Frollo's prayers are actually answered in this scene. When the guard opens the door, he is framed by a soft and peaceful light, symbolizing Heaven while the fireplace behind Frollo symbolizes Hell. The guard informs him that Esmeralda is gone, metaphorically giving Frollo the last chance to redeem himself by letting Esmeralda go and embrace the light. Frollo, however, turns away from the light and gives into his obsession, a decision that prevents his entry into Heaven while cementing his damnation.

Two fun facts: the actor was unable to hit that last note initially. Rather than hire a separate singer like they did in other Disney movie songs (Scar in Be Prepared), he insisted he could do it, and took extra singing lessons until he was able to hit the note himself. Also, the initial animation had Esmeralda naked in the fire illusion, but it was considered too risqué, so the animators added an extra layer of fire-clothes rather than redraw it.

I love that Frollo sings to the same melody of the church chorus, it's just another level of Frollo twisting the church to serve himself.

Calling '90s Disney movies "early Disney" (when Disney's been making movies since the 1930s) makes me feel really freaking ancient lol

Hunchback is so underrated. Its a very dark moive. It's one of my favorites

I'm in my 30s and this song STILL gives me goosebumps just like the first time I saw it. One of the absolute best villain songs in Disney history

My favorite part of this song is it's connection to Quasimodo's song "Heaven's Light." Not only are they both singing about the same woman, and the titles seem to go together ("Heaven's Light/ Hellfire"), but the bells at the very end of "Heaven's Light" start to play the melody of "Hellfire" so they transition into each other. They're so thematically and tonally linked (because they are almost exact opposites- one a quiet little ballad and the other a dramatic choral piece and yet they are about the same thing- the singer's feelings for Esmerelda) its pretty fair to think of them as one song in two parts.

In my Opinion "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is one of the best Disney movies if not the best ever! Im so glad, they didnt cut out this number because it would have been a shame! Its my favorite song from it!

I think Frollo genuinely expected the scarf not to catch fire. The way he recoils from the fireplace and his immediate request for mercy for Esmerelda and himself are too sudden for him not to.

That moment when the guard came in he was like an angel of mercy with the blue light giving him an out. But then he clearly makes the choice to chase her proving it was indeed his choice. And his fault.

First guard: ''Oh no, he's singing.'' Second guard: ''Dang it, time to burn down the city again.''

Tony Jay voiced frollo and his singing voice. Rest In Peace Tony Jay. The woman dancing in the flames is Esmeralda are main female lead.

The Bells of Notre Dame, Out There, and God Help the Outcasts are incredible songs from this movie as well. The whole movie has one of the most brilliant soundtracks of a Disney movie after Hercules

The Latin chanting at the beginning and throughout the song is a real prayer from the Catholic Mass. It is call the Confiteor, and here's the rough translation: *I confess to [insert really long litany of names that was cut out of the English translation] to you, Almighty God, and to my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts, my words, and my actions; through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault" They don't use the rest of the prayer in this song, but this bit is so beautifully utilized to present a juxtaposition between Frollo's (hooded dude's) words and his guilty conscience. Alan Menken didn't have to go *THAT* hard with the music in this "kid film" (even most Catholic kids wouldn't know that prayer in Latin!) but he did because he's Alan MF'ing Menken.

something i noticed at 3:24 is that frollo looks like hes about to tear apart esmeralda's lil scarf, but instead collapses with it smooshed into his face. just another symbolization of how hes too weak to reject his desire, and instead in the very next scene tries to run away and say its esmeraldas fault while the hooded figures chant "mea culpa" which is "your fault" in latin. such a thematically cohesive song, ontop of being such a good song in general

Don’t worry, the off-broadway production could not have picked a more perfect actor for this role. Patrick Page is amazing!!!

Claude Frollo (the main guy in this song) was played by Tony Jay, a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He did a lot of other voice over work for Disney, but this was his main one. Agreed, hard to live up to his performance. I will say, however, that Patrick Page, who played Frollo is equally as powerful and wonderful. He most recently was Hades in the Broadway show, Hadestown. Beautiful voice. If you havent already seen the La Jolla Hunchback of Notredame, please do. It's amazing.

Man it is so wild to me that you've seen this many Starkid musicals before watching any but a few Disney movies, they (along with High School Musical) are like the biggest running reference in the Langs' writing.

yes. finally, someone reacting to this with fresh eyes. It's even better since you're looking at it through a musical lens. The movie is a bit lighter and the story is slightly different but it is still good. Broadway is much much darker. The original story is about the corruption of the church and abuse of power so...

That “OH WOW” at the end was the most appropriate reaction. Thank you for that lol

Hellfire is one of the best villain songs from disney! I love "We know the way" from Moana.

Honestly, the songs all throughout this movie (and the orchestral soundtrack in key scenes) is just... *chef's kiss*. It's powerful, awestriking and haunting.

Best. Disney song. Ever. Had that opinion since i was a kid, watching this on vhs.... On repeat....i wonder what the adults in my life thought about this being the song i couldn't stop singing along to...... And rewinding to replay.....

My sister, upon seeing this scene for the first time, and with a packed house, gave a rousing standing ovation, and to her great surprise and delight, the packed house joined her in her standing ovation!

The movie was released in 1996, so it's actually not as old as you might think, but this scene is still a very impressive piece of filmmaking. Unfortunately, the biggest problem this movie has is keeping a consistent tone because when it veers too far out into goofiness, it really undercuts the weight of the drama, but when this movie is doing things well, it's astoundingly good. And the actor who played Frollo was named Tony Jay, and he was very much the MVP of this movie. Sadly, he died ten years after this movie came out.

the hunchback of notre dame is still one of my fav movies tbh!!! hellfire goes so hard

What I love about this song, it just went from 0 to 60 in 10 seconds. Just Epic!

I'm loving these Disney reactions! I loved your reaction to the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" stage musical, so this was wonderful! One of my all time favorite Disney songs is "Go the Distance" from Hercules. Such a beautiful song, and i think you would really enjoy it. Thank you so much for great reaction! Can't wait for the next one!

Easily one of, if not the greatest villain song and villains. Sadly, he’s often forgotten.

Fanaticism made him one of the most terrifying villians ever in an animated movie. He and Kent (the G-Man from "The Iron Giant) may have scared the kids for being "mean" but as an adult I could see them for what they truly were and represented.

And next Jonathan Young's metal cover of hellfire!

the late Tony Jay was the voice of Frollo. Also, you really should watch the whole movie. It's loosely based off of the novel by Victor Hugo. It was the author's first full-length novel he ever published in 1831. Victor Hugo was an amazing figure.

Fun fact, when Frollo is repeating "it's not my fault", the Latin in the back is translated to "my fault/my greatest fault". This can be interpreted as his conscience and acknowledgement to the fact that he is lying to himself, despite his efforts to convince everybody that he is a holy/blameless man.

This is the darkest Disney movie to date... and I love it! (except Frollo, he’s a pervert)

Sometimes I forget how dark Disney can be.

The scariest villains are the ones who hide in plain sight.

So lemme tell you, watching this movie - and this scene in particular - in IMAX with full-scope THX sound was unbelievable. The latin vocals were so deep I remember hearing the ice rattling in my cup, and feeling my chair just vibrating with all that power. And the movie theater - which was packed full - was so absolutely silent at the end of this piece... my friends were all at just the quality of this scene.

this is peak disney 2d animation

The animation of Frollo and his emotions were top tier in this scene

One of the top 3 disney villian songs in my opinion. Another great song from this movie is God Help The Outcasts.

this song is great! into the unknown from frozen 2 is definitely worth a reaction, gives me chills every time!

"Hellfire" is truly an outlier among Disney villain songs, not just because of the Bloody EPIC music, but because of the animation. Notice how other villain songs are animated; the villain is shown in a position of extreme power, they boast about their evil plans or their victory over the hero, they are surrounded by their fans providing backup vocals to boost their ego, and by the end of the song the villain appears to be on top of the world, at their absolute apex. With "Hellfire" it's quite the opposite. Frollo is singing of his lust for Esmeralda, which isn't his power, but his weakness. He is not surrounded by adoring fans or evil minions gazing up at him in awe and praising him, but by cloaked, hooded, faceless figures towering above him and looking down upon him on judgment, and literally contradicting all he says (i.e. Frollo says "it's not my fault" and the chorus responds with "mea culpa" which literally means "my fault"). And in the final few moments of the song, Frollo doesn't appear to rise to the top of the world, but instead seems to shrink before the hooded figures he knows are coming to collect his soul. This culminates in the final note being sung as the camera zooms out from up high, not just to show Frollo at a moment of pure weakness, but also as if through the eyes of God himself. And we are left looking down upon Frollo as he collapses in the shape of an inverted crucifix. This scene TERRIFIED me as a child, but now as an adult I can fully appreciate this scene and call it undoubtedly the BEST Disney villain song of all time!

I came here to watch you react to "Hellfire" and I wasn't disappointed. The animation and the song together create an amazing and epic experience

This will always be my favourite disney villain song, close second is Be Prepared (Lion King)

Most interesting thing about this song is that when you listen to it on the album it actually plays with heavens light

Every time he calls it early Disney I die a little. And it finished me off when he called it “classic old”

this is the first youtube channel where the reaction seems genuine, and I really appreciate this too many channels exist where every reaction is over the top and mostly acted. gj!

"Early Disney" uh oh. Who's gonna tell him? lol

Oooh I see we have traveled to the dark side of Disney

I very much HIGHLY recommend you watch the full movie. The whole thing if great. The animation is flawless. The music is just (punches the air) agh it's so good. And Frollo is a FANTASTIC villain.

This is PEAK Disney magic Disney had major balls going with hellfire and they delivered!

Hellfire is by far the best Disney villain song, and the animation sequence is beautiful and genius. Tony Jay does Frollo (the lead) in that movie.

Honestly dude, I’ve come back to your “oh wow” at least a dozen times.

This movie “the hunchback of Norte dame “ is amazing! Very unrated ! My favorite movie !

I’m so excited for this!!!! The hunchback is my favorite Disney movie and this is the best song in it

The music and songs in hunchback are beyond anything i’ve ever seen in any other film i love beauty and the beat and lion king scores and etc. but the songs in hunchback are totally unique and on their own level.

most of the Disney Villains songs from that era are worth a listen

Just so you know, the movie came out in 1996, so it is actually twenty-five years old. I was a year old when it came out. Also, you may have missed the Latin chanting. The chanting between lines in the first verse says "And to you, Father, I confess that I have sinned, in word, in thought and in deed." The faceless hoods say "Mea culpa", which means "I'm guilty". You can actually piece together what the song was about if you find out more about Esmeralda, the girl he was singing about.

Might I suggest ‘the worlds greatest criminal mind’ from the great mouse detective? Feel like you would enjoy that one, it’s a great song!

My favorite villain song!!

A fun fact I feel that people should know is about the music itself; throughout the entire film, all the music was made by one man in particular, Alan Menken, who made basically any Disney film you've ever seen (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tangled, and even non-Disney things such as Little Shop of Horrors, Newsies, everything down to the sound effects in Home Alone). For this movie, in particular, he used Latin, which all of the Angels/Spirits are chanting. When Frollo says, "It's not my fault," they reply, "Mea Culpa," which translates to my fault. When Frollo says, "God have mercy on me," they reply, "Kyrie eleison," which translates to Lord Have Mercy. Though the original story, he has more compassion which is shown both in the French translation and stage play, instead of insisting it isn't his fault he pleads and asks the saints "Is it my fault?!"

I don't think you should really watch hellfire for the first time without the "Heaven's Light" part. It really puts contrast to the song, and related to another song called "Bells of Notre Dame": "Who is the monster, and who is the man?"

Hutchback was made in 1996 I believe. And actually that women was the main character who was 16 in the book (19 in the film) the man is 56

As someone else said already, you should check out Jonathan Young's metal cover of this song, it's so good and he is one hella talented dude. Great reaction! I really appreciate that you not only pay attention to the song but every little detail in front of you. Have a nice day!

Love the reaction! If you’re looking for recs, I suggest “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan! It’s so much fun and definitely gets you hyped!

I’ll always prefer this animation style t the current modeled style. 🥰🥰🥰

I'm sure others have mentioned it, but I thought I would share the latin lyrics. I am not Catholic so I am not familiar with this exact prayer and I'm going mostly off what I can hear, but I have studied Latin, so I can at least translate it in a literal sense. They're all sprinkled in throughout the song; Confiteor deo omnipotenti, Beatae Mariae, semper virgini, Beato Michaeli archangelo, sanctis apostolis, omnibus sanctis Et tibi pater quia peccavi nimis cogitatione verbo et opere mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa Kyrie eleison (this is actually Greek but it's apparently common in latin prayers) I confess to almighty God, to Blessed Maria, always a virgin to Blessed Michael, archangel to the holy apostles and to all the saints and to you, Father that I have sinned in thought, word and action, my fault, my fault, my greatest fault, Lord have mercy

Hellfire literally scared me as a kid.. RIP to the talented Tony Jay

I love if you reacted to Mariah Rose Faith's version, she sounds like an angel

Mariah Rose Faith has a cover of this!

What's interesting is in the soundtrack version, Patrick Page's voice is a little darker and drawn out than the movie version. He truly has an amazing voice. :) I'm not a fan of the movie, but the soundtrack is something else.

Actor who did the voice and singing, was the late Tony Jay.......

Great review but please....it came out in 1996. Its 25 years old this year. Please Don't make me feel older than I already feel :) hahaha

Now for the Jonathan Young metal cover of Hellfire.

Saw this pop up in recommended, and the first thing I see when the video actually starts is the Fire & Fury book at the back XD

grew up watching it

The song is so good

It is a family favorite! We were lucky enough to see the live musical adaptation in La Jolla. It was one of my absolute favorite musicals I have ever seen. Sadly, it didn't take off which I still don't understand.

I think this movie, it’s soundtrack def included, set the foundation of a lot of things for me as a kid lol … just so dark, so mfing impactful. Incredibly influential and what an absolute masterpiece.

The man singing is the villain named frollo. He is definitely Disney’s best and most evil and most hated Disney villain. He is not just some random jerk villain that just wants power or money or something. Frollo has much more to him and this scene really shows u how even though God answered his prayers, he refuses to follow God and gets sucked into darkness. And then his obsession over the girl he was singing about, he goes looking for her and goes mad trying to find her so he can either have her or he will kill her. When the other enters the room and tells frollo the woman is gone, it symbolizes God answering frollo’s prayers showing that with the woman being gone, he won’t have to worry about lusting over her and God tells him to find the light. But frollo refuses and in his obsession and lustfullness he refuses the light and gets sucked into the darkness

5:47 - you never heard the story or read "Hunchback of Norte Dame" by Victor Hugo? That is sad. There are some books that everyone should know.

Pretty sure "early" Disney is 1926 or so.

It’s a weird choice but this has always been and will always be my favorite Disney song 😂

Great reaction. An interesting trivia for you is that the particular clip you watched actually has the song at a slightly higher pitch than it is in the movie (I think this was probably done to prevent copyright issues). Even though the original sounds amazing too, I think that this slightly higher pitch sounds even better!

This is the best disney villain song

3:30 the red robed inquisitors are chanting “Mea Culpa! Mea Culpa! Mea Maxima Culpa” meaning ‘my fault! My fault! I have failed!’. They are the second of 3 chances that Frollo received over the course of this song to repent and turn from the path he was on

3:43 I can only hear this in the eclesial latin version “Feciste Satan fortiorem homine.” It’s just… more epic.

HUGE REQUEST, pretty pretty please, if you haven't seen it already, would you do a reaction video of the song 'Thus Saith The Lord' from Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt? It's EPIC.

Patrick page plays him on the stage version! hes Hades in hades town and has such a great voice, you can find the full show on youtube but it never made it to broadway, despite how good it is

Funny how such a HOLY and RIGHTEOUS man would be calling on Saints and God to "curse" another human. He couldn't let go of his own demons so projected them on to others. Such a great villan. No need for a redemption arch.

When this movie came out it was denounced by religious zealots for being too sexual. This part with the dancer in the fire and the Festival of Fools where Esmerelda dances around a spear like a stripper on a pole

That there was Judge Dom Claude Frollo. ( Archdeacon in the book) The singer was Tony Jay. He played Shere Khan in the Jungle Book. The film was from 96 :D From what I know they did do a play version but have not seen it. Ive always been a fan of early Disney. Suppose I don't find 90s early disney since theyve been around since the 30s lol. If you want some good songs, Id recommend Be Prepared from The Lion King. (94), Poor Unfortunate Soul from The Little Mermaid or Mother Knows Best from Tangled. Enjoy :)

How funny is this! I literally just finished watching this movie. It's such a great one!

This song is a master piece it's dark, and shows his inward struggle and how he let his wrong desire over take him. Which cab happen to anyone. I think when that guard came in it gave him a chance to turn around from his...weakness. Unfortunately though he ignored it and like I said let the darkness take him. Than because of that he caused his own demise unfortunately. And not to mention this song has been stuck in my head for two and a half months. I grew up with Disney and I rewatched it as I hadn’t seen it 20 years. Yeah and this is screwed up but Frollo looked so attractive in this song.

I have not seen the lion king Broadway but I hope they did the lion king 2 because my lullaby was intense and dark. Johnathan Yough does a great cover but I wonder what a full orchestra and cast could do with it.

This song pairs well with the song right before it I believe it's called heaven's light

This movie was on cinema in 1996

Rip Tony Jay. One of the greatest voice actors of all time!!!

This has always been my favorite disney movie

Interesting that you mention the Hunchback not being in this number, because he sings the song just before that melts into Hellfire so much so that on the soundtrack, they’re the same track. This song, called “Heaven’s Light”, is almost the opposite, although they’re both singing about Esmerelda and their love for her. I just thought that was a neat thing to point out.