YMMV / The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)

• Adorkable: Like his book counterpart, Quasimodo has No Social Skills due to his upbringing. But instead of being hostile to others, the Disney version portrays him as sweet, shy, awkward, and even endearing enough to be Ugly Cute. His glee and following awkwardness at the Festival of Fools is comparable to a 20th-century teenager at a school dance.
• Alternate Aesop Interpretation:
  • You don't need romance in your life to be happy.
  • Also you can't force someone to love you and no one is "owed" a lover just because they're a good person. That person's choice of who they end up with is theirs and theirs alone.
  • Whatever people are like as individual, crowds are fickle, and can turn the entire group towards or against something once a single person says or does something sufficiently attention-getting, whether it's a thrown tomato or a Rousing Speech.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Judge Claude Frollo. Do we see flashes of guilt and torment in him that make him more sympathetic? Did he really feel nothing for killing Quasimodo's mother or did he take the Archdeacon's plea seriously to adopt Quasimodo out of guilt and a genuine fear of God? Do we see signs of him suffering and desiring to become a better person in his villain song, or is it more important that the experience makes him act even more evil than before? Part of this alternate interpretation is due to his Adaptational Villainy, since he was a conflicted character in the original source material.
    • Some fans of the movie (including Tony Jay) view him as a Tragic Villain, despite being one of the Disney villains to be a vile Tautological Templar. Most (if not all) of Frollo's villainous actions stem from his greatest fear: eternal damnation for his immortal soul. Unfortunately, he handles his fear in the wrong ways. Instead of acting according to God's laws and practicing true Christian values, he twists God's word to serve his pride, vanity and arrogance. He uses Psychological Projection and Insane Troll Logic to absolve himself of wrongdoing and feed his delusion that he is the purest person alive. During his song 'Hellfire', it's implied that Frollo knows his obsession for Esmeralda will endanger his soul, but he's too deep in denial of his sins to do anything about it. Frollo's descent into evil could've been stopped long ago if he had separated his faith from his pride and face the reality that he is just as much prone to sin as any other man. However, the mix of his Pride, Lust and Psychological Projection ultimately leads to him turning against God and damning his soul to Hell.
  • And for his offer to Esmeralda right before her execution — "choose me or the fire" — what exactly was he intending to do if she did pick him? Was he imagining keeping her as a mistress, glorified slave, or even a wife? Or was the offer rhetorical and was he hoping she would reject him so he'd have an excuse to kill her? Would he have killed her even if she had said yes?
  • Clopin — he seems very happy and nice, but he does call Quasi the ugliest person in Paris in a way that even the context can't completely excuse, doesn't let him hide in the "Feast Of Fools" sequence, apparently bugs out the second everything goes pear-shaped (as Frollo would likely want to arrest him for the confusion), and then expresses complete delight in hanging Quasi and Phoebus. Without giving them the chance to defend themselves in any way. He's also protecting his home, friends, and family from the most monstrous person in the country by silencing what he believes to be the man's most loyal subordinates... In fairness to Clopin, the only time he vanishes is during the "Feast of Fools" when the crowd turns on Quasimodo, but when the fighting outside Notre Dame happens he's shown jumping into the fray with the other Roma. He's their leader, so getting himself arrested at the Feast of Fools would have been bad for the Roma.
  • The Archdeacon doesn't even acknowledge Quasimodo's existence after the opening scene, despite them both living in the same building. So, that raises the question: is he really the benevolent arbiter of justice in Notre Dame, or a callous hypocrite, willfully blind to Frollo's abuse of Quasimodo? Or is he too scared of Frollo to do anything about it? Or is he actually not his own character at all, but Frollo's conscience? The only other character he interacts with is Esmeralda, and the stage musical made the case that this interaction could have been with Frollo. Maybe the Archdeacon is Frollo's actual righteous, compassionate side; and Frollo throwing him aside is the final nail in his moral coffin.
  • Are all of Frollo's soldiers — aside from Phoebus — jerks who follow any of Frollo's orders just for an excuse to abuse their authority, or are they for the most part just Loyal to the Position? When Frollo gives the Brutish Guard the order to seize the cathedral, do the three background Elite Mooks become tense in preparation of carrying out the order, or is it a silent gesture of disapproval?
  • Was the soldier who interrupted "Hellfire" actually the Brutish Guard, or was it an angel sent by God to help Frollo? There are several points worth bringing up: first, the guard's face cannot be seen, so it's uncertain whether it's actually one of Frollo's soldiers or an angel as theorized. Second, the light behind the guard appears like the light of Heaven while the fire behind Frollo looks like the fires of hell. The guard sounds as though he's pleading for Frollo to let go of his obsession with Esmeralda, knowing it'd lead to his damnation. However, Frollo is too deep in denial of his sins to acknowledge his wrongdoings and ignores the angel's warning by giving into his lust for Esmeralda. When the guard closes the door, the light disappears, meaning that Frollo has rejected going to Heaven. Third, the Brutish Guard usually speaks with a coarse and gruff voice, even around Frollo, but during 'Hellfire', his voice sounds soothing and gentle, a complete contrast from his usual self. If this to be believed, then God did give Frollo a chance to repent for his crimes, but Frollo was too proud and too deep in denial of his sins to do so.
  • It's a fairly common interpretation that the gargoyle that snarls at Frollo before breaking off is God himself. Frollo had just called on God to "smite the wicked, and plunge them into the fiery pit!" By now Frollo is undeniably wicked and the gargoyle does drop him into the flames below.
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: Many non-European viewers of the film consider Esmeralda Ambiguously Brown, but her ethnicity actually is "gypsy". Gypsies, or Romani as they're more correctly called, are descended from nomads who left India hundreds of years ago. Many people who have never met a Romani don't realize that "gypsy" is an actual ethnic group and not just a term for nomadic travelers. To add to the confusion, like most adaptations, Disney gave the character a Race Lift (in the book she was a stolen white baby raised by the gypsies). Due to the Unfortunate Implications of this, most adaptations cut this part out. With that said, Disney's version of Esmeralda does have a darker skin tone than even the other Romani in the film, so she may be Ambiguously Brown after all.
• Anvilicious: The film repeatedly points out Frollo's hypocrisy, in case you missed it. A few examples below.
  • From Clopin:
    Clopin: Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin / And he saw corruption everywhere except within.
  • From the Archdeacon:
    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.
  • From Esmeralda:
    Esmeralda: You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people. You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!
  • From Quasimodo:
    Quasimodo: All my life, you've told me the world is a dark, cruel place. But now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you.
  • The Bette Midler version of "God Help The Outcasts" has harsher lyrics than the movie version, taking the religious hypocrisy message even further as the singer accuses God of favouring certain people that discriminate against those down on their luck and being responsible for making the outcasts in the first place.
  • At the beginning of the film, Clopin asks the viewer a "riddle" regarding Quasimodo and Frollo: "Who is the monster, and who is the man?" This comes directly after Frollo murders an innocent woman and attempts to drown her baby.
• Award Snub:
  • None of the songs from this movie received Oscar nominations. This is the only movie that Alan Menken composed for the Disney Animated Canon during the 1990s which this happened to. Menken also didn't win for the Score either even though he was nominated.
  • Especially glaring since Frollo is often considered one of the greatest from Disney, Tony Jay was not given an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Villain. Also notable as the only times an actor got nominated for the voice of an animated character are Jeremy Irons for Scar and Ned Beatty for Lotso.
• Base-Breaking Character: Of the three Gargoyles, Victor and Laverne have their share of fans and detractors, while Hugo is generally hated. They do provide a lot of genuinely Funny Moments, and at the very least contribute to the plot (for example, they're the ones who convince Quasimodo to go to the festival). Which side of the Broken Base a fan falls into often depends on their age. People who were teens or adults when the film came out tend to hate them, while people who were children at the time love them. Then there are those who don't think they're unequivocally awful, but don't like them much either. Their supporters like to point out that they're better foster parents for Quasimodo than Frollo, and Quasimodo probably would've grown up a bitter person if it hadn't been for them; and then there are those that think they're cute and funny characters, but they're completely misplaced in this movie and would fit better in either Aladdin or Hercules, which have a more consistent comedic tone. One thing that does tend to be generally agreed upon, though, is that the decision to depict the gargoyles as definitely animate and sentient in several scenes, rather than purely figments of Quasimodo's imagination, was a bad idea.
• Broken Base:
  • Quasimodo not winning Esmeralda's love in the end is a major point of contention, as it's one of the few times Disney subverted the true love ending between the leading man and woman. Either it sends a wrong message about ugly and disabled people not deserving true love, or it's a refreshing change of pace for demonstrating Esmeralda's right to choose.
  • The Adaptational Alternate Ending. Is such a happy conclusion a bastardization of Victor Hugo's tragedy, or does the movie make it work? Even some people who concede that Quasimodo had to survive to make the movie family-friendly will argue that Esmeralda should still have been Killed Off for Real in a Bittersweet Ending, much like in the 1999 German production of the stage version.
  • A smaller one is the depiction of the Romani characters besides Esmeralda. Lindsay Ellis felt that despite the 'justice for the oppressed' theme in the film, the song "The Court of Miracles" did still demonize them to an extent. The Unshaved Mouse by contrast liked that it showed a Gray-and-Gray Morality - and that being persecuted didn't automatically make them saints, therefore making them more realistic.
  • The film itself, particularly when first released. Many viewed it as a wildly-misconceived bastardization of Hugo's novel, to the point that the screenplay received a Razzie nomination. Others felt that, even with the number of deviations from the novel, it was still a strong film on its own merits and that Disney deserved a lot of credit for making a film much darker and mature than its previous animated films. Overall, the film's reputation these days skews towards the latter.
• Cargo Ship: Hugo thinks Djali is pretty hot. Hugo is a gargoyle, Djali is a goat. But come on, Hugo's part goat!
• Catharsis Factor: After seeing Frollo persecute and kill Quasimodo's mother (and later having the audacity to rub it in Quasimodo's face just before he's about to kill him), have one of his own former officers tortured, and launch his purge of the Roma in Paris, seeing the tyrant fall into a molten mass was pretty fulfilling. It’s not one of the most (if not, the most) satisfying deaths of a Disney villain for nothing.
• Common Knowledge: One criticism that's sometimes made of the film — and often believed to be behind its So Okay, It's Average reception on its initial release — is that it's too much of a re-tread of Beauty and the Beast, which had the same directors, and likewise had a French setting and focused around the life of an outcast with an unsightly physical appearance. However, that's really all that the two films have in common, with this one being a much darker and comparatively more realistic film. If anything, this film's direct-to-video sequel is probably more guilty of being a rehash of Beauty and the Beast.
• Complete Monster: Judge Claude Frollo, the fanatical Minister of Justice, is a deeply prejudiced and hypocritical official who seeks to totally exterminate the gypsies scattered around Paris. Frollo introduces himself by murdering a fleeing mother and nearly drowning her infant child for the crime of being deformed. With the archdeacon's intervention instilling the fear of divine retribution in him, Frollo dubbed the child Quasimodo and raised him in isolation under emotional abuse. Deeply enraptured with the gypsy woman Esmeralda, Frollo resolves to make Esmeralda his or watch her burn, offering "choose me or the fire" when she's tied to the stake. Frollo has gigantic sections of Paris burned in his further attempt to find the gypsies, orders a family torched alive in their own house, and even tries to murder Quasimodo himself in the end after having seemingly murdered Esmeralda, forsaking all piety to reveal the monster he's always been within.
• Crack Ship: As noted on Tangled's YMMV page, Frollo x Mother Gothel became one when people realized how similar they are.
• Creepy Awesome: Frollo, easily one of the most disturbing villains Disney has ever written. He's a pitch-perfect depiction of a lustful, bigoted monster and an Abusive Parent who's both frighteningly depraved and disturbingly competent.
• Critical Dissonance: Despite being moderately well-received (scoring somewhere in the 70s on Rotten Tomatoes), this is the only Disney Animated Canon film to ever get nominated for a Razzie Award. It was in a one-off category called "Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million", which also included Independence Day, Mission: Impossible, Twister, and A Time to Kill. Twister won this Razzie, and it was the only "Rotten" nominee in the category. Said category hasn't aged well, and has never been used since by the Razzies.
• Crosses the Line Twice: When Frollo is reviewing the alphabet with Quasimodo, this exchange happens. The censors probably let it pass because of Tom Hulce's harmless, innocent delivery of the lines and the happy gesture Quasimodo makes when he gets it right.
  Frollo: D?
  Quasimodo: Damnation.
  Frollo: E?
  Quasimodo: Eternal Damnation!
• Crossover Ship: It's become somewhat popular to pair Clopin with Harley Quinn from the Batman-franchise (the pairing is even called "JesterBells"). In many cases, they're essentially the male and female versions of each other (especially now that Harley's being portrayed as more of an anti-heroine by DC Comics), and many people have pointed out that Clopin would treat Harley way better than the Joker treats her.
• Cry for the Devil: "Hellfire". Behind closed doors, Frollo prays to the Virgin Mary for protection from Esmeralda's "witchcraft", which he convinces himself is driving him to sin through lustful, burning desire. He begs Mary to either burn Esmeralda in Hell or deliver her to him as his love to free him from his sin. He may be a vicious Knight Templar, but he's also very human and very conflicted, two qualities that generate sympathy and may make it at least more understandable.
  Frollo: God have mercy on her... God have mercy on me...
• Die for Our Ship: The Phoebus from the movie is much, MUCH nicer than the one from the novel, and he comes to sincerely like Esmeralda. And yet the Quasi/Esmeralda fans still hate him for "stealing her away from the one who DESERVES her better".
• Draco in Leather Pants: Despite being a Complete Monster, Frollo has a lot of fangirls.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: A lot of people also seem to have a fondness for Clopin, the All-Knowing Singing Narrator of the film. No doubt due to his wonderfully grandiose nature, aided by Paul Kandel's excellent vocal work.
• Estrogen Brigade: There's a rather sizable female demographic for the film, mostly owing to finding Frollo a strong case of being attractive.
• Evil Is Cool: Frollo became one of the most popular Disney Villains for being one of the most realistic in the canon, having a great Villain Song, and Tony Jay giving a fantastic performance.
• Fan Nickname: Frollo's Swedish voice actor, the late Stefan Ljungqvist, gained the nickname "Swedish Saruman" or "Swedish Christopher Lee" due to his almost identical deep bass voice. Coincidentally, Christopher Lee himself spoke fluent Swedish.
• Fanon: While the king is referenced once or twice, it's never explained what he's doing at the time of the movie or why he doesn't intervene when Frollo is torching Paris. Common consensus is that he is off fighting in the wars that Phoebus has returned from.
  • It's commonly assumed that Clopin is Esmeralda's brother and/or Parental Substitute. Alternatively and less commonly, he's theorized to be related to Quasimodo in order to explain how he knew his backstory.
• Genius Bonus:
  • The insistent accusations that Quasimodo is a "monster" seem far more fitting in the setting when you learn that "monster" came from a term for people with birth defects.
  • Gargoyles were carved for medieval churches for two reasons. The first being to divert water (namely rain) from the church, thus preventing the mortar from getting worn down and the second to protect against evil. Which makes Frollo's death scene even scarier if you understand medieval architecture.
  • The actual, present day Notre Dame^note Before the massive 2019 fire at least has two pillars missing, a damaged gargoyle, and a broken doorknob. Not only does this damage happen in the climax, it's all significant in some way.
  • Also, the background singing in Frollo's scenes throughout the film has several layers of meaning:
    • 'Kyrie Eleison', a refrain which is repeated throughout the film, means 'Lord have Mercy'... appropriate.
    • The chanting when Frollo is chasing Quasimodo's mother through Paris comes from a Gregorian chant called the Dies Irae - Day of Wrath - and includes a phrase that roughly means 'Beware the coming of the judge.' Again, appropriate.
    • And, during "Hellfire", the shadowy figures that torment Frollo in his madness chant 'Mea Culpa' - 'It's my Fault' - something which Frollo constantly denies.
    Frollo: It's not my fault!
    Figures: Mea culpa!
    Frollo: I'm not to blame!
    Figures: Mea culpa!
    Frollo: It is the gypsy girl, the witch who set this flame!
    Figures: Mea maxima culpa! [My utmost/complete fault!]
    • The above makes even more sense when one remembers that an important aspect of Catholicism (and Christianity in general) is acknowledging one's sins and working to atone for them. Frollo's inability to do this means he is deliberately turning away from a chance at redemption and he can't even recognize that fact.
    • Even one of the first lines of "Hellfire", "of my virtue I am justly proud", is contradictory in and of itself; Pride is one of the seven deadly sins, meaning that to be proud of his virtue is inherently hypocritical.
  • Quasimodo's climatic scene (being chained to the pillars of the church, then tearing them down in rebellion) is lifted directly from the story of Samson in the Bible.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: This film is really popular in Germany, having several stage shows based off of it.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Outside of the film itself, the "Making Of" special that aired on the Disney Channel has Jason Alexander humorously boasting that the three gargoyles are destined to become Disney's most beloved characters. Since the gargoyles turned out to be some of Disney's most hated characters and their presence is widely considered to be the film's main flaw, Jason's statement is either this trope or Hilarious in Hindsight.
  • The original ending where Quasimodo is stabbed by Frollo only for Frollo to die later and Quasimodo's wish to ring the bells one last time bears some similarities to the 1997 version, which came out a year later.
• He Really Can Act: A variation. It's no surprise that Oscar nominee Tom Hulce gives an excellent performance as the titular character. What may catch you off your guard is that he also has a rather lovely singing voice which he gets to show off here.
  • Female example: Demi Moore developed quite a hatedom in the 90s and 2000s for a series of badly received Box Office Bombs and attacks over her perceived diva-ish behavior. Now that the hate has died off, people are far more receptive to this - which was following poor turns in Striptease and The Scarlet Letter. Her performance as Esmeralda is considered a real highlight of the film - especially conveying Esmeralda's fiery Action Girl persona, as well as her soft compassionate side.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Mandy Patinkin was considered for the role of Quasimodo. A year after this movie, he actually got to play Quasimodo in another adaptation.
  • Judge Frollo is a Sinister Minister who carries out many atrocities against the Roma people in the name of God. A few years later, Tony Jay would voice an equally-detestable god who similarly wished for the complete eradication of vampires.
• Ho Yay:
  • Djali is referred to as a male. Hugo makes no secret of his attraction to him.
  • It's way too easy to read something going on between Quasimodo and Phoebus, considering how they started out hating each other, much like Phoebus did with Esmeralda, but become Fire-Forged Friends and Quasi even pulls him into a hug after Phoebus saved his life.
• Hype Backlash: Of a limited sort. While the movie's haters and fans have mostly maintained parity over the years, millennial fans tend to talk up the Darker and Edgier elements as if "Hellfire" were the entire thing, and relegate all the comic relief to a footnote out of either embarrassment or pure disinterest. First-time viewers may be shocked at how much Aladdin/Hercules-worthy humor the gargoyles bring to the whole thing, even if it doesn't end up being a dealbreaker.
• Iron Woobie:
  • Quasimodo's life from start through adulthood is one long story of isolation and abuse, and he even gets friendzoned by Esmeralda. Nonetheless, he remains a kind man and even blesses the two's love in the end.
  • Esmeralda counts as well, given all the persecution the Roma go through, the fact that Frollo is after her specifically, and she still manages to be willing to pray for everybody else in "God Help the Outcasts".
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Despite Frollo being the main villain, he is nearly universally loved for being a realistic portrayal of a monstrous, corrupt government official, as well as being an overall well-rounded, complex antagonist. The Oafish and Brutish Guards, on the other hand, are little more than thuggish bullies and essentially the medieval version of dirty cops with no such charm or admirable qualities as Frollo. They not only rival their leader in their bigotry towards gypsies, but they are responsible for starting the disastrous downward spiral that causes Quasimodo to be tormented by the crowd during the Festival of Fools.
• Just Here for Godzilla: The 2 most well-known types of fangirls in the fanbase, "Frollophiles" and "Clopinphiles", are often known for watching the movie merely to see Frollo and/or Clopin. Clopin's side often has many fans complaining about how he "doesn't have enough screentime".
• Love to Hate: Frollo.
  • He is, first of all, realistically scary. He's an example of the many times throughout history that bigotry and persecution has been self-righteously excused as justice.
  • He is voiced by Tony Jay which automatically gives him a badass voice.
  • He is Faux Affably Evil in where he generally appears pretty polite but yet there is a glint of madness and zealotry underneath, and you know it. See the episode with the ants and the torture chamber.
  • Despite spending all his time kicking dogs, his Hidden Depths are hinted at once in the movie: the Villain Song. Is he Necessarily Evil and hates himself for it, does he actually hate himself for lusting towards Esmeralda or is he just a deluded Knight Templar? Is it a real epiphany that throws him more into madness or an Ignored Epiphany? No one knows, so it adds a layer of depth to the character.
  • He shows himself quite competent in his endeavors in general, if evil.
  • And there's the whole Creepy Awesome thing.
  • Despite being such a loathesome individual, Frollo is such a well-written, three-dimensional, and all-around memorable character you can't help but like him despite all the crimes he commits.
  • Has come to a head with the YouTube Poop turned Quirky Work The Frollo Show, in which Frollo is slightly toned down into an anti-heroic Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist, and is joined by Gaston and the Anarchy Sisters.
• LGBT Fanbase: Esmeralda is quite popular with lesbian and bisexual women for her relatable plight of seeking acceptance from those who persecute her people. Also, many of those same women say that she was instrumental in helping them discover who they are.
• Memetic Molester: Frollo, for good reasons.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Hellfire" is becoming an increasingly popular subject for YouTube Poop.
    • Also, statements to the likes of "most dramatic reaction to a boner ever" or "the boner that burned down Paris."
  • The scene where Frollo attempts to throw baby Quasimodo down the well has also become a popular YouTube Poop source. People commonly edit things like bad movie posters or unpopular celebrities like Justin Bieber over Quasimodo.
  • This◊ screencap of Phoebus, usually attached to posts of a confusing or mind-bending nature.
  • "Witchcraft."
  • Frollo's final line, "And He shall smite the wicked, and plunge them into the fiery pit!", followed by posters adding a nonchalant response from God such as "As you wish", or "That's not a bad idea.", or epic, as in "OK, Satan, for this once I'll let you enter My house just to claim this soul. He's yours." Somehow it may soften the creepiness of the scene.
  • On TikTok, the opening lines of "Out There" — "Remember what I told you, Quasimodo: You are deformed... (I am deformed...) / And you are ugly... (And I am ugly...)" — have become quite popular, usually playing over misshapen objects, hated characters, or failed craft projects.
  • Quasimodo is an assassin. ^ExplanationGiven Quasimodo's parkour skills climbing around the architecture of Notre Dame along with hiding himself under a hood at times, these kinds of jokes are pretty common. Especially with Assassin's Creed: Unity, which had Notre Dame as a structure to explore.
• Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: The movie was a huge hit in France. The filmmakers were especially worried about offending the French people by taking an iconic symbol of French literature and culture and giving it the so-called "Disney Treatment". This is possibly why Disney was shocked later, when Hercules was met with revulsion in Greece.
• Misaimed Fandom:
  • Frollo was often thought of as cool despite having much less reason to be thought of as such (and much more NOT to) than other Disney villains. Instead of being a muscular macho-man like Gaston or a powerful sorcerer like Jafar, he is a genocidal self-righteous old religious fanatic. But for all his decidedly uncool qualities, his character ended up winning many people over.
    • While it may not have been the intent of the filmmakers, it's still easy to see why Frollo got the Evil Is Cool treatment. After all, he's a truly menacing and effective villain. What's more egregious is fans who believe he's attractive. Sure, Tony Jay's voice is quite pleasing and his sexuality is a key part of Frollo's character. But you'd think an old man perversely preying on a repulsed younger woman, and being perfectly willing to kill her should she reject his advances would be an enormous turnoff for all viewers.
  • The movie portrays Esmeralda and Phoebus's romance in a fully positive light, and though Quasimodo is heartbroken and jealous at first, he eventually fully accepts their love and is content as their friend. But you wouldn't know this from the Quasi/Esmeralda shippers either calling Esmeralda a "stupid whore" for choosing Phoebus or depicting Phoebus as anything from a brainless, dullard pretty-boy to an abusive monster just so Esmeralda can dump him and be with Quasimodo (granted, it helps that Phoebus really is an absolute bastard in the original novel).
  • Similarly, some viewers interpreted the movie's message as championing mistreated, physically unattractive outcasts like Quasimodo and see Esmeralda ending up with Phoebus as a Broken Aesop and that she "should" have ended up with Quasimodo. The film's actual theme is showing the difference between a monster (Frollo) and a man (Quasimodo). Both of them are attracted to Esmeralda, and Quasimodo not feeling Entitled to Have You is a, if not the, crucial difference between him and Frollo.
  • On another note, it is not unusual to find atheists and religious people arguing if the movie is pro or anti Christian, which completely misses the point of the movie highlighting the hypocrisy of some religious people while showing Good Christians as well as giving a more balanced account that they believe.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • In his very first scene, Frollo does a combo. He arrests a group of Roma and has them tortured and executed, and when a woman escapes, he pursues her, ending with him killing her through use of excessive force in order to get what she was holding. When it turns out to be a deformed baby he is willing to simply drown it, a moment that was so bad Frollo himself feared divine retribution FOR THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME IN HIS LIFE if only because of the Archdeacon's warning. And that's only the start...
  • Among Frollo's minions the Oafish and the Brutish guard stand out as the most equal to their master in cruelty. It appears that they enjoy the freedom that his ruling leaves them to mistreat those that they see fit as they both harass and threaten Esmeralda for being a Romani and incite the mob to torture Quasimodo For the Evulz. By the time that they gladly burn down the city and immediately attempt to behead Phoebus for saving a family of kids from a fire that their boss started they have clearly chosen to follow him to damnation.
• Most Wonderful Sound:
  • If talking about the soundtrack, most will at least mention Tom Hulce's singing voice. It's not grand or anything, but it's just so sweet. Notably, even when Doug Walker admitted to not finding Hulce's voice that great, he still went on to note that the sheer passion and heart he puts into it sounds wonderful.
  • A slightly odd example, but when Esmeralda pulls a Shut Up, Hannibal! on Frollo and shouts "Justice!" at the top of her voice. It's so powerful and awesome that it's prone to giving people goosebumps.
  • The "Hellfire" Leitmotif applies as well. An absolutely epic, chilling piece of music, you can easily understand why the composers made it recur as many times as they did. Points also go to the lighter version during "Heaven's Light" and the ending. It's pretty impressive how a such an intimidating piece of music can transfer into a piece so heartwarming.
  • Frollo's baritone certainly applies. Tony Jay completely embraces the idea that Evil Sounds Deep, resulting in a delightfully sinister sound from our Big Bad, making even small lines sound completely awesome.
• Narm:
  • "The Bells of Notre Dame" is a great song, and the buildup to its ending is suitably awesome. What's also awesome is Clopin's actor Paul Kandel is able to hit and sustain such a high note at the end. Unfortunately, that note is so high, the resulting sound can come across as rather silly, especially compared to the much more serious chorus. It's almost like the filmmakers realized this, as the other singers noticeably drown him out. Then again, some may call it Narm Charm, as the note is impressive, and the mood and sound don't feel compromised by its inclusion.
  • When Quasimodo is weeping over Esmeralda's Disney Death, as Frollo approaches him, for just a moment Tom Hulce's sobs sound more like stifled giggles, which spoils the tearjerking effect for some viewers. There's also his awkwardly-placed "No!" as he whisks Esmeralda away from Frollo after she revives: while of course he exclaims this in response to Frollo drawing his sword, it sounds as if he's saying "No!" in response to Frollo's "She lives?" and denying that Esmeralda is alive when clearly she is.
• Narm Charm: The entire ending teeters on this, especially the unprovoked hug by a random kid (who also shows up at Clopin's puppet show...). However, while it may seem sappy, especially if you know the much less happy ending of the original story, it's still a heartwarming and cathartic moment for both Quasimodo and the audience.
• Newer Than They Think: The 1939 film version is what introduced the 'justice for oppressed minorities' theme into the story, drawn from director William Dieterle's experiences in Nazi Germany. "God Help the Outcasts" is more inspired by a scene from that film, where Esmeralda prays for help for her people. Of course, this could also qualify as Older Than They Think, if one is under the impression Disney invented these elements.
• No Yay: Frollo's obsession with Esmeralda. Yet a portion of the fanbase ships them...
• Older Than They Think:
  • Quasimodo wearing green, Esmeralda in danger of being burned at the stake as opposed to being hanged, and everyone except Frollo being Spared by the Adaptation aren't unique to this story - they first appeared in the Animated Adaptation by Burbank Films Australia.
  • Frollo being a judge instead of the Archdeacon of Notre Dame first occurred in the 1939 film, due to the Hays Code prohibiting negative depictions of the church.
  • It's commonly believed the gargoyles were invented purely for the film for comic relief purposes. While their individual characterizations were Disney's invention, Quasi did converse with Notre Dame's gargoyles in the original novel, to the point where they were his only friends despite being inanimate, which is where Disney got the idea to include them as characters and make them sentient.
• Padding: "A Guy Like You" seems to be in the movie just to give the gargoyles something to do. It doesn't advance the plot in any meaningful way, and merely retreads Quasimodo's hopes that Esmeralda loves him, which was already covered in "Heaven's Light". The song being a jarring Mood Whiplash and borderline Big-Lipped Alligator Moment just makes it worse.
• Presumed Flop: It's remembered for being the only Disney film to get a Golden Raspberry Award nomination, and the first Disney Renaissance entry to not win any of its own Academy Award nominations— cementing its reputation as the animation studio's biggest failure of the decade. However, despite the bafflement caused by the advertisements hiding the movie's darker themes, it still made over $300 million.^note In fact, the Razzie nom was exactly "Worst Movie to Gross Over $100 Million", a quantity Hunchback barely scraped domestically, and which follow-up Hercules ended up a million short
• Questionable Casting: Jason Alexander as Hugo is a sore spot for many fans, as Disney was perceived to be trying to recapture the magic of Robin Williams as the genie — by just blindly casting a comedian as a comic relief sidekick. As noted under The Scrappy, Hugo is the least liked of the gargoyles, although some will say that the problem isn't Alexander's performance so much as the writing for the role, which gives him practically no good material to work with. Additionally in Alexander's defense, it's not like his acting and comedic chops hadn't been proven years before this film, and he actually had a Tony winning Broadway background to justify being in a musical.
• Realism-Induced Horror: Judge Claude Frollo is often considered one of Disney's most disturbing villains due to being a surprisingly realistic portrayal of religious fanaticism, xenophobia, and violent male lust, in contrast to other Disney villains, who often have more simply (if not cartoonishly) evil goals and personalities. Ironically, his own fears of hell and eternal punishment lend him even more human-like qualities, although he eventually puts these fears aside to focus on his Knight Templar mission to eradicate the Roma. Out of the animated Disney movies, Frollo is the most likely to exist in real life - and with how corrupt the church was in The Middle Ages, someone like him almost certainly did - which just makes him even more terrifying.
• Retroactive Recognition: The Oafish Guard is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, aka Patrick freaking Star! And Kurt! And Broadway! And he uses the exact same voice for him too!
• Ron the Death Eater:
  • Esmeralda is often depicted as an ungrateful bitch who rejects Quasimodo due to his ugliness, and stops caring for him. Esmeralda consistently did care for Quasi as a friend... just not as a lover. In fact, she didn't even know that he was in love with her.
  • Despite being much, much nicer than he is in the original novel, Phoebus is made out to be as unpleasant by those who prefer Esmeralda to be with Quasimodo instead.
• Rooting for the Empire: Some have a disturbing habit of justifying Frollo's actions.
• The Scrappy: Hugo is the most disliked of the three Gargoyles, who are already seen as the weakest part of the movie for detracting from its Darker and Edgier appeal. While the other two, Victor and Laverne, have some supporters, even those fans single Hugo out for causing a great deal of Mood Whiplash, having little personality beyond being a Fat Idiot, his creepy attraction to Djali, and wasting the talents of Jason Alexander.
• Signature Scene: In terms of the non-musical portions, Quasimodo breaking free, saving Esmeralda and bellowing out "Sanctuary" on the top of the bell tower would be the most iconic.
• Signature Song: "Hellfire"; many consider it to be one of the very best songs in a Disney Movie, and the best Villain Song. Other strong contenders are "Out There" and "God Help The Outcasts".
• Spiritual Adaptation: Aside from the obvious it's being adapted, this film is quite possibly the closest Disney has ever gotten into adapting Berserk, with Quasimodo himself being similar to Guts in a few aspects (especially his backstory and his upbringing), to Esmeralda being the most decent stand-in the film has for Casca, including the Action Girl personality, her relation with Quasimodo (which even plays out in a very similar manner to Guts and Casca's relationship in some scenes), the Blessed with Suck aspect (in this case, beauty), and Frollo, the Big Bad himself, being extremely similar to Mozgus as well as sharing a few similarities to Gambino (Guts' abusive father figure) and even Griffith (with Frollo's attempt of burning Esmeralda at the stake and his unbridled lust for her being startlingly similar to Griffith's treatment towards Casca during the Eclipse after being reborn as Femto). Add to the film's Darker and Edgier nature compared to the rest of the Disney Animated Canon as well as a Dark Fantasy aesthetic and a medieval setting, and you've got this film in a nutshell.
• Squick:
  • Frollo grabbing Esmeralda in the church and smelling her hair.
  • During "Hellfire", he rubs one of her scarves against his face.
  • Keeping on the "Hellfire" point: no matter how glorious the song is, it's still Frollo singing about how if Esmeralda doesn't submit to his desire, "she will buuuuuuuuuurn." Once again, how did they manage to get this past the censors?
  • While it's played for laughs, Hugo the Gargoyle's attraction towards Djali the goat is fairly disturbing.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • The crowd scenes utilize CGI people. Especially on the Blu-Ray, it's... noticeable.
  • See Frollo's effort to grab the gargoyle as he hangs for dear life, as it constantly changes position between shots.
• Strawman Has a Point:
  • Even though he is essentially an abusive foster parent, Frollo's grim depiction of the world "out there" actually sounds quite realistic considering the film is set in Medieval Europe which was not known for being kind to those with severe birth defects. Quasimodo does, however, get to witness this firsthand, and later says that it's because of people like Frollo that the world is that way.
  • While his beliefs are still bigoted and he remains a crusader/fanatic, the movie proves Frollo more or less right that at the Court of Miracles harbors dangerous criminals, and arguably even terrorists for attempting to murder the serving captain of the guard. Even had they done nothing bad whatsoever before, and even if their methods of dealing with intruders are born out of 20 years of Frollo hunting them down and murdering them first, that by itself justifies his arresting them on purely legal grounds.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: The Archdeacon. He gets an incredibly strong showing in the prologue (being that he is the one who saved Quasimodo's life while putting the fear of God into Frollo), only for his importance to taper off afterwards despite being the ideal ideological counter to Frollo (being a man of true faith with a strong moral compass). After the prologue, he only exists to point out that Frollo can't harm Esmeralda while she is in the church and serve as a minor source of comfort for her.
• Tough Act to Follow: Par for the course with Disney films that spawned sequels. It's considered to be the darkest film in the animated canon, and certainly one of the most ambitious in its willingness to address some themes that most would consider less than family-friendly and in the frighteningly realistic main villain. The sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, was a direct-to-video film that was unable to meet the acclaim of the original. The end result turns out worse than most had expected, with subpar animation and an uninteresting villain.
• Ugly Cute: Quasimodo, who's Ugly Adorable. Word of God states that he was specifically designed this way (taking inspiration from, among other things, pugs) so it's much easier for the audience to identify and sympathize with him early on. If he's too ugly it takes too long and the moment is lost, and there are even some people who will never empathize with him no matter how good of a person he is if he's too ugly.
• Uncertain Audience: Probably the biggest criticism leveled at the film. This is without a doubt one of Disney's darkest animated pictures, but for its many frightening and mature scenes, there are also several moments that are deemed too childish and slapstick oriented, with almost all of the infamous gargoyles' scenes being the prime examples. Because of this, the film is constantly going through Mood Whiplash, sometimes in the very same scene, which has caused a few viewers, even ones who love the film to say that a lot, most, or all of the more silly jokes should've been cut. And even during its run in theaters this was a common reaction, with parents and Moral Guardians of the time believing the darker and more mature elements came on too strong for kids while older viewers who might have appreciated the same darker and more mature elements were left baffled by the comedy elements that seemed to be very jarring and out place when compared with the rest of the film.
• Values Dissonance: At the time, "Gypsy" was an accepted term for the Roma people. With the passage of time, it has become increasingly divisive among the Romani people, with some deriding it as a slur while some are indifferent or even proudly embrace its usage.
• Values Resonance:
  • As Lindsay Ellis notes, the film has gained more praise in recent years, partly because many of the film's themes feel more relevant today than they did in The '90s.
    Lindsay Ellis: I think [Hunchback] would be more appreciated if it came out today, because we need stories like this today. Fasci-y abusive Frollo, justice for the oppressed, the focus on how some men really loathe the objects of their desire, the wholesale demonization of ethnic groups... Maybe this movie wasn't appreciated in its time because it didn't resonate as much in 1996, but it does resonate in 2017.
  • With regards to Esmeralda not ending up with Quasimodo, that plot point has only aged better as the years have gone on. Esmeralda is a powerful and compassionate character in her own right, and Phoebus is the one she chooses (he doesn't pursue her or 'win' her; she chooses him and they fall in love mutually). Quasimodo accepts Esmeralda's choice and is happy to have her friendship, understanding he is not Entitled to Have You. And Frollo, who does have the latter attitude, is shown to be in the wrong.
  • There is also the fact that on a rewatch, Esmeralda is being more than a friend to Quasimodo: she's trying to rescue him from an abusive situation. She learns that Frollo raised Quasimodo, who's been kind, generous, and a little nervous around her, but believes that he is a monster and must stay in Notre Dame forever. Quasimodo insists that Frollo saved him, and Esmeralda's suspicious look seems to be that she knows the signs of gaslighting. So when she's encouraging him to come with her to the Court of Miracles, she's trying to show him a new life where no one will judge him; when that doesn't work, Esmeralda gives him her necklace, a map to the Court, and says she'll come to visit him. In fact, when Clopin tries hanging Quasimodo and Phoebus on the basis of being spies, she rescues them and is surprised when Phoebus says they came to warn everyone that Frollo found their hiding space and must evacuate. She really thought they had come to join her and gain their freedom. It's more relevant in the 2020s that Esmeralda was trying to help someone she met break through years of emotional abuse and gain his independence.
• Vanilla Protagonist: While Quasimodo gains tons of sympathy from the audience for being an Ugly Cute Woobie, Hot Gypsy Woman Esmeralda, Knight in Shining Armor Phoebus and Hanging Judge Frollo are considered by many fans to be scene-stealers, especially Frollo.
• Viewer Gender Confusion:
  • The gargoyle Laverne has no Tertiary Sexual Characteristics and a voice actress (Mary Wickes) with a husky voice. Although she has a mostly feminine name, it's only mentioned once in the film. Averted in other languages where either her voice is unmistakably female, the language itself has grammar rules that indicates gender (like in Spanish or French) or both.
  • Djali the goat is female in the novel, but male in this movie – which doesn't stop male gargoyle Hugo from flirting with him.
• Vindicated by History: When it was released, it was a moderate hit with both critics and audiences, but was still largely seen as having confirmed that Disney's Renaissance-era mojo was on its way out—the consensus was usually something in the range of "hey, it was better than Pocahontas, but nowhere near as good as The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast". It also proved a major victim of snark due to the hugely Misaimed Marketing that seemingly confirmed to pundits that the film was a case of Disneyfication writ large, with it earning, of all things, a Razzie nomination, and saw the creation of a lot of kiddie merchandise that stayed glued to the shelves. However, in the years since the film's release it's now far more common to see people praising the movie as not only the best movie of the Disney Renaissance, but one of Disney's most ambitious films ever, thanks to its dark storyline and heavy themes of prejudice, social injustice, lust, eternal damnation, and powerful religious imagery. Frollo is frequently brought up as one of Disney's most frightening and memorable villains because of the relative realism of his monstrous beliefs and actions, which only makes them more horrifying. It is also considered to be one of the most beautifully animated Disney films, as well as one of Disney's best musical scores/soundtracks.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The image of Esmeralda dancing Frollo sees in the flames in "Hellfire". It is mentioned in the commentary that the special effects team gave their best in that scene.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Endlessly marketed to kids with cute dolls and toys and such... and then Frollo sings "Hellfire", which is all about his lust for Esmeralda and how she will burn if he can't have her. There is no ambiguity about the nature of his feelings for her. Also, he "accidentally" kills Quasimodo's mother and then tries to outright murder him as an infant, flat out saying he's going to send him to Hell. That happens just minutes into the film. It even got a G rating in the United States. Interestingly enough, one of the film’s actors Jason Alexander even said he thought the film was too dark to take his kid to. And that’s coming from a guy who played the most child-friendly character in the movie!
• The Woobie: She may only appear at the beginning, but Quasimodo's mother definitely counts. Already part of a discriminated race, she spends her last moments in fear for her and her son's life, being killed by Claude Frollo, not knowing what would become of her child. The fact that Frollo, a man who very nearly killed the child that she fought to protect, would become his adoptive parent and abuser is just adding salt to the wound.

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