Judge Claude Frollo

Judge Claude Frollo is the main antagonist in the 1996 Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Frollo is the minister of justice in the city of Paris, though he is xenophobic, fanatical and self-righteous to the point of delusion. His voice was provided by the late legendary Tony Jay, and animated by supervising animator Kathy Zielinski and her animation team.

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. In the book, Frollo took care of Quasimodo out of genuine pity, though he comes to despise him. Disney Studios probably made Frollo a judge instead of a clergyman to avoid controversy and to have a chance to tone up his evil actions and thoughts. For the original character, see Claude Frollo.

Prologue
"Judge Claude Frollo longs to purge the world of vice and sin. And he saw corruption everywhere except within."

- Clopin (the narrator) on Judge Claude Frollo.

Judge Claude Frollo resides in Paris, France, where he is employed as a Court Judge, or as the Justice Minister, this is not very clear. (Though the latter would explain his almost complete control over the affairs of Paris. It has been assumed that the King is away at war, leaving him in charge. It can be guessed that he was first the former and was appointed the latter at some point during the time skip.) 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. When Frollo catches up to her, he wrestles the "stolen goods" from her and kicks her in the head, causing her to fall on the steps of the parvis and die from a head concussion. He then finds out the the goods was actually her hideously deformed son, whom he attempts to cast in a well, believing him to be an "unholy demon" and that he is going to send it back to Hell "where it belongs".

Yet the Archdeacon of Notre Dame stops him, and tells him that to atone from his crimes in the eyes of the Virgin Mary (Notre-Dame meaning "Our Lady" in French) he must raise the child as his own. Fearing damnation, Frollo begrudgingly accepts and names the baby Quasimodo (half-formed). He keeps him out of the people's attention in the cathedral towers. As Quasimodo grows-up as the bell-ringer of Notre Dame, Frollo persuades him never to venture outside to avoid the hatred of the world, which he describes as cruel and unforgiving for deformed people.

Events of the movie
Twenty years later, while attending the annual Festival of Fools, Frollo discovers a gypsy dancer named Esmeralda, who both attracts and disgusts him 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". One of Frollo's guards throws a tomato at Quasimodo, revealing that he is not disguised, and soon the citizens of Paris start pelting Quasimodo with fruit and begin tormenting him. Quasimodo begs Frollo for help, but Frollo allows the torment to continue to teach him a lesson.

Esmeralda then goes to Quasimodo's aid, ridiculing Frollo in the process, and when Frollo vows to hurt her in return she says that they crowned the wrong fool, and throws the crown at Frollo's feet to say he is the real king of fools. In return Frollo orders her arrested; the gipsy girl can only escape Frollo's wrath by remaining within Notre Dame, where she gains Captain Phoebus' respect. Frollo then barges in trying to arrest her but the Archdeacon comes to her rescue.

He later confronts her, disturbing her by sniffing her hair inappropiately, and states that she is still a prisoner and that as soon as she leaves, he would throw her to jail. That evening, Frollo is disturbed by his attraction for Esmeralda, believing that she cast a spell on him to damn his soul, and resolving to have her for him or burn her (which he expresses in the song "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 that Esmerelda had escaped, Frollo leaves at once. He bribes some of the gypsies to find Esmeralda, and has everyone whom he believes to have aided the gypsies killed and their house burned, causing countless casualties. Appalled, Captain Phoebus intervenes and rescues an innocent family that Frollo had locked in their home, planning to burn it. Frollo then declares Phoebus a traitor and attempts to have him executed, but he is rescued by Esmeralda. Not finished, Frollo has his guards shoot Phoebus with arrows and one pierces Phoebus nearly killing him. He sees Phoebus fall in a river and declares him dead, not knowing that Esmerelda hidden in a robe helped Phoebus out of the river and to medical treatment.

Realizing Quasimodo assisted Esmeralda, Frollo convinces him that the Court of Miracles has been found and will eventually be attacked. A misled Quasimodo leads Phoebus to the Court to warn the gypsies, but it was a ruse and Frollo was in fact following them. The fanatical judge attacks the Court of Miracles, captures Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Phoebus, and the Gypsies, has Quasimodo chained down in Notre Dame, and sentences all gypsies to be burned at the stake for witchcraft.

Frollo offers to save Esmeralda if she becomes his mistress but she spits on his face and he prepares to burn her. Fortunately, Quasimodo who managed to escape, rescues her after she passes out and brings her to the cathedral, calling for the divine right of Sanctuary. Enraged, Frollo launches an attack against the cathedral, but Phoebus rallies the outraged people of Paris against him. While his guards are getting soundly defeated, Frollo enters the cathedral wanting to kill Quasimodo. The Archdeacon tries to protest refusing to let him defile God's house but Frollo replies by hurling him down the staircase, causing him to break his leg, and locks him from the belltower saying "The hunchback and I have unfinished business and this time you shall not interfere."

As Quasimodo is mourning Esmeralda who seems to be dead, Frollo pretends to confort him, concealing a dagger behind his back to kill him. A violent struggle ensues, in which Quasimodo overpowers the deranged judge. Esmeralda awakens, and Quasimodo rushes her to safety. Frollo chases them onto a balcony overlooking the city, striking them with a sword to knock them off the balcony; but Quasimodo manages to hold on and pulls the deranged judge along with him.

While Esmeralda is struggling to rescue Quasimodo, Frollo manages to climb a gargoyle and prepares to deal the finishing blow. As he prepares to finish them off, the gargoyle he is standing on ironically crumbles beneath him, forcing Frollo to hold onto it with all his might. The gargoyle then roars menacingly at the deranged judge before finally breaking away from the cathedral, sending a screaming Frollo plunging into the molten lead a long way below.

Frollo's death can be interpreted as divine intervention. The gargoyle appears to act as a symbol of God, "judging" Frollo as truly evil and therefore casting him into the "fiery pit" of Hell, in the form of the molten lead. In the end, Frollo suffers what he feared the most, the damnation of his very soul.

Kingdom Hearts
Frollo makes an appearance in the latest Kingdom Hearts game; Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. He is voiced by Corey Burton.

Reception
Frollo has left a lasting impact on audiences, being remembered as one of the darkest and cruelest Disney villains, as his crimes include trying to kill a baby and trying to burn an innocent family alive, and the sexual element of his character is otherwise almost unheard of for an animated Disney character. It is also clearly stated implied that he is responsible for the deaths of possibly thousands of gypsies, and hundreds of citizens. An official poll of the Top 30 Disney Villains placed him in the #10 spot, and the Nostalgia Critic gave him the #4 spot on his personal list.

At the same time however, Frollo is arguably the most complex, realistic and "human" Disney villains as he does have an internal conflict, as well as a distinct insecurity and fear for his soul, which he fails to listen to due to his delusional denial of his own sins. Some even find him sympathetic, and wish he had redeemed himself or even ended up with Esmeralda. This may have something to do with the book, where he legitimately is sympathetic. In addition, Frollo's conflict with the Archdeadcon of Notre Dame (a character meant to embody the good aspect of Frollo's character in the novel) has been regarded by some as mirroring the conflict between pure religion and fanaticism.

Despite (and, given the absurd nature of the phenomenon, likely because of) being such a dark character, Frollo is the second most popular Disney character in the Youtube Poop community, next to Gaston. The "Hellfire" scene in particular is a very popular source, again despite and perhaps because of being so dark. The most notable YTP work starring Frollo is "The Frollo Show" by Chincherrinas where he is portrayed as the main protagonist and is best friends with Gaston.

In the novel series, Kingdom Keepers, Frollo appears in one of the books. He is one of the Overtakers, a group of certain Disney villains that plan to take over all of the Disney parks. He tried to drown one of the Kingdom Keeper kids. He, along with Maleficent and the baddie in charge-Chernabog- are the main Overtakers (along with Evil Queen and Cruella De Vil)