Judge Claude Frollo

## Personal Information

### Personality traits

Blasphemous, cold-hearted, cruel, evil, rude, arrogant, grumpy, cunning, spiteful, superstitious, strict, ruthless, abusive, contemptuous, genocidal, sadistic, manipulative, dishonest, two-faced, conceited, regal, religious, vengeful, gothic, oppressive, lustful, dark, cynical, sociopathic, narcissistic, relentless, judgmental, wrathful, authoritative, murderous, insane, unscrupulous, aggressive, prejudiced, hypocritical, self-righteous, pompous, dishonest, callous, ill-tempered, unmerciful, selfish, harsh, obsessive, power-hungry, delusional, fanatical, pious, racist, ableist, intolerant, opinionated, uncompromising, bigoted, hateful

### Occupation

Judge
Minister of Justice

### Goal

To rid Paris of gypsies and claim Esmeralda (failed)

### Relatives

Jehan Frollo (younger brother)
Quasimodo (foster son; disowned)

### Minions

Phoebus (formerly), Paris Guard, Brutish and Oafish Guard

### Enemies

Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Phoebus, Clopin, Djali, Archdeacon, King Louis XI of France, Queen of France, Prince of France, Princess of France

### Likes

Serving God, fireplaces, religion, "justice", his alphabet, destroying gypsies, bringing order to Paris, to abuse and mistreat, misery

### Dislikes

Gypsies, sanctuary, Satan, the Archdeacon's authority, King of France, Queen of France, Prince of France, Princess of France, Royal Family of France, licentious sinners, the Festival of Fools, gypsy supporters, defiance, witchcraft, magic, sorcery, deformities, Esmeralda's sexual appeal, Quasimodo, Quasimodo's happiness

### Paraphernalia

Sword
Dagger

### Fate

Falls into a pit of molten copper to his death

### Quote

"You are forgiven. But remember, Quasimodo; this is your sanctuary."
"I should have known you'd risk your life to save that gypsy witch, just as your own mother died trying to save you."
"And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!"

*"Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin.
And he saw corruption everywhere, except within."*
—Clopin during "The Bells of Notre Dame"
**Judge Claude Frollo** is the main antagonist of Disney's 1996 animated feature film, *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*. He is a ruthless Parisian justice minister who, after a series of sensitive circumstances, becomes the begrudged caretaker of the deformed Quasimodo.

In addition to his political power, Frollo is a religious zealot with intolerance to sinners. He believes Romani people (or "gypsies", as he refers to them) to be the most heinous of all malefactors, and therefore dedicates twenty years of his life to eradicating them. Frollo's self-imposed mission drives him to perform inhumane acts of violence, all the while using his loyalty to God as justification.

With a majority of the film's heavy thematic elements being directly tied to Frollo's story arc — such as religion, lust, and genocide — he is widely considered to be amongst the darkest Disney villains of all time.

## Background

### Personality

Claude 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 a wicked, callous, prejudiced, sinister, vicious, and cold government official who uses his place in power to meet his own extreme ends, even employing common thugs to enforce his interpretation of God's will while posing as "soldiers." This makes him feared and reviled throughout the city. Frollo is especially determined to destroy the gypsies scattered throughout Paris as their indulgence in "witchcraft and sorcery" is infectious to those around them, according to him, which therefore makes him genocidal. He also is shown to have sadism, as other than his desire to persecute sinners, he also briefly grins when the previous Captain of the Guard prior to his promoting Phoebus to the rank was heard being whipped for failing him. However, despite being highly religious, he turns out to be unwillingly blasphemous calling religious people such as the Archdeacon "fools" (likely because, amid his pride, he thinks himself superior and even more religious than the Archdeacon himself), and once attempting to commit murder within the city's beloved cathedral (because he thought the said murder was God's will and that it was thus completely justified to execute God's will inside his home). His deep religion prompts him to teach Quasimodo a very disappointing religious alphabet as well, which allowed one to see that, despite his dark methods, he's familiar with the belief of "forgiveness" at least, presumably because of his faith. This was apparent in including Forgiveness as the representing word for the letter "F."

Interestingly, while most Disney villains know what they do is incorrect (and either doesn't care or take pride from this), Frollo actually believes that he has been a good person, making him something of a complex character in addition. He repeatedly refuses to find fault within himself and has been quite self-righteous, declaring himself much purer than "the common vulgar, weak, licentious crowd" and to be above the biblical doctrine that all men are equally sinful. He believes that everything he does is in the name of God, even as he ambushes the cathedral of Notre Dame for the sake of catching, apprehending, and executing one gypsy lady. However, at the end of "Hellfire", he begs God for mercy on Esmeralda for what he plans to do with her and mercy on him for his plans, and part of his sparing Quasimodo was as penance for his crucifying his mother, so he's been capable of some form of guilt in his own twisted way. On a similar note, the "mea culpa" chorus of Hellfire implies that he does to some level recognize that he was at fault, and implies a more self-loathing aspect to his nature.

Apparently, Frollo used to be celibate. However, he comes to lust for the lovely Esmeralda, but after a moment of indecision ends up blaming his own lust for her on witchcraft and the devil rather than accept that he himself is prone to sin like everybody else. His lust drives him murderously insane, which finally proves to be his downfall when he pushes Quasimodo too far by almost slaughtering Esmeralda. When he believes his lust for Esmeralda to turn him to sin he is partially correct because it is this that makes him murderous and unfair towards the other people, apprehending two families and attempting to crucify one just because they wouldn't give Esmeralda to him.

What's more, he tends to be very abusive to Quasimodo. He refuses to allow the hunchback to experience freedom and forces the young man to call him "master", and allows him to be mortified in public without even bothering to assist him, as punishment for disobeying his orders. Additionally, during Frollo's temper tantrums, Quasimodo tries to move away from him, implying that Frollo has physically abused Quasimodo in the past. Despite all that, Frollo has traces of humanity in his relationship with Quasimodo as he spent his free time having lunch and supper with his adoptive son, as well as his willingness to educate him, employ him as Notre Dame's bell ringer, provide for him and even gave him the means to spend time on his hobbies. He also seems to be somewhat down-to-earth, believing that stone can't talk and attempt to get Quasimodo to believe this as well:

***Frollo:** Dear boy... whomever are you talking to?
**Quasimodo:** My... friends.
**Frollo:** I see. And what are your friends made of, Quasimodo?
**Quasimodo:** Stone.
**Frollo:** Can stone talk?
**Quasimodo:** No, it can't.
**Frollo:** That's right. You're a smart lad.*
Furthermore, Frollo appears to be a rather stoic man, always appearing cool and collected, and only shows fear whenever Quasimodo overpowers him after he prepares to crucify him and when he is about to fall to his demise; he also shows visible fear when the many eyes of Notre Dame glare at him for slaughtering an innocent lady upon the cathedral steps. He rarely exhibits humor, and when he does, it's dry and black.

Despite his single-mindedness, Frollo's true weakness was that he couldn't feel or interpret love for another person. It was this callousness and abusiveness that drove Quasimodo to have very little faith towards his master and guarded the only person who ever showed the hunchback kindness from him.

Frollo appears to have little to no sense of personalization in addition, despite Quasimodo being the only person he refers to by name as he refers to his soldiers as "You men!" as they make ready to attack the cathedral and refers to Esmeralda as "the gypsy girl" at all times.

### Physical appearance

Frollo is an aging man defined by his wrinkled, care-worn face and thinning white hair. As the Minister of Justice and a high-ranking public official, Frollo is most frequently dressed in a black and purple robe, a purple jumpsuit, a purple and black striped hat with a red tassel attached to the bottom, and black shoulder pads with red stripes. He also wears rings on his fingers, two on the right and one on the left, with the jewels colored blue, red, and green.

### Abilities

Despite his frail appearance, Frollo possesses a considerable amount of strength, shown by the muscle in his arms and how he is able to hold his own against Quasimodo, who despite being smaller than Frollo in terms of stature is larger in terms of built and has displayed signs of superhuman strength.

## Appearances

### *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*

At the film's beginning, Frollo ambushes a group of gypsies entering Paris illegally and upon seeing one of them with what he thought to be a bundle hiding stolen goods, he chases the freaked-out latter to Notre Dame where he crucfies her by kicking her down the steps of the cathedral, thus breaking her skull. However, he discovers that her "stolen goods" were her deformed infant son indeed. Believing the kid to be an unholy demon, Frollo makes ready to drop him down a nearby well but pauses at the interference of the Archdeacon, who upbraids Frollo for crucifying an innocent lady. Frollo tries to justify his actions but the Archdeacon dismisses his explanation and Frollo becomes frightened after realizing he was observed by the eyes of Notre Dame. The Archdeacon tells him the only way to atone for his sin is to raise the boy as his own son, to which he begrudgingly concurs after seeing the stone statues of saints decorating Notre Dame turn their eyes on him apparently. However, he only concurs to restore what was left of his soul and because the kid might come in handy someday. Frollo names him "Quasimodo" (literally "Half-formed"), and raises him in the cathedral, hidden from the outside world, constantly teaching him that he would be considered an ugly and hideous monster by the cruel outside world.

Twenty years later, Frollo summones the gallant soldier Phoebus from the war to be his new Captain of the Guard, since the last one was "a bit of a disappointment" to him and has been tortured to death in the Palace of Justice. He hopes to clear the gypsies out of Paris with Phoebus' assistance and go to Heaven when he passed away. While attending the annual Festival of Fools, Frollo discovers a gypsy dancer named Esmeralda, who attracts him with her beauty. Shortly afterwards he learns that Quasimodo has left the bell tower against his orders, entered the Festival and was crowned the King of Fools. Frollo declines to assist Quasimodo while the latter is being publicly ambushed by the crowd in order to teach him a lesson, even when the hunchback implores for his assistance; he even delays Phoebus' request to stop it. He gets furious when Esmeralda openly defied him for his cruelty and frees Quasimodo, and in retaliation, he orders for her to be arrested. After witnessing the gypsy vanish in a cloud, he rashly concludes her to be a witch and orders Phoebus to bring her in alive right away. With the crowd's assistance, she gets away into the Cathedral, where Frollo finds her speaking with Phoebus and orders them to force her out of the Cathedral, but is rebuffed by the Archdeacon, who orders them all out. Frollo pretends to depart before catching Esmerelda by shock and laying hands on her; this reveals that he had lustful feelings for her. Then he encounters her and told her he will arrest her if she departs. However, she ventures up to the bell tower and becomes reunited with Quasimodo, who helps her get away.

That evening, in the Palace of Justice, Frollo is disturbed by his attraction to Esmeralda which he believes is turning him to sin and pleads the Virgin Mary to protect him from her "spell" and to let Esmeralda taste the fires of Hell if she would not be his. Upon learning from a Brutish Guard that she has escaped the cathedral, he gets mad and, with his guards the next day, begins a relentless manhunt to find her, burning down the houses of anyone suspected of sheltering gypsies and interrogating gypsies who are captured. Later, he attempts to execute an innocent family who he suspects of communicating with gypsies by burning down their house with them inside still, but an appalled Phoebus eventually rebels against him and rescues the family. Frollo declares Phoebus a double-crosser and attempts to have him slaughtered, but a disguised Esmeralda flings a stone at his steed, throwing him off and buying Phoebus time to get away. The guards fire arrows at Phoebus, resulting in him being injured and falling into a lake, and continue firing until Frollo makes them pause for a second. They proceed across a bridge to finish the manhunt. Once they depart, the injured Phoebus is rescued by Esmeralda after being left for dead at once.

    Returning to the smoldering city, Frollo was informed that Esmeralda has been at large still. He goes to the bell tower, thinking Quasimodo might have been accountable for assisting Esmeralda. Upon deducing this was true, Frollo furiously lashes out at him and has been at the verge of a temper tantrum when he realizes he is wasting his breath and takes a chill pill. Suspecting Quasimodo has connections to Esmeralda still, Frollo fibs to him that he has found the Court of Miracles and has been ready to attack at dawn. A misled Quasimodo accompanies Phoebus to the Court, and Frollo and his henchmen follow them and apprehend the gypsies. Frollo praises Quasimodo for leading him to them, confessing that he would never have found it without his assistance. Then he notices that Phoebus has survived and remarked that he intended to "remedy it". Seeing this, Quasimodo begs him to call off the guards. Frollo refuses and tells them to take the hunchback to the bell tower, making sure he "stays there." In the square, Frollo sentences Esmeralda to death but offered to rescue her from immolation if she ever chooses him. She declines to become Frollo's mistress, spitting in his face in disgust, prompting him to burn her at the stake. He watches and grins sadistically while she passes out from the smoke. But Quasimodo rescues her after she passes out and returns her to the cathedral, much to Frollo's fury. Soon after, Quasimodo drops a large beam that destroyed his carriage and practically crushes him, the same beam Frollo tells his soldiers to pick up and use it to break down Notre Dame's doors. Mad at this defilement and ambush on the beloved cathedral, as well as fed up with Frollo's tyranny and rallied by Phoebus, the citizens of Paris arm themselves, free the gypsies and rebel against Frollo's guards. Though Notre Dame's ancient doors manage to hold for a while, they break down at last. Frollo gains entry into the cathedral, refusing to have the common courtesy to the Archdeacon when he claims he would not tolerate slaughtery in the church. Frollo pays no attention to him and throws him down a flight of stairs and locks him out of the bell tower so he would not follow and interfere.

Then he encounters Quasimodo in the bell tower, falsely consoles him for Esmeralda's apparent "death", and attempts to crucify him with a dagger, resulting in a brief yet brutal struggle in which Quasimodo overpowers Frollo, wrenching the dagger from his grip and throwing him to the floor. Then Quasimodo hovered over Frollo, who momentarily abandoned his pride and begged Quasimodo to listen to him, but Quasimodo refuses and then furiously yells out that all his life Frollo has told him that the world is a dark, cruel place, but he sees that people who are just like Frollo are the only reason why now. Just then, Esmeralda awakens, alive and well, and Quasimodo rushes to her side, thrilled that she is all right and rushes her to safety. Getting mad, Frollo draws his sword and chases them onto a balcony overlooking the city, slashing at the two of them with his sword with Quasimodo unable to fight back due to guarding Esmeralda.

    In his fury, Frollo eventually confesses that he crucified Quasimodo's mother when she attempted to rescue her baby, much to Quasimodo's shock and horror. As such, Frollo decides to crucify Quasimodo himself like he "should have done" 20 years ago (confirming Quasimodo's age in the film). Frollo attempts to use his cape to throw Quasimodo off the balcony, but the hunchback manages to hold on and ends up pulling Frollo along with him, unwilling to let himself fall. Frollo dangles momentarily for his life, but soon he is able to swing and grab onto a gargoyle attached to the wall. Rather than getting away to safety, he raises himself in a perfect position to crucify Esmeralda instead (who is attempting to rescue Quasimodo), his eyes and teeth are shown in a fire-like color, he raises his sword and laughs sinisterly while declaring his last blasphemy, "And he shall smite the wicked, and plunge them into the fiery pit!" Just then, the gargoyle he is standing on starts to break off (possibly due to an act of divine intervention and/or earlier damage from Frollo's sword), and he loses his balance, dropping his sword, but manages to cling onto the gargoyle for dear life. In his final moments, the gargoyle's face comes to life and demonically roars at him, frightening the latter. This is an extremely clear sign that Frollo was both too destructive and blasphemous to remain alive (which clearly indicated that this was a divine intervention indeed). Then the gargoyle breaks off completely and sends the hollering Frollo falling into a vast lake of molten metal that was created by Quasimodo and the gargoyles, where he meets his fiery demise upon physical contact, symbolically sending him to Hell for his sins.

With Frollo gone, his tyranny has finally ended and his soldiers are defeated and surrender to the French army and King of France for all time; Esmerelda and Phoebus become a couple while Quasimodo is hailed as a hero and accepted into society.

### *House of Mouse*

Frollo makes a few cameos in the series. In "Everybody Loves Mickey", he was seen taking a seat with Grumpy and Grimsby, with all three giving their trademark dry expressions in response to the comedy of Mortimer Mouse.

In "Dining Goofy", he showed to be unamused with the fact that he was seated with the Mad Hatter, calling him Frumpy during the time that Goofy lets Daisy know that he altered the seating chart so that the audience could make new companions, which did not work out.

Also, he appears in *Mickey's House of Villains*, but not as one of the villains that take over. Instead, he merely appears in a crowd shot in between the cartoons shorts, taking place before the takeover. During Jafar's reign as host, however, Frollo is nowhere to be seen whatsoever, implying that he possibly fled the club before Jafar's plan was beginning.

## Printed media

### *Kingdom Keepers*

Frollo appears in the fourth book, Power Play. He is seen in Disney's Hollywood Studios where he attempts to drown Willa commanding the Green Army Men. His guards also pursue Willa throughout Epcot.

In the fifth book, he is seen boarding the Disney Dream along with some other villains. He was also mentioned, but not seen, in the seventh book.

### *Disney Adventures*

In the *Disney Adventures* comic based off of the movie, Frollo's personality generally stays the same. During the scene where Esmeralda is being sentenced to death, he states to her "your time has come" but says immediately afterward that even though her fate has been sealed, "it's still not too late" to change her mind and become his mistress. Like in the film, though, he falls to his death in the molten copper.

### *Descendants: Isle of the Lost*

Frollo is one of the villains who was brought back from death to be imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost. He has a daughter named Claudine Frollo who works as the bell ringer at Dragon Hall.

## Video games

### *Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance*

Frollo appears in *Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance* as a villain trapped in his sleeping world of La Cité des Cloches.

When Sora arrived in La Cité des Cloches in the first place, he came face-to-face with Frollo in the town outside Notre Dame. The judge examined Sora, believing him to be a gypsy due to his "disgusting attire", but his interrogation of the young Keyblade wielder was interjected by Captain Phoebus. Phoebus told Frollo "monsters" have appeared in the square, and he rushed off after Sora who went to defeat them.

Soon after, Frollo showed up in the square with Phoebus, where he is mad to see Sora standing before Quasimodo, who is riding a Zolephant. The severity of Frollo's fury only increases when he witnessed Quasimodo depart into the Notre Dame cathedral with assistance from the "gypsy witch", Esmeralda.

When Riku arrived for the first time, he crossed paths with Esmeralda, who was chased by Phoebus and Frollo. Phoebus asked Riku if he has "seen a gypsy lady", but the Keyblade wielder covered for her and said he hadn't, Phoebus reports this to Frollo, after which the judge questions his abilities. Later, after getting away from the Wargoyle that ambushed him on the bridge, Riku found Phoebus defying and selling Frollo out, who summoned the fire-breathing Wargoyle that he claimed to be "righteous judgment" afterwards. Intending to use the power of darkness to "smite the gypsies now and forever", the judge headed for Notre Dame cathedral along with the Wargoyle with Riku in pursuit.

Sometime later, Sora, Phoebus, and Quasimodo traveled to the Court of Miracles to warn Esmeralda that Frollo is on his way and feels like capturing her. As Phoebus told Esmeralda to take what she can with her and depart, the judge appeared and surrounded the group with an army of Nightmares. Frollo took Esmeralda to the square for a "bonfire" despite Quasimodo's pleas and rendered Sora unconscious.

With the combined efforts of Sora and Quasimodo, Esmeralda was rescued from her execution. Getting mad, Frollo chased the both of them toward Notre Dame. When Sora attempts to stop him, he is stopped in his tracks by the Wargoyle that fell from the sky above. Frollo cornered Quasimodo and Esmeralda and revealed the truth about how Quasimodo's mother died trying to save him twenty years ago. Frollo attempted to crucify him with his sword but after a series of tussles, he loses his footing and grabs the gargoyle by the neck, saving himself, but the creature comes to life and roars at him. At that moment, the gargoyle breaks off of Notre Dame, and the frightened Frollo plummets to his own doom in the flames below the cathedral, a sight only was seen on Sora's side of the story. He is voiced by Corey Burton (who also voiced the Brutish Guard in the 1996 Disney Animated Classic film).

## Musical

Frollo was a priest in his youth and decided that Paris had to be safe so he became a judge. He hated Gypsies and believed that they were the sole problem with Paris. He took care of Quasimodo as an act of contrition for crucifying Quasimodo's mother. He hoped that Quasimodo would think care about him and his emotional abuse was something that he was unmindful of. Frollo became consumed with lust for Esmeralda which drove him crazy. He thought the cure was either to possess her or to eliminate her. He seemed to have intensity than he had in the movie.

His fate is altered between the versions of the play are changed. In the German version of the play, he is thrown off of the cathedral to his demise by Quasimodo, rather than falling off of the crumbling gargoyle fixture. In the English version of the play, when Esmeralda awakens, Frollo draws his sword and prepares to crucify both of them, but then pauses, drops the sword, and departs. This was most likely included in this version of the play to give Frollo a chance at redemption, though whether or not he took that chance is unknown.

In the North American version of the play, Frollo and his younger brother, Jehan, were raised in Notre Dame after they are orphaned. While Frollo studied to become a priest, Jehan constantly found himself in trouble and got expelled from the church at long last. Years later after becoming the Archdeacon, Frollo learned from a dying Jehan that the latter fathered a deformed kid and had to be looked after, the kid being Quasimodo. As penance for the sins of his sibling and seeing it as a test of faith, Frollo vows to raise the kid to be devout as him. Years later, Frollo sees Esmeralda dance at the Festival of Fools and how she guards her actions in assisting Quasimodo. He offers for her to stay at Notre Dame and learn from him the ways of the church, and indicates his attraction to her which grosses her out. He obsesses over Esmeralda and receives permission from the king to use military power to search for her and make her his own.

As in the movie, Frollo offers her his ultimatum to her at the stake before she gets rescued by Quasimodo. However, Esmeralda dies from smoke inhalation and Quasimodo is overcome by grief and accuses Frollo of her demise later on. In his fury over his former master's actions, Quasimodo throws Frollo over the edge of the cathedral to his demise.

## Disney Parks

On occassion, Frollo appears as a meetable character but is not particularly common and extremely rare. Ironically, he is the most common character from *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* to be found at the parks as a walk-around character nowadays. Fittingly, he is most commonly found in Disneyland Paris of all the parks around the world.

### Disneyland Resort

In World of Color, Frollo makes a small cameo in the opening of the "Colors of Fear" segment, which showcases the darkness of Disney via Disney villains.

### Walt Disney World

In Disney's Hollywood Studios version of Fantasmic!, Frollo is one of the leading villains who assists The Evil Queen in her plan to dispense with Mickey. He is destroyed in the end with the rest of the villains.

Also, he participated in the events, Disney Villains Mix and Mingle and Unleash the Villains.

### Tokyo Disney Resort

In Tokyo Disneyland, Frollo is featured in the villains' segment of the show One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On!, with Maleficent and The Evil Queen. He is accompanied by the mysterious red-hooded men seen during "Hellfire".

In Starlight Dreams, Frollo, alongside a legion of Disney Villains, plots against Mickey Mouse & Friends in a domination scheme. In the end, however, they are foiled.

## Relationships

### Quasimodo

Frollo first encountered Quasimodo as a baby, after he killed his mother. For the murder, he had to take Quasimodo and raise him as his own. Frollo genuinely poses as an intimidating, yet oddly influential, father figure, for the next twenty years. However, when Quasimodo is twenty years old, Frollo allows him to be tortured after he attempts to sneak out of the bell tower for which he is forbidden to leave. He is also enraged when Quasimodo helps Esmeralda escape him and sneaks down to the Court of Miracles, where the gypsies are hiding. Frollo applauds him for finally proving useful to him before forcing him back to the bell tower. At this point, Quasimodo has come to hate Frollo and will help anyone who helps him, such as Esmeralda. After Quasimodo goes against him in a battle, Frollo's hatred for him reaches its limits and Frollo attempts to kill him like he "should have done" twenty years ago. However, this ultimately leads to Frollo's own demise.

### Esmeralda

***Frollo:** "I was just imagining a rope around that beautiful neck."
**Esmeralda:** "I know what you were imagining!"*
—Frollo and Esmeralda
Frollo is Esmeralda's archenemy and was a serious threat to her life. Despite his power and authority, she was not afraid of him and rebelled against his rules. Not only was she even brave enough to publicly humiliate and insult him at the Festival of Fools (also intriguing him a bit as well), she even had the courage to spit in his face before he attempted to execute her. Of note, when Esmeralda and Frollo first meet, she playfully brings his face close to hers and kisses the tip of his nose before pulling his hat down, as well as performing a seductive dance. This, however, leads to Frollo becoming unhealthily obsessed with her, becoming the first link in the chain that leads to Paris' destruction and Frollo's ultimate demise. While hating Esmeralda for being a gypsy and humiliating and evading him, Frollo had a powerful feeling of lust for her, so powerful he was desperate to find her and have her to himself, even if that meant burning Paris to the ground.

### Archdeacon

*"This time, you will not interfere."*
—Frollo, to the Archdeacon
Although Frollo and the Archdeacon worked together in the church, their hatred for each other was obvious. It was the Archdeacon who insisted that Frollo raises Quasimodo to atone for the murder of the latter's mother. Twenty years later, the Archdeacon also prevented him from capturing Esmeralda. Finally, Frollo became tired of the Archdeacon's meddling and threw him down a flight of stairs when he attempted to order Frollo to call off the assault on Notre Dame.

## Differences from the source material

* Frollo in Victor Hugo's original *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* novel was far more compassionate, caring, and tragic, as well as considerably less villainous, and significantly younger in age (about 36 in most of the story).
* As the archdeacon of Notre Dame in the original novel, he took Quasimodo in willingly as his own son when his mother abandoned him in the book (instead of Frollo unwillingly killing her himself like in the Disney film).
* He named him after Quasimodo Sunday instead of his disfigurement.
* He helped Quasimodo develop some sort of sign language after the latter became deaf from being the bell ringer.
* Frollo in the novel only becomes the villain when Esmeralda enters the picture. His lust drives him insane much like in the Disney version. The only difference at this point was that Frollo actually succeeded at killing Esmeralda just before Quasimodo throws him off of Notre Dame, killing him.

## Gallery

Images of Claude Frollo from *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*.

### Concept art

Concept art88e923eeda56b0f425237c7d28c82323.jpgC6e78c17bb978e845f9097df6353119b.jpgThe hunchback of notre-dame character design frollo 10.jpgD123ff01c8ebb66cf6b1b6b133bbca6e.jpgB3a354af3d3914a122f52f18037ff54b.jpg
### Screenshots

#### *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*

Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-159.jpgClaude Frollo's first appearance.Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-189.jpg"Take them from her."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-219.jpgFrollo chasing Quasimodo's mother down a streetHunchback-disneyscreencaps com-250.jpgThe struggle.Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-264.jpgFrollo upon the realization that the bag she was carrying was actually her child and not gold that he believed she stole.Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-298.jpgFrollo attempts to throw baby Quasimodo into a well to drown him.Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-395.jpg"What must I do?"HND 9.png"Maybe this foul creature may yet one day prove to be useful to me."HND 10.png"Good morning, Quasimodo."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-1065.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps com-1100.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps com-1417.jpg"This is Your Sanctuary.""Ease up. Wait between lashes. Otherwise the old sting will dull him to the new."HND 34.pngHND 35.png"You know, my last Captain of the Guard was um... a bit of a disappointment to me."Phoebus 15.PNGPhoebus 16.PNGPhoebus 17.PNGPhoebus 19.PNG"The real war, Captain, is what you see before you."Phoebus 20.PNGPhoebus 21.PNGPhoebus 23.PNGPhoebus 26.PNGEsmeralda teasing FrolloHunchback-disneyscreencaps com-2597.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps com-2596.jpgFrollo encountering Esmeralda for the first time.Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-2599.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps com-2856.jpgFrollo is furious at Quasimodo for sneaking out of Notre Dame to attend the Feast of Fools.Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Topsy Turvy - Angry Judge Claude Frollo.jpgFrollo's fury rises as Quasimodo is crowned King of Fools and cheered by all.Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-3046.jpgFrollo ignoring Quasimodo's pleas as he tortured by the crowd as punishment for disobeying him.Phoebus 29.PNGHunchback-disneyscreencaps com-3140.jpg"How Dare You Defy Me."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-3171.jpg"Mark my words, Gypsy."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps com-3197.jpg"Arrest her."Phoebus 33.PNGFrollo glaring at Quasimodo before sending him back into Notre Dame.Phoebus 49.PNGFrollo sneaks up behind Esmeralda and forcefully grabs her arm.Frollo smelling Esmeralda's hair.jpgFrollo smelling Esmeralda's hairFrollo and Esmeralda.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-3864.jpg"I was just imagining a rope around that beautiful neck"Hellfire 1.PNG"Beata Maria..."Hellfire 2.PNG"You know I am a righteous man, of my virtue I am justly proud."Hellfire 3.PNG"Beata Maria..."Hellfire 4.PNG"You know I'm much purer than the common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd.""Then tell me, Maria..."Hellfire 6.PNG"Why I see her dancing there? Why her smoldering eyes still scorch my soul."Hellfire 7.PNG"I feel her! I see her!"Hellfire 9.PNG"Like Fire!"Hellfire 10.PNG"Hellfire!"Hellfire 11.PNG"This fire in my skin."Hellfire 12.PNG"This Burning Desire, Is turning Me to Sin."Hellfire 13.PNGHellfire 14.PNG"It's not my fault! I'm not to blame!"Hellfire 15.PNG"If in God's plan..."Hellfire 16.PNG"...He made the devil so much stronger than a man!"Hellfire 17.PNGHellfire 18.PNG"Protect me, Maria..."Hellfire 19.PNG"Don't let this siren cast her spell. Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone."Hellfire 20.PNG"Destroy Esmeralda!"Frollohellfire.pngHellfire 21.PNG"And let her taste the fires of Hell, or else let her be mine and mine alone."Hellfire 22.PNG"Hellfire, dark fire."Hellfire 23.PNG"Now gypsy it's your turn."Hellfire 24.PNG"Choose me or, your pyre..."Hellfire 25.PNG"Be mine or you will burn!"Hellfire 26.PNG"God have mercy on her..."Hellfire 27.PNG"God have mercy on me."Hellfire 28.PNG"But she will be mine..."Hellfire 29.PNG"...or she..."Hellfire 30.PNG"...will..."Hellfire 31.PNG"BURN!!!!"Hellfire 32.PNGFrollo passed out after "Helfire""Find the gypsy girl"Phoebus 61.PNGPhoebus 62.PNGFrollo Insolent Coward.png"Insolent coward!"Death.PNG"The sentence for insubordination is death."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7280.jpgFrollo arrives at the cathedral, when he suspects Quasimodo, played a role in Esmeralda's escape.Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7299.jpgHunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7367.jpg"Is there something troubling you, Quasimodo?"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7374.jpg"Oh, but there is."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7381.jpg"I know there is!"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7448.jpg"What's different here?"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7460.jpg"Isn't this one new?"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7466.jpg"It's awfully good. Looks very much like the gypsy girl."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7476.jpg"I know,..."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7479.jpg"...you helped her..."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7483.jpg"...ESCAPE!"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7489.jpg"And now, all of Paris is burning...."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7492.jpg"...because of *you!*"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7499.jpgHunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7501.jpg"YOU IDIOT!"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7502.jpg"That wasn't kindness, it was *cunning!* She's a *gypsy!*"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7510.jpg"Gypsies are not capable of real love!"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7517.jpg"Think, boy! *Think of your mother!*"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7529.jpgFrollo takes a moment to recompose himself.Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7538.jpg"But what chance would a poor, misshapen child like you stand against her heathen treachery?"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7546.jpg"Well. Never you mind, Quasimodo."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7551.jpg"She'll be out of our lives soon enough."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7558.jpg"I will free you from her evil spell. She will torment you no longer."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7580.jpg"I know where her hideout is."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7584.jpg"And tomorrow at dawn, I attack..."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-7589.jpg"...with a thousand men.""Dear Quasimodo..."Phoebus 96.PNG"Captain Phoebus back from the dead. Another miracle, no doubt."Frollo.jpgFrollo upon arriving at the Court of MiraclesDisney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Frollo - The Sentence.jpg"The sentence."Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Frollo - Death!.jpg"Death!"Hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8402.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8408.jpg"The time has come, gypsy."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8409.jpg"You stand upon the blink..."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8411.jpg"of the abyss."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8412.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8413.jpg"Yet, even now, it is not too late."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8417.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8416.jpg"I can save you..."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8421.jpg"from the very flames of this world...""and the next.""Choose me...""or the fire."Hunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8435.jpgEsmeralda about to spit in Frollo's faceHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8442.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8444.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8445.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8446.jpgHunchback-disneyscreencaps.com-8456.jpgFrollo's most sadistic smileFrollo vs. Quasimodo.pngFrollo wrestling Quasimodo.Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-9504.jpg"Leaving *so soon?*""I've should've known you'd risk your life to save that Gypsy witch!"Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-9562.jpg"Just as your own mother died trying to save you."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-9574.jpg"And now, I'm going to do what I should've done..."Hunchback-of-the-notre-dame-disneyscreencaps.com-9576.jpg"***...20 YEARS AGO!***""And He shall smite the wicked, and plunge them into the fiery pit!"Judge Claude Frollo's final moments.Judge Claude Frollo falls to his fiery demise
#### *House of Mouse*

GrimsbygrumpyfrolloHOM.jpgFrollo with Grumpy and Grimsby in *House of Mouse*.AlgunosVillanos HoM.pngFrollo with other villains in *House of Mouse*.
### Video games

#### *Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance*

Frollo in *Kingdom Hearts: 3D Dream Drop Distance*Frollo-3.jpgNotre Dame 1.jpgKH3D - Frollo's passion.jpgDark Frollo.pngFrollo engulfed in darkness.
### Disney Parks and other live appearances

Frollo posing for a photo at one of the Disney ParksFrollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A Musical AdventureNorbert Lamla as Frollo in the German production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (musical)Dgvnd-fro-pho.jpgDgvnd-qua-bady-arch-fro.pngJudyweiss.jpgTumblr n5eamdzA0S1tufnl2o9 500.jpgTumblr o1hps3mBKf1ru5lx0o1 500.pngPatrick Page as Claude Frollo in the American production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (musical)Tumblr o1h1hx2Qts1ru5lx0o2 500.pngFrollo with his dying brother JehanA4273fec1706183627f7f13f60a78741.jpgFrollo asking Esmeralda to consider his offerFrolloautograph.jpgFrollo's signature.
### Merchandise

31G81m+4lVL.jpg"Malevolent Magistrate" sculpture51L3zVBIAQL. SL500 AA300 .jpgFrollo action figure by MattelFrollo Pin.jpgKingdom Keepers-Power Play.jpgFrollo on the front cover of *Kingdom Keepers: Power Play*Claude Frollo Vinylmation.jpgClaude Frollo Vinylmation
### Miscellaneous

Disney villains painting at Disneyland.jpgFrollo's One Villain dollar bill.jpgFrollo's One Villain dollar billTokyo Disney Villains Halloween.jpeg
## Trivia

* Frollo is considered as one of the (if not *the*) darkest and most evil of all of Disney´s villains, even more than his original counterpart. In fact, Disney was ***intent*** on having Frollo to be as evil and as vile as possible (as well as being blinded to the consequences of his actions), in an attempt to avert the trope "Evil is Cool," common to many Disney villains.
* When Frollo falls to his death, it clearly meant to symbolize that his soul is now trapped in eternal damnation in the satanic and demonic fires of Hell for all eternity as punishment for all of his actions and ending his tyranny once and for all. Ironically, his final words in life were "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit.", referring to Quasimodo and Esmerelda, but he himself was the "wicked" who was "smitten and plunged into the fiery pit".
	+ In fact, Frollo has committed many crimes in the film, and they include the following:
		1. Assault (Archdeacon)
		2. Attempted murder (Phoebus, Esmeralda, Quasimodo, a family of four people)
		3. Arson (Paris)
		4. Murder (Quasimodo's mother)
		5. Torture (His previous Captain of the Guard and Quasimodo)
		- Although he also technically was guilty of attempted genocide and searching homes without a warrant, those did not count as crimes back in the time period of the movie (the 15th-16th century), as the concept of human rights, including warranted searches of homes, did not occur until the enlightenment movement in the 17th-18th century and genocide itself did not formally become a punishable crime until the aftermath of both World War II and the Holocaust due to the actions of Nazi Germany.
	+ Ironically, as even the DVD commentary noted, his pose when undergoing his ultimate fate was done in the shape of the cross.
* Tim Curry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Alan Rickman were considered for the role of Judge Frollo before Tony Jay was cast (Ironically the were also considered for the role of Scar in *The Lion King* before Jeremy Irons was cast).
* Frollo was voiced by Tony Jay, who also voiced Monsieur D'Arque in *Beauty and the Beast*. Tony Jay's performance as Monsieur D'Arque is what led the directors of both films to cast him as Frollo. He also voiced Shere Khan in various *Jungle Book* spin-offs from 1990-2003.
* Frollo's behavior strongly suggests that he is a pyromaniac.
	+ Also, based on his mannerisms, it is implied that Frollo is ambidextrous.
* Frollo represents the deadly sins of lusts, as he lusted after Esmeralda, pride, as he considered himself above all humans and completely flawless (although Hellfire shows him begging God for mercy on both their souls, so he is at least somewhat aware of what he plans is a sin), and wrath, as he desires to punish and murder several innocent people.
* In the novel, Frollo was kind and willingly took Quasimodo in when no one else would and turned into a villain when Esmeralda came into the story. In the Dinsey film, Frollo had poor morals with a god complex long before Esmeralda entered the pictute
* He seemingly felt guilty for two of his sins: killing Quasimodo's mother and his lust for Esmeralda, though considering his self-righteous personality, he tries without totally believing himself to blame them on external forces such as the Devil, Esmeralda, or even God himself (whom he blames for having made Man weaker than the Devil). As already said, he doesn't fully convince himself with those lies and he still fears for his soul because of those sins, asking the Lord of mercy numerous times.
* Intentionally or not, he has ironically committed himself to damn souls rather than save them. His eyes turning yellow when he was about to kill Quasimodo and Esmeralda helps symbolize his total abandonment of serving God. Like-wise, Frollo's death of a gargoyle breaking off and sending him into a magma pit also symbolizes that God was ***never*** on his side in the first place.
* The filmmakers briefly considered having Quasimodo killed off, since that is his fate in the original novel. He was originally supposed to be stabbed by Frollo, then Esmeralda regains consciousness and tries to save him by killing Frollo. Phoebus was then supposed to meet up with them, and Quasimodo's last wish was to ring the bells one last time. They take him to the bells, then Esmeralda and Phoebus help him ring the bells as he dies. The final shot was going to include Esmeralda and Phoebus crying over their best friend as the people of Paris cheer for their success, unaware of Quasimodo's death.
* The filmmakers originally wanted Esmeralda to kill Judge Frollo in order to save Quasimodo. Esmeralda would've jumped onto the ledge then grabbed Quasimodo's hand. Judge Frollo would've attempted to kill Quasimodo with his sword then Esmeralda would've kicked Judge Frollo off the cathedral causing Frollo to fall to his death. This idea was ultimately abandoned, as having a heroine kill the villain was considered improper in a family film and may have gotten the film a PG-13 rating.