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Meme Comparing Old and New Disney Villains Using Claude Frollo

This meme contrasts writing tropes for modern and classic Disney villains. The top text explains that contemporary Disney villains are usually framed as misunderstood and secretly kind at heart. Below this, a screenshot of Claude Frollo, the villain from Disney's 1996 animated film *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*, is displayed with bold overlay text joking that Frollo burned down half of Paris solely because a Romani woman (Esmeralda from the film) refused to have sex with him, using the internet slang term "smash" for comedic effect. The gag highlights how unapologetically petty, extreme, and unsympathetic older Disney villains were, compared to the more sympathetic, redemptive villain arcs common in newer Disney media.
Make

Dialogue

Disney villains now: I'm so misunderstood! I'm kind at heart!
Disney villains back then:
I BURNED DOWN HALF OF PARIS CAUSE
ONE ROMANI BADDIE REFUSED TO SMASH

Overview

This meme contrasts writing tropes for modern and classic Disney villains. The top text explains that contemporary Disney villains are usually framed as misunderstood and secretly kind at heart. Below this, a screenshot of Claude Frollo, the villain from Disney's 1996 animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is displayed with bold overlay text joking that Frollo burned down half of Paris solely because a Romani woman (Esmeralda from the film) refused to have sex with him, using the internet slang term "smash" for comedic effect. The gag highlights how unapologetically petty, extreme, and unsympathetic older Disney villains were, compared to the more sympathetic, redemptive villain arcs common in newer Disney media.

Origin notes

This meme originates from the Reddit:Meme RSS feed, specifically shared on the r/Meme subreddit. It is an edited meme using an unmodified original screenshot of Claude Frollo from Disney's 1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with added text overlay to create the humorous comparison of Disney villain writing trends across different eras.

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