Pulling Out Bells, Whistles for ‘Hunchback’ Live

Step aside, Bossy. There’s a new girl on the mooo-ve.

With a bump and a grind and the backing of what had to be a zillion Disney artists, Esmeralda, the sultry heroine of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” has danced her way into Disneyland, onto the site of what used to be the Big Thunder Ranch. From the look of things, she’s in for a long run.

“The Hunchback,” for those who managed to miss the promotional blitzkrieg, is Disney’s 34th animated feature. Based loosely on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, it is the musical tale of Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer of Paris’ grand cathedral, and his transformation from outcast to hero thanks in part to the friendship of the beautiful Esmeralda.

The film opened June 21--the same day that Disneyland launched its live stage show “The Hunchback of Notre Dame Festival of Fools.” The 25-minute medieval shindig stars Esmeralda and Quasimodo and is being offered five times daily in a specially designed amphitheater.

“Hunchback” film ads invite audiences to “join the party”; this festival is the real life fulfillment of that. Except for Judge Frollo’s menacing sneers and a couple of tense moments, “Festival” is 100% fun and frivolity.

The darker elements that help make the film engrossing for older viewers (and terrifying for some preschoolers) have been jettisoned from this stage show.

Emceed by gypsy storyteller Clopin and presented as a show within a show, “Festival” features a large cast of singing and dancing villagers, gypsies and soldiers along with the central characters: captain of the guard Phoebus, Esmeralda, Frollo and Quasi.

Here’s the story: Lonely Quasi decides to disguise himself and join in the merrymaking at the Festival of Fools. The townsfolk, thinking his gruesome mug is a mask, promptly crown him King of Fools but soon jeer him for his ugliness. Enter Esmeralda, who frees him and stirs the ire of Frollo, who orders the burning of Paris to flush out Esmeralda and her fellow “gypsy vermin.”

Now it’s Quasi’s turn to wear the hero’s cape. In a grand bit of Errol Flynn rope work, he swings to Esmeralda’s rescue, snatching her from the flames and freeing Paris from Frollo’s burning grasp in the bargain. Phoebus may get the girl, but Quasi gets the love of his countrymen. Huzzahs all around.

“Festival’s” staging can give one the feeling of being in the middle of a medieval fair. The amphitheater is laid out like a huge wheel. Seating forms the spokes of the wheel, with visitors sitting on low bleachers or on the ground. The bleachers afford the best views, especially for little kids.

This show obviously cost a chunk of cash, what with its 2,000-capacity custom amphitheater; Shigeru Yaji’s brilliantly patterned costumes; huge, cartoonish props; 100-plus performers (two alternating casts of 50); and its own--surprise--retail outlets.

But despite that “Festival” still retains at least some of the rustic feeling of a 15th century pageant.

* “The Hunchback of Notre Dame Festival of Fools” continues at Disneyland, 1313 S. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim. Show times: 3, 4:15, 6:30, 7:45 and 9 p.m. daily. Indefinitely, but performance times may change after Sept. 8. The festival is included with park admission of $26-$34. Running time: 25 minutes. (714) 781-4565.