LogFAQs > #943586311

1. Hellfire
Source: Hunchback of Notre Dame
Villain: Judge Claude Frollo
Nominator: Great Paul
Favorite lyric: Hellfire, Dark fire / Now gypsy, it's your turn / Choose me or your pyre / Be mine or you will burn!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3NoDEu7kpg

Villainy:10
Characterization: 10
Melody: 10
Total: 30/30

Yup, I'm sure this can't be that much of a surprise, because for my money I'm not sure there's even a better villain song out there. This is everything a villain song should be and more. It's probably the darkest song to ever appear in a Disney film. Let's start with the simple. Tony Jay knocks it out of the fucking park here. His voice bellows with hatred and lust, with the instrumentals ramping up behind him as he descends further into evil, with everything coming together on a final "BURN" that just sends chills down my spine every single time.

Then let's look at the characterization. Without ever having seen the Hunchback of Notre Dame, this song tells you right off the bat that Frollo is a holy man praying to his god for help, but then immediately makes it clear that this isn't the fragile moment it's being made out to be as Frollo immediately talks down on the "common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd." It goes into his desire for a girl he's seen dancing, which goes against his role as the holy judge set out to rid the city of gypsies. He immediately blames her for seducing him and refuses to accept responsibility, and seems genuinely in fear of hell should his desire not be quelled. This man who is self-defined entirely by his holiness is now genuinely worried about his immortal soul, and in a powerful moment, makes the choice to choose his lust and hatred over his faith.

Then there's the villainy, and holy shit is this motherfucker evil. The line that I think best defines this song comes just before the final segment: "Destroy Esmeralda and let her taste the fires of hell / Or else let her be mine and mine alone." Frollo essentially decides that if Esmerelda is unwilling to be his lover, he will kill her and send her straight to hell. Holy shit, dude. And then as he thinks his oppurtunity is escaping, he threatens to "burn down all of Paris" just to pursue her, fully willing to destroy her entire community along the way. In a very brief moment of weakness, he mutters "God have mercy on me," the final evidence that he knows fully well that the path he has chosen to go down is one that will ultimately send him to hell, and yet he chooses it anyway.

Goddamn what a song.

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Khal Kirby, warlord of the Super Star Khalasar
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