Throughout Disney's film history, the company has been awarded 26 Academy Awards, 12 being for "best animated film." While most of these animated films have been Pixar-related, Disney is has been and continues to be widely known for its successful animated film, from 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" to 2014's "Frozen." Yet within these unforgettable Disney classics lies a number of films that are under the radar and continue to be. One of these films for me was 1996's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." While I can see as to why it was not as successful as most of Disney's animated films during the 90s, it still holds a lot of biblical values within its story that are of great importance. With "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" turning 20 this June on the 21st, I found it best to take a deep look within this underrated film and focus on the theological findings in the area of faith, love, leadership, grace, and judgment. Keep in mind that this article contains spoilers for the film so if you have not watched it, you have been warned.

1. Selfish and Selfless Prayers.

It is no surprise that Quasimodo deals a large amount of being unloved by the people of France due to his physical appearance, however we also see something similar with the female lead, Esmeralda. During the Medieval time period, Gypsies were greatly frowned upon as they immigrated from parts of Southern Asia into Europe and as seen in the film, they do not have certain privileges or opportunities as the French people do. A song that greatly touched my heart was Esmerelda's song "God Help the Outcast," which focuses greatly on God helping those that are shunned by others, even by those in the church. What was interesting is that she asks God if he was in their situation. "Yes I know I am an outcast, I shouldn't speak to you. Still I see your face and wonder were you once an outcast too?" Many Christians forget the fact that Jesus was not loved by all. He was driven out of a number of towns, including his own in Nazareth. He was an outcast. This is not to say that he did not bring new followers in his teachings and miracles, but one cannot deny that he was not loved by all.

What I also found very interesting was when the a small number of French citizen's begin their prayers during her song. "I ask for wealth, I ask for fame, I ask for glory to shine on my name. I ask for love I can possess. I ask for God and His angels to bless me." I had to rewind the DVD to hear what they prayed for and to be honest, it comes off as very selfish and prideful. They pray openly for material wealth and not only do they not pray to bring glory to God, but for God to bring glory to themselves. Meanwhile, Esmerelda follows with her prayer "I ask for nothing, I can get by. But I know many less lucky than I. Please help my people, the poor and the downtrod. I thought we all were children of God." Her prayer is not for her but for her friends and family and those that have been outcasted by the church and Christians within France. I thought to myself, "How sad is it that not only are the characters like this, but how this greatly represents western Christian prayers." This is not to point out anybody in particular, but it does represent I believe a large amount of believers.

2. Legalistic Leadership.

It is no surprise that Judge Frollo is one of Disney's darkest and creepiest villains of all times. For me, is #2 behind Scar from The Lion King (1994). I found Judge Frollo to be a very interesting villain. He is a very controlling man with a large amount of pride in the area of his faith. "Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin and he saw corruption everywhere except within." We see this throughout the film from the very beginning to his death at the end. Very judgmental, very controlling, very legalistic. When watching the film, I saw a good amount of the Pharisees in him from the Scriptures. As seen in the New Testament, Pharisees were known to be upholders of the law in a very strict manner and would call out anyone who was not acting accordingly. Despite following the law, they did not realize the damage they were causing by not looking at themselves. Judge Frollo is very similar just in the first 5-10minutes of the film as he nearly kills Quasimodo as an infant and for refusing to take responsibility over the attempted arrested of his parents. Even with the death of the mother, he still saw himself as righteous while he blamed her when explaining to the priest. Obviously, this is no longer the medieval age, that being said, it comes as no surprise that some Christians are as judgmental as Frollo let along legalistic.

3. Bearing the image of God.

Throughout Quasimodo's life, he knew nothing more than the bell he rungs and the viewpoint over the city of Paris. He knew of his physical appearance and despite being laughed at when being the center of attention in a parade, Esmerelda saw him as not just a person, but a person with value. His song "Heaven's Light" focuses on this very detailed as he sings about knowing nothing about life outside the cathedral until meeting Esmerelda. "No face as hideous as my face was ever meant for heaven's light. But suddenly an angel has smiled at me And kissed my cheek without a trace of fright. I dare to dream that she might even care for me and as I ring these bells tonight, my cold dark tower seems so bright. I swear it must be Heaven's light." For the first time in his life, someone saw him not as a cursed human by God or misshapen, but someone with worth, value, and meaning. Truly, Jesus himself made many people feel this way as he healed the sick, diseased, and lame. Many people in the 1st Century Israel were greatly looked down upon if they possessed some disfunction and believed that it was due to their sin or parent's sin. Jesus did not see them this way. Instead, he saw redemption in them as he extended his grace, mercy, and healing upon them. They no longer were defined by their deformity but by God himself.

4. Consuming of Sin.

Judge Frollo's solo "Hellfire" is probably one of the most dark and scaring Disney villain solo's I have heard as it deals with realism in the area of temptation, judgment and consuming of sin. After watching this scene, I could not help but watch it over and over again as it carried such a large amount of theology within it. We see Judge Frollo battling with the idea if whether or not it was his fault for falling for Esmerelda. "It's not my fault, I'm not to blame, it was the Gypsy girl, the witch who set this flame." Because he put himself on such a large pedestal, the idea of being forgiven and given grace was anything but possible. His line, "It's not my fault if it's God's plan that he made the devil so much stronger than a man," blew my mind. His is so focused on his title in the church and social status that he forgets that God is the reason he is where he is and that he is called to follow and holdfast to God. The idea that the Devil is stronger than mankind is one I believe to be true, but if we have God, then we are more stronger than Devil. Judge Frollo's belief in Catholicism is heavily focused on works, from carrying out the law to resisting temptation. Because he tries to handle his temptation himself, he eventually becomes consumed by it as he prays for God to give Esmerelda to him or to destroy her if she resisted. It is interesting to recognize how far from grace he fell and how much he became consumed by Esmerelda to the point of his death. How many of us have become consumed by sin and have fallen away from God for a period of time? How many of us are still lost?

There is a large amount of Biblical themes and theological symbols one can pull out of Disney films, from characters to plots to subtle messages within overall main messages. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is anything but subtle in its messages, which makes it all the more interesting and enjoyable to analyze in depth. This list was only few of many that one can pull from and really think about when it comes to their own faith. What Biblical and/or theological findings did you find in the film? Please leave a comment below and let me know!