The Disney version is sanitised, with a nice happy romantic ending.
The original story (read more) is a tragedy, where EVERYBODY dies in the end, and nobody is happy. The church itself is the star of the story, and indeed, the only thing that achieves "happily ever after" -- well, Notre Dame endures, anyway.
In the original story, Quasimodo is abandoned by his mother, but rescued and raised by the Catholic Archdeacon Frollo. Quasimodo loves Frollo as a father. In the Disney version, Frollo is now a "Judge" who actually wanted to drown Quasimodo when he found him.
In the book, the gypsy dancer Esmeralda falls in love with the soldier Phoebus, but he spurns her. In the Disney version, Esmeralda and Phoebus live happily ever after. In the original, Quasimodo is mocked by town people. He ends up dying after his benefactor (Frollo) and Esmeralda both die; in the Disney version, Quasimodo is eventually accepted by Parisians as a hero, and lives happily ever after.
In the book, Esmeralda is tried for attempting to kill Phoebus; in the movie, she is pursued for being a witch. In the book, Esmeralda has another suitor; and in the end she is betrayed in the end by her own mother -- who sends her off to be hanged.
The original story (read more) is a tragedy, where EVERYBODY dies in the end, and nobody is happy. The church itself is the star of the story, and indeed, the only thing that achieves "happily ever after" -- well, Notre Dame endures, anyway.
In the original story, Quasimodo is abandoned by his mother, but rescued and raised by the Catholic Archdeacon Frollo. Quasimodo loves Frollo as a father. In the Disney version, Frollo is now a "Judge" who actually wanted to drown Quasimodo when he found him.
In the book, the gypsy dancer Esmeralda falls in love with the soldier Phoebus, but he spurns her. In the Disney version, Esmeralda and Phoebus live happily ever after. In the original, Quasimodo is mocked by town people. He ends up dying after his benefactor (Frollo) and Esmeralda both die; in the Disney version, Quasimodo is eventually accepted by Parisians as a hero, and lives happily ever after.
In the book, Esmeralda is tried for attempting to kill Phoebus; in the movie, she is pursued for being a witch. In the book, Esmeralda has another suitor; and in the end she is betrayed in the end by her own mother -- who sends her off to be hanged.
