Firstly, I do understand the message being portrayed here. Yes, Quasimodo & Esmerelda are both outcasts and heroes in this film, and that is indeed a good thing. I also liked the fact that (spoilers!) Esmerelda does not fall in love with Quasimodo at the end, because that would have been just a little too unrealistic for me. I liked the ending. I also didn't have any particular problem with Esmerelda's dress or behaviour, as this could easily be explained to a child as a type of cultural dress (although some parents should be aware that they may find Esmerelda's dress and dancing very provocative). BUT, I will not be showing this film to my daughter until she is a teenager, and frankly probably not at all (she probably won't be interested by then anyway). The reason for this is largely because of the villian of the piece, Frollo, and his violent obsession with Esmerelda. As adults, we can watch and more or less understand (though hopefully not identify with!) a character whose obsessive desire leads them to viciously hate the object of their lust rather than to love her. But I do not feel that this is something a child can deal with or understand, nor do I feel they should be expected to. I have seen that some reviewers have spoken of this element of the film "going over kids' heads", but I suspect a lot less goes over our kids' heads than we would like to think. I think the Hellfire song would be very confusing and disturbing to most small children, and even some older ones. I can't imagine why they put it in, to be honest - it just isn't appropriate for a children's movie in my opinion, and it wasn't necessary to the plot at all. If you do let your kids watch this movie, be well prepared for questions on this issue. The film is also quite violent for a kids' movie - in one scene, an innocent family (with children) is locked into their home, which is then burned down (much screaming etc) - although they are rescued from the house, they still lose their home, which I think would scare my daughter a lot. The scariness/violence level may be okay for some kids, I don't know - my daughter is still little, and even for her age is quite sensitive to scary things. But seriously, this movie should NOT be G-rated. You should vet this first, and make your own judgement for your own kids.

Sure, there have been others that didn't make all that much money and a lot of classics got far worse critic reviews than this, but this one is just so overlooked simply for being, ahem, "too different". I can understand it's a lot darker than other Disney films before it and it kinda shocks me that Disney would even choose an adult novel (Then again, these are the same people who attempted to make Greek Mythology for kids) and I know the ending was changed drastically, but who cares? I loved it just for going past Disney's boundaries, even if it wouldn't be considered way past nowadays. It had very intelligent writing, an excellent message and what's more, it features quite possibly one of Alan Menken's best scores, which says a lot considering this was the hardest for him to make. And hey, why doesn't the voice of Clopin appear in more works? I envy the man who can hold a high note for as long as he did.

Started watching with my daughter (7 yrs) and had to turn off when the priest burned the house with the family inside - even though the good guy saved them. NOT for little ones. They identify way too much with the characters.

Wow... I feel people are taking the dark themes a little too seriously here. I was 8 and my sister was 6 when this movie came out, and we had absolutely no problem with it. The "sexual" references, such as Frollo lusting after Esmerelda, I didn't even understand. When he sang "hell" in his song, I thought "ooo... he's the bad guy and he said a bad word. you don't say bad words". That's probably what your children will think too. Yes, there are some dark scenes and deaths, but as long as your child isn't sensitive, I would say go for it. There's a beautiful message of tolerance and acceptance any child will benefit from.