Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Welcome back to Deep Dive Disney my friends. Fair warning, today’s article will deal with heavier subject matter than usual so read at your own discretion. Today, we’re looking at one of Disney’s more adult yet still somehow G-rated films, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I absolutely love this movie. In my opinion, it’s about as close to a perfect film as Disney has ever produced. In fact, it’s so close to perfection that it’s almost frustrating, something I’ll explain in the article itself. Based on an 1831 novel by Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place in fifteenth century Paris where corrupt judge and religious zealot, Claude Frollo, violently murders a pair of Romani gypsies for the crime of being gypsies. Frollo, monster that he is, tries to drown the deformed child of the gypsies as well, but fear for his immortal soul being forever tormented in the fiery pits of hell prompts the judge to raise the child as his own. Frollo gives the child the name Quasimodo, meaning half-formed, and keeps him secluded in the bell tower of Notre Dame, forbidding the boy to leave and reminding him every day that he’s a godless abomination that no one can love. Years later, both Quasimodo and Frollo encounter a gypsy woman named Esmerelda. While Esmerelda is the first person to show Quasimodo true kindness, Frollo only sees her as an object to lust. Under the pretense of purging the city of the gypsy population in the name of the lord, Frollo begins to lay waste to all of Paris in order to find Esmerelda, vowing that she will be his or she will be burned at stake. The film is known as the most adult Disney ever got with its animated films. It’s beautifully animated, has an amazing score and deeply complex characters. I cannot wait to get into this so let’s dive right in to Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Main Character:

Strange as this may sound, something I actually really appreciate about Quasimodo is that he is actually ugly. Let me explain. So often, we get what I like to call “Hollywood Ugly” which is where we’re supposed to believe someone is horribly disfigured when they’re just as good looking as they were before just with a couple scars. I’m looking at you Season 2 of Punisher on Netflix! My point is, Disney had this weird habit of making their main characters attractive while everyone else looks cartoony and exaggerated and I’m glad they were able to go all the way with making their main character ugly in a film that called for an ugly protagonist. Quasimodo is actually a little like The Beast in that we’re supposed to see what’s inside rather than what’s outside. However, unlike The Beast, who had to learn kindness over time, Quasimodo seems to be a truly kind character from the get go. He is constantly told by Frollo that the world is a dark and cruel place but he still longs to be a part of the world because unlike his master, Quasimodo chooses to assume the best of people. That’s probably why even after years of emotional abuse, Quasimodo still seems to hold Frollo in high regard. Despite being very gentle, Quasi is also shown to have borderline superhuman strength, able to lift Phoebus effortlessly with one hand. I guess twenty years ringing gigantic church bells is a hell of a workout. He obviously doesn’t interact with people all that much, hence his need to create imaginary friends and anthropomorphize the bells, so when Esmerelda comes along and gives him his first taste of genuine kindness he is overjoyed. I honestly don’t blame him for becoming enamored with her. However, even despite his crush on Esmerelda, he still does the right thing and hides Phoebus, even after learning that they’re together. Sure, he’s jealous, even heartbroken but who wouldn’t be in that situation. He’s actually a very likable and sympathetic character that anyone who’s ever felt a bit shy or secluded can relate to.

Villain:

Oh fuck me, where do I even begin with this guy? As you may recall from that Top 20 Disney Villains Article I never shut the fuck up about, Frollo here managed to take the number one spot and for a damn good reason because the judge here is one serious piece of work. I mean it folks, Frollo might very well be the most evil, reprehensible and vile character Disney has ever produced. Before we get into the long list of Frollo’s crimes, let me first mention that Frollo is our last Disney Renaissance character who was almost Patrick Stewart. Take a shot! In lieu of the venerated Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Frollo is instead voiced by the legendary Tony Jay and his incredible baritone. Jay brings the same level of gravitas to the role of Frollo that he did to Megabyte from Reboot or Anubis from Gargoyles. Speaking of Gargoyles, now’s as good a time as any to mention that one of the guards working for Frollo is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, better known to those of you who have been following me for a while as Broadway. Man, why couldn’t he have been one of the Gargoyles in this movie, it would only have been an improvement. Getting back to Frollo, The first thing, the FIRST THING, we see him do in the film is murder an innocent gypsy woman in cold blood and attempt to drown her deformed infant son, and that’s literally in the first five minutes. And no, the attempted infanticide isn’t implied, we actually see him, on screen for God and all the world to see, dangling a baby over a deep well. Fortunately, Frollo doesn’t go through with it, otherwise we wouldn’t have a movie. Instead, the kindly archdeacon convinces Frollo to care for the child. So, instead of killing the baby he locks him away in a bell tower and spends the next twenty years reminding him that he’s an unholy abomination that no one could ever love. What a guy! Then there’s Frollo’s intense hatred of the gypsy population of Paris, a group of people he sees as sub-human. Good, we can add racism to the pile. He’s even gone so far as to have called soldiers away from the front lines of the war in order to help him, um… "cleanse the city." Hooray! Mass Genocide! Oh, and did I mention, any soldier who disobeys Frollo ends up getting brutally whipped to death? Fun! And to make matters even worse, if that’s even possible at this point, Esmerelda becomes the object of Frollo’s lust, despite the rather disturbing fact that he’s forty years her senior and, somehow even worse, Esmerelda is meant to be sixteen years old. Blatant pedophilia not enough for you? Well, when Esmerelda is somehow not won over by the unwanted advances of a murderous, pedophilic old racist, Frollo puts together a city-wide manhunt for the young woman, burning down the homes of innocent people simply because they might be harboring her. And then, to top it all off, when he finally has Esmerelda tied to the stake, he offers her one last chance for freedom, provided she gives the disgusting old fuck a good hard shag. What the shit Disney? However, the real rotten mayonnaise in this twisted fuck sandwich that is Frollo’s rap sheet is that every single act of evil I listed above, Frollo justifies by claiming it was done in service the lord. Ugh… here we go. Okay, now I personally am not a religious man, but I've never felt that religion is a bad thing in and of itself. If you feel that devotion to God has given you purpose or guidance or has had any kind of positive influence on your life whatsoever, well I think that's just dynamite. What I have and will always take issue with are people who use faith and religion as a smoke screen for their own evil agendas. You read all that up there, there’s no possible justification for that, and yet so deluded is this sicko that he thinks that being a man of faith makes him the hero of this story. I say again, what the shit Disney? I think the thing that’s the most disturbing about the character is how he’s able to exert control over Quasimodo with little more than a look. Remember, Quasimodo is insanely strong and Frollo is an old man. If Quasi felt so inclined he could snap the old fuck in half like a twig. However, all it takes is one mean look from Frollo and the powerful hunchback cowers in fear. It’s actually a little disturbing when you think about how much Quasi must have been conditioned to obey by his cruel upbringing at Frollo’s hands.What ultimately sets Frollo apart from his Disney villain contemporaries is the fact that, while all the others are despicable in their own way, you still can find something to like or enjoy about them. Sure, Ursula is a deceitful Lucifer figure but she still had plenty of charm. Gaston was a self-absorbed asshole but you still got a couple of laughs from how goofy and over the top he can be. Ratigan may have been an admitted child murderer and outright lunatic but who could ever hate Vincent Price. However, when it comes to Frollo, there is no charm, no laughs, no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Froll is just a monster through and through and his evil is depicted as realistically as humanly possible. You don’t like Frollo, you loathe Frollo. However, if you’re looking for a version of Frollo who’s a little more sympathetic, check out the Hunchback of Notre Dame stage musical. There, Frollo is still pretty vile but his backstory is elaborated on and we can see why he is the way he is. In this version, Frollo had a brother who turned his back on the church to shack up with a gypsy woman, hence Frollo’s hatred of their kind. Years later, Frollo is contacted by his brother on his deathbed and requests that Frollo take care of his deformed infant son. That’s right, in this version, Quasimodo is Frollo’s nephew and the last thing he has left of beloved brother, thus making it ambiguous as to whether or not Frollo genuinely cares for Quasimodo, a stark contrast to the film where it’s clear that he does not. Either way, Frollo is hands down the most twisted villain that we’ve covered or will cover in this entire retrospective.

Side Characters:

Before we discuss Esmerelda and Phoebus there’s something we need to address. Esmerelda is only sixteen while Phoebus is meant to be thirty-one. Now, I have been informed that the age of consent in France is fifteen, making their relationship technically above board but it’s still a little uncomfortable. Even still, it could be a lot worse. Hell, the last Disney Renaissance film had Mel Gibson macking on an eleven-year-old so this doesn’t seem that bad by comparison. That having been said, I actually found Phoebus to be my favorite character in the film. Unlike the other soldiers in Frollo’s employ, he’s shown to be noble, generous, kind, brave, heroic and quick-witted. That last one likely comes from his voice actor, Kevin Kline, whose dry delivery really gives the character a lot of charm. He actually gets some of the funniest lines in the film and has great chemistry with Esmerelda. He demonstrates heroism when he jumps into a burning building to save an innocent family even though he knows it costs him his career and it’s ultimately him who rallies the people to rise up against Frollo and his men. He’s a good dude.

Moving on to Esmerelda, it’s understandable why every significant male character in the film finds her desirable. Her kindness and altruism appeal to Quasimodo, her intelligence and wit appeal to Phoebus and her mysterious seductive nature appeals to Frollo. She is a likable character and in my opinion is a cut above in terms of your typical female Disney characters. While the Disney Princess types tend to be more concerned with their own situations, Esmerelda is altruistic and thinks of others before herself, something made apparent during her song God Help the Outcasts.

We’ve talked about some good characters, now, let’s talk about the bad ones. I speak of course of those fucking gargoyles. I hope when Thailog moved into Notre Dame centuries later, he kicked those little fuckers into dust. I know that way back in my Cinderella article I said I took back everything I said about the Gargoyles, and yeah, they’re nowhere near as bad as the Cinderella mice, but they do still drag the film down and keep it from the perfection it should have been able to achieve. Look, these are not untalented comedic actors and the idea that they might be a figment of Quasi’s imagination brought about by loneliness at least makes them interesting, but these characters seriously needed to be dialed way back. So many scenes that should have been serious end up getting ruined when these irritating rock heads rear their ugly heads. They’re not enough to ruin the movie, but they still feel at odds with the films tone and the movie would not feel lesser for their removal.

Songs:

Well, let’s get the bad one out of the way. A Guy Like You singlehandedly keeps this soundtrack from being on par with The Lion King. The song is already a terrible, annoying mess but the problems don’t end there. You want to talk about tonal issues, I’ll give you a tonal issue. This song is sung after all of Paris is already burning. So while these jerks are singing about romance, I can’t help but think about all the innocent people that are burning to death because of Frollo’s twisted obsession. Fuck this song and fast forward through it in subsequent viewings.

A Guy Like You notwithstanding, this movie really does have an incredible soundtrack. Even the score, complete with that unforgettable choir, is awesome and makes some of the more intense scenes all the more memorable.

Bells of Notre Dame is an incredible opening number. I love how it tells the story of how Frollo came to be the guardian and adds weight to the more dramatic moments.

Out There is a solid number and man can Tom Hulce sing. It’s a typical “I want more” song but one that’s beautiful and comes from an understandable place.

The Court of Miracles is appropriately creepy and matches the scene nicely.

God Help the Outcasts is one of my favorites. I love Esmerelda’s singing voice and the idea of a song where she literally asks for nothing when so many others have asked for more. It shows the character’s kind an altruistic side very well.

The song Heaven’s Light often overlooked given the song that follows immediately, and I think that’s a shame because it’s actually a nice song. It’s also meant to be a companion piece to Hellfire to illustrate the effect that Esmerelda has had on both of them. With Quasimodo, for the first time, he feels worthy of heaven while Frollo now worries the temptation he feels will send him to hell.

Speaking of, let’s talk about what you’ve all been waiting for me to talk about. The greatest song in the film and the best villain song in Disney History and possibly of all time, Hellfire. This song has it all. It’s beautifully performed, has stunning visuals and shows us the depths of Frollo’s depravity as he tries to justify his lust for Esmerelda and reconcile it with his devotion to the lord by claiming she must have cast a spell on him, culminating in his decision to make the gypsy girl his or see her burned to death. It’s epic, it’s twisted, it’s haunting, it’s amazing. It may very well be one of the greatest Disney songs ever performed and I love every second of it.

Memorable Scenes:

There are a couple scenes I’d like to discuss here. I really liked Esmerelda and Phoebus’s first meeting. The two have instant chemistry and I could listen to the two exchange one liners all day. Even as they fight, they’re shown to be really cute together. You can totally see how these two will eventually end up together. Esmerelda’s sarcastic stare after Phoebus says his name means “Sun God” always cracks me up.

I also really liked the climax, which is epic for many reasons. People rising up against Frollo’s oppression as the city burns and Quasimodo single handedly defends Notre Dame. However, there’s one bit of the climax that’s always stuck out to me and that’s where Quasi is crying over Esmerelda’s supposed death and Frollo tries to kill him. Quasi finally has had enough of Frollo’s shit and shoves him, delivering the great line “My whole life you told me that the world was a dark, cruel place but now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you.” What I love about this is that this the first time we see Quasi truly stand up to Frollo. Remember, Frollo has always had this power over Quasi where he could turn him into a cowering wreck with just a look. Seeing Quasi finally overcome the power that Frollo has over him was very cathartic for both the character and the viewer. And of course, this scene leads to the final confrontation where Frollo tries to murder both Quasimodo and Esmerelda and ends up falling to his death. Great stuff.

Story:

The overall theme of the film can be summed up in its final lines, “What Makes a Monster and What Makes a Man.” Quasimodo may be hideous but he’s also kind, gentle and caring. Frollo, by all appearances is a pious man but I think we’ve made it clear at this point that Frollo is an irredeemable monster. It is what is in our hearts that determine who we are, not appearances or the false belief in some greater good to justify wickedness. The message is well delivered, but it also occasionally gets muddled with the film’s inconsistent tone. Still, I appreciate the message and Disney’s willingness to show that something like religion can be used for both good and evil.

The Dark Disney Factor:

Uh… have you been paying attention? This movie doesn’t just have the Dark Disney Factor, this movie IS the Dark Disney Factor. In the first five minutes, a woman is murdered on the steps of a church and her baby is nearly drowned until the man doing the drowning agrees to raise the child out of fear of eternal damnation. From there we get child imprisonment, gaslighting, emotional and psychological abuse, imaginary friends created from sheer loneliness, public humiliation, racism, brutal torture, pedophilia, religious zealotry, burning of innocents, creepy skeleton guards, ankle deep sewage, that weird hair sniffing scene, public executions that can only be avoided if the victim agrees to have sex with her captor, I can literally go on and on and on like some kind of nightmare energizer bunny. Around every corner there’s something creepy, unsettling, inappropriate, disturbing or simply way too adult for a kids movie. Seriously, how, in the Holy Flying Hell Fuck, did this movie get away with a G rating? I sat through the Black Cauldron and nothing in that movie reached this level. This is probably the most dark and adult Disney got in one of their animated films and it honestly works for me. I admire any work that pushes the envelope of what you can get away with in a cartoon and this film certainly did that. God bless this movie and its massive cojones for giving us this wonderful and very dark experience.

Final Thoughts: I love this movie. It's dark, it's epic, it's got great characters, one of the most sinister villains in Disney history and so much more. If it weren't for the gargoyles and some of the other tonal issues abundant in the film, I would daresay that this film is a master piece. As it stands it is frustratingly close to perfection. However, there's good news. If you are looking for the perfection that this movie nearly attained, you can find it in the Hunchback of Notre Dame stage musical. The basic story remains mostly intact with a few elements from the book brought in. The great songs all return (with the exception of A Guy Like You, Thank God) with a couple of decent new ones thrown in. The characters are given a bit more depth and even the Gargoyles are dialed way back. If you can find it on YouTube and have two hours and change to spare, it's worth your time. Not going to lie to you folks, as much as I love this film, this one took a lot out of me. Before we move on to Hercules, I could use a softball. So, next time, we're going to revisit an old friend as Deep Dive Disney takes its first dive into the world of the direct to video Disney sequels with Aladdin & The King of Thieves.