The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin[1]
Directed by	Gary Trousdale Kirk Wise
Screenplay by	Tab Murphy Irene Mecchi Bob Tzudiker Noni White Jonathan Roberts
Story by	Tab Murphy
Based on	The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo
Produced by	Don Hahn
Starring	Tom Hulce Demi Moore Tony Jay Kevin Kline Paul Kandel Jason Alexander Charles Kimbrough Mary Wickes David Ogden Stiers
Edited by	Ellen Keneshea
Music by	Alan Menken
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Feature Animation
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release dates	June 19, 1996 (1996-06-19) (Louisiana Superdome) June 21, 1996 (1996-06-21) (United States)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$70 million[2]
Box office	$325.3 million[3]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The film was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and produced by Don Hahn, from a screenplay written by Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and the writing team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White. Featuring the voices of Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, and Kevin Kline, the film follows Quasimodo, the deformed and confined bell-ringer of Notre Dame, and his yearning to explore the outside world and be accepted by society, against the wishes of his cruel, puritanical foster father Claude Frollo, who also wants to exterminate Paris' Roma population.

Trousdale and Wise joined the development of The Hunchback of Notre Dame alongside Hahn in 1993. Murphy wrote the first draft of the script, and Mecchi and Roberts, who had revised the script for The Lion King (1994), were soon brought in alongside the duo of Tzudiker and White to revise Murphy's work. The musical score was composed by Alan Menken, with songs written by Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on June 19, 1996, and was released in the United States on June 21. It is considered different from Disney's other films due to its mature themes such as infanticide, lust, antiziganism, and genocide, despite the changes made from the original source material in order to ensure a G rating from the MPAA. The film received generally positive reviews and was a commercial success, grossing over $325 million worldwide and becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1996. It was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for its musical score. A stage adaptation of the film was produced by Walt Disney Theatrical in 1999. A direct-to-video sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, was released in 2002.