Judge Claude Frollo

Judge Claude Frollo is the main antagonist of the 1996 Disney animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Frollo is the Minister of Justice in the city of Paris, but is xenophobic, fanatical and self-righteous to the point of hypocrisy. His voice was provided by the late Tony Jay.

Prologue
Frollo resides in Paris, France, where he is employed as a Court Judge, or as the Justice Minister, this is not very clear. (Though the latter would explain his almost-complete control over the affairs of Paris. It has been assumed that the King is away at war, leaving him in charge. It can be guessed that he was first the former and was appointed the latter at some point during the time skip.) A deeply religious man, Frollo uses his position to inflict great suffering upon the gypsy population, believing them to "live outside the natural order" and engage in "heathen" behavior, as well as "enflame the people's lowest instincts".

One night, a group of gypsies attempt to enter Paris, only to be stopped by Frollo and his soldiers. When a gypsy woman attempts to flee, Frollo, believing her to be hiding stolen goods, chases her to Notre Dame. When Frollo catches up to her, he wrestles the "stolen goods" from her and kicks her in the head, causing her to fall on the steps of the parvis and die from a head concussion. He then finds out the the goods were actually her hideously deformed son, whom he attempts to cast in a well, believing him to be an "unholy demon" and that he is going to send it back to Hell "where it belongs." Yet the Archdeacon of Notre Dame stops him, and tells him that to atone from his crimes in the eyes of the Virgin Mary (Notre Dame meaning "Our Lady" in French), he must raise the child as his own. Fearing damnation, Frollo begrudgingly accepts and names the baby Quasimodo ("half-formed"). He keeps him out of the people's attention in the cathedral towers.

As Quasimodo grows up as the bell-ringer of Notre Dame, Frollo persuades him never to venture outside to avoid the hatred of the world, which he describes as cruel and unforgiving for deformed people.

Events of the movie
Twenty years later, while attending the annual Festival of Fools, Frollo discovers a gypsy dancer named Esmeralda, who both attracts and disgusts him with her beauty. Shortly afterwards, Quasimodo is revealed to have sneaked out the tower and joined the festivities, only to be crowned the King of Fools. One of Frollo's guards throws a tomato at Quasimodo, and soon the citizens of Paris start pelting Quasimodo with fruit and begin tormenting him. Quasimodo begs Frollo for help, but Frollo allows the torment to continue to punish him for his disobedience.

Esmeralda then comes to Quasimodo's aid, ridiculing Frollo in the process, and when Frollo vows to hurt her in return, she says that they crowned the wrong fool and throws the crown at Frollo's feet to say he is the real King of Fools. In return, Frollo orders her arrested; the gypsy girl can only escape Frollo's wrath by remaining within Notre Dame due to the right of sanctuary, where she gains Captain Phoebus' respect. Frollo then barges in, trying to arrest her, but the Archdeacon comes to her rescue, stating that nobody can be arrested or cause controversy in the church. Frollo later confronts Esmeralda, disturbing her by hugging her from behind and nuzzling his nose into her hair, and states that she is still a prisoner and that, as soon as she leaves, he would throw her in jail. That evening, Frollo is disturbed by his attraction to Esmeralda, believing he is doomed to the fires of Hell. However, he believes he is one of God's purest men and thus protests against the Lord, stating that all his sins are not his fault and accuses others of his own sins, most notably when he expresses belief that Esmeralda cast a spell on him to damn his soul, and resolving to have her for himself or burn her (which he expresses in the song "Hellfire"). Unbeknownst to Frollo, Quasimodo has allowed Esmeralda to escape the cathedral in gratitude for her rescue of him during the Festival of Fools, as well as feelings of love towards her.

Upon learning that Esmerelda has escaped, Frollo leaves at once. He bribes some of the gypsies to find Esmeralda and has everyone whom he believes to have aided the gypsies killed and their house burned, causing countless casualties. Appalled, Phoebus intervenes and rescues an innocent family that Frollo had locked in their home, planning to burn it. Frollo then declares Phoebus a traitor and has his guards shoot a fleeing Phoebus with arrows, nearly killing him. He sees Phoebus fall in a river and declares him dead, not knowing that a disguised Esmerelda helped Phoebus out of the river and nursed him back to health.

Realizing Quasimodo assisted Esmeralda, Frollo convinces him that the Court of Miracles has been found and will eventually be attacked. A misled Quasimodo leads Phoebus to the Court to warn the gypsies, but it is a ruse and Frollo follows them. The fanatical judge attacks the Court of Miracles, captures Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Phoebus and the Gypsies, has Quasimodo chained down in Notre Dame, and sentences all gypsies to be burned at the stake for witchcraft.

Frollo offers to pardon Esmeralda if she becomes his mistress, but she spits in his face so he prepares to burn her. Fortunately, Quasimodo, who manages to break free, rescues her after she passes out and brings her to the cathedral, calling for the divine right of Sanctuary. Enraged, Frollo launches an attack against the cathedral, but Phoebus rallies the outraged people of Paris against him. While his guards are getting soundly defeated, Frollo enters the cathedral, wanting to kill Quasimodo. The Archdeacon tries to protest, refusing to let him defile God's house, but Frollo replies by hurling him down the staircase, causing him to break his leg, and locks him from the belltower, saying "The hunchback and I have unfinished business, and this time, you shall not interfere."

As Quasimodo is mourning the apparent death of Esmeralda, Frollo pretends to comfort him, concealing a dagger behind his back to kill the hunchback with. A violent struggle ensues, in which Quasimodo overpowers the deranged judge. Frollo attempts to get Quasimodo to listen to him, but Quasimodo instead tells him about how Frollo told him that the world was a dark, cruel place, but he realized what was dark and cruel about the world was people like Frollo. During that conversation, Esmeralda awakens and Quasimodo rushes her to safety, while Frollo draws out his sword. Frollo chases them onto a balcony overlooking the city, striking them with his sword to knock them off the balcony.

While attempting to kill them, Frollo reveals that he killed Quasimodo's mother when she tried to protect him. After that, Frollo blinds Quasimodo with his cloak and tosses him off Notre Dame, but Quasimodo manages to hold on and pulls the deranged judge along with him. While Esmeralda is struggling to rescue Quasimodo, Frollo manages to climb onto a gargoyle and prepares to deal the finishing blow. As he prepares to finish them off, while blaspheming smugly, the gargoyle he is standing on ironically crumbles beneath him, forcing Frollo to hold onto it with all his might. The gargoyle then roars menacingly at the deranged judge before finally breaking away from the cathedral, sending a screaming Frollo plunging into the molten lead a long way below.

Frollo's death can be interpreted as divine intervention. The gargoyle appears to act as a symbol of God, "judging" Frollo as truly evil and therefore casting him into the "fiery pit" of Hell, in the form of the molten lead. In the end, Frollo suffers what he feared the most: the damnation of his very soul.