

Related: 10 Moments in Classic Disney Cartoon Movies That Aged Like Milk He teaches its young audience that beauty doesn't always come from the outside it often comes from within. Quasimodo as a main character is a breath of fresh air. Its music and animation are beautiful, as is the film's iconic setting of Paris.

The film kicks off with one of the most memorable and beautiful (and dark) openings in Disney, an opening that deserves to be in the company of films like The Lion King and Up. And because of that, it's criminally underrated. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a very different kind of Disney film. There are also religious undertones and an uncomfortable torture scene. Its main character, Quasimodo, is deformed and ugly, which is a departure from the typically beautiful main characters that we see in Disney films it's usually the villain that's ugly, not the hero. This film is adapted from the very mature, very serious Victor Hugo novel of the same name. But it was, and continues to be, largely overshadowed by its peers. The Hunchback of Notre Dameis another film that's a part of the Disney Renaissance. Fun fact: The Rescuers Down Under is the first Disney animated sequel to get a theatrical release, and it absolutely deserved it - and it also deserves more attention. It's not The Little Mermaid, which had just released a year before, but it's still a great addition to the House of Mouse's catalog. But this film actually improves upon the original with its upgraded, beautiful animation, unique setting, and stellar plot. It's also a sequel to the more popular 1977 original, The Rescuers, and released the same day as Home Alone, which dominated The Rescuers Down Under at the box office. The second film of the Disney Renaissance, The Rescuers Down Under, gets overshadowed by the more iconic films and Disney princess stories of the era. Between 19 (starting with The Little Mermaid and ending with Tarzan), Disney pumped out some of the most iconic films in its catalog. The Disney Renaissance is regarded as one of the best time periods in Disney animation, a period of artistic revival and commercial and critical success.
