Hunchback is a bit of a sleeper classic- reception was mixed on it's release, and I think a lot of kids who viewed it when it came out weren't quite able to appreciate some of it's more subtle themes and elements. Nowadays it's getting a lot more attention, notably as one of the darkest forays a Disney feature film has ever taken, and the original child audience from the 90's are taking a closer look at it. Most agree that it was underrated in it's time, with it's beautiful animation, soundtrack, and complex characters. One thing that almost every critic brings up as a weak point of a film is the gargoyles. I mean, get rid of those and we have a real grown-up, mature movie right? And haven't we all wanted to see that from Disney? Well.... I take exception.

First of all, this is Disney; they exclusively make films for children and families. They have no desire to make films for adults. While I can sympathise with the wistfulness for them to use their beautiful animation for something more PG-13, I don't think we can ever really expect that of them. As such, we can't really blame them for balancing out the dark tone of the film with some lighthearted comic relief.

Secondly, Disney did make a pretty blatant attempt to nod to the adult audience that the gargoyles were never really alive; that they were projections of Quasimodo, a way for him to cope with being lonely his entire life. Think of Wilson in Cast Away. Complete isolation can lead to people to project personalities onto inanimate objects. There are two scenes in the film where Disney nods to the more discerning viewer, the first being the first time that Frollo and Quasimodo interact. Reading Quasimodo's reaction at being caught speaking to stone gargoyles makes me feel as though he is embarassed to be caught by Frollo; it's not simply glossed over or brushed off, or not commented on at all. The scene serves a purpose, and since Frollo doesn't humiliate or punish Quasimodo for this action, we can assume it isn't character development, it's plot development. Quasimodo accepts the gargoyles are merely stone, and the story moves on. Subtle enough for kids to miss, but with enough plausible deniability that adults can assume that the gargoyles are imaginary friends of a lonely person. The second scene that gives away the gargoyles is this one , where Esmerelda brings Phoebus to Quasimodo at the end of a musical number. Just prior we saw the gargoyles pulling red banners over Quasimodo with all the symbols of romantic love; the very next frame shows some old fabric and storage items. Clearly all the fanfare was in Quasimodo's head; if none of the other objects were real, then the gargoyles must not truly be alive either. Quasimodo must have a great imagination to help him cope with his very sad existence.

Speaking of which... I feel as though the absence of any friends or anyone to talk to aside from Frollo would have significantly altered the mood of the film. What child wouldn't find it upsetting that Quasimodo has never had a friend in his life? Again, Hunchback is a family picture. Which almost never go the "dark and tortured" route. Disney gives the children some solace that at least Quasimodo has had some happiness and company in his lonely life while still nodding to adults that he had to invent them to cope with the situation. I think this is very cleverly done, personally, as most Disney comic relief is blatantly only that.

And finally... The gargoyles are just not that bad of characters. They even have some genuinely comedic moments. Like this one, which happens immediately after Frollo tries to murder an innocent family by burning them alive in their own home and one of our leads gets shot up with arrows and falls into a river. Pretty dark stuff by Disney standards! So how do they break up the tension? By having some of their comic relief be more concerned with losing a poker game with a pigeon than the tragedy unfolding before them. It's an incredibly quick and absurd joke and every time I see it it makes me laugh. It's also surprisingly self-aware; it knows after the dark scene we just witnessed, the kids probably could use something light and silly. This point is far more opinion based than my others, and I may be in the minority for enjoying the gargoyles for what they are. But there have been far worse Disney sidekicks in other films that add little or NOTHING to the story. These characters provide comedic balance for the kids, but they are also a reflection of how Quasimodo thinks and feels, how he gets through his day, how he despairs, how he motivates himself and cheers himself up. They're the only friends he's ever had and hell, how much worse off would he have been without them? Personally, I find them necessary, funny, and quite honestly an intelligent addition for Disney. If you look at them as just Quasimodo's imaginary friends, they're quite alright.