Mary is a character from Disney's 1978 animated Christmas short film The Small One, being the Virgin Mary from the Bible. Although her name is never mentioned in the entirety of the film, it is pretty obvious that she is the one who rides Small One with her husband, Joseph, to Bethlehem. His line in the short film: "I need a gentle donkey to carry my wife to Bethlehem." says it all. Their son is Jesus.
Mary only appeared for a short while in the film, because she was seen at the very end. She was first seen with her husband, Joseph, riding on Small One (bought by Joseph from a boy earlier at night) while waving good-bye to the boy from a long distance and then, continuing their journey to the stable in Bethlehem where a bright star later shone; symbolizing the birth of their son, Jesus.
The "Hellfire" sequence of the film consists primarily of Frollo's prayer to blessed Mary ever Virgin. Roman Catholics do pray to blessed her to ask her to pray to God on their behalf, and because of her absolute purity, she is the perfect saint to ask regarding his inappropriate attraction to Esmeralda. However, in so doing Frollo reveals himself to be filled with sinful pride, lust, envy, and vengefulness.
Earlier in the film, the Archdeacon sang "you can never run nor hide what you've done from the eyes, the very eyes of Notre Dame". This was the his way of saying that, from Heaven, blessed Mary bore witness to Frollo's murder of Quasimodo's parents, and thus he needed to do something to avoid being damned by her. This is what convinced him to adopt Quasimodo as his son.
Trivia[]
During the making of the "Ave Maria" segment of Fantasia, there were suggestions to have an image of the Virgin Mary appear in the last shot when it was intended to end with the monks (and possibly nuns) entering an actual church.
Fantasia 2000:Symphony No. 5 • Pines of Rome • Rhapsody in Blue • Piano Concerto No. 2 • The Carnival of the Animals • Pomp and Circumstance • The Firebird Suite
Sequel:Le Jour D'Amour • An Ordinary Miracle • I'd Stick With You • Fa la la la Fallen In Love • I'm Gonna Love You Musical:Balancing Act • Rest and Recreation • Rhythm of the Tambourine • Into Notre Dame • Top of the World • Thai Mol Piyas • Esmeralda • City Under Siege • Flight Into Egypt • Out of Love (Reprise) • Dance of the Gypsies • Made of Stone • Finale Ultimo Deleted Songs:In a Place of Miracles • As Long As There's a Moon • Someday
