Characters / The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney) - Judge Claude Frollo

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Main Character Index
Book | Disney (Judge Claude Frollo)

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Judge Claude Frollo

"I'll find her! I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!"

Played by: Tony Jay (movie), Patrick Page (US theatrical production)^{Other voice actors} Norbert Lamla (German), Takeshi Kusaka (Japanese, speaking), Toshihide Mura (Japanese, singing), Stefan Ljungqvist (Swedish), Eros Pagni (Italian), Constantino Romero (European Spanish), Fernando Escandón (Latin American Spanish), Ronald France (Canadian French, speaking), Yves Lapierre (Canadian French, singing), Jean Piat (European French), Leonardo José Lachtermacher; (Brazilian, speaking), Rodrigo Esteves (Brazilian, singing), Eli Gorenstein (Hebrew)

The main antagonist, Frollo is a deeply religious man who tries to convince the people of Paris that his evil deeds are justified because they are God's will, though he is in reality a prejudiced, corrupt, and cold-hearted government official who uses his place in power to meet his own extreme ends, going as far as to employ common thugs to enforce his interpretation of God's will while posing as "soldiers".

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A-F

• 0% Approval Rating: He's reviled by just about everyone in Paris for his Holier Than Thou Knight Templar attitude, but everyone is too afraid to stand up or speak out against him. Of course, after he goes on a rampage through the city, burning most of it down in search of Esmeralda, they all get sick of it; they all protest his attempt to burn Esmeralda at the stake, and when he attacks Notre Dame itself in pursuit of Quasimodo, Phoebus is able to rally the citizens against him. When he finally dies, nobody, not even Quasi spares a thought for him, and are all immensely relieved that he is dead and gone.
• Abhorrent Admirer: It's clear as day Esmeralda is aware Frollo has a degree of attraction to her, lying that he was thinking about hanging her as he sniffed her hair and used it as excuse to touch her exposed neck. She reacted quickly in disgust. She's not at all flattered by his attraction to her, as when he offered to spare her from being burnt alive by being his lover, she spat in his face in response.
• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Near the climax, Frollo pursues Quasimodo and Esmeralda on the balcony of Notre Dame, all the while cleanly slicing through stone gargoyles attempting to slash at them.
• Abusive Parent: As an adoptive father to Quasimodo. He's verbally abusive and makes Quasimodo emotionally dependent on him. It escalates into physical assault and eventually attempted murder.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Downplayed. While the book Frollo was conflicted over his lustful feelings for Esmeralda and his status as a priest, the movie version, while not a priest, is given more reasons for inner turmoil: his conflict comes from his lust, his personal pride and need to be "pure", and his hatred for Romani people all pulling him apart.
• Adaptational Badass: In the book, Frollo is almost as much of a recluse as Quasimodo himself, and he has no power outside the grounds of the cathedral. In this film, he's effectively the dictator of Paris. The climax makes it clear that he also far eclipses his literary counterpart in terms of combat ability, considering the numerous impressive feats he makes.
• Adaptational Nice Guy:
  • Very minor; in the finalized version of Hellfire, he remains devout and sincere in his praise of the Virgin Mary; in the demo version, he curses her and all her saints for putting him in this situation to begin with. Also very minor, but thanks to Esmeralda's Age Lift, he's not an Ephebophile like his book counterpart.
  • Relative to his movie depiction, he receives this in the stage musical, being characterized more as a decent man who was driven insane by his lust for Esmeralda due to his isolated and repressed upbringing, which is in line with his depiction in the original novel. Though he still bullies Quasimodo for his appearance, there is a hint of fatherly affection to their interactions. He also took him in of his own volition under the belief Quasimodo's appearance was a test from God, and he wasn't responsible for killing Quasimodo's mother.
• Adaptational Job Change: Frollo went from the Archdeacon of Notre Dame to the French Minister of Justice. Though this is closer to his brother's portrayal in the 1939 film.
• Adaptational Sympathy: Frollo in the stage musical is given a Freudian Excuse for his hatred of the Roma. He blames them for the death of his brother, as his brother fell into unrestricted hedonism and died of pox after falling in love with a Roma woman.
• Adaptational Villainy: In the book, Frollo is a sympathetic Anti-Villain who willingly took in Quasimodo when nobody else would and raised him like a son. It's his Lust for Esmeralda that turns to obsession and drives him to the point of insanity. Here, he is evil right from the get-go with absolutely no redeeming qualities. He's more than willing to kill the infant Quasimodo and only takes him in out of fear of God's wrath. Even then, he's hardly what you'd call a decent parent. Things only get worse as the film progresses.
• Age Lift: Frollo is only in his mid-thirties in the book, yet seems to be around 20 years older in the movie. It's hard to tell because the book says he's Younger Than He Looks.
• Aggressive Categorism: Frollo hates all Roma and wants to eradicate them despite his lust for Esmeralda.
• All for Nothing: When Frollo surrenders himself to his lust for Esmeralda, he tosses aside whatever conscience he has left to fuel his obsession for her. He intensifies his persecution of the Romani, endangers the people of Paris (especially trying to burn a family alive for no reason other than paranoia), attacks Notre Dame after Quasimodo rescues Esmeralda from burning at the stake and tries to kill both Quasimodo and Esmeralda. How does it end? With Frollo falling to his death.
• All Men Are Perverts: How he really feels about Esmerelda despite his strong devotion to religion.
• Animal Metaphor: He smashes an ant colony with a stone slab just to point out his plan to exterminate the Roma.
• And Now You Must Marry Me: Tries to pull this against Esmeralda as a resolution to Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny, and threatens to burn her at the stake if she refuses.
• And There Was Much Rejoicing: After his death, everyone in Paris celebrates Quasimodo's victory over him. Goes without saying nobody's gonna miss him.
• Arch-Enemy: While his evildoing brings him into conflict with many characters in the film, two hostile relationships are particularly personal and long-lasting:
  • The Archdeacon thwarts Frollo's corrupt actions every chance he gets, and has possibly been doing it continuously for years. By the time of the movie's present-day, Frollo obviously has a particular hatred for the Archdeacon, and the Archdeacon isn't exactly friendly towards him either.
  • While he is sexually attracted to Esmeralda, Frollo still hates her, and she hates him just as much right back after she helps Quasimodo against his orders at the festival. The majority of the film's action comes from Esmeralda defying Frollo and his pursuit of her.
• Archnemesis Dad: Frollo takes Quasimodo in after killing his mother, but only to save his own soul and keep Quasi for later use. He raises his erstwhile son to hate himself, tells him that the world is dark and cruel, and keeps him locked away from sight to prevent being associated with him. When Frollo's atrocities increase, Quasi realizes the man's evil, calls him out on his abusive parenting, and saves Esmeralda from the murderously insane Frollo.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: He commits many various horrible acts, such as murdering Quasimodo's mother, attempting to drown baby Quasimodo, raising him in an abusive way, trying to commit genocide, having the original captain flogged, allowing the townsfolk to humiliate Quasimodo, lusting after and harassing Esmeralda, ordering the guards to raid people's homes without warranty, burning down a miller's house with the Miller and his family locked inside, rampaging through the rest of Paris, and destroying Quasimodo's models in a fit of rage.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: While it isn't obvious at first being that he's a lean old man, the climax reveals he is strong, fast, cunning, and indomitable. Little wonder his troops and the people of Paris fear him.
• Ax-Crazy: During his Villainous Breakdown, he starts indiscriminately torching the whole of Paris in pursuit of Esmeralda and burning her at the stake when she refuses his advances. By the end of the movie, he's willing to hack Quasimodo and Esmeralda with a sword.
• Badass Boast: "Be mine, or you will BURN!!" or "I'll find her. I'LL FIND HER IF I HAVE TO BURN DOWN ALL OF PARIS!"
• Badass Cape: Has a flowing black cape that he weaponizes to try and kill Quasimodo with.
• Badass Long Robe: Part of Frollo's attire; it's a long, black robe covering his body. It also has a cape, which he uses to try to kill Quasimodo with in the climax.
• Bad Boss: It is implied, though not stated outright, that he had his previous captain of the guard (who was Phoebus' predecessor) tortured for failing him in some way. He later tries to have Phoebus executed after he refuses to let Frollo burn innocent people alive. Furthermore, the way his men run away from him during the siege of Notre Dame may suggest that they truly fear his wrath.
• Bad People Abuse Animals:
  • Uncovers a whole nest of ants, only to smash it just to underline a point about exterminating the Roma.
  • Averted, however, with his horse, who he is never shown to abuse, and even orders his archers not to hit when Phoebus escapes on its back, likely to viewers' significant surprise as they get to know him.
• Baddie Flattery: Before his "insubordination", Frollo heaps praise on Phoebus and even after laments him throwing away a promising career. He also calls Esmaralda clever, and compliments Quasimodo's sculptures right before blowing up at him for helping her escape.
• Batman Gambit: He finds the Court of Miracles by telling Quasimodo that he's already found it, and then following Quasimodo and Phoebus when they go to the Court of Miracles to warn everyone.
• Been There, Shaped History: In Notre Dame, he smashes a doorknob and causes a gargoyle to break off of the side. Both of these damages can be seen in Notre Dame in real life.
• Being Evil Sucks: As "Hellfire" shows, his twisted obsessions, hatred, and guilt torment him. Not enough, however, to make him actually let them go. Instead he just digs himself deeper into the pit and lays the blame everywhere else.
• Believing Your Own Lies: He lies to himself to keep the delusion of being a good man, but the Archdeacon points that he "never can run from nor hide from the eyes of Notre Dame".
• Berserk Button: When Quasi tells him that Esmeralda was kind to him, he promptly explodes in anger, stating that the Roma are Always Chaotic Evil. Knowing who Frollo really is, it's probably a case of Green-Eyed Monster.
• Beyond Redemption: The gargoyle statue he's standing on comes to life and snarls at him with a demonic grin before breaking off to cast him down for good. It's done to show that he is the "wicked one" who must be "plunged into the fiery pit" after ignoring many offers to repent.
• Big Bad: Hunting Roma is his personal Evil Plan because he thinks they're Always Chaotic Evil. This causes all the plot's conflict.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: He towers over Quasimodo due to Quasi's hunch. He's also taller than the Archdeacon.
• Bigot with a Crush: Despises the Romanis of Paris, hunting them down for the flimsiest of reasons and eventually planning to kill them all. This doesn't stop him from lusting after Esmeralda. He's honestly conflicted by his feelings, but eventually decides to just burn her at the stake if she won't be with him.
• Big "NO!": Gives one just before his death when the gargoyle he's clinging onto comes to life. It seems he realized that God had grown tired of his sinful and blasphemous ways and chose to plunge him into the fiery pit.
• Big "SHUT UP!":
  • Frollo yelling "Silence!" towards Esmeralda for calling him out for his cruelty. She counters this with "Justice!"
  • He also delivers one to the Archdeacon who protests to his storming of Notre Dame.
    Archdeacon: Frollo! Have you gone mad?! I will not tolerate this assault on the house of God!
    Frollo: Silence, you old fool!
• Bilingual Bonus: The musical score for all his big scenes incorporated words chanted in Latin that refer to him in some way.
• Black-and-White Insanity: As the movie progresses, it's shown that he is not the paragon of virtue he claims to be and he knows it. He attempts to fix the problem by forcing all of Paris to accept his worldviews.
• Blasphemous Boast: "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!" Guess what happens afterwards?
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Frollo has a moment after Phoebus gets shot by an arrow and falls off a bridge, as he tells his soldiers to "let the traitor rot in his watery grave." Needless to say, Esmeralda rescues Phoebus once Frollo leaves.
• Book Ends: Both his first scene and his last scene involve him chasing a Romani carrying a helpless figure, the latter preventing the former from attempting to kill what they're protecting. In the beginning he chases Quasimodo's mother, carrying Quasimodo, to the cathedral steps, while at the end he's after Quasimodo carrying a recovering Esmeralda.
• Brains Evil, Brawn Good: Quasimodo is strong and good, Frollo is clever and evil. It's downplayed as Quasimodo is a Genius Bruiser and Frollo is both strong and capable in a fight.
• Breakout Villain: While Hunchback wasn't as successful as Disney was hoping and had a mixed reception, most people had nothing but praise for Frollo as a character, especially Tony Jay's voice acting for him. This has led to him making appearances at events like Fantasmic!, while the other elements are largely absent in Disney media.
• Break the Haughty: Throughout the movie, he looks down on everyone else as being lowly and wicked, believing himself to be a paragon of purity. In the climax, he stands triumphantly over Quasi and Esmeralda and proclaims "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!" clearly intending for the wicked to mean Quasi and Esmeralda, while implicitly putting himself in the role of God. Immediately after, the gargoyle he is standing on crumbles and he falls. He grabs onto it again, but before his eyes it turns into a snarling demon, and then it crumbles, sending them both down into the molten copper below, revealing once and for all that he is, in fact, the evil to be struck down, and not the warrior of righteousness he thought he was.
• Broken Pedestal: For the first twenty years of his life, Quasi saw Frollo as a good man who took him in out of the kindness of his heart when no one else would. As the film goes on, however, Quasi comes to see Frollo for the twisted abusive monster that he is, culminating in Frollo directly telling Quasimodo that he murdered Quasi's mother.
• But I Would Really Enjoy It: Frollo's sexual frustration, is that he is conflicted between wanting to indulge his awakened lust upon Esmeralda or kill her in order to deny his flaws in his perceived purity. In the end, he resolves to either have her or burn her, with Paris being the collateral damage of his pursuit.
• The Caligula: While he's not exactly the ruler of Paris per se, in the film Frollo is the city's default authority. As he becomes more and more obsessed with Esmeralda, he ramps up his persecution of the Roma, and then starts torching the houses of random people for charges of treason that he essentially made up. Even the common citizens say that he's gone mad. It reaches its peak when he has his men attack Notre Dame in pursuit of Esmeralda and Quasimodo, an institution that everyone in Paris looks up to and which Frollo himself had previously respected. This act allows Phoebus to easily rouse the people of Paris to arms against him.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Frollo spares Quasimodo, though the main reason Frollo can't kill Quasimodo as a baby is that the Archdeacon caught him trying and used his fear of God to get him to adopt Quasimodo. He does, however, state that he's going to find a use for the "foul creature".
• Character Development: Frollo, while always evil, is initially much more collected and methodical. He also shows at least some fear of God and respect for the institution of the Church, as when the Archdeacon reminds him that God knows of his sins as much as he denies it and this spurs him to adopt Quasimodo out of that fear. But by the end of the film he's so angry and insane that he has no problems burning down the homes of random citizens, attacking Notre Dame, and throwing the archdeacon down a staircase when he asks if he's gone off the deep end.
• The Chessmaster: For years, Frollo has been attempting to find the Court of Miracles, the sanctuary of the Romani, but had been unsuccessful. So he utilizes Quasimodo as an Unwitting Pawn playing on his fears of Esmeralda by saying that he already knew the location, causing the young man to warn her people before it happened- when in reality, Frollo would secretly follow Quasimodo to the secret location of the Court of Miracles to enact his capture taking advantage of his son's feelings to capitalize on the results. Frollo even references Quasimodo to be of use of him in the future potentially for this purpose after initially taking in the boy out of the fear of God.
• Churchgoing Villain: A classic. While Frollo professes to be Christian and is proud of his virtue, he's totally ignorant on the Bible's true message even if someone gave him a concussion with it.
• Classic Villain: Frollo is a Pride/Lust villain. He is a Knight Templar who is fully convinced that he is in the right despite Kicking The Dog rather viciously with the Roma and Quasimodo, and his lust for Esmeralda drives much of the plot. He's also one of Disney's creepiest villains, committing more horrible atrocities than nearly all of his competitors, and is far worse than he was in the original novel (Novel!Frollo's good qualities were given to the Archdeacon). And he's still convinced that he's the good guy.
• Cold Ham: He has moments of this, such as when he rants to Phoebus about the dangers of the Roma and how they must be stopped, or when he propositions Esmeralda when she's about to burn at the stake. But, it usually is done in a dour, subdued tone most of the time, except when he doesn't.
  Frollo: "The time has come, gypsy. You stand upon the brink of the abyss. Yet even now it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next. Choose me… or the fire.
• Color Motif: Frollo has two subtle color motifs that reflect a noticeable change in his character. Rather fittingly he wears a prominent purple to his attire that compromises these clones.
  • Prior to the Hellfire sequence, he is associated with blues, being introduced in the midst of winter, the skies taking a darker blue tint when he's angry, and he being overall a cold-hearted figure that doesn't emote openly.
  • After the Hellfire sequence, Frollo gives into his lustful passions and slowly gains an association with red motifs, most prominently fire, using it to burn any perceived threats, has louder outbursts, and in his last scene, his eyes and teeth glow yellowish-orange red as he acts more openly malicious.
• Composite Character: Of the Frollo brothers in the 1939 film adaptation, having the name of the elder Claude Frollo and the role of judge and the main antagonist of the younger Jean.
• Condescending Compassion: The only kind of compassion he's capable of even pretending to have; he speaks to Quasimodo as if he's mentally-impaired or a child, and his offers to "save" Esmaralda amount to converting her to his rigid understanding of Catholocism and making her his subservient wife.
• Control Freak: He does everything he can to keep Quasimodo completely under his thumb, and hates the Roma for their unconventional ways.
• The Corruptor: Throughout the movie, he attempts to indoctrinate Phoebus into his genocidal, hateful, and sadistic ideology, culminating when he orders Phoebus to burn down a house full of innocent people (thankfully, this is where Phoebus draws the line). He also instills Quasimodo with a prejudice against the Romani people, although Esmeralda is able to clear that up pretty quickly.
• Covert Pervert: Played straight on one hand, as he hides his lustful thoughts behind a self-righteous demeanor. He might alternatively qualify as a subversion, though, given how Esmeralda sees right through him. Consider the scene where he sniffs her hair.
  Esmeralda: What are you doing?
  Frollo: I was just imagining a rope around that beautiful neck.
  Esmeralda: I know what you're imagining.
  Frollo: …Such a clever witch. So typical of your kind to twist the truth, to cloud the mind with unholy thoughts.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: He falls into a lake of molten copper. That definitely qualifies as gruesome.
• Dark Is Evil: Wears black robes and is a thoroughly despicable individual, but he otherwise represents Light Is Not Good.
• Deadpan Snarker: He definitely has his moments. "I had a little trouble with the fireplace."
• Death by Irony: Frollo's death is legendary, not so much because of what happens to him, which is already saying something, but because of the immense irony in his last words:
  Frollo: And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!!
  • Additionally, the irony in his death stretches further as it is caused by heat, something that he used to try to kill Esmeralda and burn the entirety of Paris with (including the namesake Notre Dame).
• Death Glare: Frollo does this twice to Quasimodo after he disobeyed his orders to stay in the Notre Dame bell-tower and was humiliated by the crowd (due to Frollo's guards starting a riot). Much later in the last third of the film, he then gives Quasi another one before ordering his guards to take him back to the bell-tower after discovering the Court of Miracles.
• Decomposite Character:
  • The conflicted Archdeacon Claude Frollo is split into the good Archdeacon and the evil Justice Minister Claude Frollo.
  • Averted in the English stage show, where he is once again Archdeacon. He promptly uses the position to order soldiers to negate sanctuary for Esmeralda.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: He deconstructs The Fundamentalist trope. He thinks he's Holier Than Thou while others are not, but it stops him from realizing he's not a saint. For all the Bible-thumping he does, he's just a self-serving loon who even faults God for his issues, contributing to his downfall.
  • It's important to note that this attitude is the literal definition of the Sin of Pride within Christianity. It is stated that no human is truly virtuous or sinless, and to think otherwise is a good way to damn oneself as it prevents them from repentance.
• Determinator: Frollo will find Esmeralda and force her to choose between him and death. If he has to burn the city to the ground, storm Notre Dame, hack his way through a large door while dodging raining molten lead, assault the Archdeacon, chase her and Quasimodo around the balconies, and swing himself to safety from an almost-certain drop, then he will.
• Deuteragonist: He is a rare instance of a character being both this and The Antagonist: he opposes the titular character, Quasimodo, and incites all of the story's problems, but the story is as much about him as it is Quasimodo. In fact, the majority of the subtext - which comments on the dangers of pride, lust, and extremism - come from his own racism and inability to accept responsibility for his actions.
• Devil in Plain Sight: An ironic example, since he himself believes that he deserves to be seen as being "praiseworthy" by God just for being devoted to the Lord.
• Diabolical Mastermind: Despite presenting himself as fighting for justice, he is clearly this, employing thugs and henchmen, and committing countless crimes including genocide, for his plot to take over Paris.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: Quasimodo throws him to his death in the original book, while in the movie he falls into a pit of molten lead due to standing on a crumbling gargoyle. The stage musical restores the original death.
• Dirty Old Man: In spite of the fact that his so-called piety demands he shouldn't be, he lusts after Esmeralda. This is what drives a significant portion of the plot.
• Disney Villain Death:
  • Frollo falls, all right, but it's given a fair bit more detail than the usual Disney Villain Death; he falls into a pit of fire with a snarling gargoyle on top of him.
  • In the musical, Quasimodo throws him (as in the book).
• Disproportionate Retribution: He tried to drown Quasimodo when he was a baby. Why? Because he found him ugly.
• Do Wrong, Right: When Phoebus finds Frollo in the Palace of Justice, the judge is instructing an inquisitor to ease off on the lashings he's giving a prisoner. Not out of mercy, but because whipping too frequently causes the pain of the last lash to dull the pain of the next strike.
• Dragged Off to Hell: His Disney Villain Death is implied to have been this (or at least symbolically so), falling off of Notre Dame into a lake of fire (which may just be the burning oil that was poured by the gargoyles) as he looks in horror at the gargoyle head he was standing on coming to life. This is especially ironic when his last words are him quoting the Bible describing this very event.
  Frollo: "And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit."
• The Dreaded: To the Roma. In the opening scene, what terrifies the refugees the most is being captured by Frollo. Even some of the soldiers fear him, as one elite mook is seen fleeing away from him when he becomes incensed.
• Egocentrically Religious: To Frollo, he himself is a devout and righteous man, and everyone else is not. He seems incapable of separating his faith from his Pride and arrogance, and is far more concerned with his own salvation and purity than the souls or the lives of anybody else, since he thinks that everyone else in Paris is pure and utter scum. This, naturally, means he is nowhere near the good, just or humble Christian he likes to think he is, and attention is drawn to his hypocrisy. Even in his own Villain Song, the Latin choir is telling him to be humble, forgiving, and repentant at the exact same time Frollo is blaming God Himself for his own lust and threatening to burn Paris to the ground if Esmeralda won't surrender herself to him.
• Elemental Motifs: Fire. Frollo's greatest fear is his soul's damnation to hell, which is brought up several times. One of Frollo's main weapons in pursuing Esmeralda is fire, which he uses to burn several buildings in Paris (presumably with people still inside since he did try to burn a family alive). He attempts to burn Esmeralda at the stake, but she is rescued by Quasimodo before she can be burned alive. At the end of the movie, Frollo's death is symbolic of him falling into the fires of hell for his crimes against man and God.
• Enraged by Idiocy: When he blows up at Quasimodo for helping Esmeralda escape, this is supposedly the reason why, as he berates Quasimodo for falling for Esmeralda's tricks. Knowing Frollo, however, his anger at Quasi is more of a case of Green-Eyed Monster.
• Entitled to Have You: In a very creepy manner. Since Esmeralda is "a sinner" and he is "so much purer", it's his job to set her straight, and if she refuses him she shall be burned at the stake.
• Establishing Character Moment: Frollo's moment comes after he's chased down the Roma Woman, and in the struggle to relieve her of her "stolen goods", caused her death. Now he realizes that the bundle in her arms was actually an infant, and a deformed one at that. So what's the right thing to do? Why, drop the kid in the nearest well and justify everything! Only the threat of eternal damnation can shake him.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: Despite his malevolence, Quasimodo still cares for him. Even as Frollo chases him and Esmeralda across Notre Dame, trying to kill them both and even confessing that he murdered Quasi's mother and wanted to kill him too when he was just a baby, he can't bear to let Frollo fall to his death.
• Evil Brit: Well, Frollo is actually French. However, he is voiced by the British Tony Jay, who gives him an English accent.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
  • A bigot who assumes Roma are an Always Chaotic Evil race that cloud people's minds with "unholy" thoughts, he goes nuts when Quasi tells him that Esmeralda has been genuinely kind to him.
  • For someone who's a Churchgoing Villain, he himself is ignorant on the Bible's true message on compassion. Others repeatedly call him out on his Holier Than Thou attitude, but to his dying words, he never realizes he could be wrong and is just a madman who has the gall to blame God for his issues. His ego stops him from realizing that pride is the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins, ultimately leading to his eternal damnation in Hell. Clopin even lampshades it in the opening song, pointing out that he saw "corruption everywhere except within."
• Evil Chancellor: While the king is seemingly out of the picture, Frollo as the Minister of Justice is the most powerful figure in Paris, and he abuses his power to no end.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • To the Archdeacon, as a Knight Templar authority figure instead of a truly pious one.
  • To Quasimodo. While Quasimodo is monstrous on the outside, Frollo is monstrous on the inside, which is also lampshaded in the intro ("It is a tale, a tale of a man and a monster… Who is the monster and who is the man?"). Then there's the contrast between their respective unrequited attraction to Esmeralda (Quasimodo's innocent crush vs Frollo's lust and obsession) emphasized by their respective songs: Quasimodo's "Heaven's Light" and Frollo's "Hellfire".
• Evil Eyebrows: The sinister eyebrows add to the general feel of his character.
• Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: For being one of Disney's darkest and most serious villains, Frollo shows a sick and twisted sense of humor. Such as when he is supervising someone being whipped, just as his new Captain of the Guard Phoebus arrives.
  Frollo: You know, my last Captain of the Guard was um… a bit of a disappointment to me.
  [whipcrack follow by a loud scream of pain; Phoebus cringes while Frollo smirks]
  Frollo: Well, no matter. I'm sure you'll… whip my men into shape. [grins]
  Phoebus: Well… th-that's a… tre-tremendous honor, sir…
• Evil Is Angular: His face is narrower and more angular than most of the other characters' and he wears a triangular hat.
• Evil Is Bigger: Frollo is taller than all the other main characters, with the exception of Phoebus.
• Evil Is Burning Hot: Fire is a prominent motif of his. He uses it against others and is also tormented by the metaphorical fires of his lust and fear of the fires of Hell.
• Evil Is Not Well-Lit: Many of the scenes with him, such as the opening song, the Palace of Justice, and his own home are very dim and shadowy.
• Evil Is Petty: Frollo wants to eradicate all Roma because he has an Irrational Hatred towards them as a group. He's also not above lashing out at his men and calling them "idiots" with no provocation (though they are shown to be bigoted and mean themselves), or burning down an entire city just to look for one girl.
• Evil Laugh: At the climax, when he thinks that nothing can stop him from killing Esmeralda and Quasi, he breaks out a sinister chuckle, rather subdued by most villain standards but terrifying coming from him. The gargoyle crumbling from beneath him cuts it off right quick.
• Evil Makes You Monstrous: Downplayed. While Frollo, being a non-magical villain, stays human through the movie, at the climax when he's climbing the gargoyles to strike Quasi and Esmeralda down, his eyes and teeth glow unnaturally yellow.
• Evil Mentor: Can be seen as this for Quasimodo, although Quasimodo still retains his kindness and good heart, despite being raised by such an evil and cruel man. Esmeralda even lampshades it.
  • To Phoebus as well, who he "instructs" about the evils of the Romani people. Phoebus doesn't ultimately buy it, however, and turns against him eventually.
• Evil Old Folks: In the novel, he is in his mid-thirties, but in the film adaptation, he is significantly older. How much older isn't specified, but the fact that he was already a judge during the prologue implies he's in his fifties at a bare minimum. That being said, as demonstrated in the climax, he's still no slouch in a fight.
• Evil Plan: To eradicate all Roma and have sex with Esmeralda, although Disney had to dance around the second bit because it's a kids' movie.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Comes with being voiced by the late, great Tony Jay. This is also present in the Swedish dub where he is given the booming voice of Stefan Ljungqvist, and the Latin American and European Spanish dubs, where he was respectively voiced by Constantino Romero and Fernando Escandón.
• Evil Tower of Ominousness: The Palace of Justice, where Frollo keeps his prisoners and hangs out to see their torture, is a big scary castle sticking out over the other buildings of Paris (aside from Notre Dame, of course).
• Evil Wears Black: He is evil and wears black. His foil, the archdeacon, is good and wears white and brown.
• Expy: Producer Don Hahn states in this article that the movie's version of Frollo was inspired by Amon Goeth's depiction in Schindler's List, particularly Goeth's lust for his maid despite being of a race he considers inferior.
• Eye Color Change: During the final moments of the climax, his eyes go from normal white to glowing yellow, signifying his total descent into evil and monstrousness even as he claims to be a tool of God.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: Frollo falls to his death off of a crumbling gargoyle and into a pit of molten copper. It may be clouded by smoke, but it is certain that he died from the impact only to have his corpse immolated. Not to mention there are strong implications that this was the result of Divine Intervention.
• Fanatical Fire: He's a brutal, extreme Catholic zealot who has a heavy association with fire, especially as his obsession with Esmeralda takes a toll on his sanity. Not only does he rant and rave about the fires of Hell, he attempts to burn Esmeralda at the stake, torches a good deal of Paris, and sees things in his fireplace. Fittingly, his end comes when he plunges from Notre Dame into molten metal.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: An extreme example. Frollo counts Quasimodo wanting to leave the bell tower for just one day as a dangerous, rebellious fantasy.
• Fatal Flaw: Four.
  • Psychological Projection. He always blames others for his misfortunes and can't separate his faith from his arrogance. In "Hellfire", he states that he's proud of his virtue and calls the common people "weak" and "licentious", while he himself is too weak to resist the temptation to chase after Esmeralda (he blames God for that, because God created the Devil to tempt humanity and he was too weak to resist the Devil's temptation, so obviously it's God's fault for making the Devil too strong), and ignoring that pride is considered the foremost of the Seven Deadly Sins. Clopin even lampshades it in "The Bells of Notre Dame".
  • Related to the above is his lack of a self-critical conscience. Because he's convinced that he is God's favorite person, he firmly believes that anything he does is justified by default. This leaves him unable to recognize his wrongdoings, though even on the off chance he does, he immediately blames others for it. Not only that, but this also leaves Frollo unable to accept that he is not the paragon of Christian virtue that he believes himself to be, viewing himself as a righteous and pure man when he's only a prejudiced, hypocritical zealot who uses his faith to justify his crimes. His inability to reflect on himself leaves Frollo unwilling to face the reality that he is just as much prone to sin as any other person. He would sooner burn Paris to the ground, persecute Parisian citizens and blame God for his weaknesses than admit that he's not the paragon he believes himself to be.
  • His inability to love. He couldn't feel or understand love for another person besides himself. Anyone who came into contact with him was treated cruelly and abusively or treated as an object rather than a person. He psychologically and emotionally abuses Quasimodo for twenty years, doing it solely for his own salvation rather than out of any affection for his adopted ward. He sexually harasses Esmeralda and views her as a lust object sent to tempt him instead of a person who simply happens to be beautiful. He views himself as being worthy of salvation while showing no care for the salvation of others. Because of his inability to understand love, he had very little loyalty from others. This would eventually cause Quasimodo and Phoebus, two men who once served Frollo, to turn against him because of his cruel disregard for the lives of others.
  • His obsessive need to be in control. Frollo demeans and abuses Quasimodo to convince him to stay in the bell tower under the claims that he's doing it to protect him from a 'dark, cruel world', but in reality, Frollo does it to keep his adopted ward under his thumb. His hatred for the Romani people ultimately boils down to the fact that he sees their ways as unconventional and something he cannot control, which pushes him to persecute them for being outside of his control rather than being a true threat to the public, something Phoebus questions. Even his desire for Esmeralda is based around a sense of wanting to control her, viewing her as a sexual object that he must own rather than a person. His Control Freak nature pushes him to engage in acts of hypocrisy, violence, and harassment which turns all of Paris against him in the finale.
• Faux Affably Evil: He has moments of this, such as his early conversations with Quasimodo and Phoebus in the beginning of the movie or when he captures the heroes at the Romani's hideout. He affects the same tone as friendly office chatter when he's basically talking about how he's won and he's going to kill them all.
• Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence:
  • Frollo has a burning hatred towards Gypsies, but as the film progresses it becomes apparent that he hates them for little-to-no reason and makes shallow claims that they spread witchcraft and corruption, which are more internal rationalization rather than actual reasonable assumptions. Nearly everyone else in the movie, such as Phoebus & the Archdeacon, see through his excuses for what they really are and call him out for his unjustified hatred, but Frollo constantly dismisses their notions.
  • In one instance in the film, Frollo makes an analogy to Phoebus that Gypsies are like infesting ants, showing a swarm of the insects underneath a tile. However, the ants in question are completely harmless and benign. Yet Frollo proceeds to squash them harshly when Phoebus asks him what he intends to do with the gypsies.
    Phoebus: [slightly disturbed] You make your point quite vividly, sir.
• Fire/Water Juxtaposition: Very subtly represented in his change in character before and after meeting Esmeralda. Frollo is introduced into the story in the midst of winter, nearly drops a baby into a well, and is associated with blue hues initially to reflect his cold-hearted nature. After the Hellfire sequence, he gives into his passions more openly, indulges in burning any perceived enemies, being bathed in redder colors, and in the end, his eyes/teeth become bright yellow-orange red, reflecting his hellish nature.
• Final Solution: He wants to kill the Roma because he believes they've been practicing witchcraft and that they will corrupt the other citizens of Paris with their ways (well, actually because Esmeralda has corrupted him with her sex appeal and he was racist against Roma anyway).
• Finger-Tenting: Frollo clasps his hands a lot, usually when he's contemplating something sinister. It's significant enough to his character that the movie poster to the film has him doing this as an Evil Overlooker.
• Foil: Quasimodo, Esmeralda, the Archdeacon, Phoebus, and even Clopin are all foils to Frollo in their own way.
  • The defining trait that separates Quasimodo and Frollo is not their appearance or their standing in society, but their relations to Esmeralda. Both want towards her as a member of the opposite sex, but while Quasimodo loves her because she saw him as a person and not a monster, Frollo saw her as a target either to arrest on account of her heritage and misguided zealotry or as a sexual object. While Quasimodo is heartbroken that she would rather be with Phoebus, he values her friendship enough that he wants her to be happy even if he is not the one who can do that, while Frollo would burn down all of Paris - unconcerned with the innocent lives he ruins and ends - to get to her and tries to burn her at the stake when she rejects him. Even their respective songs about her - Quasimodo's "Heaven's Light" and Frollo's "Hellfire" - are on opposite ends of the spectrum, Quasimodo wishing to see the good while Frollo "saw corruption everywhere... except within".
  • Esmeralda's song "God Help the Outcasts" also contrasts sharply with "Hellfire". While both songs are addressed directly to Mary, Esmeralda asks selflessly for the well-being of her people and the poor, while Frollo selfishly asks to kill and/or possess Esmeralda.
  • Phoebus' strong sense of justice and protecting the innocent contrasts with Frollo's flagrant disregard for justice when it benefits himself.
  • Frollo's Holier Than Thou attitude stands in contrast to the Archdeacon, who chides him for disregarding the Church's authority many times.
  • Frollo and Clopin are both high-ranking men: one being the Minister of Justice, the other the leader of the Roma and Parisian underworld. Both won't shy away from committing murder, but Frollo is a Holier Than Thou bigot who compares the Roma to ants that need to be crushed. Clopin genuinely cares about his people and his determination to keep them safe drives him to more extreme measures. Frollo also acts more poised and regal before his insanity really starts to show, while Clopin is lively and always appearing a bit off his rocker but as a whole is a lot saner than Frollo.
• Frontline General: Even for affairs as small as arresting a few Roma sneaking into Paris, Frollo accompanies his troops to get the job done.
• The Fundamentalist: Deconstructed. He thinks he's Holier Than Thou while others are not out of pride. Others repeatedly call him out on his hypocrisy, but he never realizes that he's not as pious as he thinks. For all the Bible-thumping he does, he's just a racist wacko who has the gall to blame God for his issues, ultimately leading to his eternal damnation in Hell.

G-L

• General Ripper: He believes the Romani people are responsible for practically everything bad in Paris, and uses his authority and troops to hunt them down as much as he can.
• Get Out!: When the Brutish Guard reports Esmeralda's escape:
  Brutish Guard: Minister Frollo, the gypsy has escaped.
  Frollo: What?
  Brutish Guard: She's nowhere in the cathedral. She's gone.
  Frollo: But how? I... [pause] Never mind. Get out, you idiot. I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!
• Get Thee to a Nunnery: He calls the common crowd "licentious" (a somewhat archaic term for "sexually promiscuous").
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: When he's about to strike Esmeralda and Quasi down with his sword, his eyes glow yellow.
• A God Am I: Heavily implied throughout the film and then made clear in the climax, where Frollo suffers a severe bout of Sanity Slippage and betrays the Church he supposedly supports. What ultimately sells it, though, is his Blasphemous Boast where he proclaims, "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!", where by this point, by "He" is no longer referring to God, but rather to himself, showing how far off the deep end has fallen and became absolutely power-hungry, desiring to burn down Paris so he can rule it as a God.
• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: His eyes are much smaller than the innocent Quasimodo's.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Just like in the book, he invokes this when he discovers Quasimodo has been protecting Esmeralda and has relationship with her, Frollo's lust for her is so great he's literally jealous of his adopted son. Ironically, despite his rage at Quasimodo for "falling under the gypsy's spell" (like him), Frollo doesn't have any moment of jealousy towards Phoebus her actual Love Interest, unlike the book where he almost killed Phoebus upon seeing him about to have sex with Esmeralda.
• Hanging Judge: Judge Claude Frollo is the Minister of Justice in this adaptation. He is described by Clopin as the Judge, Jury, and Executioner rolled into one, as shown when he sets up a public execution for the Roma.
• Hat of Authority: Frollo wears a black and purple tricorn hat with a red sash befitting his status as a judge. It was apparently a nuisance to animate however, which explains why it falls off his head during the climactic battle.
• Heel Realization: For a second toward the end of the opening sequence, when he discovers the thing he thought was merely "stolen goods" in the Roma woman's arms was a baby. He gets over it once he sees the baby is deformed. Also, he shows fear at the judgment of God, which the Archdeacon says will come down on him for his actions, but immediately after agreeing to spare and raise the infant as his penance, he's right back to plotting how he can use the "foul creature".
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Inverted in the climax, in which he chases Quasimodo and Esmeralda with one, while they have no weapons.
• Hey, You!: Depending on the person, Frollo isn't always keen on referring to them by name. He generally refers to Esmeralda as "the gypsy girl". When he prepares to attack the cathedral in the end, he shouts "you men" at his soldiers.
• Hidden Depths: "Hellfire" heavily implies that, on some level, he does feel guilty for his actions, he just does everything he can to bury it and ignore it.
• Hiding Behind Religion: He is initially Holier Than Thou, until his lust for Esmeralda becomes an obsession and he decides forcing her into a "be mine or you will burn" Scarpia Ultimatum would be worth going to hell over. In public, he still maintains a Knight Templar image and uses that to try to achieve his goals. He also uses this to justify his crimes, something which others call him out on.
• High Collar of Doom: Not for his usual robes, but the tunic he wears has a squarish collar that comes up to an inch or so below his chin.
• His Own Worst Enemy: It's heavily implied that Frollo knows he's full of sin and deeply fears the fires of Hell. However, because of his delusional belief that he is a righteous man, he outright denies any wrongdoings he's accused of and blames others for his sins through Psychological Projection. He blames Esmeralda for seducing him and tempting him to sin, even though she's clearly disgusted by him. He blames Quasimodo for Paris burning, even though Frollo is the one actively burning it. He even goes as far as to blame God for allowing him to be tempted when he starts lusting for Esmeralda, claiming that He made the devil too strong to resist. All of this stems from his refusal to acknowledge his sins, which causes him to live in a deep state of denial.
• Holier Than Thou: He thinks that he's literally this, when he's actually just playing the trope straight. Because of this, he's only concerned about his salvation and his alone while he believes no one beneath him deserves it.
  I'm so much purer than the common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • While trying to kill the heroes, he keeps hacking the stone gargoyles they are clinging to with a sword. The circumstances conspire so that he has to use one of the gargoyles for support. As he climbs on top of the gargoyle and raises his sword to kill Esmeralda, Frollo bellows "AND HE SHALL SMITE THE WICKED AND PLUNGE THEM INTO THE FIERY PIT!!" But just then, the cloven gargoyle breaks under his weight and he plunges to his death. For extra flavor, said gargoyle appears to come to life to snarl at Frollo before he falls. The way it snarls at him implies that God is tired of his antics and he deserved to be cast out to Hell.
  • A couple moments before that, Frollo entangles Quasimodo with his cape. However this causes Quasimodo to reflexively grab the cape, causing Frollo to fall off the cathedral and leaving him hanging off it, with only Quasimodo keeping him from falling to the square far below.
• The Horseshoe Effect: Frollo pursues an insanely harsh and fundamentalist interpretation of Christianity. In the process, he commits numerous sins while trying to do "God's work", including pride and wrath. By the end of the movie, he goes so far as to attack the very cathedral he claimed to defend, becoming the Satanic being he claimed to oppose.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Went from a minister of justice both respected and feared by everyone in Paris to a maniac who everyone in Paris turns against, and has thrown all his principles and influence away for one Roma girl.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: While Quasimodo resembles a monstrous hunchback but is actually a kind man both inside and out, Frollo is a normal-looking man but is downright monstrous beneath his superficial piety.
• Hypocrite: Oooohhhh boy. This is Frollo's defining flaw as his every word and action just oozes with hypocrisy. He thinks he's a paragon of Christian virtue and righteousness when he's nothing but a self-serving, hypocritical zealot who uses his faith to justify his atrocities. Whether it's murdering an innocent woman on the steps of Notre Dame, allowing Quasimodo to be tortured by the crowd during the Feast of Fools, destroying the lives of Parisian citizens, or even attacking Notre Dame, Frollo deludes himself into thinking he's a man of virtue. Frollo could easily be the poster boy for 'Self-Righteous Hypocrite'.
  • From the opening song:
    And he saw corruption everywhere except... within.
  • After Esmeralda frees Quasimodo from being tortured during the festival, she calls Frollo out on how "he speaks of justice, yet he is cruel to those most in need of his help." Frollo does claim to be a man of God's justice, yet he is very cruel to almost everyone he comes across, takes sadistic pleasure in the suffering of others, encourages the persecution of the Romani and hires common thugs and cruel soldiers to carry out his orders. As the film goes on, he's shown to disregard the concept of justice when it benefits him, such as when he persecuted the people of Paris in his search for Esmeralda and even burned (or attempted to) some of them alive.
    Esmeralda: You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!
  • He tells Esmeralda that the Roma "twist the truth to cloud the mind with unholy thoughts," even though the accusation is more accurate towards himself.
  • His portion of "Out There" is rife with this. He stresses just how cruel the outside world is to people like Quasimodo, and builds himself up as the only person to show his son any kindness. He does all this while abusing Quasi emotionally and psychologically.
    • Going along with this, despite Frollo's claims to be keeping Quasimodo safe from a harsh world, once he sees Quasi being hailed as the "King of Fools" by a crowd that quickly gets over his deformity, Frollo is seen absolutely seething with rage. Despite everything he says, Claude hates his adopted son, and while he may genuinely believe what he says about how vile everyone else is in comparison to him, it's clear the idea of Quasimodo being accepted by civilization is far more troubling to Frollo than him being rejected by them.
    • For all his talk about wanting to keep Quasimodo safe and claiming to be the only person to care about him, Frollo allows the crowd to torture him during the Feast of Fools as punishment for disobeying him. When Quasimodo begs him for help as he's pelted with food, Frollo not only turns a blind eye, but forbids Phoebus from stopping the cruelty. Even when Esmeralda cleans him up, Frollo forbids her from freeing Quasimodo...though she defies him and frees him anyway. If Esmeralda hadn't stopped the crowd, there's no telling how long Frollo would've let Quasimodo's torment go on considering how much of a Sadist he is.
  • He condemns the Romani for "inflaming the peoples' lowest instincts" and claims they must be stopped. However, when he starts lusting for Esmeralda, instead of looking for a way to 'stop her' as he claimed earlier, he obsessively desires to have her for himself.
  • Frollo convinces himself, Quasimodo and the public that Gypsies are evil and a threat to Paris's safety. While some of them do engage in petty crimes such as pickpocketing and thieving, many of them are simply people who want to make a living like any other Parisian citizen. Frollo's ultimate reason for wanting to destroy them isn't because they're a threat to Paris, but because he sees their ways as unconventional and something outside of his control. Even then, Frollo's the one who actively endangers the people of Paris later in the film.
  • Despite claiming to be a faithful Christian, Frollo has blatantly disregarded the Church's authority several times. At the start of the film, Frollo unapologetically kills Quasimodo's mother on the steps of Notre Dame, which the Archdeacon calls him out. When Esmeralda 'claims sanctuary' inside Notre Dame, Frollo commands Phoebus to drag her outside and only stops because the Archdeacon demands it, which he's clearly angry about. At the end of the film, after Quasimodo rescues Esmeralda, Frollo orders his men to attack Notre Dame, yet again disregarding the Church's authority. After he's separated from his men and gets inside, the Archdeacon tries to stop Frollo. In response, Frollo throws him down a flight of stairs, presumably injuring him.
    • Additionally, Frollo blasphemes against God during Hellfire by claiming that He made the devil too strong to resist. If Frollo were truly the faithful Christian he claimed to be, he'd understand that God didn't create the devil; Satan was created through his own pride in his beauty, jealousy towards God and wanting to take over Heaven for himself. Instead, Frollo frames it as God setting His followers up to fail, which isn't true in the slightest and he's only saying it because he's too deep in denial of his sins to take responsibility.
  • After Frollo discovers Quasimodo helped Esmeralda escape from Notre Dame, he laments how a "poor, misshapen child" like him was unable to resist her. This is coming from the man who just blamed Quasimodo for Paris burning (even though Frollo's the one doing it) and Frollo himself is unable to resist the urge to chase after Esmeralda.
  • He also claims that Quasi should not associate with Esmeralda because she is "not capable of feeling real love". This is in spite of the fact that his own obsession with Esmeralda is purely sexual in nature, rather than anything based on romantic or platonic love.
  • After Frollo calms down from his rage at learning Quasimodo helped Esmeralda escape Notre Dame, he 'assures' his ward that he'll make sure Esmeralda stops tormenting him. Esmeralda has been nothing but kind and friendly to Quasimodo while Frollo is the one who torments Quasimodo through psychological and emotional abuse, even outright letting him be tortured during the Feast of Fools just to 'teach him a lesson'.
  • For someone who claims to be so virtuous, he completely fails at all of the Seven Heavenly Virtues. He's particularly lacking in the Kindness and Charity departments.
  • At the climax of the film, Frollo condemns Esmeralda for witchcraft and blames her for everyone in Paris being in jeopardy. However, it's made very clear that Frollo's only burning her because she won't give herself to him and he is the one endangering (and killing) the people of Paris. He's claiming to serve justice, yet he's once again disregarding it for his selfish desires.
  • When Frollo tries to kill Quasimodo at the end of the film, the latter manages to overpower him. Quasimodo then calls Frollo out on how he always claimed the world was dark and cruel, but the reason it can be dark and cruel is because of people like Frollo. Quasimodo pretty much sums it all up: Frollo spent the whole movie preaching of how dark and cruel the world can be, yet the reason it can be so dark and cruel is because of people like Frollo. He claims to be a righteous and pure man amongst a 'common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd', but in reality, he's a bigoted, self-serving hypocrite who uses his faith to justify his atrocities.
  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!
  • In the demo version of 'Hellfire', Frollo curses the Virgin Mary and blames her along with her saints for allowing himself to be tempted by lust and sin, the very same woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ. Awfully blasphemous for someone who claims to be a faithful Christian.
  • His entire song, 'Hellfire', is ultimately hypocrisy and Psychological Projection. He starts off the song claiming that he is a righteous and virtuous man, yet throughout the song, he blasphemes against God by claiming He made the devil 'so much stronger than a man', blatantly displays all Seven Deadly Sins, especially Pride and Lust, blames Esmeralda for his lustful feelings towards her and chooses to give into his temptation of chasing Esmeralda rather than letting her go as he pleaded to the Virgin Mary.
• I Control My Minions Through...:
  • Authority: He is the Minister of Justice.
  • Fear, specifically Prejudice. His minions, notably the Oafish and Brutish Guards, are just as prejudiced against the Romani as he is, so they're all too happy to follow his bigoted orders.
• I Did What I Had to Do: He tells Quasimodo that burning Esmeralda and (seemingly) killing her was his duty, "horrible as it was". Subverted, though, as it's pretty clear to the audience that he's just saying whatever he has to to get Quasimodo's guard down.
• If I Can't Have You…: Professes this in the second half of "Hellfire". If he can't have Esmeralda, he'll kill her. And anyone who stands in his way will be disposed of.
  Hellfire, dark fire
  Now gypsy, it's your turn
  Choose me or your pyre
  Be mine, or you will burn
  God have mercy on her
  God have mercy on me
  But she will be mine, or she will burn
• Ignored Epiphany: Frollo is utterly ignorant of the fact that he's not the pious man he claims to be and has been called out many times on this. He is actually a racist lunatic.
  • Twice during the opening scene:
    • Near the end of the opening sequence, he's noticeably disturbed when he realizes that what he originally thought was merely "stolen goods" in the dead Roma woman's arms was actually her child, but gets over it once he sees the baby is deformed and tries to kill him. Only the Archdeacon's timely intervention stops Frollo from drowning the child.
    • When the Archdeacon says God will come down on him for his actions, Frollo almost realizes what he's doing is wrong, but immediately after agreeing to spare and raise the infant as his penance, he's right back to plotting how he can use the "foul creature".
  • Even during the song "Hellfire", he asks God to have mercy on his soul, only to profess his unhealthy obsession over Esmeralda.
• I Lied: When placing the miller and his family under house arrest, he assures them that they have nothing to fear if he's telling the truth about not harboring Roma. And what does Frollo do seconds later? Burn the house down with them still inside!
• I Want Them Alive!: Says this almost word-for-word to Phoebus when ordering him to capture Esmeralda, saying ominously "I want her alive."
• In the Back: He tries to do Quasimodo in this way in the climax.
• Inconvenient Attraction: Frollo in no way wants anything to do with Esmeralda because she's a Romani, but his attraction to her continues to grow. This is not a a good thing.
• Insane Troll Logic:
  • His delusions have convinced him that he is a righteous man who thinks he is God's favorite person on Earth. In reality, he's just a rabid monster who has committed sin after sin. Because of this, he is "plunged into the fiery pit" for his immoral actions.
  • His rationale for hating Romani basically boils down to "the way they act makes normal people more inclined to sexuality and other immoralities, so they all have to be killed".
  • He even has the gall to blame God for making him lust after Esmeralda, claiming that He made the devil too strong to resist.
• I Reject Your Reality: His response to everything the heroes say to him. He is clearly delusional, obstinate and thinks the Romani are heathens instead of the hard-working citizens they are trying to be. The archdeacon even lampshades in the opening song that he lies to himself and his minions.
• Ironic Echo: An immediate example. As he attempts his ultimate kill towards both Esmarelda and Quasimodo with his sword, he says this:
  Frollo: "And He shall smite the wicked, and PLUNGE them into the fiery pit!"
  • Shortly thereafter, his own life has finally reached end, not only because he was standing on a gargoyle that he partly damaged with his sword, but also because it was too late for him to realize that he was the wicked one.
• Ironic Last Words: Just before striking Esmeralda, his final words in life were "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit." In the context of the film, he himself is the "wicked" one who was "smited and plunged into the fiery pit" by God.
• Irony: The most openly religious character has committed more sins than nearly every other character in the first movie.
• Irrational Hatred: Towards the Romani people, so much that he wants to eradicate all of them.
• I Should Have Done This Years Ago: At the climax, Frollo finally reveals to Quasimodo that he killed his mother who was trying to save him (rather than abandoning him like Frollo had always told him). Frollo then delivers the famous line, "And now, I'm going to do what I should have done… TWENTY YEARS AGO!" and proceeds to throw poor Quasi off the cathedral balcony. Too bad he ended up dying instead of killing Quasi.
• It's All About Me: Frollo only spares Quasimodo because he believes he may be useful to him later and because the Archdeacon demanded he do so as atonement for killing the boy's mother on the cathedral steps. He also has no problem committing mass murder and destroying Paris to get rid of a single woman who isn't even to blame for his own problems. The only reason the Archdeacon's guilt trip attempt worked in the first place is because Frollo wanted to save his own skin over the whole thing. As Clopin put it: "Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul."
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: On the surface, Frollo appears to be simply an arrogant, priggish, horrified-at-the-thought-of-anyone-having-fun theocratic dictator. But then, his belief that the world is full of wickedness is the reason he gives for keeping Quasimodo shut away in the cathedral bell tower, telling himself — and Quasimodo — that he's just keeping him safe from the outside world. However, it quickly becomes clear that Frollo is a genocidal lunatic, scheming to kill all the Roma in Paris for their "thieving" and "witchcraft" — and the only reason he's taking care of Quasimodo is because he fears going to Hell for his attempt to drown Quasi when he was a baby, solely because of his appearance, and in the climax he admits that he regrets not drowning him. Any torment he ever feels about his lust for a Romani girl he's become obsessed with killing evaporates pretty quickly.
  • When Phoebus first enters the Palace of Justice, Frollo is overseeing a prisoner's torture. He orders the torturer to stop and "ease up". What's this? Could Frollo actually have a shred of mercy in him? Not at all:
    Frollo: Wait between lashes; otherwise, the old sting will dull him to the new.
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner: He's an extremely corrupt and ruthless Minister of Justice, willing to kill the Romani. Heck, he even tries to have Esmeralda executed on a pyre by lighting it on fire after reading her sentence. His reputation as one of these has gone to the point that Clopin parodies it in his song "The Court of Miracles", briefly dressing in robes similar to Frollo's.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: While he's an insane judge, his unhealthy obsession with Esmeralda becomes a slippery slope to the point he threatens to kill her if doesn't submit to him. When he forcibly shoves the Archdeacon aside down a flight of stairs, it's a clear sign he's really lost it.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: He killed Quasimodo's poor mother twenty years before the movie's main plot, and has committed way more atrocities after (and probably before) that. God finally has enough of Frollo and has him literally Dragged Off to Hell.
• Karmic Death: "AND HE SHALL SMITE THE WICKED AND PLUNGE THEM INTO THE FIERY PIT!" The most common interpretation of what happens directly afterward is that God is doing just that, only with a different interpretation of who the "wicked" one is. Even more poetic, the gargoyle statue he clings remains on Notre Dame long enough for Frollo to see it come to life, snarling at him with a demonic grin, before breaking off from the building to send Frollo down to the fiery sea of molten metal. It's not enough for Frollo to simply die; he has to die knowing he lost all his chance to repent and is thus condemned to Hell for all eternity.
• Kick the Dog: Plenty of examples, but Quasimodo's very name stands out; Frollo named him with a word that translates to "half-formed," ensuring Quasimodo's name would serve as a continual reminder and marker of his appearance.
• Kill the Parent, Raise the Child: He raises Quasimodo out of fear of being damned for having murdered his mother. As a result of only taking him out of fear of punishment, he never loved his ward and is very verbally and emotionally abusive toward him.
• Kill It with Fire: When he finally captures Esmeralda, he attempts to execute her on a pyre by lighting it on fire. But Quasimodo foils this and gets her back into Notre Dame, and the chain of events from that point leads to Frollo receiving the Kill It with Fire death when a live demon gargoyle traps him and plummets into molten lead. Earlier, he begins torching Paris starting with an innocent family's house, which provides the page quote for Make an Example of Them.
• Knight of Cerebus:
  • The movie starts off with a pleasant morning in Paris and a colorful puppeteer telling a story to children. True, things get a little darker when the story flashes back to the Roma sneaking into Paris twenty years ago, but it isn't until Frollo appears that things really go south with him killing Quasimodo's mother and almost killing baby Quasi before the Archdeacon stops him.
  • A micro-example: The following sequence where the gargoyle's friends convince Quasi to go to the festival are funny, friendly, and hopeful. But when Frollo shows up out of nowhere, the whole tone becomes darker and sadder, with the gargoyles reverting to stone and Quasi acting more timid and beaten-down.
• Knight Templar: A major standout from your usual Disney Villain. While most of them either enjoy being evil or don't care that their actions are wrong, Frollo is a hypocritical, Holier Than Thou guy who believes himself to be a righteous man expunging evil from the world. But he's really a racist bigot that wants to commit genocide for twisted religious reasons. Others even lampshade on it.
• Lack of Empathy: If knocking Quasimodo's mother down on the steps of Notre Dame at the beginning of the movie, tying Quasimodo up to let the citizens toss tomatoes at him when he attended the Festival of Fools anyways, punishing Phoebus when he refused to go through with burning a mill, and burning Esmeralda at the stake is any indication.
• Large and in Charge: He is both the tallest character in the film (aside from Phoebus) and the highest authority.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Frollo's greatest fear is the eternal damnation of his soul. Considering that he'd be tormented for all eternity if his soul went to Hell, his fear is very understandable. However, instead of truly addressing this fear by seeking to better himself as a Christian, he uses Psychological Projection and Insane Troll Logic to convince himself that he can do no wrong. This leads to his Karmic Death where he suffers the fate he had long feared: eternal damnation in the fiery pit of Hell.
• Last-Name Basis: He is almost always referred to as just "Frollo" in this version. This is a complete inversion from the novel, where he is normally referred to as "Dom Claude" or "Claude", and never as just "Frollo".
• Lean and Mean: He's thinner than almost everyone else, apart from Clopin.
• Leitmotif: "Kyrie Eleison..."
• Light Is Not Good: Despite being a judge who's very much concerned with his own salvation, he's a monstrous villain.
• Loophole Abuse: Frollo tries to pull this when Esmeralda indirectly claims sanctuary via Phoebus; since they can't arrest her inside the cathedral, he orders Phoebus to drag her outside. Fortunately, the Archdeacon comes along and tells Frollo off.
• Love Makes You Evil: Disturbingly subverted. Despite his Villainous Crush on Esmeralda, he certainly does not love her, as he doesn't care at all for her as a person and outright wants to kill her for "making" him have feelings for her.
• Lust: A major defining trait of Frollo's character is his lust for Esmeralda and a catalyst in his Villainous Breakdown. Unable to let go of his obsessive desire for Esmeralda, Frollo persecutes the people of Paris in his single-minded hunt for the Romani. His song 'Hellfire' reflects his desire to have Esmeralda for himself.

M-T

• Manipulative Bastard: He manipulates Quasimodo to get what he wants: the location of the Court of Miracles.
• Married to the Job: He believes his main job to be "taking care" of Paris's Roma population and interprets almost everything around him through that lens. The only non-racism-influenced thing in his life is Quasimodo, but as soon as Frollo realizes that he can use Quasi to find the Court of Miracles, he does just that.
• Mildly Military: Frollo's authority is vaguely defined and appears to have no limits, as it seems as far as the movie's concerned he is the Knight Templar dictator of Paris. He commands a sizable garrison in the city, and can slaughter suspects and burn property at will. The movie makes mention of the King and that there is a war that Phoebus was called back from. It's possible that the King is off leading the war effort and Frollo is in charge in his absence.
• Moral Sociopathy: He's selfish in his lust for Esmeralda, but otherwise he sincerely believes half of the things he does genuinely are what God intended (albeit because he, Frollo, couldn't possibly do anything God didn't want him to do).
• Mundanger: From a franchise that contains pirates, evil gods, big cats, sorcerers, and sea witches, one of the most terrifying villains is a religious fanatic who abuses his position.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: Played with. Unlike the book and other film adaptations (where he tries to kill Phoebus out of envy), Frollo never finds out about Phoebus's romance with Esmeralda. The only reason he orders for Phoebus's death is because the latter defied his orders.
• Narcissist: He is a textbook narcissist who projects his own lust on Esmeralda. As is typical of a Knight Templar, he uses self-righteous morality to justify his perceived superiority. Somehow, he succeeds in praying in a way so selfish and self-absorbed that the contrast with his faith should be even more obvious than the answer to the riddle who is the monster and who is the man.
• A Nazi by Any Other Name: His main goal as Minister of Justice is to have his military force persecute and arrest the Romani of Paris, and he describes them using very Nazi-esque rhetoric. The filmmakers referenced Nazi Germany as one of the inspirations for the character, as well as Ralph Fiennes's portrayal of Amon Goeth.
• Near-Villain Victory: The only reason Quasi and Esmeralda aren't dead is the gargoyle that Frollo was standing on, and had damaged with his sword earlier, crumbled at just the right time. It may or may not have been divine intervention.
• Never My Fault: Frollo has many flaws, but this is one of his biggest ones. Anything bad that he does, Frollo blames it on others and uses religion to explain his crimes. The one person Frollo never blames is himself. As Clopin put it best: "He saw corruption everywhere except within."
  • He kills Quasimodo's mother because she ran from his soldiers to protect her son, he gave her a fatal head concussion trying to snatch him from her. When the Archdeacon calls Frollo out, he claims "I am guiltless; she ran, I pursued". The only reason he didn't kill Quasimodo right then and there is because the Archdeacon stopped him.
  • Frollo blames the gypsies for the corruption of Paris despite the fact that his oppression has done far more harm to Paris than they ever could. All the while, he's Hiding Behind Religion to justify how any of this is acceptable.
  • His lust for Esmeralda starts with Frollo blaming Esmeralda herself for the way he feels, willing to do anything to absolve himself of blame. During "Hellfire", Frollo even blames God for allowing the Devil to tempt him. Notably, the background choir chants "mea Culpa" which means "my fault" in Latin, making it seem Frollo subconsciously understands it's his fault but refuses to admit it.
  • When he figures out Quasimodo helped her escape, Frollo tells Quasimodo that all of Paris is burning because of him despite the fact that Frollo had given the orders to set fire to any potential hiding place.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Among the first film's primary three male characters, he's ironically (but, also befittingly) the "Mean" to Quasimodo's "Nice" and Phoebus' "In-between".
• Nightmare Face:
  • Frollo's face at the climax on the bell's tower looks like a demonic version of The Joker with hellish red eyes.
  • He also smiles sadistically as he attempts to burn Esmeralda at the stake and watches her suffocate from the smoke.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: The Roguish to Quasimodo and Phoebus's Noble. He causes destruction and conflict based on xenophobia, anger and/or lust.
• Noodle Incident: He mentions that his last captain was a disappointment (enough so to apparently earn torture), but we never learn how.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: His facial features (high cheekbones, gray hairstyle, gaunt face) bears a resemblance to Hammer Films horror star Peter Cushing.
• No Sense of Personal Space: He touches and gets uncomfortably close to Quasimodo, Phoebus, and Esmeralda at various times.
• Not Good with Rejection: He does not take rejection well. Confirmed when he sings "She (Esmeralda) will be mine or she will burn!" and offers her a Sadistic Choice of such a nature.
• Not So Stoic: He loses his cool composure after seeing Esmeralda dance, though he quickly tries to reign it in.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He claims that he wants to purge the world of vice and sin. However, his real motive seems to be genocide against all those that he considers as living outside the natural order of things (aka his order) and are therefore sinful, and having sex with Esmeralda.
• Obliviously Evil: Unlike most Disney villains, Frollo believes himself to be the most moral, righteous person in the world. This is a rare case where this trope makes a villain viler instead of sympathetic, as he's oblivious because of his self-righteousness — he believes an action is evil only when it's committed by another, and never seriously considers the possibility that genocide, abuse, and even setting Paris on fire and attacking Notre-Dame herself could be wrong if he's the one doing it, because he genuinely believes he's carrying out God's will.
• Obsession Song: "Hellfire" is his Villain Song about his obsession with Esmerelda, with Frollo concluding that "she will be mine or she will BURN!"
• Obviously Evil: Despite his own delusions about being a good man, he dresses in black, has a deep British voice, rides a scary horse, surrounds himself with obviously corrupt Mooks, and hangs out in the dungeons and torture chambers of the Palace of Justice. Phoebus is obviously unsettled as soon as he meets him.
• Offing the Offspring: Played with. When Quasimodo, Frollo's adopted son, gets in Frollo's way, Frollo tries to kill him. But by that point it's obvious that, however Quasi views Frollo, Frollo does not see Quasi as his son.
• Offstage Villainy: He has been persecuting Romani people for at least twenty years before the movie's present day.
• Oh, Crap!: Several times, but the most notable one is 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.
• Omnicidal Maniac: He wants to genocide all of Paris and kill everyone if Esmeralda can't be his.
• Order Versus Chaos: His excuse for persecuting Romani is how they chaotically live outside the normal order of Paris.
• Outside-Genre Foe: He is a marked contrast from most Disney villains, breaking taboos like being blatantly racist and genocidal, religious, and violently lustful. Also unlike many other Disney villains, he is neither magical nor Laughably Evil.
• The Paranoiac: The more he searches for Esmeralda and the Court of Miracles, the more he believes that everyone is conspiring with the Romani to the point that he tries to kill an entire family because he claims to have found a Romani talisman on their property.
• Parental Substitute: Subverted. He becomes one to Quasimodo after he accidentally murdered his mother. As revealed in the opening song, he only takes on the task in case he could be useful to him (and that the statue of Mary was watching him as he was about to drown baby Quasimodo for his ugliness, invoking his fear of being judged). But while he paints himself as a caring father figure, he's actually an abusive figure to his ward.
• Perverted Sniffing: Frollo sniffs Esmeralda's hair at one point after she declares sanctuary.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Minor, but he never abuses his horse Snowball at any point. When Phoebus tries to escape while riding Snowball, Frollo specifically orders his archers not to hit the horse - though said horse shares Frollo's contemptuous, scornful mannerisms. This may however be Pragmatic Villainy rather than any sort of affection - good horses are expensive.
  • Quasimodo did get an education under Frollo. Considering how rare literacy was in those days, the fact that Frollo bothered to educate his charge could mean something. That said, it’s played for laughs when he praises Quasimodo for getting “E” for “eternal damnation” correct. Quasimodo is being praised for getting basic alphabet correct in his early twenties, which is hardly something to praise.
  • Also defied when he brings Quasimodo a “treat” of some grapes to share with him. It’s just a ploy to try to get him off guard so he can get him to confess to aiding Esmeralda - and ultimately once he sees he doesn’t need it given Quasimodo is a nervous wreck, he drops the act.
  • Toward the end of "Hellfire," he genuinely seems to pray for Esmeralda's redemption as he sincerely sings "God have mercy on her." It's about his only moment of following genuine Christian teaching, which states that nonbelievers deserve the Almighty's compassion and forgiveness, too. He then sings "God have mercy on me," implying that, at least for a second, he knows that he's doing something terribly wrong—not for feeling lustful, but for being so determined to act on it in a violent way. It doesn't last, but it suggests that there's a small part of Frollo that's self-aware enough to realize that he's not truly virtuous.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: He repeatedly claims to be Holier Than Thou, but in reality is a bigoted madman.
  • He compares the Romani to ants earlier in the movie and alludes to his genocidal intent by squishing an ant nest while explaining his goals to Phoebus. He also assumes they're an Always Chaotic Evil race who cloud people's minds with "unholy" thoughts. He even uses the "gypsy" slur to insult and belittle them in a way that clearly goes beyond the standard Deliberate Values Dissonance of the rest of the period.
  • He's also a Dirty Old Man who lusts after Esmeralda, threatening to burn her at the stake for witchcraft when she refuses to submit to him.
• Pride: He acknowledges that he is proud of his virtue, though he believes his pride is just. But when it all comes down to it, this is what's making him unable to realize he isn't nearly as virtuous as he thinks he is and eventually makes him turn against God. This tacks even more irony points on his fall into a fiery pit.
  Beata Maria, you know I am a righteous man
  Of my virtue I am justly proud
  Beata Maria, you know I'm so much purer than
  The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd
  • It's important to note that this attitude is literally the dictionary definition of the Sin of Pride within Christianity. It is stated that no human is truly virtuous or sinless, and to believe that you are is the surest way to damn yourself, since it prevents you from repentance.
• Prayer of Malice: Frollo's song "Hellfire" includes a prayer to the Virgin Mary for Esmeralda to burn in hell or else become his.
• Pure Is Not Good: Frollo is correct when he claims to be purer than the common crowd. He’s just wrong about the quality of said purity, since he is driven by pure zealotry and corruption.
• Psycho for Hire: He seems to be a judge solely to persecute the Romani.
• Psychological Projection: His Fatal Flaw. He blames others for his faults. Everywhere. Yet, he never blames himself:
  • During "Hellfire", he blames Esmeralda for "tempting" him to sin, and even blames God Himself for making "the Devil so much stronger than a man", but never places any blame on himself for what he did.
    • Though "Hellfire" also contains Frollo's prayer, "God, have mercy on me" — the only short glimpse that he is on some level aware of his massive faults, but is too deep in denial to do something about it.
  • Consider, for instance, his summation of Esmeralda:
    Frollo: Such a clever witch. So typical of your kind to twist the truth to cloud the mind with unholy thoughts.
  • Later on:
    Frollo: YOU IDIOT! That wasn't kindness, it was cunning! She's a gypsy! Gypsies are not capable of real love! Think, boy! Think of your mother!
  • Yet again:
    Frollo: The gypsy Esmeralda has refused to recant. This evil witch has placed the soul of every citizen of Paris in mortal jeopardy.
  • And again, to Quasimodo.
    Frollo: And now all Paris is burning because of you.
  • Finally, his last words:
    Frollo: And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!
  • Clopin himself even states as such during the opening:
    Clopin: Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin
    And he saw corruption everywhere — except within
• Psychopathic Manchild: Type C. He's competent and cunning enough, but there are also times where he just comes off as petulant, and not to mention, his Villainous Breakdown is essentially him throwing a petulant temper tantrum in the form of trying to burn down Paris, not unlike a Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum, and further adding to his immaturity are his delusions of godhood. Read Evil Is Petty, Never My Fault and If I Can't Have You… for more details.
• Purple Is Powerful: His robes are purple and black.
• Pyromaniac: He exhibits pyromaniac tendencies — including a number of references to the fiery pit of Hell — and is often preoccupied with burning down buildings as part of his obsession over Esmeralda. Ironically enough, this is a contributing factor to his own downfall (no pun intended).
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: The red stripes on the shoulders of his black robes add just the perfect touch of ominousness.
• Redemption Rejection: He is actually given multiple chances to redeem himself, from raising Quasimodo as repentance for his murder of Quasimodo's mother to letting go of Esmeralda after she escapes Notre Dame. Frollo ends up squandering these chances as he proves to be an Abusive Parent to Quasimodo, using him as a tool to kill the Romani populace in Paris, and orders a manhunt on Esmeralda after learning she's gone, despite previously begging the Virgin Mary to get rid of her.
• Sadist: He has a Slasher Smile on his face after he sets fire to the platform Esmeralda is on when he tries to burn her at the stake. Also note his glee in witnessing a prisoner being tortured in the Palace of Justice.
  Frollo: Ease up. Wait between lashes; otherwise, the old sting will dull him to the new.
• Sanity Slippage: When the movie begins, Frollo is as dignified as you'd expect a judge to be. By the end of the movie, he has completely lost it, willing to torch Paris all for his obsession with Esmeralda.
• 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 Roma or slays all of them.
• Satanic Archetype: Frollo is very much this. Frollo takes great pride in his faith just as Lucifer took great pride in his beauty before he rebelled against God, which led to them being arrogant, selfish and uncaring towards others. Frollo is heavily associated with fire, which he uses to burn down Paris, to kill Esmeralda when she rejects him, and his iconic song, Hellfire, having heavy emphasis on flames and burning. To further solidify this, Frollo suffers from all Seven Deadly Sins, each of which are showcased in Hellfire. Despite all this, Frollo believes that he is a pure and righteous man who's serving God when in truth, he's only serving his own vanity, arrogance and pride.
• Scary Teeth: During the climax, his teeth (along with his eyes) glow with a hellish light, symbolizing that he's permanently lost it.
• Secondary Color Nemesis: Aside from black, purple is usually a part of Frollo's wardrobe.
• Self-Disposing Villain:
  • Right after nearly falling to his death, Frollo apparently thinks it's a good idea to not go to the balcony and to instead try to kill the heroes while precariously perched on top of a small gargoyle probably too thin to support a full grown-up man's weight. No point for guessing what happens next when the gargoyle breaks… Although Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane applies, as it's ambiguous whether the gargoyle broke because of Frollo's weight (and it coming to life was Frollo's hallucination), making his death self-disposing all the way through, or if a superior being (either God or the cathedral) made sure that the villain would get what he deserved.
  • Averted in the stage musical. Instead of Frollo falling to his death while trying to kill Quasimodo and Esmeralda, Quasimodo drags him to the edge of Notre Dame and throws him to his death while he begs for Quasimodo to let him go.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Fitting into Frollo's self-righteous hypocrisy, his inability to reflect on himself, and his status as a Satanic Archetype, he naturally commits all Seven Deadly Sins, especially Pride, Lust, and Wrath.
  • Pride: Frollo views himself as the pinnacle of Christian virtue and a paragon of righteousness while everyone else is selfish, vile and licentious scum. He preaches that he is a virtuous man who is purer than everyone else in the world, which tragically leaves him unable to reflect on himself and understand that he is just as much prone to sin as any other man. Whenever confronted with his mistakes and villainous choices, Frollo blames others through Psychological Projection and refuses to accept that he's not the paragon of virtue he believes himself to be.
  • Lust: Frollo's main reason for falling into insanity is his obsessive desire to take Esmeralda for himself. Even though he despises gypsies and does show self-loathing for wanting her, he's too enraptured by her beauty to let her go and wants to have her for himself.
  • Wrath: Despite being a generally stoic and collected person, Frollo is surprisingly quick to anger with it being Tranquil Fury at best or a Villainous Breakdown at worst. He gets angry at himself and God for his lustful feelings for Esmeralda and lashes out, blaming God for allowing himself to be tempted. When he learns that Esmeralda escaped Notre Dame, he is filled with wrath and angrily decides to pursue her. He does this twice to Quasimodo, the first being quietly scolding him for leaving the bell tower and the second being when he learns Quasimodo helped Esmeralda escape.
  • Envy: After Frollo becomes obsessively attracted to Esmeralda, he shows immense jealousy towards those who are closer to her, such as Phoebus and Quasimodo. During Hellfire, Frollo asks that Esmeralda be destroyed or else be 'his and his alone', implying that he wants Esmeralda to be solely his and for no one else to be able to have her.
  • Sloth: Though Frollo is a Workaholic who always accompanies his men on the matters of gypsies, he shows sloth in his unwillingness to improve himself. He's had multiple chances thoughout the movie to accept that he's not the flawless paragon that he believes himself to be, but he's unwilling to put in the effort to both change his ways to better himself or genuinely win Esmeralda's love.
  • Greed: Frollo is a power-hungry person who constantly abuses his authority and displays loyalty to no one but himself. He keeps building up his power as the Minister of Paris at the expense of its population with no regard for their welfare, only being concerned with his own power and status.
  • Gluttony: While Frollo is leaving Paris in chaos due to his manhunt for Esmeralda, he helps himself to a meal with Quasimodo. In biblical terms, Frollo withholds his food from those he's persecuting and gorges on delicious fruit while the citizens of Paris are presumably starving and left to fend for themselves.
• Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny: He mentions that he's especially proud of "his virtue" and begins going over the edge when he realizes he's hot for a member of the ethnic group he's trying to exterminate.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: When the Archdeacon angrily rebuffs him for bringing violence into the church, Frollo merely shoves him aside, snarling that he won't be interfering with his directions again. 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.
• Shoulders of Doom: His attire includes black shoulder pads with red stripes, which both highlight his station as a judge, but also his sinister nature as a bigoted, self-proclaimed crusader of God to eliminate the Romani.
• A Sinister Clue: While he's mainly right-handed, there are hints that he's ambidextrous or naturally left-handed; he carries a sword on his right hip in the prologue, draws a dagger left-handed when he sets fire to the carving of Esmeralda, and later wields his sword left-handed during the climax.
• Sinister Minister: Averted by order of the higher-ups, making Frollo the Minister of Justice while his role as the Archdeacon was made into a separate character. Despite this, the writers and animators made him very reminiscent of a priest in clothing, mannerisms, vocabulary, and religious sensibilities. During the Festival of Fools song, when the lyric "It's a day we mock the prig and shock the priest", a puppet of Frollo is briefly shown, making an even more obvious Shout-Out to his status as a priest in the books.
• Sinister Schnoz: He has a rather large nose. The gargoyles even lampshade it.
  "Frollo's nose is long and he wears a truss."
• Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: He doesn't appear on the DVD cover and is not mentioned in the plot synopsis on the back, yet he has the most screen time of any villain in the Disney Animated Canon.
• Slasher Smile: Breaks one out when he starts to burn Esmeralda at the stake, and later, when he's about to kill her and Quasi up on Notre Dame.
• Sliding Scale of Villain Threat: He is a City Threat. His life's goal is to eradicate every Romani in Paris and is willing to torch the entire city in his obsessive quest for Esmeralda.
• Snarky Villain, Earnest Hero: He has his moments of being a Deadpan Snarker and has a wicked sense of humor, while Quasimodo is a gentle and earnest soul.
• The Sociopath: He is profoundly narcissistic due to his bloated Holier Than Thou attitude. His unhealthy obsession over Esmeralda drove him to complete insanity, even torturing her when she refused to submit to him. The only time Frollo has a Heel Realization is when the Archdeacon calls him out for almost killing a baby Quasimodo just because he was deformed, but still, he only cared about his own salvation rather than any actual remorse.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Downplayed. It's implied that he uses his aggressive lustful hatred of Esmeralda to cover up his guilt and self-loathing about his feelings.
  Frollo: God have mercy on her… (in a sorrowful, haunted voice) …God have mercy on me… (visibly becoming wrathful again) …but she will be mine or she will BUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRN!
• Spit Take: Frollo spits his wine when Quasimodo unwittingly says "festival" for the letter F while reviewing his alphabet.
• Stalker with a Crush: To Esmeralda, and he's extremely obsessed with her.
• Straight Edge Evil: Initially, he is this for abstaining from fun things like the Festival and looking down on sexual attraction. Then he finds himself sexually attracted to Esmeralda.
• Straw Hypocrite: Frollo insists he keeps Quasi locked up in the bell tower to protect him, but in reality, it's to keep him under his control.
• Stronger Than They Look: His slim build hides remarkable strength, easily restraining the spry Esmeralda and going toe to toe with Quasimodo. It's worth noting that when Esmeralda hurls a stone at his horse, Frollo's instantly bucked off. However, he's immediately standing up and shouting orders like nothing.
• Suddenly Shouting: When he notices one of Quasi's wooden figures shaped like Esmeralda, he realizes Quasi let her escape Notre Dame and explodes in anger at his adopted ward.
  Frollo: Isn't this one new? It's awfully good. Looks very much like the… Gypsy Girl. I know… you helped her ESCAPE!!!
• Tautological Templar: As far as he's concerned, he's God's favorite person on earth and so anything he does, no matter how horrible it is, is justified by default. Even if it means disregarding the Church's authority, tossing the Archdeacon down a flight of stairs, and directly attacking Notre Dame.
• Terms of Endangerment: Frollo called Esmeralda "my dear" when he and the soldiers razed the Court of Miracles. Given that previously he had already groped her and proceeds to offer her freedom for sex in the following scene, it's as creepy as it can get. Talk about a Stalker with a Crush…
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: It's somewhat downplayed as he's a religious official, so he doesn't exactly blend in with your average person walking down the street; but fans have often pointed out that, unlike many other Disney Villains, Frollo is a human being with no supernatural powers, and that makes him all the more frightening because it's very possible to meet people like Frollo in Real Life. He shares this trait with Gaston.
• Thin Chin of Sin: His chin is quite narrow, especially compared to the other main characters of the movie.
• Too Dumb to Live: While he is a cunning man, he acts on this trope near the end of the first film when he climbs on top of the gargoyle to kill Esmerelda, when he could have easily hopped over to the balcony and solid ground a mere few feet away. Considering that he is standing up straight on the over-hanging gargoyle with no support whatsoever, it means his body weight causes the aging statue to crack (and bear in mind that he partially cut through that one with a missed sword stroke several seconds before).
• Torture Technician: Implied in one scene when one of his minions is torturing his previous captain. He even gives the torturer a few pointers to be more effective.
  Frollo: Stop! Ease up, wait between lashes... otherwise the old sting will dull him to the new.
• Tranquil Fury: When he's raiding houses and arresting people in his search from Esmeralda, he masks his rage behind a reasonable facade, but it doesn't last.
• Trick-and-Follow Ploy: Frollo says he'll attack the the Romanies' hideout at dawn, which causes Quasimodo and Phoebus to find the Court of Miracles thanks to a necklace Esmeralda gave Quasimodo earlier. This allows Frollo's forces to follow Quasi and Phoebus.

U-Z

• 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.
• Uncatty Resemblance: His horse Snowball essentially resembles him in terms of personality and the fact that he often sports the same contemptuous glare as his master. It's especially obvious in the prologue where they are both glaring at the archdeacon.
• The Unfettered: He doesn't start out as this, but he ends up focusing so much on Esmeralda that he no longer cares about how the people of Paris perceive him or fears the church and God.
• Ungrateful Bastard: During the climax, Frollo and Quasimodo are hanging off the side of the cathedral, Esmeralda holding onto Quasimodo's arm from the balcony. Despite what everything Frollo has done to him, Quasimodo grips the cloth Frollo is holding onto, refusing to let him fall until Frollo is able to find a grip. Frollo repays him by trying to kill Esmeralda and Quasimodo before the gargoyle he is standing on crumbles, causing Frollo to fall to his death.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Frollo can slice through stone gargoyles with a sword and is able to briefly wrestle with Quasimodo over a dagger, but displays little finesse.
• Vague Age: While clearly no spring chicken, his exact age is unknown. He could be anywhere from 40 to 60 in the movie's beginning.
• Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Rarely are Disney villains not dangerous, but they usually still blend in among a cast of colorful, musical characters. Frollo, the villain of an otherwise typical Disney cartoon, is a genocidal, sexually frustrated, and corrupt politician whose Villain Song is not at all catchy or fun (though you'll probably remember it for other reasons). His actions and influence are the root cause of everything that gives Hunchback its reputation of one of the "darker" Disney features. In fact, he's been viewed as the darkest villain in Disney Animated Canon.
• Villain Has a Point:
  • He was right about the people of Paris being hostile and mocking towards Quasimodo. While Frollo did nothing but rub in the fact to make it feel worse, Quasimodo sees Frollo's point after the Feast of Fools. Later, Quasimodo says that "the only thing dark and cruel about [the world] is people like you," so Frollo's point only lasts so long.
  • The Romani of the Court of Miracles are indeed thieves who make up the criminals of Paris and attempt to murder Phoebus and Quasimodo out of hand for finding them, all the while singing a jaunty tune about their crimes. While not all the Romani are evil, they clearly are aligned with a bunch of bad guys who appear to be mostly Romani.
• Villainous Breakdown: Frollo is an "honest" Knight Templar… until love makes him crazy and turns him into an ultra-violent Stalker with a Crush. Most exemplified when after Quasimodo grabs an unconscious Esmeralda from the fire Frollo put her in, climbs up Notre Dame, and declares sanctuary, Frollo snaps and orders his men to break down the front door and attack. This is notable because prior to this Frollo had respected the rules of the Church. Even the Archdeacon asks if he's lost his mind—after which he not only assaults a house of God, but a man of the cloth. To do such a thing in his day and age definitely suggests someone who's gone off the deep end. Similarly, when Frollo visits the miller as he storms through Paris, one of the onlookers utters "Frollo's gone mad!"
• Villainous Cheekbones: Very prominent on his face.
• Villainous Crush: On Esmeralda.
• 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.
• Villain Protagonist: The film is arguably just as much about him and his character development as it is about Quasimodo or any other characters.
• Villain Reveals the Secret: Exploited by Frollo. During the final part of the climax, Quasimodo finally knows of his lost mother's fate, who died while trying to save him. Sadly, Frollo 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 Song: "Hellfire" is partly about Frollo's Holier Than Thou attitude and his Evil Plan to reconcile it with the trope below.
• Villains Out Shopping: Subverts this twice:
  • The first time is when he attends the Feast of Fools. At first he only sits and passively watches the festivities, but it turns villainous when this inaction extends to him letting his adopted son get tormented by the rowdy crowd, including his own soldiers. When Esmeralda sets the boy free, Frollo finally takes action and orders his soldiers to arrest her. There's also the fact that he doesn't want to be there in the first place, but as a public official he has to.
  • "Hellfire" begins with him peacefully looking out over Paris as everyone goes home for the night, from the comfort of his castle, and then begins to calmly pray in song form. However, his prayers soon turn dark and obsessive with Esmeralda, and everything goes downhill from there.
• "The Villain Sucks" Song: "The Bells of Notre Dame" becomes this in one part. It rants about how evil Frollo is.
• Villainous Valour: For a lecherous, insane old man, Frollo poses a surprising threat. With a sword, he can hack through the heavy wooden doors of the cathedral and crack solid stone. He braves a torrent of molten lead to get through the door, and even briefly wrestles with Quasimodo with a dagger.
• Visionary Villain: His big goal (before he becomes obsessed with Esmeralda, anyway) is to take out every Romani in Paris at once.
• Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: He guilt-trips Quasimodo into obedience by bringing up how he took him in when nobody else would, despite the fact that it was Frollo who murdered his mother and that he only took him in after being (more justifiably) guilt-tripped by the Archdeacon.
• Where I Was Born and Razed: Near the end he tries to burn down Paris just because he's mad Esmerelda escaped. Luckily, the fires go out on their own and the city is fine.
• Wicked Cultured: He's well-spoken, well-dressed, well-educated, drinks wine, knows The Bible well and has an extensive vocabulary. He's shown to have singlehandedly educated Quasimodo who is shown to be very intelligent.
• Wise Old Folk Façade: While he paints himself as a caring father figure to Quasimodo, he actually abuses his adopted ward to the point of attempting to kill him near the climax when Quasi calls him out on his crimes.
• Would Hurt a Child:
  • Planned to drown a baby by dropping it into a well, simply because his appearance frightened him.
  • Tries to burn an innocent family alive in their own house, a child and a baby included.
• Yandere: Frollo is unhealthily obsessed with Esmeralda, he also hates her because she's Romani, as well as a criminal and (at least ostensibly) a witch. Feeling simultaneously sexually attracted to and repulsed by a woman is a common trait of misogynists and racists in real life. Now throw in a ridiculously rigid version of Catholic sexual moral, and you get one of the greatest Disney villains of all time.
  Frollo: Destroy Esmeralda, and let her taste the fires of Hell! Or else let her be mine and mine alone…
• You Are What You Hate: He longs to purge the world of sin, yet he's the most corrupt person in the whole movie. He also hates the Romani and those who sympathize with them, and yet he is obsessed with a Romani woman.
• You Have Failed Me: It's heavily implied that he is having his previous captain of the guard whipped for "disappointing him" in some way.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Judge Frollo ordered Captain Phoebus killed because Phoebus refused to burn down an innocent family's house - with the family still inside. Doubles as You Have Failed Me. He is saved by Esmeralda, who Frollo is doing this whole thing to try to find.
• You Monster!: In the opening song, Clopin asks "Now here is a riddle to guess if you can: 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. This is later reprised at the end of the movie when Clopin asks, "Now here is a riddle to guess if you can: What makes a monster and what makes a man?"
• You're Insane!: Frollo throws the archdeacon down a staircase when he asks if he's gone off the deep end for attacking Notre Dame. One of the townsfolk also refer to him as having gone mad when he starts ransacking Paris and he's at the miller's house.

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"And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!"

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