have given a sin to Achilles' out of nowhere lady. Why?

How the hell does Zephyr look exactly like his dad when he's an interracial kid?

So wait everyone is mad at Phoebus for being suspicious of the carnies...when he was in the right the whole time cuz they were stealing from everyone?

I watched Lindsey Ellis's video on Hunchback, but even if he could buy into the way Disney did his work, but I'm very certain he would turn over in his grave about THIS.

At least Undeformed Quasimodo was just a fantasy reflection *Has Vietnam flashbacks to Golden Films Hunchback of Notre Dame*

"Sarouche is too busy with his Rafiki impression" XD hands down the best part of this video.

"Imagine someone to love who loves you" I can write a better song than that

This isn’t a bad sequel, It’s an insult!

Let’s not forget that an elephant is carried up to stage by two men above their shoulder line. ... an elephant. Carried by two men.

That's always bothered me. Quasimodo was the one who overcame a prejudice against the gipsies (instilled in him by Frollo). Phoebus was the least prejudiced person in the entire story

I'm physically cringing from this movie. It takes everything that's great from the first movie and waters it down

Oh, since when is Quasimodo dating Jean Valjean? Wait, no, wrong Madeleine.

Another Sin I thought: Quasimodo basically has freaking super powers in this one? Like in the first he was believably strong because of years of bellringing and climbing. In this film he can casually jump 25 feet across a street and lift a huge metal bell one handed

The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2, the movie that proves that even Disney themselves can make cheap mockbusters of their own films! Seriously, it isn't good when I have to say that Dingo Pictures' shockingly accurate adaptation of the Hunchback is more watchable than Disney's official sequel to their beloved adaptation that was made in 2000 and not released until 2002...

8:12 WHY TF ARE HER EYES BLUE?? HER NAME IS LITERALLY *E S M E R A L D A* AND THEY MADE HER EYES BLUE DID THEY EVEN SEE THE ORIGINAL *2 minutes later* _QUASI'S EYES ARE BLUE TOO WHAT iS THIS_

What’s especially odd is that one of the people that were like “why did Quasimodo get friend zone?” Were some parents of all people because apparently they felt that him not getting the girl was sending a bad message or...something. I don’t know parent groups are weird

Wait... did I imagine Madeline being blind..? I could’ve sworn that there was a Hunchback movie with a blind love interest who couldn’t see his deformity Then again I never actually saw this movie so whatever

The first Hunchback of notre dame took my breath away, and even after twenty years it still dose as an adult.The second one was awful to watch, god I only made it halfway through before I had to turn it off.

"Disney spared Victor Hugo's characters only to force them to suffer a worse fate"...A SEQUEL!! XD

As a kid I saw the teaser trailer where Jennifer Love Hewitt describes Madeline, and having not seen the first movie yet I thought she would be suffering depression, no self esteem, was possibly even suicidal, and Quasimodo gradually helps her through the course of time to see her self worth. No villain involved. I don't care if it's too dark. The first movie touched on lust, racism, genocide, and so on; I don't see why the sequel couldn't touch up on regaining self esteem, self abuse, and redemption.

I completely agree with this. Mainly with Phoebus. He was actually my favorite character in the first one. From the very start he was genuinely a kind person, even giving gold coins to an elderly man BEFORE he saw Esmeralda. The exact opposite of John Smith who was a jerk. I don't even know why they would ruin him in this

"because he's holding the idiot ball" is the absolute best thing I've ever heard someone say about a cliche(TM) movie.

Huh I haven't seen anyone cover this since MrEnter talked about it back on October 3rd 2013 (Except Doug Walker during that one Disneycember where he covered the cheapquels) MAN I can't believe how far he's come since that review came out as well. Even though I don't think his content is perfect by any means.

The worst thing about the romantic interest thing is that Quasi not getting the girl as it were was a huge part of his character arc. He lets go of his physical dependence on Frollo, his abusive adoptive father, and also his emotional dependence on Esmeralda. It's also another contrast to Frollo- Frollo will kill Esmeralda if she won't be his, while Quasi is able to accept that she is her own person and deserves to choose for herself.

Phoebus was so close in becoming the next Frollo, just leaving out the psychotic religious self-riteousness and murder.

Quasimodo and Madeline: "Yeah, yuck..." Did they really say that...? But it sums up this whole movie sequel pretty well.

I watched this movie with my dad and he said: “You’re right. The first movie is better.” THAT’s who you know you’re making a bad movie!

Yeah, didn't Phoebus even *know* Esmeralda was a gypsy, in fact, even once bring that up, before they even fell in love and got hitched?!

Hope those screen writers have fun reading the Paris sewage system chapter for eternity 👋🏼😂🇫🇷

Fun(?) fact: Hugo and Djali are technically Disney's first canon gay couple. Speaking as an LGBT individual, I'd say we deserved better than that.

Not everyone died in Notre Dame de Paris. Captain Phoebus lived. He did suffer a terrible fate, though; he married.

“Yuck”... well at least this movie knows what it is

So, I'm playing Frollo in a community theater. I WAS nervous but after seeing this, I know that no matter how hard I fail, nothing can be worse than this sequal. Thank you for my peace of mind.

I wish they had made Qausi and Madeliene's romance better. Especially since the voice actors did try to make it sound like they had good chemistry.

I like the Les Miserables punishment. There should be more awareness about the giant dissertations on the Paris sewers jammed into the middle of the barricade scene.

Esmeralda and Phoebus never decided to wear any different clothing or something? You'd think Esmeralda would get some new clothing from her husbando, right? Or she would get rid of the clothing that's easily associated with the less happy part of her life. It also feels like the villain was designed to look like his usual self but they last minute decided that he had to be ugly, so they made him weird and pasted a belly onto his body.

No! Not the Swan Princess sequels! That's too much even for h-e-double hockey sticks!

I will admit that Les Miserables is my favorite novel, but certain parts definitely dragged (was a discussion about sewers really necessary). A very fitting punishment to have to read that and other parts forever.

I loved the hunchback as a child and remembered enjoying the bell scene from the second movie. Tonight I rewatched the first movie and I actually did tear up at several points, from the crescendo of the opening song ,to Quasimodo crying sanctuary while holding up Esmeralda. Its art, cinematography, music and characters were beautiful and it lived up to my childhood memories. Then I began to watch the sequel. I’m not kidding when I say I looked at scathing reviews for it as the opening number played out. The art style alone had me feeling sick to think they would do this to something that once was so dark and beautiful... and I thought the sequel to Pocahontas was bad.

*sees Hunchback of Notre Dame II and review in the same sentence* Oh, you poor soul....

If Esmeralda has been married to Phoebus for some years now, shouldn't she at least have some shoes???

"Timmy's trapped in the well" a Lassie reference? XD

The climax of this movie was so stupid. I don't know why Phoebus complied with Sarousch holding Zephyr hostage. First of all, Phoebus had him severely outnumbered. It was thirty nine or twenty (ah, who's counting!) soldiers against one carnie. Plus, Sarousch wasn't holding a knife to Zephyr or threatening to drown him. He was just holding him (in Madeleine's reach, no less!).

The Hunchback of Notre Dame actually used to scare me as a kid.

Hunchback Original was awesome, one of my favorite Disney movies of ALL time. An animated masterpiece, mix of the darkness of the original story and an incredible soundtrack. The sequel....er.

Everyone is still wearing the same outfit after 6 years or so. I have no idea how old the kid is.

As a fan of the 1st movie: I DESPISE THE SEQUEL

That jewel-encrusted bell seems impractical.

He’s so busy with his Rafiki impression!😂

I gotta disagree with one thing here: while it is good for Disney to show that its okay to be "just" friends with your crush, they picked the WORST hero to learn that lesson! Disabled people are not taught that they deserve a happily ever after- they're taught that they won't get one, so don't try. While the sequel certainly didn't pull off the love story very well, it is good that Disney remembered to give Quasimodo equal treatment to the other Disney princes.

I watched this movie literally one time (even as a kid I didn't want a repeat watch of it) when my mom bought my sisters and I the VHS when we were children and I hated it back then too because of how bad the writing and music was and the villain... the funny thing is watching this review, your summary actually makes SOME of the plot elements feel like they could have worked if the movie wasn't crap. First off, the animation is rubbery, that's not inherently a bad thing; but when Quasimodo's and Phoebus were talking to Esmeralda they all had heads that were disproportionate to each other (it wasn't even the only weird moment where the proportions are off). I could do without Phoebus being an ass, Zephyr being an accessory, and Madeline being 1-dimensional (I actually like the idea of a serious movie giving Quasi a love interest, but they could have done better than the cliches they used), and the villain being entirely without charisma and zest (there's a reason Frollo, a sexually-repressed old man, has OODLES of fangirls and that comes from his originality).

One major problem I noticed with this movie. The Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place in 1482, which means that this movie takes place about five years later or so, give or take. Meanwhile, the first modern circus as we know it today and as its featured here in this movie wasn't staged until the late 1700's. what the heck were they thinking??

The sequel would be better if the villain was inspired by someone in the novel (Jacques Charmoulue, anyone?) or how the heros deel with the aftermath of the first movie: i.e: the Minister is dead and needs a replacement, Esmeralda becomes Pheobus's wife, with all that it entails, Quasimodo lost his paternal figure, and even though Frollo was mostly abusive to Quasi, he still raised him. So for Quasimodo, the events would have been pretty tough to swollow. Also, the mini-civil war caused massive damage to the city, and rebuilding would be a big issue. It would have been pretty slice-of-life-ish, but it would have made sense. What happened in the first movie would have left our heros in a vulnerable position.

I literally LOL'd at them romantically sighing "yuck" while staring into each other's eyes.

Can we also mention how madelaine looks like Tinker Bell?

Just be glad this movie didn’t ruin Clopin! I mean they did him less screen time.... (and in my opinion it looks like they made his skin and Esmeralda’s skin a few shades lighter than in the original, that just bothers me) But they also claimed the Valentines Day rip-off was Clopin’s favorite holiday. Wrong! It’s the Feast of Fools! And kinda dropped the darker side of his personality, and the darker humor that came with it. Okay, yeah, they couldn’t save Clopin from this awful movie either...

Any chance you'll do The Little Mermaid 2 at any point? The thing I hate about that movie, is it wastes an interesting premise!

Do Madeline and Sarouche remind anyone else of Meg and Hades? (Slave girl with a depressing backstory, psychopath boss, blahblahblah.)

And say what you will about Quasimodo not gettin' the girl in the last flick, but at least he and everyone else, minus Frollo, made it out alive unlike in the novel or in the Broadway version of the Hunchback

I absolutely adore how this film tries to indicate that Phoebus is being racist towards clowns, and how it keeps comparing his distrust of the circus troupe to the discrimination against the Romani in the first film, AND how he ends up being right. It's such an absolute clustercuss, it's glorious.

Sarouche also rips off Gaston by being obsessed with a "Bell". Also his plot to steal the bell is more of Team Rocket levels of villainy. (I mean like Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet!)

I know that the manipulating villain to get the girl to do what he wants genre sucks, but how come it worked in Stuart Little 2, and not the hunchback of notre dame 2?

When I was a kid, I always thought that the clapper of the bell would break the jewels

It's shocking that the actor who plays Zephyr later play as Sora in the Kingdom Hearts games.

13:56 Yeah Sarousch, good luck trying to "hurt" Quasimodo. Y'all remember the scene in the first movie where he BROKE HIS CHAINS???

Can't think of another channel where the number of subs is so disproportionate to the amount of work and love that goes into the content. It's maybe because musicals is a fairly niche topic, but in a fair world this channel will be blowing up soon - I can't think of a channel that deserves it more.

I was wondering when you were going to rake this sucker over the coals (pun intended) and I was not disappointed. Wonderful job. Man, what did they do to Pheobus in this one? Say what you will about him in the first movie...but at least he has an arc from a man who is disgusted with his orders but will obey them to one who is willing to break the law and stand up for the oppressed even if it goes against his orders (this is expanded upon in the stage version where he is ambitious enough to keep this job because it keeps him away from the battlefields he had just escaped from). Why is he suddenly against the "carnies" in this one?