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=== This section refers to [[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Literature)|the original novel]]. ===
* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]:
** This happens the most to Quasimodo and Frollo. In the book, Quasimodo is rather mean and hates most people. In the films, he is usually put in a more sympathetic light. The exact opposite usually happens to Frollo. In his book form, he is, for the most part, benevolent but sexually frustrated, and his transformation into a villain is tragic. However, in the films he is made into an all-out evil, sexually depraved monster from the start.
** Phoebus gets this treatment as well. In the 1923 and Disney adaptation he is put in the role of a pure love interest for Esmeralda. However, in the book he was kind of a jerk, who was just interested in her for sex.
* [[Die for Our Ship]]: Frollo/Esmeralda fans of any of the adaptations are eager to kill off Phoebus for the sake of this ''impossible'' ship. Then again, even if you ''don't'' support this ship, almost every Hunchback fan would gladly see Phoebus die (discounting the Disney version, where Phoebus is actually awesome).
* [[It Gets Better]]: For all its strengths, the book ''could'' afford to shave off some of its exposition.
* [[Values Dissonance]]:
** Sexual obsession in a priest? Bad, wrong, dangerous. Sexual obsession of a man in his thirties for a sixteen-year-old girl? No prob.
** Also, this is not an anti-racist story. The Parisians' mistreatment of Esmeralda is treated as literary irony: they're wrong to treat her as they do, ''because she's really one of them.'' Their treatment of real "Gypsies" is completely excusable: it's clearly established that "Gypsies" ''really are'' dangerous -- thieves and con artists who will readily steal children. If you think Victor Hugo loved gypsies and was protesting their mistreatment, go and read ''[[The Man Who Laughs]]''.
 
=== This section refers to [[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)|the Disney version]]. ===
 
* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]:
** ''Clopin''--he seems very happy and nice, but he does call Quasi the ugliest person in Paris in a way that even the context can't completely excuse, doesn't let him hide in the "Feast Of Fools" sequence, apparently bugs out the second everything goes pear-shaped (as Frollo would likely want to arrest him for the confusion), and then ''expresses complete delight in hanging Quasi and Phoebus''. Without giving them the chance to defend themselves in any way. He's also protecting his home, friends, and family from the most monstrous person in the country by silencing what he believes to be the man's most loyal subordinates...
** Really, most of the cast qualifies for the original novel. Quasimodo goes from a bitter misanthrope to a naive, [[Ugly Cute]] [[Nice Guy]], Esmerelda from a [[Neutral Female]] to a [[Badass Damsel]], Frollo goes from being a tragic [[Anti -Villain]] to Disney's most infamous [[Complete Monster]], and Phoebus goes from an [[Lack of Empathy|uncaring]], womanizing [[Jerkass]] to an honorable [[Knight in Shining Armor]].
* [[Award Snub]]: None of the songs received Oscar nominations. Among all the movies [[Alan Menken]] composed for the [[Disney Animated Canon]] during the 1990s, this is the only one that happened to.
* [[Awesome Music (Sugar Wiki)|Awesome Music]]:
** It's a great score, but [[Villain Song|"Hellfire"]] and the instrumental track "Sanctuary" take the cake. "Made of Stone" from the stage version certainly counts as well.
** "Out There". The combination of the gorgeous music, beautiful lyrics and Tom Hulce's spectacular performance makes it one of the most magnificent songs of the [[Disney Animated Canon]]. (Or any Disney film, for that matter.)
*** And out there, living in the sun...
** ''Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, '''BELLS OF NOTRE DAME!!!''' ''
*** Pay attention, dear listener, to Clopin's voice toward the end of that song (particularly in its first iteration). God knows why they decided to practically drown it out with the chorus, but the man holds an absurdly high note perfectly for an absurdly long time.
** While "Sanctuary" is about four different kinds of incredible (it's a four part piece), and Hellfire is without a doubt, the best villain song ever included in a Disney movie (if not any film), the real crowner here is without a doubt, "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEEpavnk7Uw God Help The Outcasts]." The music is incredible, but the lyrics deserve special mention, as they are a deconstruction of the typical Disney [["I Want" Song]], in that a Gypsy who doesn't even believe, or doubts, in God ("I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there") is offering to God a more humble prayer than the Catholics there who are asking for money, fame, and glory, whereas Esmeralda simply says "I ask for nothing; I can get by. But I know so many less lucky than I."
*** Equally heartwarming in the original movie the animated film was based on when Esmeralda gives the same prayer when she is introduced to Mary and Jesus.
** "Heaven's Light" is the sweetest, most perfect love song ever written. Anyone who has ever been unpopular or different knows that feeling when someone notices you, even for a moment, and this song perfectly captures that feeling: ''knowing'' that they'll probably never love you back, but for the moment, you can hope, just a little.
{{quote| ''I dare to dream that she/Might even care for me/And as I ring these bells tonight/My cold dark tower seems so bright,/I swear it must be heaven's light!''}}
* [[Base Breaker]]: [[The Scrappy|Scrappy]] they may be, but the gargoyles do contribute a lot of genuinely [[Funny Moments]]...
* [[Cargo Ship]]: Hugo thinks Djali is pretty hot. Hugo is a gargoyle, Djali is a goat. But come on, Hugo's part goat!
* [[Complete Monster]]: Judge Claude Frollo is arguably Disney's darkest, most evil villain ever, [[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?|and]] [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|that]] [[The Black Cauldron (Disney)|is]] [[Oliver and Company (Disney)|really]] [[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|saying]] [[The Lion King (Disney)|something]]. Most people only remember him because of how cruel he was, especially since it was a realistic ''human'' cruelty rather than something out of fantasy (no names should be named here, but suffice to say there have been monsters like Frollo in [[Real Life]], there still are, and there most likely always will be.)
** Let's see: first he crosses the [[Moral Event Horizon]] in the ''first five minutes of the film'' by attempting to drown baby Quasimodo after killing his mother on the steps of the cathedral simply because he thought she was taking money from him. Then he is shown to be quite obviously emotionally abusive to Quasimodo simply because of his ugliness and insecurity; on top of that, he's downright genocidal towards gypsies, seems to take delight in torturing his own soldiers who've failed him, and deliberately attempts to burn an innocent family alive in their home ''and'' force Esmeralda to be his girl. (Ohhh, the hair smelling. *shudders*) Oh, and then he burns down most of a major city because the girl won't have sex with him. And yet the fans have bought him a pair of [[Draco in Leather Pants|leather pants]]. [[Never My Fault|Rather than admit his lust for Esmeralda is his own fault, he'd rather blame it on]] ''[[Never My Fault|her]]'' insisting that she's a witch who is enchanting him. Which he sees as excusing his violent measures to catch and rape/kill her. He doesn't just blame Esmeralda, but [[God]] and [[Satan]] as well. He must have slept through the story of Adam and Eve. Throughout it all, he is unrepentant of his crimes and refuses to admit his guilt, even when trying to drown children. His only reason for not killing Quasimodo is so he can use him later for his own purposes.
*** [[Never My Fault|Rather than admit his lust for Esmeralda is his own fault, he'd rather blame it on]] ''[[Never My Fault|her]]'' insisting that she's a witch who is enchanting him. Which he sees as excusing his violent measures to catch and rape/kill her. He doesn't just blame Esmeralda, but [[God]] and [[Satan]] as well. He must have slept through the story of Adam and Eve. Throughout it all, he is unrepentant of his crimes and refuses to admit his guilt, even when trying to drown children. His only reason for not killing Quasimodo is so he can use him later for his own purposes, and that he realizes that drowning an infant at the cite of a cathedral is crossing a line that might damn his soul to Hell. (Because all the ''other'' vile stuff he does is A-OK, right?) And of course, he even takes this back by the end of the film. "And now I'm going to do ''what I should have done 20 YEARS AGO!''"
**** Worse, his biggest fear is that his lust for Esmarelda (which [[Never My Fault|is her fault]]) is that it will result in him burning in Hell...and in ''revenge'', he wants ''her'' to burn in Hell instead, for daring to do that to him (whether she realizes it or not- he doesn't believe she enchanted him, but he blames her for it regardless). ''Unless'', of course, she accepts "salvation" by sleeping with him. "Chose him or the fire", as he puts it. This is flat out ''rape'' in a G-rated movie.
*** It's also rather ironic given that in the book, he's actually [[Anti -Villain|more sympathetic]], since he didn't kill any woman and actually took in an abandoned baby, Quasimodo, out of the kindness of his heart, and he had a brother who he supported through a fief. Granted, he does [[JumpedJumping Off the Slippery Slope|become quite evil and mad]] as time goes on, but he didn't reach the level of evil his Disney counterpart does.
* [[Crack Ship]]: As noted on the [[Tangled]] YMMV page, Frollo x Mother Gothel became one when people realized how similar they are.
* [[Crazy Awesome]]: Clopin
* [[Creepy Awesome]]: Frollo, according to some people's opinions.
* [[Critical Dissonance]]: Despite being moderately well-recieved (Scoring somewhere in the 70s on [[Rotten Tomatoes]]), this is the ONLY [[Disney Animated Canon]] film to EVER get nominated for a Razzie, which is ESPECIALLY baffling considering that Disney has released [[Dinosaur (Disney)|more]] [[Chicken Little (Disney)|deserving]] [[The Wild|films]]. It's considered (by those who remember it, anyway) better than its direct predecessor, ''[[Pocahontas (Disney)|Pocahontas]]''.
* [[Ensemble Darkhorse]]: Clopin.
** Also, Frollo is arguably this for the Disney Villains. Despite almost never appearing in crossovers, rides, merchandise or games (though will change with [[Kingdom Hearts 3D]]) he's one of the most well remembered and many people's favorite.
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** Elements of the Notre Dame architecture are used to convey different moods: for example, the statues foreboding and ominous, the stained glass beautiful and hopeful.
** At the end of "Hellfire" in the DVD Commentary:
{{quote| '''[[DVD Commentary]]:''' Here's some more of our ham-fisted symbolism--Frollo falls down in the shape of a crucifix!}}
** Also, during the last few minutes Esmeralda is wearing a white dress. See [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]] above.
** Pay very close attention to the scene where Frollo destroys Quasimodo's model of Paris. As he does so he picks up a wooden figure of Esmeralda and throws it, knocking over a figure of himself in the process.
* [[Hilarious in Hindsight]]: The fact that the voice actor for [[SpongeBob SquarePants (Animation)|Patrick Star]] voices a guard whom of which has the line "Now THAT's ugly!" Why is this hilarious in hindsight? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Ekg9OxE64&feature=related
* [[Memetic Molester]]: Frollo, for [[Sex Is Evil and I Am Horny|good]] [[Complete Monster|reason]].
* [[Memetic Mutation]]: "Hellfire" is becoming an increasingly popular subject for [[YoutubeYouTube Poop]].
* [[Misaimed Fandom]]: Frollo was often thought of as [[Evil Is Cool|cool]] despite having much less reason to be thought of as such ([[Moral Event Horizon|and much more NOT to]]) than other Disney villains. Instead of being a muscular macho-man like [[Beauty and Thethe Beast (Disney)|Gaston]] or a sorcerer like [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Jafar]], he is a genocidal self-righteous old religious fanatic; an intent to subvert [[Evil Is Cool]] is somewhat apparent here, yet it apparently did not work either.
** A good number of his fans probably love him for [[Tony Jay|his voice]]. [[Love to Hate]] certainly helps.
* [[Moment of Awesome (Sugar Wiki)|Moment of Awesome]]: For those of us who like to [[Rooting for Thethe Empire|Root for the Empire]], Frollo gets one when he suddenly shows up at the Court of Miracles.
{{quote| '''Esmeralda:''' You took a terrible risk coming here. It may not exactly show, but we're grateful.<br />
'''Phoebus:''' Don't thank me, thank Quasimodo. Without his help, I'd never have found my way here.<br />
'''Frollo''' ''(from off-screen)'': '''Nor would I.''' }}
* [[Moral Event Horizon]]: Frollo either crossed it when he killed Quasimodo's mother and almost killed him too as a baby or when he had a house burned down with an innocent family trapped inside.
* [[Narm Charm]]: The entire ending teeters on this, especially the unprovoked hug by a random kid (who also shows up at Clopin's puppet show...)
* [[No Yay]]: Frollo's obsession with Esmeralda.
* [[The Scrappy]]: Nobody seems to like the gargoyles (unless you're a Jason Alexander fan), mostly due to their contribution of the [[Lighter and Softer]] tone of the film. And causing [[Mood Whiplash]] in almost every scene they appear in.
** They ''are'' [[Actually Pretty Funny|pretty funny]] at points. The question is whether or not their relatively broad humor is a good thing, given what the [[Darker and Edgier|rest of the movie is like.]]
** The gargoyles are [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap]] in the German musical version. They are portrayed as figments of Quasi's imagination and their humor is toned down, which many feel is how they should have been done in the actual movie.
** To be more precise, Hugo is the one usually considered [[The Scrappy]], while Victor and Laverne are at the very least tolerated. In particular, the [[Running Gag]] of pigeons annoying Laverne is generally considered a little funny at the beginning and [[Crowning Moment of Funny|very funny]] by the end.
** [[Sequelitis]]: The first film had gorgeous animation, dealt with some pretty heavy themes for a Disney movie, and had very good music. The sequel dispensed with all of these in favor of a [[Lighter and Softer]] approach that shoehorned in a boring love interest for Quasimodo, an annoying child for Phoebus and Esmerelda, and a very lame villain. [[Money, Dear Boy|Why Kevin Kline, Tom Hulce and Demi Moore stuck around for it is a mystery for the ages.]]▼
* [[Sequelitis]]:
** There are two reasons the sequel exists 1) [[Money, Dear Boy|Disney was big on sequels at the time]] and 2) [[Throw the Dog Aa Bone|People felt bad that Quasimodo didn't get the girl.]]▼
▲** The first film had gorgeous animation, dealt with some pretty heavy themes for a Disney movie, and had very good music. The sequel dispensed with all of these in favor of a [[Lighter and Softer]] approach that shoehorned in a boring love interest for Quasimodo, an annoying child for Phoebus and Esmerelda, and a very lame villain. [[Money Dear Boy|Why Kevin Kline, Tom Hulce and Demi Moore stuck around for it is a mystery for the ages.]]
* [[Signature Scene]]: "Hellfire" is arguably the most famous scene in the film. Also the climax, with Quasimodo rescuing Esmeralda and declaring "SANCTUARY!"▼
▲** There are two reasons the sequel exists 1) [[Money Dear Boy|Disney was big on sequels at the time]] and 2) [[Throw the Dog A Bone|People felt bad that Quasimodo didn't get the girl.]]
** [[Squick]]: Frollo grabbing Esmeralda in the church and '''smelling her hair.''' Tell me you didn't find it sickening. Unless you're a [[Nightmare Fetishist]], and find it ... extremely hot.▼
▲* [[Signature Scene]]: "Hellfire" is arguably the most famous scene in the film.
* [[Squick]]:
▲** Frollo grabbing Esmeralda in the church and '''smelling her hair.''' Tell me you didn't find it sickening. Unless you're a [[Nightmare Fetishist]], and find it ... extremely hot.
** While it's played for laughs, Hugo the Gargoyle's attraction towards Djali the goat is fairly disturbing.
* [[Straw Man Has a Point]]: Frollo's [[Hobbes Was Right|grim depiction]] of the world "out there" actually sounds quite realistic, considering that this is [[The Middle Ages|Mediaeval Europe]] we're talking about.
* [[Tear Jerker]]: The [[Dark Reprise|reprise]] of ''Heaven's Light'' as Quasimodo watches Esmarelda kiss Phoebus and tearing up his ace of hearts card.
{{quote| ''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!''}}
** ''God Help The Outcasts'', especially the line "I ask for nothing/ I can get by,/ but I know so many/ less lucky than I" coming from Esmerelda.
* [[Ugly Cute]]: Quasimodo, who's Ugly ''Adorable''.
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*** But Hugo crossdressed as Esmerelda...
** Averted in other languages where either her voice is unmistakably female, the language itself has grammar rules that indicates gender (like in Spanish or French) or both.
* [[Vindicated Byby History]]: When it was released, it was a moderate hit with both critics and audiences - the consensus was "Hey, it was better than ''[[Pocahontas (Disney)|Pocahontas]]'', but nowhere near as good as ''[[The Lion King (Disney)|The Lion King]]'' or ''[[Beauty and The Beast (Disney)|Beauty and Thethe Beast]]''. However, it's recently become a contender for the [[Magnum Opus]] of Disney's Renaissance era.
* [[Visual Effects of Awesome (Sugar Wiki)|Visual Effects of Awesome]]: Notre Dame, and the Frollo's image of Esmeralda dancing in the flames in the Hellfire song. It is mentioned in the commentary that the special effects team gave their best in that scene.
* [[The Woobie]]: ''Quasimodo.'' Becomes an [[Iron Woobie]] towards the very end of the movie.
** [[Iron Woobie]]: Towards the end of the movie.
** Esmeralda possibly counts as well, given all the persecution the gypsies go through, the fact that [[Complete Monster|Frollo]] is after her specifically, and she still manages to be willing to pray for ''everybody else'' in "God Help the Outcasts."
** [[Jerkass Woobie]]: In the 2014 US stage musical adaptation, Frollo is this as he was in the original book and [[Complete Monster|in stark contrast to his animated counterpart]]. He's given a [[Freudian Excuse]] for why he became the man he is, truly loved his brother Jehan, is reasonably kinder and more fatherly to Quasimodo and shows signs of having some care for him, and is more openly conflicted regarding his lust for Esmeralda and how he feels torn between that and his religious position. None of this excuses his actions, however, as he still ends up crossing the [[Moral Event Horizon]] when he attempts to rape Esmeralda and then is the cause of [[Death by Adaptation|Esmeralda's death.]]
 
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