Judge Claude Frollo

Judge Claude Frollo is the main antagonist in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His voice was provided by the late Tony Jay, who had been chosen for the role based on his brief appearance as Monsieur D'Arque in Beauty and the Beast (which also re-teamed him with David Ogden Stiers, his co-star from the same film). Supervising animator Kathy Zielinski and her animation team were responsible for animating him.

It must be noted that in Victor Hugo's famous novel Notre Dame de Paris from which the Disney movie was inspired, Frollo is not a judge but the Archdeacon of the cathedral of Notre Dame, who was at first a gentle and caring man who struggles against his bitterness and his lust for Esmeralda to the point of near madness. For this original version, see Claude Frollo The Archdeacon. In the book, Frollo took care of Quasimodo out of genuine pity, though he comes to despise him. It can be guessed that the Disney Studios made Frollo a judge instead of a clergyman not to offend anyone.

Plot summary
Claude Frollo resides in Paris, France, where he is employed as a Court Judge. A deeply religious man, Frollo uses his position to inflict great suffering upon the gypsy population, believing them to "live outside the natural order" and engage in "heathen" behavior. One night, a group of gypsies attempt to enter Paris, only to be stopped by Frollo and his soldiers. When a gypsy woman attempts to flee, Frollo, believing her to be hiding stolen goods, chases her to Notre Dame and knocks her down the steps, where she suffers fatal head trauma. Frollo then discovers that she was the mother of a hideously deformed infant child. Believing the child to be an unholy demon, Frollo attempts to murder the infant by drowning him in a well but is stopped by the Archdeacon, who convinces him that, in order to save his soul from eternal damnation, Frollo must raise the child as his own son. Naming the child Quasimodo, Frollo raises him within the towers of Notre Dame, attempting to "protect" him from the outside world (and also very likely wishing to hide the child from public view so that he would not be associated with him in the public's eye).

Twenty years later, while attending the annual Festival of Fools, Frollo discovers a gypsy dancer named Esmeralda, who both attracts and disgusts Frollo with her beauty; shortly afterwards, Quasimodo is revealed to have fled the tower and joined the festivities, only to be crowned the "King of Fools". As the townspeople mock Quasimodo, Frollo refuses to help in order to teach him a lesson (he was also angered that Quasimodo defied his previous orders to not attend the Festival), and is disgusted when a defiant Esmeralda decides to assist him instead. Esmeralda then ridicules and humiliates Frollo before claiming sanctuary within Notre Dame, while a furious Frollo glares at the miserable Quasimodo, who apologizes and says that he will never disobey him again. That evening, Frollo is disturbed by his attraction for Esmeralda, believing a relationship with a gypsy will result in his eternal damnation (which he expresses in "Hellfire"). Unbeknownst to Frollo, Quasimodo has allowed Esmeralda to escape the cathedral in gratitude for her rescue of him during the Festival as well as feelings of love towards her. Upon learning of Esmeralda's escape, Frollo is enraged and begins a ruthless campaign to find her - attempting to bribe people into giving away her location and imprisoning those who did not co-operate. He later attempts to murder an innocent family whom he suspects of collaborating with gypsies via burning down their home while locking them inside, but an appalled Captain Phoebus intervenes and rescues them; Frollo declares Phoebus a traitor and attempts to execute him, but with help from Esmeralda Phoebes escapes, though he is injured in the process by an arrow that almost pierced his heart.

Realizing Quasimodo assisted Esmeralda, Frollo convinces him that the Court of Miracles has been found and will eventually be attacked; a misled Quasimodo follows Phoebus to the Court where Frollo's army attacks and arrests the gypsies. Frollo then sentences Esmeralda to execution. She refuses to become Frollo's mistress and is prepared to burn to death, but Quasimodo rescues her after she passes out and brings her to the cathedral. Frollo gains entrance to the interior of the cathedral and, after directly defying the Archdeacon and flinging him down a flight of stairs, Frollo attempts to kill Quasimodo, ensuing in a violent struggle in which Quasimodo overpowers the deranged judge. Esmeralda awakens, and Quasimodo rushes her to safety. Frollo chases him and Esmeralda onto a balcony overlooking the city, where he and Quasimodo fight furiously. In his hateful rage, Frollo reveals to Quasimodo that he killed his mother and is now planning to kill Quasimodo himself as he "should have done" twenty years ago. Frollo subsequently uses his cape to knock Quasimodo off of the balcony, but Quasimodo manages to hold on and pulls Frollo along with him. Frollo dangles momentarily for his life, but he is soon able to climb on a gargoyle in perfect position to kill Esmeralda, who is attempting to save Quasimodo. However, as he raises his sword, uttering the biblical phrase of "..and he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit", the gargoyle that he is standing on crumbles. Frollo manages to grab hold of the gargoyle in time for it to apparently come to life. The gargoyle breaks off completely sending Frollo to the fiery street filled with molten lead far below, where he is killed - perhaps a symbolism that the mad Judge has damned his very soul as well.

Frollo appears in Basil Of Baker Street as one of the guests.

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