The Hunchback Of Notre Dame Disney / Tropes O to Z

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney) Trope Examples
A - C | D - G | H - N | O - Z

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O

• Obfuscating Disability: Some of the Roma have been doing this whenever they move around Paris. In the Court of Miracles however, they remove the masquerade: "Where the lame can walk, and the blind can see".
• Oblivious to Love: Esmeralda has no idea of Quasimodo's crush.
• Obsession Song: "Hellfire" again. "She will be mine or she will BUUURNN!"
• Oh, Crap!:
  • In Frollo's introduction, Quasimodo's father reacts in fear upon seeing him.
  • Frollo when he realizes his soul is in danger after the Archdeacon scolds him for killing Quasimodo's mother.
  • Quasi when he suddenly runs into Frollo and then accidentally gives away his intention to attend the Festival of Fools.
  • One of the gypsies very clearly has this expression when Frollo first arrives in the Court of Miracles.
  • Frollo also has it after Quasimodo throws down a wooden block that smashes his carriage.
  • Quasi when he sees Frollo about to stab him — and then Frollo when Quasi fights back, disarms him, and gives him "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
  • Frollo when he comes face to face with the demon that drags him into the molten lead for his death, probably also realizing God has passed judgment on him.
  • Quasi when Frollo reveals the truth of what happened to his mother.
• Ominous Latin Chanting: Given the setting, this happens often. A good deal of it is during Frollo's Villain Song where it quotes Latin Catholic prayers — in particular, the confiteor, which serves as a nice counterpoint to Frollo's Never My Fault attitude.
  It's not my fault (Mea culpa)
  I'm not to blame (Mea culpa)
  It is the gypsy girl, the witch who set this flame (Mea maxima culpa)
  It's not my fault (Mea culpa)
  If in God's plan (Mea culpa)
  He made the devil so much stronger than a man! (Mea maxima culpa)
• Opposite Day: The Feast of Fools. "Once a year we turn everything upside down; every man's a king and every king's a clown!"
• Our Gargoyles Rock: The Plucky Comic Relief trio, and the bat-head-from-hell that turns on Frollo in the climax.
• Our Sirens Are Different: What Frollo sees Esmerelda as - imagining that she cast a spell on him with her dancing.
• Outcast Refuge: Fundamentalist Judge Frollo seeks the gypsies' refuge, "The Court of Miracles", where the Romani people of Paris, France, gather to escape from the oppression of the Parisian authorities.

P

• "Pan from the Sky" Beginning: It opens with a view of the tops of clouds, with the mighty spires of Notre Dame cathedral poking through, like a granite island in a misty sea. The camera pans downward to a view of the common streets of France as Clopin sings "Morning in Paris, as the city awakes / To the bells of Notre Dame."
• Parent Service: The best example is probably Esmeralda's pole dance.
• Parental Abandonment: Frollo claims that Quasimodo's mother abandoned Quasimodo when he was an infant when in reality Frollo murdered her. His dad is presumably dead as well, since he was captured by Frollo's thugs the same night Quasimodo's mom was murdered.
• Le Parkour: How Quasimodo gets around the Cathedral exterior. Apparently he gets it from his mother, who was able to vault over fences, one-handed and carrying a baby.
  Esmeralda: You're quite the acrobat.
• Personal Horror: Quasimodo has this when he inadvertently leads Frollo to the Court of Miracles when he goes there to warn everyone that Frollo is coming.
• Perverted Sniffing: Frollo sniffs Esmeralda's hair at one point. Both the audience and Esmeralda herself know that he was not imagining a rope around her neck, as he claims he did. Later, he sniffs the scarf he took from her, and even rubs it against his cheek.
• Post-Support Regret: Quasimodo always obeyed Frollo and believed all his lies about the outside world because he thought Frollo took him in as a baby out of the kindness of his heart, not knowing the real reason. At the climax of the movie, he finally realizes that Frollo is not kind at all, but rather the cruelest of the cruel.
  Quasimodo: All my life, you have told me that the world is a dark, cruel place! But now, I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!
• Powder Keg Crowd: A rare instance when they turn out to be a positive force. After what amounts to a lengthy sack of his own city to capture exactly one woman, Frollo manages to make the citizens of Paris hate him more than the Roma. Once Esmeralda is on the scaffold, the surrounding crowd are being corralled by soldiers and some are even shouting that she's innocent. It only takes a brief Rousing Speech from Phoebus, once he breaks free, to incite them to riot.
• Power Trio: The three gargoyles. Hugo is led by whims, Victor is very moral, and Laverne is in the middle—Id, Ego, Superego.
• Pragmatic Adaptation:
  • To avoid offending religious groups, the film follows the 1939 film by having Frollo be a judge rather than the archdeacon , with the difference being it is Claude rather than his younger brother, whom is omitted. Strangely, by the point the film had been made, adaptations had dropped changing Frollo's occupation by 1976, possibly meaning Disney was more interested in remaking the 1939 film than adapting the book.
  • Quasimodo is not portrayed as deaf, most likely to make communication easier between characters.
• Prayer of Malice: Frollo's song "Hellfire" includes a prayer to the Virgin Mary for Esmeralda to burn in hell or else become his.
• Produce Pelting: After Quasimodo is crowned the "King of Fools", he is strapped to a pillory and spun around while the crowd throws vegetables at him, such as tomatoes.
• Public Execution: The climax of the film involves Quasimodo trying to rescue Esmeralda from being burned at the stake in public by Frollo.
• Pun:
  • When Phoebus gets hit by Esmeralda's goat Djali, he makes a punny retort: "I didn't know you had a kid."
  • Phoebus' horse was named "Achilles" just so they could write "Achilles, heel!"
• Punished for Sympathy: Frollo orders Phoebus to burn down a mill with the miller and his family still inside. Not only does Phoebus refuse, but when Frollo sets the fire himself, he goes in to rescue the family. Frollo would have had him executed for treason right then and there, had Esmeralda not come to the rescue.

R

• Race Lift:
  • Quasimodo; in the novel, his parentage is unknown, but in this version, his mother is Romani (though Quasi doesn't look it, skin tone-wise).
  • In contrast to Esmeralda who due to being Ambiguously Brown in the source material may or may not have received a race lift, Clopin certainly has received one. In the novel, Clopin was a Frenchman and the leader of the Romani was a completely different character who answered to Clopin as Paris' King of Thieves, Beggars, Vagabonds and the like.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Phoebus as Captain of the Guard. When he enters Paris, he sees some guards harassing Esmeralda and accusing her of stealing the money she earned. He distracts them with Achilles' "antics" so she can get away, and then reveals he is the new captain before they can arrest him. When Quasimodo is humiliated and tied up in public, he asks permission from Frollo to step in and reluctantly obeys orders. He actually finds Esmeralda after Frollo orders her arrest, but talks her down from fighting him in the cathedral, and lies to Frollo that she claimed sanctuary so she can't be arrested. Then he asks Quasimodo to look out for her and apologizes for trapping her in the cathedral. Finally, when Frollo orders him to burn the miller and his family alive, Phoebus refuses and then dives into the burning mill to save everyone. When Frollo prepares to execute him for insubordination, Phoebus snarks, "Consider it my highest honor, sir."
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After trying to literally backstab Quasimodo, Frollo finds himself at his mercy, and Quasimodo renounces everything Frollo ever told him about what a cruel place the world is, saying that it's men like Frollo who have made it so.
  • Esmeralda also gives one to Frollo that's straight and to the point: "You speak of justice yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!". This is also combined with Calling the Old Man Out.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: During the final showdown, Frollo's pupils turn a demonic shade of red, while the whites of his eyes and his teeth turn yellow.
• Rescue Romance: Played with. Quasimodo falls in love with Esmeralda after she rescues him; Frollo ironically develops his lust for her due to this same incident. Esmeralda, on the other hand, is oblivious to the former and is disgusted by the latter. After they rescue each other several times, Esmeralda and Phoebus end up falling for each other, but only when they rescue other people (Phoebus falls for Esmeralda when she rescues Quasimodo, and Esmeralda falls for Phoebus when he rescues the miller's family).
• Rivals Team Up: Quasimodo and Phoebus team up to warn Esmeralda of Frollo's ambush on the Romani hideout at dawn. Frollo followed Quasimodo and Phoebus, leading him straight to the hideout.
• Roguish Romani: Frollo wants to exterminate the Romani population in the secret Court of Miracles, where the scoundrels of Paris live and are implied in-song to feign disability. Other examples of the racism in the film include accusations against Esmeralda of stealing her earnings and later witchcraft, as well as Phoebus labeling the Romani as "criminals and dangerous".
• Rousing Speech: Phoebus in the climax. "Our people" in this context likely refers to the innocent French that Frollo terrorized, made homeless, and (probably) murdered in his obsessive search for Esmeralda. At the very least, a pretty large section of Paris is burning because of Frollo's actions.
  Phoebus: Citizens of Paris! Frollo has persecuted our people! Ransacked our city! And now, he has declared war on Notre Dame herself! WILL WE ALLOW IT?!!?
  Crowd: [charging] NOO!!!!
• Rule of Symbolism:
  • In the final showdown, Frollo's eyes and teeth turn a demonic shade of yellow, while his pupils turn a demonic shade of red.
  • Frollo falling into a lake of Hellfire-like molten lead.
  • Esmeralda's "God Help the Outcasts" and Frollo's "Hellfire", when taken together, sound much like the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
  • Quasimodo tied with chains to the cathedral pillars with his arms outstretched brings to mind both Christ's crucifixion and Samson being put on display for the Philistines. When he breaks free and the pillars crumble, it is reminiscent of how Samson met his end, pushing down the pillars and bringing the roof down on himself and everyone else in the hall.
  • Elements of the Notre Dame architecture are used to convey different moods: for example, the statues foreboding and ominous, the stained glass beautiful and hopeful.
  • in "Hellfire", the camera pans from a huge opulent cross to the fireplace below, indicating that under all his apparent virtue, Frollo has a much darker side, notably his lust for Esmeralda. Also note that when he's looking around the room while singing as if searching for answers, he ignores the gigantic cross on the wall in favor of staring directly into the roaring flames of the fireplace directly below it, showing how he's actively looking to Hell instead of Heaven in his search for answers.
  • At the end of "Hellfire" in the DVD Commentary:
    DVD commentary: Here's some more of our ham-fisted symbolism—Frollo falls down in the shape of a crucifix!
  • Frollo offers 30 pieces of silver to the Roma he captures for information about Esmeralda, alluding to Judas selling Jesus out to the Romans.
  • During the last few minutes Esmeralda is wearing a white dress.
  • In the scene where Frollo destroys Quasimodo's model of Paris, he picks up a wooden figure of Esmeralda and throws it, knocking over a figure of himself in the process. Also, aside from the obvious symbolism he's invoking by burning Esmeralda's figure, there is how he smashes all the other figures and the cathedral model in his rage; not only does this foreshadow his Villainous Breakdown later on, it specifically shows how he's willing to do anything, whether killing the citizens or attacking the cathedral itself, to get what he wants.
  • Quasimodo's mother running away from Frollo and his soldiers with a baby draped in a white cloth, looks very similar to the scene in The Bible where Moses' mother tries to hide him when Pharaoh ordered that all boys of Israelitic origin shall be thrown into the Nile. The difference here is that she succeeds by putting him in a braided basket and has him float by the river, and never getting killed.
  • During "Hellfire": when the guard opens the door, he is framed by a soft and peaceful light, symbolizing Heaven while the fireplace behind Frollo symbolizes Hell. God has literally answered Frollo's prayers and is giving him a chance to turn away from sin. Of course, being Frollo, he rejects this offer.
• Rule of Three: Frollo and the Archdeacon interact three times at the beginning, middle and end of the film, with each encounter reflecting Frollo's mental state.
  • The Archdeacon is first shown in the prologue, when he stops Frollo from throwing an infant Quasimodo down a well and shames him for killing the child's mother on the cathedral steps. Though he initially denies any guilt, this younger Frollo is taken aback when the Archdeacon claims he cannot hide his sin from God, and he is unable to argue when the Archdeacon insists he raise the orphaned baby as his own.
  • The now older Archdeacon appears again when Frollo attempts to arrest Esmerelda inside the cathedral. He gives the girl sanctuary, subtly reminds Frollo of the sin he committed years prior, and prompts him and his soldiers to leave. Though Frollo initially seems to obey, he hides behind a pillar and gropes and threatens Esmerelda when the Archdeacon is not looking, showing that he isn't as afraid of the latter as he was all those years ago.
  • In the climax, the Archdeacon tries to confront Frollo when he and his men are laying siege to the cathedral. Frollo, who has completely lost any sense of reason or restraint, is now completely unfazed by the Archdeacon's words, and even casually throws the latter down the stairs when he gets in his way.

S

• Sacred Hospitality: The miller and his family often open their home to weary travellers on the road. Unfortunately for them, some of those travellers were gypsies and Frollo considers their kindness as a treason that warrants death. He orders the mill to be burned down with the family still trapped inside.
• Sadistic Choice: Frollo gives Esmeralda one last chance to decide her fate before her execution: "Choose me or the fire." She spits in his face.
• Saintly Church: The cathedral itself, since there are hints that it has a life of its own and is silently watching everything. The fact that a gargoyle on it comes to life to make Frollo fall to his death would back this up. That also applies to the three gargoyles. They were sent/brought to life to watch over Quasimodo, thus setting up all the events that have occurred through the film. Finally, Genius Loci (in the form of a patron saint) is Church doctrine.
• Samaritan Relationship Starter: Esmeralda and Phoebus are initially attracted to but wary of each other, but they only fall for each other after each witnesses the other committing a noble and selfless act (e.g. Esmeralda defending Quasimodo from Frollo; Phoebus refusing to burn an innocent family in their house and rescuing them).
• Sanity Slippage Song: "Hellfire" is like a visual metaphor of Frollo's religious hypocrisy collapsing in on itself, leading to the conclusion he either marries a Romani or slays all of them.
• Saved by the Church Bell: The movie prominently features the bells of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and heavily associates them with the freedom and expression of its protagonist, Quasimodo. It is even the ringing of the bells that convinces the villain to spare Quasimodo's life as a child. The bells ring out especially prominently during the film's Happy Ending.
• Save the Villain: Quasi has an easy chance to let Frollo fall to his death during the climax, but chooses not to. Frollo promptly tries to kill him anyway... and pays the price.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!:
  • Phoebus objects to Frollo's order to burn down a windmill with a family trapped inside.
    Phoebus: With all due respect, sir, I wasn't trained to murder the innocent.
    Frollo: But you were trained to FOLLOW ORDERS!

  Phoebus defies the order, and Frollo commits the deed himself. When Phoebus breaks in and rescues the innocent family, he gets arrested by Frollo's guards and is ordered to be immediately executed.

  • In the final battle, Phoebus invokes this in the citizens if Frollo's word is seen as law.
    Phoebus: Citizens of Paris! Frollo has persecuted our people! Ransacked our city! And now, he has declared war on Notre Dame herself! Will we allow it!?
    Citizens: NO!
    [the people of Paris arm themselves, free the captured gypsies, and they all attack the guards]
• Seeking Sanctuary:
  • Quasimodo's mother tries to do this in the opening scene, but the door is locked, and the Archdeacon is too late.
  • Phoebus convinces Esmeralda to do this when Frollo tries to capture her inside Notre Dame. While she doesn't at first because she believes Phoebus led Frollo to her, Phoebus makes it look like she did. Frollo orders the guards to physically drag her outside, but is again confronted by the Archdeacon. He decides to bide his time, knowing she'll have to leave eventually.
  • Finally, Quasimodo claims sanctuary for Esmeralda before all of Paris during the climax, to unanimous cheers.
    "SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!"
• Shoo Out the Clowns:
  • When the crowd turns on Quasimodo at the end of "Topsy Turvy", Clopin immediately disappears, despite having been present through the whole number, as well as crowning Quasimodo and putting him up on the stage. This is subverted later when Clopin turns out to be an intimidating leader of the gypsies, and also becomes part of the group of captives set to be burnt at the stake.
  • Double-subverted with the gargoyles, who jump right into the battle for Notre Dame, but disappear during the final confrontation with Frollo.
  • Djali the goat (Esmeralda's animal companion) suddenly disappears midway through the film. He doesn't return until after Frollo's death and Notre Dame's fires are extinguished.
• Shout-Out:
  • Laverne near the end tells the pigeons that are always bugging her to "fly my pretties, fly, fly!" (which is a Beam Me Up, Scotty!), complete with the original backing music from The Wizard of Oz. Also a shout-out to one of Alfred Hitchcock's movies, The Birds.
  • Quasi and the gargoyles' relationship (and the fact that they can move (and shoot crunched-up rocks at rapid fire speed) even though they may or may not be imaginary) is similar to the relationship of Calvin and Hobbes.
  • The climax, with the dramatic Notre Dame battle between Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Frollo, may have been inspired by the end of Batman (1989), which has Batman, Vicki Vale, and The Joker in a very similar situation atop a gargoyle-filled Gotham Cathedral. And like the Joker, Frollo is sent to his doom by a gargoyle statue and Screams Like a Little Girl too. Both even had an ironic choice of last words (Frollo: "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!"; Joker: "Sometimes I just kill myself!") In the rare moments when Frollo smiles, he strikingly resembles the Joker.
  • In the same scene as above, Frollo telling Quasimodo what really happened to his mother seems identical to the moment Luke finds out what really happened to his father. Less dramatic, though.
  • There are numerous shout-outs to both Singin' in the Rain and King Kong (1933) in Quasimodo's climbing and acrobatics throughout the film.
• Shown Their Work:
  • The Cathedral of Notre Dame is drawn with perfect accuracy. The artists painted every single statue correctly as possible, particularly since they included the medieval statues which were once part of the facade of the cathedral and are now stored in a small museum on the other bank of the Seine.
  • Quasimodo's appearance is exactly as described in the book, down to details that aren't pointed out in the movie, like him having red hair.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: When the Archdeacon angrily rebuffs him for bringing violence into the church, Frollo merely shoves him aside. Given that the Archdeacon was about the only person who could keep Frollo under control, this is a sign he's jumped the slippery slope.
• Siding with the Suffering:
  • Phoebus starts the film as Judge Claude Frollo's top enforcer and follows his orders to persecute the Romani people of Paris with little complaint (although he does express confusion as to why he was pulled from the front lines of war to go after "palm readers and fortune tellers"). Eventually, though, Frollo's obsession with Esmeralda begins to spiral out of control, prompting him to mount a genocidal campaign against not only the Roma, but anyone remotely connected with them. When Frollo orders Phoebus to burn down a poor miller's home—while the miller and his family, who have given shelter to Romani travelers in the past, are still inside—Phoebus angrily douses the torch he's given, despite the judge reminding him that the punishment for insubordination is death. After escaping Frollo's guards, Phoebus becomes an open ally to the Roma by working to free them from the judge's oppressive rule.
  • Esmeralda gets a moment earlier in the film during the Feast of Fools. After the crowd learns that Quasimodo's face is Not a Mask, they become a jeering mob and torture him. Esmeralda initially hangs back, but when she sees Frollo refusing to help Quasimodo despite him begging for help, she steps forward to free him while giving Frollo an angry "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
• Silent Snarkers: Djali and Achilles, being a goat and a horse respectively, do not talk but their snark is clear regardless.
• Sincerity Mode: When Phoebus sees how protective Quasimodo is of Esmeralda, to the point of being willing to bodily pick up the Captain of the Guard, he tells Quasimodo to pass on another message to Esmeralda: that she's lucky to have a friend like him.
• Sitting Sexy on a Piano: Laverne conjures up both an evening dress and a piano during the gargoyle's Disney Acid Sequence.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: The Roma guarding the entrance to the Court of Miracles wear skeleton costumes to blend in with the numerous skeletons lying around the catacombs.
• Slasher Smile: Frollo briefly sports one as the fire is set to burn Esmeralda at the stake. He also sports one at the climax when he's about to kill Quasimodo and Esmeralda during his "And He shall smite the wicked, and plunge them into the fiery pit!" line.
• Smack on the Back: Phoebus winces from Quasimodo slapping him on the back, which no doubt aggravated his shoulder injury.
• Smoke Out: Esmeralda disappears and reappears in a puff of smoke at will.
• The Smurfette Principle: Only Esmeralda, making the main cast at a 3:1 male-to-female ratio. Likewise in the gargoyles, it's 2:1 with Laverne as the only female.
• Snow Means Death: The film's prologue takes place on a snowy night when Frollo killed a Romani woman and was ordered to raise her child as his atonement.
• Song of Prayer:
  • "God Help the Outcasts", Esmerelda's prayer for the poor and unfortunate in the world, contrasted with the wealthy of Paris asking for wealth and power.
  • Later Frollo's Villain Song "Hellfire" has him asking St. Mary to protect him from the lustful thoughts he's been having about Esmerelda. Or let her belong to him.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Clopin.
• Spiteful Spit: When Frollo offers Esmeralda a choice between him or death by burning, she chooses the latter by spitting on his face.
• Spit Take: Frollo when Quasimodo slips up and says "Festival" during their alphabet session.
• The Stinger: A brief clip of Hugo bidding the audience goodbye and laughing shows up before cutting to the Disney logo at the end of the film.
• Stock Scream: One of the guards in the climactic battle lets out a Goofy Holler (YAAH HOO-HOO-HOOEY!) as he falls to his death.
• Sudden Principled Stand: Phoebus against Frollo. Arresting criminals is one thing; burning an innocent family alive is another.
  Phoebus: With all due respect, sir, I was not trained to murder the innocent.
  Frollo: But you were trained to follow orders.
  [Phoebus angrily douses his torch in a barrel of water; Frollo snarls with rage]
  Frollo: Insolent coward. [grabs another torch and sets the fire himself]

  Then after Phoebus manages to save the miller's family, Frollo orders him executed right before Esmeralda intervenes.

  Frollo: The sentence for insubordination is death. Such a pity. You threw away a promising career.
  Phoebus: Consider it my highest honor, sir.

• Suddenly Shouting: Courtesy of Frollo: "Isn't this [figure] new? It's awfully good. It looks very much like the gypsy girl. I know... You helped her ESCAPE!"
• Suffer the Slings: Esmeralda uses a makeshift sling to rescue Phoebus.
• Surrogate Soliloquy: Esmeralda's song "God Help the Outcasts" is delivered to the image of Christ hanging on the cross inside the cathedral.

T

• Teeth Flying: Phoebus punches out a guard's teeth during the climax.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Frollo says, "And He shall smite the wicked, and plunge them into the fiery pit!"... whilst standing above a fiery pit.
  • Phoebus saying there should be an ambush waiting for them. He considers bad things that could happen, then mentions an ambush only when he realizes that they're about to be ambushed.
    Phoebus: Speaking of trouble, we should have run into some by now.
    Quasimodo: What do you mean?
    Phoebus: You know, a guard, a boobytrap... [the torch goes out] ...or an ambush...
• This Is No Time to Panic: When Quasimodo helps Esmeralda and Djali escape the cathedral.
  Quasimodo: Don't be afraid.
  Esmeralda: I'm not afraid. [Quasimodo jumps and the trio is dangling over the ground a second later] Now I'm afraid.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Most people fear Frollo but respect him, knowing he keeps order with an iron fist and defying him is a good way to end up in the Palace of Justice. Yet some like the baker and miller are revealed to hide the Roma from prying guards. It's Frollo busting the baker, as well as trying to burn the miller and his family alive, that you can hear the Roma murmuring that he's gone too far by going after innocent people. Cue the scene of Esmeralda being executed...and the commonfolk are shouting that she's innocent and let her go! Phoebus uses this and points out that Frollo is laying siege to Notre Dame that they take up arms, free the Roma, and fight the guards.
• Timmy in a Well: Djali saves Phoebus and Quasi from hanging by running to get Esmeralda.
• Title Drop:
  • In the middle of the Feast of Fools, Clopin crowns Quasimodo with one of these.
    Clopin: Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic! We asked for the ugliest face in all Paris, and here it is! Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame!
  • Several non-English dubs share this title drop, such as Swedish ("Det är Ringaren i Notre Dame!") and Finnish ("Se on Notre Damen kellonsoittaja!"). The Japanese dub of the film, however, changed the movie's title to "The Bells of Notre Dame" because "hunchback" is too much of an insult to say. This introduces other Title Drops, however; particularly the opening and ending song.
• Together in Death: Done very subtly in the climax. After Quasimodo is left hanging off the Notre Dame balcony, Esmeralda tries to help him up to no avail. As Frollo towers over her ready to strike down with his sword, the look on Esmeralda's face shows that although she's terrified, she would rather die alongside Quasi than let him fall to his death to save her own skin.
• Torches and Pitchforks: Phoebus incites the crowd gathered to watch Esmeralda's execution into attacking Frollo and his men when Frollo attacks Notre Dame itself. During the ensuing battle, many of the mob are seen wielding pitchforks.
• Totem Pole Trench: Esmeralda is known for doing this to hide from the soldiers. She does this by carrying Djali on her shoulders and wrapping a blanket around them so they could pass as an old man.
• Translation Convention: The film is set in 15th Century France so the characters are speaking French but the movie renders the dialogue as English.
• Treated Worse than the Pet: Judge Claude Frollo "adopted" Quasimodo only to atone for having killed his mother. He keeps the poor young man isolated from the world, abuses him verbally and refuses to save him from being tortured by the crowd as a payback for Quasimodo's disobedience. And the way he treats the rest of people, especially the Romani, is a lot worse. Yet, when Phoebus steals his horse to flee from being executed, Frollo tells his guards, "Get him! But don't hit my horse!"
• Trick-and-Follow Ploy: How Frollo finds the Court of Miracles; he tells Quasi that he's already found it so Quasi (accompanied by Phoebus) goes to warn them, thus enabling Frollo to find it.
• Truck Driver's Gear Change:
  • During "Out There", the introduction by Frollo is sung in C♯ minor. When it comes Quasimodo's solo, it is sung in C major, and ends in E♭ major.
  • "God Help the Outcasts" starts in B♭ major and ends in C major.
  • "Heaven's Light" is sung in F major, while its reprise is sung in G major.
  • "A Guy Like You" starts in G major, then shifts up to B♭ major in the middle of the song, then back down to G major for the middle eight, and up to A major for the finale.
  • "The Court of Miracles" starts in F minor and ends in G minor.
  • As for "Someday", while All-4-One's rendition starts in D major and ends in E major, Eternal's rendition starts in A♭ major and ends in B♭ major.
• Truer to the Text: Due to being more of a remake of the 1939 film than its own adaptation, it has some small instances where it is more faithful to the original novel than its base film such as the main antagonist being Claude Frollo rather than his younger brother Jehan (renamed "Jean" in the 1939 film) and Phoebus surviving.
• *Twang* Hello: After the ferryman has smuggled the gypsies into Paris, Frollo's guards make their presence known by shooting an arrow into the pole he is holding.
• Two Guys and a Girl:
  • Quasimodo, Phoebus, and Esmeralda for a Love Triangle.
  • The gargoyles Victor, Hugo, and Laverne.

U

• Ugly Hero, Good-Looking Villain: Variation of the "Deformed Hero, Normal Villain" kind: Frollo is not handsome, but his looks don't have the stigma attached of Quasimodo's looks.

V

• Verbal Backspace: During Frollo's catechism of Quasimodo:
  Frollo: Shall we review your alphabet today?
  Quasimodo: Oh, yes, Master. I would like that very much.
  Frollo: Very well: A.
  Quasimodo: Abomination.
  Frollo: B?
  Quasimodo: Blasphemy.
  Frollo: C?
  Quasimodo: (nervously) C-C-Contrition.
  Frollo: D?
  Quasimodo: Damnation.
  Frollo: E?
  Quasimodo: Eternal damnation.
  Frollo: Good. F?
  Quasimodo: Festival.
  (Frollo spits out his drink and gives Quasimodo an angry stare)
  Frollo: Excuse me?
  Quasimodo: F-F-Forgiveness!
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: Esmeralda pulls a hankie from her cleavage to use it for a magic trick to escape from Frollo's guards.
• Villainous Advice Song: Frollo sings "In Here" to Quasimodo. After Frollo leaves, Quasimodo's "I Want" Song, "Out There", closely follows.
• Villainous Face Hold: Frollo does this multiple times to Quasimodo. He grabs the face of an upset Quasimodo and forces him to look up at him whilst mocking him over his only friends being the stone gargoyles. He grabs Quasimodo's face again during the first part of "Out There", where, in an attempt to control Quasimodo, Frollo tells him he'll be killed if he ever leaves the bell tower.
• Villainous Valour: Frollo proves in a small way that he can get his own hands dirty in the climax when the cathedral is under siege. He takes a sword from one of his men and braves a torrent of molten lead to hack down the thick and hefty wooden doors. Then he goes upstairs and briefly wrestles with Quasi, a man half Frollo's age who has proven he is strong enough to shake the cathedral at its foundations with his exertions, and swings his sword with enough force to crack solid brickwork. Not bad for an old man.
• Villain Reveals the Secret: During the final part of the climax, Quasimodo finally knows of his lost mother's fate. She died while trying to save him. Frollo had told him his entire life his mother was heartless and unable to feel "real love". As he tells the truth, Frollo finally attempts to kill his foster-son.
• Villain Love Song: "Hellfire" is partly about Frollo's Holier Than Thou attitude and his Evil Plan to reconcile it with the trope below.
• "The Villain Sucks" Song: "The Bells of Notre Dame" becomes this in one part, when Clopin rants about how evil Frollo is.
• Villain World: With the king out fighting a war, Big Bad Frollo runs the show here and he is a genocidal Roma-hating tyrant who kills people for committing petty crimes.

W

• Warning Song: Clopin begins the film putting on a little theater for a group of children, all the while singing "The Bells of Notre Dame" to tell them the story of how the titular hunchback, Quasimodo, came to be the bellringer of Notre-Dame, and under the care of Judge Claude Frollo. Ostensibly, the song is to warn the children of the dangers of corruption that power brings, and that no one is above the judgement of God. The latter of which, within the song itself, is sung to Frollo by the Archdeacon as a warning in and of itself. The Archdeacon gave Frollo that warning after Frollo claimed a clear conscience for murdering Quasimodo's mother on the very steps of the church; the Archdeacon himself was too late to stop him, but arrived in time to save the infant Quasimodo's life.
  Archdeacon: You can lie to yourself and your minions! You can claim that you haven't a qualm! But you never can run from nor hide what you've done from the eyes! The very eyes of Notre-Dame!
• Wham Line: Several.
  • From Frollo, to Phoebus, outside the miller's house, after trapping the miller's family inside:
    Frollo: Burn it. Until it smoulders. These people are traitors, and must be made examples of.
  • And later, announcing his presence at the Court of Miracles:
    Phoebus: Don't thank me, thank Quasimodo. Without him, we'd have never found this place.
    Frollo: Nor would I.
  • And in the film's climax, he tells poor Quasi the truth of what really happened to his mother on that fateful night twenty years ago:
    Frollo: I should have known you would risk your life to save that Gypsy witch, just as your own mother died trying to save you.
  • He also has another one delivered to him in the "Hellfire" sequence:
    Guard: Minister Frollo, the gypsy has escaped.
    Frollo: WHAT? (...) But how? I-?... Nevermind! Get Out!, you idiot! I'll find her! I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!
• Wham Shot:
  • One right at the start. When Frollo is holding the baby Quasimodo, his eyes fix on something off-camera, the music rises to a crescendo, and there's a cut to a well, which Frollo promptly uses to attempt to drown the child.
  • Phoebus dousing the torch that Frollo gives him after he's ordered to burn the miller and his family alive. As he put it, "I was not trained to kill innocent people." Esmeralda and the watching Roma find out he's truly a good man.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never addressed in the end what happened to any of the soldiers who aided Frollo, but chances are, they were likely arrested and will stand trial for their crimes against Paris and the church.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • When Phoebus declares he will find the Court of Miracles and warn them alone since Quasimodo fears going outside again and disobeying Frollo, the gargoyles give Quasi a look. He tries to angrily say that he's not the hero, he won't get the girl, and people are exactly like Frollo said they were. Then he looks at his palm, remembering that Esmeralda said that he wasn't a monster. Laverne holds out his cloak, and Quasimodo groans before taking it to catch up to Phoebus.
  • During the climax, when Quasimodo has given up on trying to save Esmeralda and tells the gargoyles, who are trying to encourage him to save the day, to leave him alone, the gargoyles respond with disappointment. As they revert back to inanimate stone one by one, they deliver this powerful punch to the gut:
    Hugo: Okay. Okay, Quasi. We'll leave you alone.
    Victor: After all, we're only made out of stone.
    Laverne: We just thought maybe you were made of something stronger.
• What You Are in the Dark: When Frollo enters the cathedral and orders Phoebus to arrest Esmeralda, our hero whispers for her to claim sanctuary. At this point, she believes it was all a ruse to capture her and snarls under her breath "You tricked me...". Yet, Phoebus outright tells Frollo to his face Esmeralda claimed sanctuary, saving her from arrest. Even Esmeralda is surprised that despite her thinking he deceived her, Phoebus protected her.
  • A minor moment for Quasimodo. Shortly before trying to kill him for about the third time in the last several minutes, Frollo reveals to him that his mother did not abandon him, but actually gave her life to save him from Frollo. Following this revelation, both Quasimodo and Frollo wind up nearly tumbling from the building, with Quasimodo hanging onto the cathedral while Frollo is gripping onto his shawl which is in Quasimodo's grip. Despite knowing full-well the depths of Frollo's depravity and having the power to simply drop him to his demise, Quasimodo still maintains his grip to try and save his abusive father figure.
• While Rome Burns: When Frollo is threatening to burn down all of Paris (and seems to have already burned down quite a bit of it), the gargoyles are singing about how Quasimodo might have a chance with Esmeralda after all.
  Paris, the City of Lovers, is glowing this evening
  True, that's because it's on fire, but still, there's l'amour
• White Stallion: Achilles. It helps with the characterization of Phoebus as a Knight in Shining Armor.
• Would Hurt a Child: You would think that Frollo would have learned his lesson after the Archdeacon points out that drowning a baby would damn his soul. Sadly not; while burning down all of Paris to find Esmeralda, he's perfectly willing to drown and chain up Romani children alongside their parents and elders while demanding Esmeralda's location. Phoebus turns against him when Frollo orders him to burn down the miller's house...with the miller, his wife, and two children inside, one of which is a baby.

X

• Xanatos Speed Chess: After Esmeralda indirectly claims sanctuary through Phoebus, Frollo can't arrest her. Frollo gets around this by stationing guards at every door of Notre Dame to watch for her. Frollo knows that Esmeralda will have to leave Notre Dame sooner or later for one reason or another; this way, the moment she steps outside, she's as good as caught.
  Frollo: You've chosen a magnificent prison, but it is a prison nonetheless. Set one foot outside, and you're mine.
• X Must Not Win: The gargoyles use this on Quasimodo, who responds to "You can't let Frollo win" with "He already has." Then, upon hearing Frollo's words as he tries to burn Esmeralda alive, Quasimodo changes his mind and keeps fighting anyway.

Y

• Yank the Dog's Chain: The prisoner who gets freed ... for about three seconds.
• You Are Too Late: The Archdeacon heard Quasimodo's mother calling for sanctuary, but just as he came outside, he found her corpse, and Frollo about to drown the baby. He angrily and guiltily takes the body to bury and chastises Frollo for committing murder outside the house of God.
• You Are Worth Hell: Inverted. When Frollo is about to burn Esmeralda at the stake, he tells her this is her last chance to be with him or burn in Hell. Wordlessly, but in no uncertain terms, she makes it clear that she would rather suffer an eternity in the fiery abyss than a lifetime of captivity.
• You Fight Like a Cow: This exchange occurs between Phoebus and Esmeralda in the cathedral:
  Phoebus: You fight almost as well as a man!
  Esmeralda: Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you!
• You Monster!: An indirect version. In the opening song, narrator Clopin opens his story by promising it to be "a tale of a man and a monster." At the end he asks "Now here is a riddle to guess if you can, sing the Bells of Notre Dame: Who is the monster and who is the man?" Frollo does call baby Quasimodo a monster when he sees that the child is deformed, and tries to kill him for it. You can probably figure out on your own to which character the riddle alludes. Then its reprise asks, "So here is a riddle to guess if you can, sing the Bells of Notre Dame: What makes a monster and what makes a man?"

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