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    • WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

    Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The
    Genre:Animation

    Reviewed In Issue 26 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
    The Voices Of Jason Alexander, Tom Hulce, Tony Jay, Paul Kandel, Charles Kimbrough, Kevin Kline, Demi Moore, David Ogden Stiers & Mary Wickes

    WSR Review Scores
    Picture Rating: 5
    Sound Rating: 5
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    Reference Systems
    Critics' Composite Score:
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    Supplementals

    DVD General Information
    (Studio/Distributor): Walt Disney Home Video
    (Catalog Number): 12354 AS
    (MPAA Rating): G
    (Retail Price): $49.98
    (Running Time In Minutes): 91
    (Color Type): Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
    (Closed Captioned): Yes
    (Theatrical Release): 1996
    (LD Release Date):
    (THX® Digitally Mastered):

    Credits Information
    (Director): G. Trousdale & K. Wise
    (Screenplay/Written By):
    (Story):
    (Music):
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    DVD Picture Information
    (Principal Photography): Academy Standard Flat
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 1.85:1
    (Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): 1.82:1

    DVD Sound Information
    (DVD Soundtrack): DTS Digital Surround
    (Theatrical Sound): Dolby Digital
    (Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
    (Remastered Dolby Digital):
    (Remastered DTS Digital Surround):
    (Additional Languages):

    WSR Narrative Review
    Story Synopsis:
    Inspired by Victor Hugo’s novel and filled with great new music, Disney never ceases to astound with its 34th full-length animated masterpiece, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. With his gargoyle pals Victor (Charles Kimbrough), Hugo (Jason Alexander) and Laverne (Mary Wickes) urging him, Quasimodo (Tom Hulce), the bell ringer, ventures beyond the walls of the Notre Dame cathedral. Defying the authority of his evil guardian, Frollo (Tony Jay), Quasi is exposed to unexpected cruelty by the citizens of Notre Dame. But when he is rescued by the gypsy Esmeralda (Demi Moore), he has no choice but to do the same for her and her friend Phoebus (Kevin Kline).

    LaserDisc Picture:
    The THX®-quality picture, matted at 1.82:1, exhibits superb quality throughout. Color fidelity is excellent with vibrant colors, and deep, solid blacks. The animated images are extremely sharp and detailed with no noise or artifacts. This is yet another Disney masterpiece.

    LaserDisc Soundtrack:
    The soundtracks are wonderful with excellent dimensional presence and fidelity. A slight difference is found in the PCM matrix and DTS® versions, which present a slightly warmer character. The .1 low frequency effects in the Dolby® Digital and DTS discrete versions extend bass response deepest to below 25Hz with slightly more energy than the matrix. The aggressive surround presence is pleasing, with the discrete versions delivering pronounced split surround envelopment for a better defined dimensional soundfield, especially on the DTS version. The music score is superb—the highlight of the soundtrack—with a wide and articulate soundstage that exhibits excellent depth and imaging.
    (Surround Bass Below 50Hz):
    (Aggressive System Surround):
    (Intense 25Hz Bass):
    (Deep Bass Challenging):
    (Aggressive 0.1 LFE):
    (Holosonic Soundfield):
    (Aggressive Split Surround):
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    (Directionalized Dialogue):
    Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality:
    Superb Music Score Recording Quality:
    Superb Special Visual Effects Quality:
    Superb Color Fidelity:
    Superb Cinematography:
    Reference LaserDisc:
    Collector Edition: