WORKING ON A HUNCH : DISNEY DIGS DEEP INTO THE PSYCHE, BELIEVING KIDS AND ADULTS ARE READY FOR MORE SUBSTANTIAL ANIMATED FILMS.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Writer

Disney has turned fairy tales, children's books and even a true historical incident into cartoon gold.

Now, with its 34th animated feature, ``The Hunchback of Notre Dame,'' the studio takes on a literary classic loaded with psychological complexity, social criticism and philosophical inquiry - not to mention a title hero who, in both the book and previous live film incarnations, has been characterized as a crude, misshapen monster. And, unlike ``Beauty's'' Beast, he won't be turning into a handsome prince.

``We always try to find interesting stories that we can tell in a way that's provocative, emotional, dramatic and funny,'' said Peter Schneider, president of Walt Disney Feature Animation. ``We have that here, though clearly it's dealing with subjects that are more dramatic than we've tackled before.

``When people come to a Disney animated feature, they're thinking `G-rated movie, good for the family,' '' Schneider added. ``But when they come to one now, they're also expecting challenging, interesting stories.''

Or so the studio hopes. The challenge for the animation department, obviously, was to balance the dark spirit of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel with Disney's traditional, child-delighting elements.

To begin with, 15th-century bell-ringer Quasimodo had to be sweetened up - as voiced by Tom Hulce, he's now a nice, lonely young man who is kid-friendly despite his deformities, a reluctant outsider in need of love and self-esteem.

Meanwhile, a happy ending had to be created. And the story's adult elements of sexual obsession, ethnic hatred and religious hypocrisy screamed for comic relief - so, in classic Disney fashion, they brought on the dancing gargoyles.

Some balancing act. But with an astonishing commercial and critical run going, Disney's reanimated animation department not only felt up to the job, but compelled to do it.

``It is an unconventional choice for us, with a very unconventional hero,'' said producer Don Hahn, whose previous films include the Oscar-nominated ``Beauty and the Beast'' and the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time, ``The Lion King.'' ``Yet, that's why we decided to make it. It's that kind of risk that I really enjoy. We can't keep making the same cookie-cutter movies over and over again.

``We've grown as filmmakers,'' Hahn continued. ``Our confidence has increased a little bit, so that we are willing to tackle more sophisticated subject matter - always mindful of our inescapable heritage as an organization. Yet, if you think back to the movies made by Walt Disney, he had the huntsman sent out to bring back Snow White's heart in a box. Walt was a master at mixing powerful stories with music and comedy to create entertainment. That's something we feel like we've accomplished in this film.''

More boldly, though, than Walt - or even former studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg - had ever dared. ``Hunchback'' is the first animated feature made since the notoriously hands-on Katzenberg left to form DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. Katzenberg's absence, like so many things to do with ``Hunchback,'' was both liberating and challenging - at least on the perception level.

``I think there are some people out there who would love to believe that, ever since he left, we're all just stumbling around, bumping into walls,'' said Kirk Wise, who co-directed ``Hunchback'' with his ``Beauty and the Beast'' partner, Gary Trousdale. ``But that wasn't the case when he was here, and it's not the case now that he's gone. This is a community of tremendously talented and creative artists whose primary goal is to tell entertaining stories.''

According to the directors, the best way to do that with the dense and depressing source material was to emphasize Hugo's concept of dualities - Quasimodo as the good soul in the ugly form, his cruel guardian Judge Claude Frollo as outwardly pious but twisted inside, the cathedral of Notre Dame itself as the midpoint between the squalid streets of 15th-century Paris and the purifying promise of heaven, etc.

``Hugo was Mr. Paradox, Mr. Irony,'' Trousdale said.

``The whole novel is filled with characters who embody two opposite ideas,'' Wise added. ``A very big idea when we first started telling the story was to make it a study in contrasts. That went from music to art direction to character development. We tried to achieve that both visually and in a storytelling sense.''

Musically, too. The Oscar-winning ``Pocahontas'' team of composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz tried to contrast Hugo's grimmer themes with upbeat nonsense songs.

``Songs like `Topsy Turvy' (for the eye-popping Feast of Fools carnival) and `A Guy Like You' (where the gargoyles approximate the magic of ``Aladdin's'' Genie) are there to lighten the tone,'' said eight-time Academy Award winner Menken. ``I like the darkness of the tone; I think it's a rich area to work in. But our job as musical theater dramatists, especially in this medium at Disney, is to give it the counterbalancing lightness and humor that really strengthens the film.''

Schwartz, a more recent transplant from Broadway (``Pippin,'' ``Godspell'') to the Mouse Factory, was most intrigued by ``Hunchback's'' taboo-breaking potential.

``You're not saying, `This is a kid's show,' '' Schwartz explained. ``You're doing a show that you hope an entire range of ages can enjoy on different levels. Maybe this one will, once and for all, let people know that animation is not just a children's medium.''

Schwartz is proudest of the production number ``Hellfire,'' in which Frollo (Tony Jay) is taunted by visions of the beautiful Gypsy dancer Esmeralda (speaking voice, and probably some figure inspiration, provided by Demi Moore) in fireplace flames. Maddened by lust, he laments to heaven that his impure feelings couldn't possibly be his fault.

``It really pushes the boundaries of what animation has done before, in terms of psychological complexity, the story's subtext and adult connotations,'' Schwartz said.

But there are also those singing, dancing gargoyles, Quasimodo's semi-imaginary pals. Voiced by ``Seinfeld's'' Jason Alexander, ``Murphy Brown's'' Charles Kimbrough and the late Mary Wickes of ``Sister Act'' fame, Hugo, Victor and Laverne are among several wacky new additions to the classic's cast of characters.

``They play a very important role in the film: They do lighten up a relatively dark story, and I think they do so really well,'' said David Pruiksma, Hugo and Victor's lead animator. ``They also help to express what's going on inside of Quasi; each one represents a different personality trait.''

And as fantasy creatures in a generally realistic universe, the gargoyles facilitate show-stopping flights of fancy that no Disney animated musical can sing without.

``It's a great opportunity for an animator to have these kinds of sequences,'' said Pruiksma, whose ``Guy Like You'' gargoyle production number recalls such fast-morphing, quick-witted ditties as ``Aladdin's'' ``Friend Like Me'' and ``Beauty's'' ``Be Our Guest.'' ``It gives you an opportunity to do what animation does best - which is, basically, to go wild.''

In the end, animation president Schneider feels his team went just wild enough to turn ``Hunchback of Notre Dame'' into a film that will entrance children, intrigue adults and dazzle one and all.

``When these movies work, they work on all levels,'' Schneider said. ``They work on a humorous, interesting level for a 5- or 6-year-old, and on a much more difficult, psychological level for the grown-ups. That's what makes these movies broadly successful in the marketplace.''

A marketplace, Schneider proudly noted, in which his cartoon classic offers a rare dose of human interest. ``I think it's one of the most thoughtful, character-driven pieces of the summer,'' he said. ``So far, we've had `Twister,' `Mission: Impossible,' `The Rock,' `Eraser'; I think this is really a breath of fresh air for moviegoing audiences this summer.''

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Photo: Three goofy gargoyles help counterbalance the darker elements of the tale of a beautiful Gypsy and a protective hunchback in Disney's ``The Hunchback of Notre Dame.''

(2--Cover--Color) Sitting pretty; The hunchback gets a make-over and the results are classic Disney.