Awesome Music / The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)

• The Setting Introduction Song that caps with the bells line is an excellent work, not only for the bombastic choirs at The Reveal of the cathedral of Notre Dame, Frollo's chase, and his attempt to murder the baby Quasimodo, but also for the smaller moments — such as Frollo's "Our Lord works in mysterious ways" being followed by a faint version of the main leitmotif and a ringing bell.
• "...sing the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, BELLS OF NOTRE DAME!" Pay attention to Clopin's voice toward the end of that song. God knows why they decided to practically drown it out with the chorus, but actor/singer Paul Kandel holds an absurdly high note (a high D, a very impressive note for a male singer to hit) perfectly for an absurdly long time. The studio cast recording version of the song also deserves mention, when that aforementioned high D is sung by the highest singers in the choir's soprano section! Chills will be had.
  • Special mention has to go to the Swedish and Finnish dubs, in which Mikael Grahn and Antti Pääkkönen respectively, as Clopin, absolutely nail that final note, Mikael doing so with his chest voice, being the only ones of Clopin's voice actors to do so.
  • A fine and heroic YouTuber has put together a compilation of the last fifteen seconds of "The Bells of Notre Dame" in tons of different languages. The quality varies across dubs, but there are some astonishing performances in there. The Greek, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, and European Portuguese versions are especially marvels to behold.
• "Out There". The combination of the gorgeous music, beautiful lyrics and Tom Hulce (Quasimodo's voice actor)'s spectacular performance makes it one of the most magnificent songs of the Disney Animated Canon (or any Disney film, for that matter). Listen to Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz themselves singing the demo of it - Menken singing for Quasimodo, Schwartz for Frollo. The concept art throughout is a nice touch, too.
• "Topsy Turvy" is a bombastic, fun-filled song that perfectly embodies the festivities of the Feast of Fools, accentuated wonderfully by Paul Kandel's hammy, loud, and proud performance as Clopin.
• While "Sanctuary!" is about four different kinds of incredible (it's a four part piece), and "Hellfire" is without a doubt, the best villain song ever included in a Disney movie (if not any film), the real crowner here is without a doubt, "God Help The Outcasts". The music is incredible, but the lyrics deserve special mention, as they are a deconstruction of the typical Disney "I Want" Song, in that a Roma who doesn't even believe in, or doubts, God ("I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there") is offering to God a more humble prayer than the Catholics there who are asking for money, fame, and glory, whereas Esmeralda simply says "I ask for nothing; I can get by, but I know so many less lucky than I".
• The Greek dub of "God Help the Outcasts" makes the song ten times more awesome. Esmeralda is praying to the Virgin Mary (who has the same high place in Greek Orthodoxy as in Roman Catholicism) to help her, and they made her prayer even more humble than the English dub by having the Parisians ask for fire to smite their enemies while this Roma girl asks the Mistress of Heaven to help her people with all her body and soul. The song is regarded as one of the greatest localisations in Greek history.
• "Heaven's Light" is one of the sweetest, most perfect love songs ever written (and Tom Hulce's performance brings it to another level). Anyone who has ever been unpopular or different knows that feeling when someone notices you, even for a moment, and this song captures that feeling: knowing that they'll probably never love you back, but for the moment, you can hope, just a little. Even better is how it's a counterpoint to "Hellfire", which follows immediately after. From gentle hope and love to fiery rage and passion.
  I dare to dream that she
  Might even care for me
  And as I ring these bells tonight,
  My cold, dark tower seems so bright...
  I swear it must be heaven's light!
• "Hellfire", in which Frollo seeks to purge his mind of his sinful obsession with Esmeralda. It’s universally acclaimed as one of the best villain songs ever composed, if not the best, and for a damn good reason. It's also considered to be the darkest song that has ever come out of the House of Mouse. The Italian and French versions of the song are even more TERRIFYING, courtesy of Eros Pagni and Jean Piat.
• "Paris Burning" plays in the scene immediately following "Hellfire" and perfectly embodies the fear and terror that the citizens of Paris are forced to suffer as Frollo's madness drives him to burn the city to the ground. The last twenty-five seconds of the track are guaranteed to require the listener to bring their brown pants. (The stage version replaces "Paris Burning" with "Esmeralda".)
  Phoebus: Your orders, sir?
  Frollo: Find the gypsy girl.
  (Split-second cut to Frollo's guards knocking down the door to a house as the music begins)
• "And He Shall Smite the Wicked" plays during Quasimodo and Esmeralda's final struggle against Frollo - and it does its job well, with its Latin choir and grand orchestra complimenting the tone of the scene as Frollo makes one last attempt to kill Quasimodo and Esmeralda.
• The film's uplifting, emotional and powerful Award-Bait Song, "Someday", that was cut from the film itself but put in the credits as a Rewritten Pop Version. Performed by:
  • All-4-One for the North American/international market.
  • Ophelie Winter for the French market.
  • Eternal for the British/European market.
  • Luis Miguel for the Latin American dub, as Sueña (Dream).
  • The Polish and Italian versions, performed by Mieczysław Szcześniak as Kiedyś (Once) and Neri Per Caso as Quando (When) respectively, have spectacular harmonies.
  • The original version, as performed by Heidi Mollenhauer, Esmerelda's singing voice. Cut from the final film, but the storyboarded scene appears on the Deluxe Edition LaserDisc and most DVDs of the film. A variation of this version with an alternate introductory melody and modified lyrics also appeared in the stage musical version.
  • The Epcot spectacular "Harmonious" uses "Someday" as the finale song, and it's an incredible use of the song.

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