The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 film based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo, released during the Disney Renaissance era. Considered to be one of Disney’s darkest animated movies, it defied Disney norms by having darker undertones, themes of sexuality, prejudice, and religion, as well as unconventional characters. However, changes were made from the book to make the movie more family-friendly; Claude Frollo was transformed from an archdeacon to a judge, three gargoyles were included for comic relief, and the original ending was switched for a happier tone (1). While released under the pretense of a family movie, albeit a lot darker compared to other Disney movies, upon closer examination, the movie discussed mature themes that can be contextualized within pop culture and religion. Religion was a universal trait in the movie, and the characters in the movie all interpreted it and acted on it differently. This was clearly reflected in the three main ballads in the movie. The music in the film was critically acclaimed, and was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award (2).
The film begins in 15th century Paris with a group of gypsies sneaking into the city illegally. Frollo and a group of soldiers captured them, but a gypsy woman managed to escape with her deformed baby. Frollo kills her outside of Notre Dame and just as he was about to murder the child, he was stopped by an archdeacon. To atone for killing the woman, Frollo kept the baby and named it Quasimodo, Latin for “half-formed”. For the next twenty years, Quasimodo grows up inside the Cathedral as the bell ringer. One day, Quasimodo attended the festival of fools were he met a gypsy named Esmeralda who helped him when he was humiliated. When Esmeralda caught Frollo’s eye, Quasimodo and soldier Phoebus must team up to defend her and save the rest of the gypsies.
Frollo: “Hellfire”
One of the most recognizable songs in the soundtrack is “Hellfire”, sung by the main antagonist, Claude Frollo. Hellfire is one of the creepiest yet visually pleasing songs in a Disney musical, and pushes the boundaries of animation in terms of psychological complexity, story subtext, and adult connotations. (3)
Frollo uses religion as an excuse for all the things he has done. Despite claiming to be a devout Catholic, Frollo embodies all the seven deadly sins in this song while lusting for Esmeralda and claiming to be a righteous man at the same time (4). The provocative visuals and bright colors during this sequence matches the lyrics very well and exhibits Frollo’s intolerance for sinners. During the song, Frollo blames everything and everyone but himself for his feelings for Esmeralda. There is much irony in this song, as the Latin chanting in the background by the Priests describes sins while Frollo is singing about his righteousness.
Frollo starts of with saying how righteous he is and how he is purer than the rest, demonstrating his Pride, “Beata Maria/You know I am a righteous man/Of my virtue I am justly proud/You know I’m so much purer than/The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd”. He uses this Pride as justification for the remaining deadly sins; lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, and envy. (5) He lusts after her by singing “Like fire/Hellfire/This fire in my skin/This burning/Desire/Is turning me to sin”. He claims it is Esmeralda’s fault he is feeling this way and blames her, “It is the gypsy girl/The witch who sent this flame”, which can be correlated to Sloth. Frollo is also prepared to burn down Paris in order to get to her, as seen at the climax of the film, demonstrating his gluttony. He reveals his Wrath as he is willing to kill her if she doesn’t abide “Choose me or/Your pyre/Be mine or you will burn”. He exhibits Envy and Greed as he is jealous of others who may gain her affection and he wants her, singing “Destroy Esmeralda/And let her tastes the fires of hell/Or else let her be mine and mine alone”.
On the other hand, the priests in the background are chanting “I confess to God almighty/To blessed Mary ever Virgin/To the blessed archangel Michael/To the holy apostles, to all the saints/And to you, Father/That I have sinned/In thought”. These words are taken directly from the Catholic Church’s Mass Prayer, and tells the story of someone confessing to all their sins. These lyrics are a stark contrast to what Frollo is expressing; the confessions are exactly what Frollo refuses to acknowledge about himself. As Frollo is running through the corridor, the priests are repeating “Mea Culpa”, meaning “my fault”, while Frollo is saying “It’s not my fault”. This could potentially be showing Frollo’s subconscious turmoil as he is delusional due to his power, and is unable to acknowledge what he has done.
The illustrations in the scene are stunning, and most of the colors in the setting are red, commonly associated with passion and danger. The bright reds of the robes of the hooded figures, Frollo praying into the fireplace (interestingly enough, fire is commonly associated with hell), and the image of a gypsy girl tempting Frollo in the fire all fit in well with this song. Frollo’s chamber is sparsely populated, dimly lit, with only a cross above the fireplace, evidencing his lack of empathy. (6)
Quasimodo: “Heaven’s Light”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Quasimodo’s song, “Heaven’s Light”. Unlike “Hellfire”, which is filled with darkness and negativity, “Heaven’s Light” is positive and uplifting. Growing up alone in the tower, Quasimodo seeks love and acceptance. He was encouraged to attend the Festival of Fools by a trio of gargoyles, and was celebrated by the locals for his appearance. However, once it was revealed that he wasn’t wearing a mask/costume and that was what he actually looked like, Quasimodo was humiliated by the crowd. It was here where Quasimodo experienced kindness for the first time when he met Esmeralda, a woman who helped him regardless of his looks.
Despite all the hardships he’s been through and even before meeting Esmeralda, Quasimodo retains his faith, and sees love in an endearing way. Even though he has never experienced it himself, Quasimodo is optimistic about love and sees it as a beautiful thing, “So many times out there/I’ve watched a happy pair/Of lovers walking in the night/They had a kind of glow around them/It almost looked like Heaven’s light”. Meeting Esmeralda changed his perspective as he initially struggled with his self-loathing, believing that nobody would every love and accept him for who he was. He sings “ I knew I’d never know/That warm and loving glow/Though I might wish with all my might/No face as hideous as my face/Was ever meant for Heaven’s light”. Quasimodo starts to develops a crush on Esmeralda; he sees her as an angel, “But suddenly an angel has smiled at me/And touched my face without a trace of fright” and compares her presence as heaven’s light, “ My cold dark tower seems so bright/I swear it must be Heaven’s Light”. Quasimodo develops feelings for Esmeralda even though he knows that she may never love him; this is contrasted with Frollo’s lust after Esmeralda in which he tries to force her to choose him.
The blue background in the scene can be associated with depth, and symbolizes trust, loyalty, faith, truth, and heaven (7). Quasimodo sings this song at night while looking up towards the night sky and the stars. Quasimodo’s views on love can only be described as innocent and faithful; looking towards the sky is equivalent to looking towards heaven, as opposed to Frollo singing into the fire which is commonly affiliated with hell. This thoroughly demonstrates the difference between Quasimodo and Frollo’s view on faith and religion.
Esmeralda: “God Help the Outcasts”
While Quasimodo and Frollo both had varying degrees of selfishness in their prayers, as in they both wanted something for themselves, Esmeralda’s interpretation of religion is it at it’s most selfless.
When Esmeralda enters Notre Dame for refuge, she starts singing “God Help the Outcasts”. As a member of a visible minority and someone who is being prosecuted, she has every right to start praying for help for herself; instead, she requests God to help the people around her. Even though she’s a gypsy and thus doesn’t follow a specific religion, she sings “I don’t know if you can hear me/Or if/you’re even there/I don’t know if you would listen to a gypsy’s prayer” she asks God to help the others “God help the outcasts/Hungry from birth/Show them the mercy/They don’t find on Earth”. This is religion at its purest form and very distinct from the townspeople around her, who are asking for wealth and fame, “I ask for wealth/I ask for fame/I ask for glory to shine on my name/I ask for love I can possess/I ask for God and his angels to bless me”.
The soft music and the color palette in this scene reflects Esmeralda’s interpretation of religion. While walking through Notre Dame, we see the gorgeous stained glass window with light streaming through it. As light is usually a powerful symbol in many faiths, this could be seen as a reminder to Esmeralda that there will be brighter days in the future and that her faith and love can overcome adversity.
Even though Esmeralda is singing to God, she walks past a statue of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. This is a manifestation of her maternal instinct and her need to help others.
As someone who is not explicitly stated as Roman Catholic, Esmeralda understood that it is ultimately your actions that determine your worth; it doesn’t matter to God how righteous you claim to be, it’s how you act and treat the people around you. Even though a small portion of Quasimodo’s prayers is dedicated to bettering himself, he is an overall good person who helps others. Although Phoebus originally followed Frollo’s orders, he realized what he was doing was wrong, and changed his ways in order to assist Quasimodo and the gypsies. This is why these three characters had a happy ending in the film. On the other hand, Frollo kept claiming how righteous he was and used his faith as an excuse for all the horrible things he has done, which is why he eventually fell to his death into the fire, possibly coming face to face with his sins.
Citations
- Fadner, Donald. “Disney Gets Religion”. University of Wisconsion. 2018
- IMDB. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116583/awards
- Strauss, Bob. “Courting Controversy? Disney’s Newest Animated Feature, ‘Hunchback Of Notre Dame,’ Takes On Sensitive Adult Issues.” Spokesman.com, The Spokesman-Review, 23 June 1996, https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/jun/23/courting-controversy-disneys-newest-animated/.
- Griffin, Sean, Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out. New York City: NYU Press. pp. 217–8, 1 February 2000
- https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-24/edition-2/deadly-sins
- Dreher, Rob. “Pro-Religion ‘Hunchback’ may quiet Disney critics.South Florida SunSetinel, 23 June 1996, https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1996-06-23-9606190413-story.html.
- Cerrato, Herman. “The Meaning of Colors”, 2012 http://hermancerrato.com/graphic-design/images/color-images/the-meaning-of-colors-book.pdf
