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DIRECTOR'S CUT: Villain Therapy: FROLLO from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

How does spiritual abuse affect yourself and your spirituality? Is this the darkest, not-kid-friendly animated Disney movie?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright dive into the villainy of Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Frollo is one of the worst characters ever (one of the best villains ever?) because of his abuse, predatory behavior, and self-righteousness. They discuss how Frollo’s spirituality is tied to his own perceived righteousness and goodness and how he blames others to absolve his conscience. Meanwhile, a non-Christian character demonstrates the true virtues of faith. Jonathan defines spiritual and religious abuse, and operant conditioning, while Alan explains why the gargoyles don’t make sense and why this movie isn’t for kids!

DIRECTOR'S CUT: Villain Therapy: FROLLO from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Comments

Thank you so much for mentioning the tragic fire in Notre Dame. I feel like this is wonderful time capsule of the cathedral due to all of the put in the work put in to capture all the intricacies♥️

Rainee Chapman

When I was a kid this was one of the only movies my grandma had at her house and I watched it sooo much. I don't remember it being scary but it is one of my favorites for the sound track.

Amber

This is one of my favorite scores!!! I love how “Out There” transitions right into “Hellfire.” The chants and orchestral hits are amazing. I have watched the stage production online, and believe it or not it is darker than the movie. Also when I visited Notre Dame I thought of “God Help the Outcasts” it was so gorgeous!!!

Hannah Rose 🥀

This looks like a job for... FOOT MAN!

Cinema Therapy

I will say can we JUST ONCE have someone that is gentle and humble that DOESN'T look like a foot? I saw this in a theater as a child/preteen and trust me, being in the Church AND Medicine, I've seen Quasimodo-eque guys that put Frollo to shame.. END RANT.

TERRIKA R COAKLEYMCCOY

I love the portrayal of men in this. Frollo was corrupt and proud, Phoebus was duty bound but Cunning and love centered, and Quasimodo was gentle, humble and willing to change himself. Amazing!

Daniel Hailstone

Those people have destroyed so much light in the world and I'm sorry if you've experienced them.

Daniel Hailstone

Excellent episode, thank you 🖤

Omen the Black Cat

Agreed I don't think it was an add on. It was just so weird cause that's how I felt in my self absorbed 18 year old state...it was jarring cause I'm like 'did they add that...no wait..they must have edited it but they do that?' It was kinda the first time it dawned on me how media can be altered even in small ways. I guess I must have known they edited stuff...like deleted scenes always existed but at the time I was like...'hhhheeeyyy...'

Teesh W

So I had to google this, and yes, the scenes in question were cut for the Australia release. (Link: http://disney14.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame-1996.html) But it's got to be said that that wasn't the case of Disney cutting a scene from its own film that it later included in an extended version; rather, it was external censors. I saw it in the U.S. and that scene was definitely in the original.

Amy Petty

Definitely willing to agree that I don't remember the theatrical release in the cinemas...I was fortunate enough as a 9 year old that I wouldn't know how creepy that scene was. But...I was an annoying kid in the fact that I watched movies over and over if I owned them. (I managed to ruin land before time and beetlejuice for my family with the amount of times I thrashed it) so I was watching hunchback with my partner when I was like..18? And I'm like 'dude...that wasn't there before!' He's like 'nah I'm pretty sure I remember that.' So then I noticed the last scene of hellfire was missing as well (in the version I watched as a kid). It was so WEIRD cause the hair scene was so aggressively cut. Like suddenly he was behind her and suddenly he was walking backwards toward the door in the big...above...scene (sorry Alan I don't know what it's called.) Not to make light of a terrible situation but It reminded me of 'homer's night out' and it was like *scene missing*. The hellfire ending wasn't as aggressive you just got 'devil so much stronger than the man' then...guard. Sorry to be so adamant about it...just so weird when you think you know a movie really well and suddenly it's like they added a couple of scenes and part of a song. My only theory is that I live in Australia so maybe they edited it for us? But that in itself is fascinating to me. Don't get me wrong...I was glad I didn't get that creepy scene but out of all the scenes they cut they thought 'ableism? Ok. Abuse? Ok. Racism? Yeh ok. Horrific scene of a vulnerable guy being tied down and basically tortured? Nah keep that in. Yep...you can keep in the burning down of the villagers house. But I'll be damned if Australia is seeing some weird sexual content and a naked esmerelda in flames.' I'm sorry to hear about a family event that must have been awful though :( .

Teesh W

Pretty sure Amy Petty is right. Maybe you just blocked it out, or didn’t notice as a 9-yr-old. Funny the things our minds let people (or characters) get away with when we’re kids that are… not good. Also, memory is just squishy. Our family has a story of a pretty significant thing that happened when I was 11, and my Mom, my Dad, my Brother, and I all remember different things happening. Makes me SUPER-curious what actually happened, you know? -alan

Cinema Therapy

The hair-sniffing scene was always there, from the very beginning. There is no extended version of Disney's Hunchback, and Disney never once censored that scene from the film, not in the theatrical release or any home version. You're just misremembering it - if you saw this in theatres you definitely saw that scene.

Amy Petty

It's funny to me, because I can absolutely see where you're coming from when you say don't watch this with your kids, but I watched this and the 2nd one all the time as a young child and I loved them! I was young enough that the gargoyles never seemed out of place to me because they were aimed at me. The darker themes definitely hit, but in a different way than they do now. A lot of kids can handle a lot more than people give them credit for sometimes.

Danielle Dupuis

Oddly enough the man responsible for it, David Stainton, decided to adapt it for Disney after reading a comic book adaptation. It's not clear whether he ever read the original novel at all!

Amy Petty

Yes. Yes I did. The best “I want” song Disney has to offer. Cinema Therapy should do a Hero Therapy on Quasimodo. I remember thinking how refreshing it was that the hero of the movie DID NOT get the girl. And it was perfectly fine!!!

Darcie Daniels

Oh, definitely. There’s that little brilliant snippet right before Hellfire that Quasimodo sings … Heaven’s Light. PERFECT juxtaposition. It only serves to make Hellfire even more frightening.

Darcie Daniels

Yes, I absolutely agree. It’s spine-tingling.

Darcie Daniels

I love how you addressed religious abuse! Member of uber christian family here!! And while most of the time I'm thankful for that, everyone on my dad's side of the family, including my dad have never been abusive in that they hit me but when I learned about religious abuse I had a light bulb moment because I've experienced this basically my whole life and even more since I became an adult. I've been made to feel that if I ever step slightly out of line I'll be a shame to the family. That people are watching us and it matters how we behave. Like heaven forbid we buy Vodka to make vanilla. Or what will people think if I make an R-rated war film someday. My parents will never kick me out of the family...but I'm not sure about anyone else. I was actually able to write a shortfilm for a class and I chose to address religious abuse and it was very healing for me because my character could say things that I've never been able to say. And it's interesting to me that I know so many people who aren't Christians but are way nicer and more fun than my family who has continually abused me and shamed me.

Kate Larson

I'm still Baffled by whomever read the book and thought, "This would make a great Disney movie!" I still get nightmares about the scene where Esmeralda's mother has to watch Esmeralda be hung and die for a crime she didn't commit. (Glad they at least had the sense to cut out that storyline!)

Emily Powers

Anyone else have to immediately watch Out There after this?

Tim Durning

I am right there with you. I never thought to call myself a survivor but now that you say it, that's what I am as well. Purity culture messed me up. It wasn't until after college that I came to terms with what happened. When people are constantly telling you from a young age that it's your fault that other people have certain thoughts about you, you believe it. I used to get angry just talking about christianity. It took the veiws of my Culturally Jewish spouse to realize that what I grew up in isn't universal across christian groups. I'm more pagan than anything now.

Sadie

The broadway version that Disney did years ago is probably one of the best ones they released. The music always brings me to tears.

Rob Foster

in 1996, this movie hit just the right tone for my pre-teen understanding. the book gave me nightmares tho. also, i agree with Jono, the gargoyles always seemed like imaginary friends that only spoke to Q, because he had no friends. he had to carve them, imagine them, and pretend. 😢 they are also his inner thoughts: weird and juvenile reflecting his stunted maturity.

Lynettra

I discovered the off-broadway thing one year ago more or less and became obssessed with it! The music was already great in the movie but the musical is absolutely Les Mis kind of big!!! I'm so sad it never got to broadway in favor of less expensieve Frozen.... I haven't been able to geek out to anyone about it that cared, because I did geek out but no one cared... hahaha :)

Kate Ackerley

I realize how much this is not a kids movie

Madison Oberg

I'm so sorry

Sara Brannon

People like Frollo is why I won’t ever be part of any religious sect. I am fine believing what I do, not visiting a particular building every week, and not believing those who think differently are beneath me.

Angelina

First of all, as someone who grew up conservative baptist and has deconstructed, who has survived spiritual abuse, religious abuse, and is also a survivor of purity culture, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your thoughtful and inclusive take on this. As someone who now identifies as agnostic/maybe universalist/who the heck knows, thank you for being the type of people who give me hope about religion and spirituality, especially for those who identify as Christian. Hunchback of Notre Dame has always been a favorite of mine even post-deconstruction, exactly for all the reasons mentioned in the video. Both of you but especially Alan, I would HIGHLY encourage you to watch the off broadway version that was done in the mid 2010s. Here's the youtube link to the full thing, if anyone else wants to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7DfTkCwEHM&ab_channel=GothicWitchChick . It's based on Disney's version, but hews MUCH closer to the source text overall. You will bawl like a baby at the ending. Also, fun fact, Alan Menken's score and song for this movie are like a magnum opus. Extremely reminiscent of classical masses or requiems the likes of Verdi, Bruckner, even Mozart. If you want a little extra crazy twist in the Hellfire sequence, read this interesting analysis of the music and lyrics for "Hellfire" from a psych perspective here - https://the-artifice.com/disney-hell-fire-subconscious/ . One of the reasons it's my favorite villain song is that it's probably the most complex and...human?...of all the Disney villain songs. When you have the priests singing in the background of hellfire and then later on, the Latin sung is a perfect contrast to what Frollo is singing in English and almost makes it seem as if Frollo's subconscious knows he is morally in the wrong, but he continues on with his destruction. Alright I'm done geeking out, but once again...thank you Jonathan and Alan !!!!!

Susannah Manton

I do think "Hellfire" is a masterpiece. So so so dark for a Disney film and yes, completely makes your skin crawl, but brilliant. My favorite part is Frollo singing "it's not my fault it's her fault" while the chorus in the back is singing "Mea Culpa". It's just.. it's impossibly well written.

mightstill

I'll have to look. I did a search here for "Gothel," "Tangled," "Rapunzel" and now "gaslighting" and nothing has come up. Well, as an ETA to this, I dug around on their YT channel and found the episode you're talking about. It's definitely a great one, but I would still love to see a real deep dive into Gothel as a terrifying Disney villain due to the fact she's SO real.

Amy Petty

I can't believe you made it through a 30 minute discussion of this movie without talking about how incredible the soundtrack is. Truly spectacular music and some of the best Disney performances ever.

Reilly Willoughby

We will die on that hill together, Sara!

MsHalcyon

This was amazing, thank you so much! Hunchback of Notre Dame has always been one of my favorite Disney movies, and became even more so when I went to school for music and then came back home and rewatched it through that lens. It never really made my skin crawl (although it did while watching this episode) because I've always focused on dear Quasi's arc. (And by the way, I've always seen the gargoyles as all in Quasi's head. Reading the book convinced me even more that that's what's happening.) And Frollo's plunge to the depths [of hell] is particularly satisfying. I'd rather all the real Frollos out there manage to be better than that... But if they don't... Well, I can always rewatch Hunchback.

MsHalcyon

Thanks for doing this movie. I didn’t appreciate it until many years later when I started paying more attention to things other than the immediate story, like music, layout, how shadows and light can be used, etc., and yeah, this movie didn’t do great for the stated reasons, but at the same time, it’s a really great (Disneyfied) meditation on the nature of religion and how people use it for good or ill. As with most things nowadays, I can’t but draw political parallels when I see an old white man telling anyone, especially a dark-skinned woman who won’t take his shit, what to do and how they should view themselves. I’ve stopped keeping track of how many white men and women (though such behavior is not exclusive to one race certainly) just in today’s world have claimed their faith or religion as reason enough to push or codify horrible laws restricting people from speaking out, learning about history, or just being themselves, as though we still live in the Dark Ages and are expected to accept their word as law because they say they were sent by God as opposed to living with empathy and compassion like so many religions and philosophies entreat. Sorry, I didn’t mean to write a treatise on the subject. It’s just something that I can’t help noticing.

tropetweeter

Sorry a close family member treated you like that.

tropetweeter

This episode is genuinely amazing. I had to keep going back cause I would muse on something and realise I wasn't listening to the next bit. This movie is weird for me cause it came out when I was 9...and I loved it. My mum...did not. She saw it at the movies with me but she did buy it for me on video. I knew it was dark but didn't get too worried about it like...didn't lose sleep over it. The only thing I didn't like was the gargoyles but I love the head cannon you came up with. But it did end up helping me a lot this movie. I didn't have any frollos in my life at the time....but boy howdy did I get some later. Religious abusers and otherwise. My hatred of frollo deepened so much as I got older....that's when I actually got really angry and upset and actually lost sleep over his character. Luckily...or at least funnily enough I had a really strong family base that were amazing and helped me navigate through it...people who had Christian values but aren't Christian. Esmerelda is someone that reminds me of my mum that I try to emulate. I'm not the same person as her (esmerelda...obviously...she's a fictional character) but that rage she feels at someone being treated poorly is very relatable...because you've felt it yourself. Just a quick point though...I am sure the hair sniffing scene wasn't in that originally. This I saw it later on an extended version...I'm absolutely sure I would have had questions about that to my mum if I saw it in the cinema and it wasn't in the home release version. I wonder if they knew that even then like 'yeh this isn't...a great idea...'

Teesh W

They did one about Mother Gothel and gaslighting back in I believe the first year of the channel- a wonderful episode like all of them.

Natalie Carbone

My pappaw, who was a preacher, was my Frollo.

Jennifer Redmond

It's interesting to me that y'all focus on Esmeralda as an example of a non-Christian who espouses Christian virtues. I realize that Romani beliefs are rooted in Indian religious practices, and that especially during the time period in question, orthodox Catholicism existed alongside folk beliefs that didn't necessarily adhere to official doctrine. But for the purpose of the film presentation itself I wonder whether it's accurate to speak of Esmeralda as non-Christian. I know that I always coded her as intended to be Frollo's religious foil, similarly to the priest. Especially in the way that in the song "God Help the Outcasts," she doesn't really ask religious questions on the nature of God or where spiritual authority lies. She speaks openly to the Virgin as if she already accepts the divine order as presented.

Amy Petty

Thank you both so much for this one. I appreciate deep dives like this. I don't *think* y'all have done it yet, so - I would dearly love to see another one like this on Mother Gothel from Tangled. She is easily one of the most realistically portrayed villains I've ever seen Disney handle, for the way that she manipulates and abuses Rapunzel while at the same time serving as the latter's sole source of protection and love. It's an unnervingly authentic representation of child abuse.

Amy Petty

Thank you for this episode! I think the messaging in this movie is very powerful and I love it. The soundtrack is beautiful and my favorite part of the movie. I’m going to see the musical at the Tuacahn theater in southern Utah this summer, and I’m so excited to see it!

Alison H

Love the film, the soundtrack, and this episode. I wish Disney had some characters experience connection, mentoring, and guidance from people of faith, to show that religion and spirituality can also be beneficial, and religious figures don’t equate to the Frolos of the world. Interestingly, Victor Hugo wrote the good bishop in Les Miserables despite external critique of rosying-over corruption, but he insisted on having a Christian authority ‘act like they ought’ in his story. Also classic Disney villain using words like ‘calumny’ and ‘consternation’ to talk above the heads of those they try to control. It makes the Cult of Frolo sound so smart!

leafsheepz

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is possibly my favourite Disney movie (it's a close run with "Inside Out". Like some of the other people who have commented on here, I also grew up with a spiritually/religiously abuse parent. Will probably spend the rest of my life deprogamming half the shit I was told I should believe but I'm happy to say that now I'm in a place where I can think, explore and believe for myself.

Reuben McKay

I remember suggesting this years ago on Reddit and to see you guys actually cover this is amazing I especially loved how Jono calls out religious and spiritual abuse and how there are people who force religion down your throat and how that's not okay Thank you guys for covering this hidden gem!

Matt

I'm sorry the both of you had to deal with his crap, and I can understand completely where you're coming from regarding his passing (my unofficially adopted sister has a contentious relationship with her abusive father.) Best wishes for her healing and for happiness for both of you.

LB Clark

I was hoping you guys would cover this one! I was one of the kids who saw this movie in theaters...and I was completely enthralled by it. To this day it's the most underrated Disney soundtrack ever and I will die on that hill. Then, I watched it again 15 years later and all I could think was "I still love it, but how did this not scare the crap out of me when I was little?!" I think the thing that makes Frollo such a lingering villan is, he's the most accurate to a person who actually exists. Not a lot of us know an evil queen, or a fashion designer with a fur obsession, but almost everybody personally knows, or knows of a Claude Frollo.

Sara Brannon

Thank you for doing this! I saw Hunchback in theatres when I was 5 and we immediately went out to Payless afterward to get Esmeralda sneakers and the disney book version. It was my favorite movie for a long time, my mom hated it. I didn't remember much of Frollo eventhough I watched it so many times. I think my brain shut down during his parts and was solely focused on Quasimoto and Esmeralda. I suffered religious abuse growing up and I'm still dealing with the ramifications. I'm finally to the point where I can talk about Christianity and going to church without getting angry. I'm still awkward in charismatic churches and feel much more comfortable in catholic churches and temples eventhough I'm not a practising anything.

Sadie

Thanks for doing this video, you two! I grew up in a hyper-religious household that was just a step or two removed from a full-fledged cult. It's no exaggeration to say that it cost me my mother, my maternal grandmother, and a healthy relationship with that side of the family. Not to mention being very ill-equipped and poorly educated in how to live life as a human being. I struggle with labelling it abusive, but my childhood certainly was founded upon remaining ignorant of a lot of things beyond what the church taught and never interacting with the people outside the church community.

Terra the Lioness

Loved this episode! However, honest question: What would be your responce to those who see a lot of connection in your discussion about relgious and spiritual abuse to LDS faith? I grew up mormon, and most of your points, to me, hit as accurate for my experince and perspective of the whole organizaiton and leadership. I'm curious what Jono espeically would say. You guys are always so wonderful! Keep making amazing content!

PalehornTea

Yup, I've had a few Frollos in my life. And ick, yuck, and blech. They really screw with your reality and make you believe the most horrible things about yourself and how the world around you works. It can get pretty insidious. And when it comes to my religious experience, I've come to the conclusion that exorcisms are INCREDIBLY annoying. The one I was put through when I was 3 was also particularly boring and awkward. Even the voices in my head had to question what the hell.

Lady Lost

Funny you should bring up Hans Gruber, because coincidentally, I always thought his portrayer, Alan Rickman, would have been a spot on choice to play Frollo in a live action iteration of this movie.

Alexander Filippini

I'm so glad you did an episode on spiritual and religious abuse. Just because it comes in religious trappings, it is still abuse. And Frollo is the worst. I was 12 when I saw Hunchback in theaters, so old enough not to have nightmares, but you better believe afterwards that my dad (a psychologist) and I had a long, long talk about abuse and healthy v. unhealthy faith. Now, I am studying to be a spiritual director, and one of the things we do a lot of work with is recovery from spiritual and religious abuse. Therapy is usually needed to heal from the trauma and the abuse, but the questions about faith and spirituality that remain often bring those survivors to us. What do I believe? Who is God/Spirit/Universe to me? What is my spiritual truth? We don't provide answers to these questions- they've had plenty of that already. We just provide an open and non-judgemental space where they can find their own answers, and recover their own moral and spiritual center, which may or may not involve a higher power.

Meredith Webb

I love the nuances in the god help the outcasts song. She asks for blessings to fall on others shes happy with what she has. But the parishioners that are praying in the back are all asking for things for themselves. Fame, wealth, love they can possess, etc. The contrast to how her world works compared to everyone else.

Fell Hawke

YEAHHHH such a underrated movie CT you know me so well

alia

I was listening to this while doing my day job and I got so snapped out of it with my name at the end! Thanks so much for this episode! :) It's highly... ironic, I guess for the lack of a better word. This episode is super relatable to me as my fiancée has some very religious family and I am a transman. As you could imagine, they don't like me much at all. They also don't like my fiancee's decision to be with me. MANY of the gross things Frollo does (outside of violence and hellfire songs) was employed by them. "She can't love you like I do nor provide for you like I do." and "She doesn't really care for you." is distinct quotes I remember her telling me, with a drizzle of misgendering for bad measure. They also made her got to conversion therapy in exchange for her going on her high school senior trip. Her self-esteem is very rough because of that conversion therapy. When she mentioned how much it hurt her years later, he claimed it didn't hurt her and they didn't make her go. Conversion therapy really made her feel not worthy of anything good in her life. When she eventually moved in with me in the northeast US, from the southern US, her father said "I bet you'll be back in 6 months." 6+ years later, she's still with me. He demonized me from day one, thinking I kept her from calling him or controlled her with gaslighting and guilt tripping, when his own actions are what made her not want to interact with him. Sadly though, he passed away a little over a week ago. My fiancée was obviously upset. I couldn't help but think that maybe she can begin to recover now without his judgemental attitude and passive harm looming over her just out of sight most of the time. I hope anyway, as I've tried for so long to encourage her to realize her worth and every visit to her father would tear down a year of work on that in a week. I'm not the one to pass judgement but, wherever her father is now, I hope it where he deserves to be.

Victor G. of Myth And Magic Artisans

LOL, Gandalf is a wonderful demonstration of my moral center, not my actual moral center. But, thank you so much for stating that mental illness are 10x's more likely to be victims, not perpetrators of violence.

Traci Koehler

This is shamelessly my most favorite Disney movie (outside of Fantasia), and I have to say I don’t think I was ever as excited to see a Cinema Therapy video as this. I mean yeah I was waiting for Grave of the Fireflies and Lilo and Stitch, but I kinda needed those. This video is almost a guilty pleasure. 😅

Sean Goettsche


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