Thirty-One Days O’Horror: Disney’s Greatest Villain

“I’ll find her! I’ll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!”

Disney has tons of memorable villains in their films. From the first feature length villain, the Evil Queen, to characters that have been given their own franchise films such as Maleficent, Disney knows how to make a great villain. But which one rises above the pack to be crowned Disney’s greatest villain? That question is tougher than you’d think.

There are plenty of sound arguments for characters such as Scar from The Lion King or Jafar from Aladdin. Both of them wanted to rule their respective worlds and went as far as murdering others to gain power. Scar even convinced his nephew and would-be king, Simba, into believing that he was the reason for his own father’s death. To that end, Scar definitely moves up the list. There’s someone more sinister than him, however.

Then there are villains like Callaghan/Yokai from Big Hero 6 and Syndrome from The Incredibles. One is driven by vengeance and the other by jealousy, but neither one of them comes close to my personal choice for Disney’s greatest villain.

So who is Disney’s greatest villain in my opinion? None other than Judge Claude Frollo, Minister of Justice of Paris and the cruel and twisted adoptive guardian of Quasimodo in 1996’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Not only was Frollo a murderer, he raised Quasimodo to fear the world and trust only in him. He utilized his power and his station in life to manipulate others into doing vile things such as driving out the “heathen” Gypsies while at the same time harboring great lust for Esmerelda, a Gypsy woman who befriends Quasimodo.

Hiding behind religion, Frollo convinces himself that Esmerelda must be his or die for the greater good. His twisted interpretation of Roman Catholicism and attempts at legitimizing his own failures and shortcomings as the work of others reflects failures within not only organized religion, but in society as a whole. I say all of this as a Roman Catholic myself, so please don’t tell me that the Church or any of the Protestant branches do not include people like this. I have personally known people that used their version of faith as a tool to perform cruel acts in the name of God. These people, like Frollo, are hypocrites and downright evil.

Frollo abuses Quasimodo mentally and emotionally and bastardizes Quasi’s ideals about faith and religion. He declares Esmerelda to be the source of his lustful desires, passing the blame onto her so that he can remain pious. This guy is straight up bad news.

He already has power. He’s one of the most respected and feared men in all of Paris. His true desire is to rid himself of Quasimodo by hiding him away from the world in an attempt to clear his own conscious for murdering Quasi’s mother, and to take Esmerelda in all of the worst ways. This guy ticks off most of the seven deadly sins, and justifies doing so in his own twisted way. Frollo’s drive is grounded in reality: adult, selfish, and evil.

Brought to life by the voice of Tony Jay, Frollo is also the owner of one of Disney’s greatest (and most adult) songs: Hellfire. Going to great lengths to describe his desires for Esmerelda and with visuals that push the limits of a kid’s movie, Hellfire is simply great. Along with Be Prepared from The Lion King, Hellfire is one of my favorite Disney songs.

So, do you agree with me? Is Frollo the greatest Disney villain? Let me know in the comments section.

As always, thanks for reading my post. Tomorrow I’ll be finishing off Thirty-One Days O’Horror for 2020!