Episode recorded: September 1st, 2026 (09/01/2026)
0:00:00 - Announcement from Dom
0:00:21 - Episode starts
0:01:44 - Introducing Patrick and Leslie of The Hunchcast of Notre-Dame (and how Jay discovered them)
0:06:40 - What is The Hunchback of Notre-Dame II about?
0:10:41 - Cons (and Pros) of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame II
0:33:20 - How to fix The Hunchback of Notre-Dame II
0:37:13 - Look into the different Boy-Meets-Girl romance movie set in Paris with a similar premise Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (and why Leslie and Patrick didn’t like it)
0:51:40 - Who is Leos Carax?
0:59:27 - The firework scene in Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (and why Denis Lavant is Jay’s choice for playing King Louis XI in his film adaptation of Notre-Dame de Paris).
1:07:03 - Troubled productions behind Les Amants du Pont-Neuf and whether doing it in animation could work
1:17:06 - Les Amants du Pont-Neuf but everyone is a Muppet except one character (and Jay’s surprising choice)
1:25:43 - Leos Carax got very meta in his later movies (Holy Motors and Annette)
1:31:00 - Inn, Dust, Throw, regarding The Hunchback of Notre-Dame II (Jay and Jessie’s choices only) and Les Amants du Pont-Neuf
1:41:07 - Conclusion (and elaboration on Jay’s film adaptation of Notre-Dame de Paris)
This is the pilot episode for occasional Patreon-exclusive Bonus Episode. And because of that, it will be free for the public. We will make this an occasional, ad-less bonus episode for Patreon subscribers only.
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It's September today, this means we just talked about one bad animated movie and discuss how to improve it.
Jay and Jessie are here with Leslie and Patrick of The Hunchcast of Notre-Dame - a podcast dedicated to Victor Hugo's book Notre-Dame de Paris, its derivative works, and among tangentially related media. They organized the unofficial fans' 30th anniversary celebration of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
For September Stinker, we are going to talk about The Hunchback of Notre-Dame II, the much-maligned direct-to-video sequel to the Disney's animated adaptation of Hugo's book. We will be discussing its redemptive aspects, problems with its premise alone, why Disney Home Entertainment made this movie to began with, how the magenta tint from the film degradation only unintentionally gave the movie a Valentine-like feel, and how to improve it better by brining in stuffs from the original book that the 1996 movie has left out.
We are also going to talk about another misfit romance movie set around a different Parisian monument (and also faced release delays), but received much better reviews and now remembered fondly, titled The Lovers on the Bridge (Les Amants du Pont-Neuf), directed by Leos Carax. We will discuss its nihilistic tone (common during the 1990s), why Leslie and Patrick did not like the movie, its troubled production, and whether doing it in animation could save the movie.
Media we have mostly discussed during the episode (spoilers ahead):
- The Hunchback of Notre-Dame II (2002), directed by Bradley Raymond
- Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998), directed by Bradley Raymond
- The Lovers on the Bridge (Les Amants du Pont-Neuf) (1991), directed by Leos Carax
- Holy Motors (2012), directed by Leos Carax
- Annette (2021), directed by Leos Carax
