Claude Frollo

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Claude Frollo is a fictional character from the Victor Hugo novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

In the novel, Frollo is the Archdeacon of Notre Dame. In the 1996 Disney adaptation, he is the Minister Of Justice.

Contents 1 Adaptations 2 Disney Adaptation 2.1 History 2.2 Reaction 2.3 Other appearances 3 External links

[edit] Adaptations

The novel has been adapted to film on numerous occasions. The most interesting change perhaps comes from the 1923 silent film version, in which Frollo isn't the villain at all; instead, he is a good archdeacon, and the villain of the novel is actually his younger brother Jehan. This is also present in the 1939 adaption. This is sometimes compared with the 1996 Disney adaptation, in which Frollo is a Judge and the Archdeacon is a separate character entirely and also, Jehan is omitted. Many conclude that such changes were made to avoid a negative reaction from religious organizations.

Actor	Version
Cedric Hardwicke	1939 Adaptation
Alain Cuny	1956 Adaptation
Derek Jacobi	1982 Adaptation
Tony Jay	1996 Disney Adaptation

[edit] Disney Adaptation

[edit] History

Judge Claude Frollo is the Minister of Justice in the city of Paris; convinced that all gypsies are heathenistic and evil, he shows genocidal intentions when faced with the task of dealing with the captured ones who are brought to the Palace of Justice. Frollo is ruthless in his quest to rid Paris of these "heathens" and "devils" and will not rest until all of them are destroyed. One winter's night, Frollo pursued a gypsy woman on his stallion, thinking she was smuggling stolen goods, while she was only protecting her baby. Running for her life and for sanctuary, the woman ran up the steps of the Notre Dame, where Frollo murdered her before she had a chance to get inside. Frollo unbundled the parcel to see a horribly deformed child which he labeled "an unholy demon", and threatened to drown the baby in a well. He was stopped by the archdeacon of Notre Dame, who told him that he couldn't deny what he'd done to the woman because it was on the steps of Notre Dame. To save his soul from Hell, Frollo had to raise the deformed child as he would his own.

The deformed child was locked in the bell towers of Notre Dame where nobody could see him. Frollo gave the baby a cruel name which means "half formed", Quasimodo. To keep Quasimodo under his control and grateful towards Frollo's forced guardianship, Frollo told Quasimodo that the world was evil and that his mother abandoned him as a child, which only added to Frollo's lies about the Gypsies. Frollo misleads the gentle-hearted Quasimodo into believing that all gypsies are evil.

Twenty years pass and Frollo encounters a breathtakingly beautiful gypsy woman named Esmeralda. Quasimodo had started to show defiance towards Frollo and climbed down from the belltower to join the Festival of Fools. He hoped that he could sneak back in before Frollo noticed, but the crowd discovered him and jeered at him, tying him down and throwing food at him. Frollo did nothing, wanting to teach Quasimodo a lesson. Esmeralda intervenes and humiliates Frollo in front of the citizens of Paris, accusing him of not doing his job. Esmeralda frees Quasimodo and leads Frollo's men on a wild goose chase through the center of Paris. Esmeralda escapes into Notre Dame and is followed by Frollo's Captain of the Guard named Phoebus, who deceives Frollo and tells him that she claimed sanctuary, The Archdeacon reminds Frollo of the respect that he must show towards Notre Dame to save his soul from Hell. Frollo stations guards at every door and returns to the Palace of Justice, where he reveals that he has become obsessed with Esmeralda, and in the song "Hellfire," he is convinced that she is a witch who put him under a spell. He specifically states that she either would have to be his or die and forever burn in Hell.

Esmeralda visits Quasimodo during her imprisonment inside Notre Dame and tells him the truth about gypsies, denouncing the lies that Frollo had told him. Quasimodo helps Esmeralda escape Notre Dame where she gives him an amulet that shows him where the Gypsy hideout is.

When Frollo learns of Esmeralda's "mysterious" disappearance from Notre Dame, he initiates a city-wide man-hunt for her, burning and searching all of Paris for the gypsy. After nearly all of Paris is burned, Frollo realizes that Quasimodo was the only one who could have helped Esmeralda escape from Notre Dame. Figuring that Esmeralda told Quasimodo where she would be staying, he tells Quasimodo that he had already found her location, so that Quasimodo would go to warn her and unknowingly lead Frollo to her. Quasimodo unknowingly leads Frollo to the "Court of Miracles", the main gypsy hideout in Paris. Frollo and his men quietly follow Quasimodo, and capture the "Court of Miracles", imprisoning all the Gypsies and capturing Esmeralda. Frollo prepared to burn Esmeralda at the stake and had Quasimodo chained up in the bell tower.

Frollo gives Esmeralda a chance to save her life and her soul: choose him or die. Esmeralda spits in Frollo's face and he proclaims her a witch, lighting the fire. Seeing Frollo light the fire that would kill Esmeralda, Quasimodo breaks free and swings down to the square to save her. He then returns to the Cathedral face and claims sanctuary for her in front of Paris. With Esmeralda now safely inside, Quasimodo begins his fight to protect Notre Dame from Frollo and his men, ultimately pouring molten lead down onto Frollo's soldiers. Frollo manages to slip past the molten lead and enter the cathedral where he is confronted by the Archdeacon. In Frollo's rage, he throws the Archdeacon down the stairs and locks the door to the Belltower so the Archdeacon can't follow, proclaiming: "The hunchback and I have unfinished business to attend to, and this time... you will not interfere."

Frollo enters the belltower, and sees Quasimodo kneeling over Esmeralda's apparently lifeless body. Frollo draws a dagger and attempts to stab Quasimodo in the back with it, hoping to kill him. Quasimodo catches Frollo and throws him aside, revealing to Frollo that he knew that he was lying about the world being evil. Esmeralda regains consciousness and Frollo draws a sword. Quasimodo lifts Esmeralda and Frollo chases him out onto the balcony, attacking them as Quasimodo tries desperately to protect the weakened Esmeralda.

Frollo, in his rage, reveals to Quasimodo that his mother had died trying to save him, and then tells Quasimodo that he is going to do what he should have done all those years ago: kill him. Frollo throws his cloak over Quasimodo, causing him to lose balance and fall off the ledge. Quasimodo grabs hold of the ledge and pulls Frollo down by his cloak, dangling him above the illuminated city. Frollo swings over to a gargoyle and threatens to kill Quasimodo with his sword. About to deal the final blow, Frollo smiles insanely and proclaims: "And He shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!". But the Gargoyle's structure had been damaged during Frollo's attacks. The Gargoyle comes loose and Frollo plunges to the burning city below.

[edit] Reaction

In the Disney adaptation, Frollo is changed from an Archdeacon to a judge, and the Archdeacon is a separate, good-natured character of small importance. The exact reason for this is unknown, although it is widely assumed that this was done to avoid a negative, controversial reaction from religious organizations (it should be noted that the archdeacon in the film is portrayed as a kind, merciful character, and is directly responsible for Frollo's sparing of Quasimodo's life early on).

Nevertheless, Frollo remains highly religious; his hatred of gypsies still stems from his religious beliefs, although it is used much differently and less controversially than in the novel. Ironically, such attempts to prevent a negative religious reaction backfired, as conservatives heavily objected to Frollo's signature song "Hellfire", which shows Frollo struggling with his faith and his feelings for Esmeralda. This made Disney re-think the rating from "G" to "PG". Seeing no apparent issue, the rating committee did not change it. However, the criticized song has become one of Disney's best known songs.

[edit] Other appearances

In the Disney-MGM Studios night-time show Fantasmic!, Frollo is one of the villains the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs she evoked to fight Mickey Mouse. Frollo is defeated along with the other villains in the end.

[edit] External links

• Frollo in the Disney Archives-Villains.
• The Frollo Directory-fansite which includes concept art from Disney's version
• Frollo's Hellfire song