History YMMV / TheHunchbackOfNotreDame1939

* CommonKnowledge: It is frequently claimed that this film started the trend of Esmeralda being Romani by birth rather than by adoption. However, Esmeralda was of dubious mixed ancestry in the original novel, her biological mother was a prostitute of French origins and there is nothing said about her father's origins. And, with her backstory being cut in the film, it's never clarified. Additionally, keep in mind that it's generally assumed that characters are of the same race as the actors that play them and Maureen O'Hara was definitely not Romani.

* VanillaProtagonist: Compared to Quasimodo, Gringoire and the Frollo brothers, Esmeralda is not exactly the most memorable of protagonists, seeming to just be the standard lower-class medieval female protagonist of the 1930's.

* CommonKnowledge: It is frequently claimed that this film started the trend of Esmeralda being Romani by birth rather than by adoption. However, Esmeralda was of dubious mixed ancestry in the original novel, her biological mother was a prostitute of French origins and there is nothing said about her father's origins. And, with her backstory being cut in the film, it's never clarified. Additionally, keep in mind that it's generally assumed that characters are of the same race as the actors that play them.

* CreepyAwesome: Quasimodo. He's deformed, socially inept, and possibly afflicted with a [[AmbiguousDisorder mental disorder]], but he fiercely defends Esmeralda ''and'' thwarts a mob of rioters who were attacking Notre Dame.

* CommonKnowledge: It is frequently claimed that this film started the trend of Esmeralda being Romani by birth rather than by adoption. However, Esmeralda was a case of AmbiguouslyBrown in the original novel, her biological mother was a prostitute of French origins and there is nothing said about her father's origins, and with her backstory being cut, we have no way of knowing if she is Romani by adoption or by birth in this film and the rest that followed, meaning she isn't any less AmbiguouslyBrown.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Esmeralda praying to the Virgin Mary - surrounded by selfish people praying for riches, beauty or material things - she asks "take everything I have, please help my people".

** Esmeralda is played by Maureen O'Hara, who was Irish. The Irish themselves were oppressed and demonized like the Romani, and Ireland was in the process of becoming independent from Britain when the film was made. Her casting was likely just buzz around a possible new star, but it adds another powerful undercurrent to Esmeralda's new role.

* HollywoodHomely: Averted with a vengeance in Quasimodo. Charles Laughton's deformity makeup is convincingly horrifying, and he's shown to be all too painfully aware of how physically repulsive he is.

* HollywoodHomely: Averted with a vengeance in Quasimodo. Charles Laughton was plain in the best of circumstances, but his deformity makeup is convincingly horrifying, and he's shown to be all too painfully aware of how physically repulsive he is.

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: This version redefined the story to have a 'justice for the oppressed' message, made the Romani more sympathetic, gave Esmeralda a more proactive personality and removed the plot point about her being a stolen French baby, albeit it never goes into her background period making it ambiguous if she is still French by birth. Disney's famous 1996 animated version takes a lot more from this than the original novel.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The Romani are portrayed simply as innocent people who want shelter and safety from the world, being unjustly persecuted by prejudiced people. This was made right as Nazism was persecuting Jews and the Romani in Europe, and World War II broke out while the movie was being shot.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical:
** The Romani are portrayed simply as innocent people who want shelter and safety from the world, being unjustly persecuted by prejudiced people. This was made right as Nazism was persecuting Jews and the Romani in Europe, and World War II broke out while the movie was being shot.
** Esmeralda is no longer a stolen white baby raised by Romani, but ethnically Romani now herself - and is given the role of a would-be ambassador for her people. She's also played by Maureen O'Hara, who was Irish. The Irish themselves were oppressed and demonized like the Romani, and Ireland was in the process of becoming independent from Britain when the film was made. Her casting was likely just buzz around a possible new star, but it adds another powerful undercurrent to Esmeralda's new role.

** Esmeralda is no longer a stolen white baby raised by Romani, but ethnically Romani now herself - and is given the role of a would-be ambassador for her people. She's also played by Maureen O'Hara, who was Irish. The Irish themselves were oppressed and demonized like the Romani, and Ireland was in the process of becoming independent from Britain when the film was made. Her casting was likely just buzz around a possible new star, but it adds another powerful undercurrent to Esmeralda's new role.

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: This version redefined the story to have a 'justice for the oppressed' message, made the Romani more sympathetic, gave Esmeralda a more proactive personality and removed the plot point about her being a stolen French baby, albeit it never goes into her background period making it ambiguous if she is still French by birth. Disney's famous 1995 animated version takes a lot more from this than the original novel.

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: This version redefined the story to have a 'justice for the oppressed' message, made the Romani more sympathetic, gave Esmeralda a more proactive personality and removed the plot point about her being a stolen French baby. Disney's famous 1995 animated version takes a lot more from this than the original novel.

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: This version redefined the story to have a 'justice for the oppressed' message, made the Romani more sympathetic, gave Esmeralda a more proactive personality and removed the plot point about her being a stolen white baby. Disney's famous 1995 animated version takes a lot more from this than the original novel.

* CreepyAwesome: Quasimodo. He's deformed, socially inept, and possibly afflicted with a [[AmbiguousDisorder mental disorder]], but he fiercely defends Esmeralda ''and'' thwarts a mob of rioters who were attacking Notre Dame.