The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film) June 21, 1996 to generally positive reviews and was a commercial success, grossing over $325 million worldwide and becoming the fifth highest-grossing release of 1996. The film received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Menken's musical score. A darker, more Gothic stage adaptation of the film, was rewritten and directed by James Lapine and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical in Berlin, Germany, as "Der Glöckner von Notre Dame", and ran from 1999 to 2002. A direct-to-video sequel, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame II", was released in 2002. In 1482 Paris, Clopin, a gypsy puppeteer, narrates the origin of
Notre-Dame de Paris (musical) about how Love has the power to change the world even should she die ("Vivre"). With Clopin and his people occupying Notre Dame, Frollo orders Phoebus and his men to break sanctuary and attack the cathedral to drive them out ("L’Attaque de Notre Dame"). Clopin and his people resist bravely but are no match for the armed soldiers, and in the first attack Clopin is fatally wounded. Dying, he begs Esmeralda to take his place as leader. The final battle has Esmeralda and her people facing off against Phoebus and his soldiers, but the result is a foregone conclusion –