The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)/Awesome

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • The opening song, The Bells of Notre Dame
    • Especially the last note that Paul Kandel (Clopin) hits FULL-VOICE.
      • If you look at the sheet music, it's a D on two ledger lines-- this troper knows sopranos who can't hit that note. Moment of Awesome indeed!
        • Tenor parts are written an octave higher than they sound. Still, it is quite impressive.
    • More specifically for this Troper, was during this scene when the Archdeacon says the lines below, it was very much a 'Oh, you're gonna get yours when it's over!' and it felt wonderful.

Archdeacon: You can lie to yourself and your minions, you can claim that you haven't a qualm, but you never can run from nor hide what you've done from the eyes! The very eyes of Notre Dame!

    • And then the cathedral itself gets one with all the statues looking down at Frollo, as if God is saying "Yeah, throw that baby down the well, you son of a bitch, and SEE HOW PISSED I GET!!!"
      • Considering by this point in the movie that Frollo has already condemned three people to torture and eventual death and killed an innocent woman on the steps of a cathedral, it's probably wise not to push The Man Upstairs any further.
      • And that was the first and only time in his life that Frollo actually considered the morality of his own actions.
  • The Archdeacon in general gets a number of these, at least of the moral sort since (naturally) as a churchman he doesn't get involved in any action scenes. Of particular note is during Frollo's siege of the cathedral:

Archdeacon: Frollo, have you gone mad?! I will not tolerate this assault on the house of God!

    • (The fact Frollo immediately grabs him by his cassock and throws him on the floor does not at all diminish the moment in this troper's eyes.)
  • And much earlier, when Phoebus gets Esmeralda to claim sanctuary so she is safe from Frollo. Not only does he stalk forward to interrupt just as Frollo is demanding Phoebus drag Esmeralda outside so he can arrest her, but then he lays a hand on her shoulder reassuringly and delivers a deceptively mild but delicious rebuke, referencing his "very eyes of Notre Dame" moment above:

Archdeacon: Don't worry, child. Minister Frollo learned years ago to respect the sanctity of the Church.

    • The look of impotent, teeth-gnashing fury on Frollo's face had this troper madly cackling and applauding.
  • Hellfire. Coupled with awe-inspiring animation and the amazing and sadly gone voice of the late Tony Jay, Disney had the perfect Sanity Slippage Song.
  • Quasimodo's incredible escape, rescue of Esmeralda from the stake, cries of "SANCTUARY", and the image of waterfalls of molten lead pouring from Notre Dame.
  • Quasi slumps down in chains when Frollo is about to burn Esmeralda, then slowly looks up. As Frollo sets the fire, Quasi lets out a tremendous "NOOOOO!" proceeding to break the chains, save the girl, and kick some arse!
    • He shakes the entire cathedral with his exertions. This is badass Up to Eleven.
  • Give Esmeralda some credit. When Frollo tells her how she can get out of being burned by having sex with him, her response was to spit in his face and give him a Death Glare.
    • Esmeralda stops the crowd from tormenting Quasimodo and tells Frollo where to shove it when he orders her to stop.

Esmerelda: You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people. You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help.
Frollo: Silence!
Esmerelda: Justice!

    • For added awesomeness, the scene where she escapes with gusto, doubling as a Funny Moments. Anybody who thinks all Disney women are weaklings shall henceforth be directed to that scene.

Esmeralda: Let's see... *counts the guards* onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnine... so there's ten of you and one of me. What's a poor girl to do?

  • Big Bad Judge Claude Frollo's smug (and awfully ironic) Last Words, "AND HE SHALL SMITE THE WICKED AND PLUNGE THEM INTO THE FIERY PIT!!!"
    • Deliciously ironic, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of way- this is the very same gargoyle he damaged while rampaging at Esmerelda and Quasimodo only moments before.
    • And just after that, another Moment of Awesome at Frollo's final expense when after taking a tumble off the battlements, the "4th gargoyle" he's desperately hanging on to comes to life, roars in his face, and "ushers" him into said pit. Burn well, you son of a bitch.
    • After Frollo's last words, the face the Gargoyle makes just before the plunge seems to say "Hey, there's an idea!"
    • By this point, Frollo had grown to be so evil, that some YouTube comments has interpreted that scene as God descending into Hell and granting Lucifer permission to enter his highest cathedral to personally collect Frollo's soul!!
  • Phoebus refuses Frollo's order to burn down the miller's house, saves the miller's family after Frollo sets fire to the house anyway, and runs away by stealing Frollo's horse
    • The method in which he saves the family is is worth mentioning. He rolls out of the way of a falling beam, dives headfirst through a glass window, then emerges from the burning house by Sparta-punting open the door, while holding the miller's two young children. Definitely elevated Phoebus from generic Disney male love interest to a much more developed and compelling (not to mention Badass) character.
  • Anything Clopin did.

Clopin: Any last words?
Quasi and Phoebus: [gagged and about to be hanged] Mmmmphhff!
Clopin: [rolling his eyes and giving an Aside Glance] That's what they all say.

  • Quasimodo's Kubrick Stare as he decides that he's had enough of Frollo's crap when he's chained up in the cathedral.
  • Quasimodo's Calling the Old Man Out speech; Frollo has treated him like garbage for 20 years, to the point where Quasimodo just weakly obeys his will. This is essentially when Quasimodo is saying "screw you, I'm not listening to you anymore."and finally stands up for himself (although breaking out of the cathedral and saving Esmeralda was definitely the first massive step in the right direction.)

Quasimodo: No! You listen! All my life you've told me that the world is a dark, cruel place. Now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!

    • The look on Frollo's face as he realizes that a) he no longer has any influence over Quasimodo, who is b) less than half his age, c) strong enough to break his spine like kindling and oh yeah, d) really pissed off right now makes it even more satisfying.
  • "Out There". The whole song just makes you so grateful to be alive.
    • "God Help The Outcasts". To understand how Awesome this song is, first, understand that Sanctuary only applies for forty days, at which point, the offender must surrender peacefully, and may be sentenced after such period (at the best, she would have been deported, which we have to believe is a worse fate than staying in Paris under Frollo's rule, and at worst a death sentence). Further more, she is admittedly not Christian ("I don't know if you can hear me, or if you are even there.") so Sanctuary doesn't really apply to her. Compound to the fact that the Archdecon is not legally obligated to feed her, and armed guards are waiting at every point to catch her if she leaves the church, Esmerelda is in a desprate state and deserves her "I Want" Song to be answered. So, what does she want in her "I Want" Song? She asks God to not worry about her, cause she can take care of herself, and instead says she wants him to look out for people in much more desperate situations. Keep in mind, this Non-Christian is schooling devout Catholics who ask for money, love, glory, ect. in the art of prayer.

Yes, I know I'm just an outcast,
I shouldn't speak to you.
Still, I see your face and wonder:
Were you once an oucast, too?

  • "Citizens of Paris! Frollo has persecuted our people, ransacked our city, and now he has declared war on Notre Dame herself! WILL WE ALLOW IT?"
  • Phobeus and Esmeralda in hand-to-hand combat in the cathedral. Better considering their back and forth snarking and flirting.
  • "'STOP!' cried the Archdeacon!"
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