Tear Jerker / The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)

Don't worry, she's not really dead... in this version.

• The sheer intensity of "The Bells of Notre Dame", informing us of Quasi's backstory:
  "You can lie to yourself and your minions
  You can claim that you haven't a qualm
  But you never can run from
  Nor hide what you've done from the eyes
  The very eyes of Notre Dame!"
  • Quasimodo's mother banging at the door of the cathedral and begging for sanctuary. The Archdeacon does not make it to the door in time to save her, only witnessing Frollo kicking her in the face, causing her to fall and hit her head on the steps of Notre Dame, presumably killing her instantly, before immediately deciding to drown the infant Quasimodo!
  • The fact that she refused to hand over her baby, probably knowing that he would be killed or abandoned for being 'deformed', and fled for both their lives. She made it as far as the steps of Notre Dame, only to be senselessly killed by Frollo on the steps.
  • Frollo attempts to make excuses for the unjust killing, so the Archdeacon angrily demands that Frollo care for the child, lest he spend eternity in Hell. Frollo agrees... but only because he believes Quasimodo may be of use to him one day...
• When Quasimodo is tormented by the townspeople during the Feast Of Fools, which is made worse because just moments before they were singing his praises.
  • Also: Quasimodo flinching in fear as Esmeralda approaches him while he's tied up, and her reassuring him to "Don't be afraid".
    • It gets worse when you realize that Esmeralda's compassionate look isn't just born out of the fact she feels sorry for Quasimodo and because she's a nice person. The look on her face is that of somebody who knows what it's like to be outcast (as her ballad "God Help the Outcasts" later on reveals). Esmeralda has been established as a resilient, intelligent and kind person... and most likely has endured being shunned/outcast/humiliated as Quasimodo just endured.
    • Esmeralda's look of shock when she sees how the crowd has turned on him. It's a mixture of disgust at the display, and guilt over how she brought it on Quasi.
    • The shot of Esmeralda from Quasi's POV, bathed in light, with an expression of pure compassion on her face.
    • From Esmeralda's perspective, she was the one who pulled him onto the stage, thinking he was part of the show. Like everyone else, she recoiled in shock when she realized his "mask" was actually his face, then vanishes from view when the crowd seemingly celebrates him, only to turn on him just as fast. Esmeralda knows it's partially her fault that he was put in this position, and immediately does whatever she can to make things right.
    • Quasi being tortured by the crowd. He begs his master to help and Frollo just looks away and does nothing! He gives the "Haven't I warned you about the cruel world? Look what it does to you now! I'm ashamed of you!" look.
    • Worse still, Phoebus is so appalled that he insists he be granted permission to stop the spectacle, and Frollo snidely refuses on the grounds that "A lesson needs to be learned here".
  • ALSO: Quasi limping back to Notre Dame in the pouring rain, and then shutting the massive door behind him with... Oh God, that heartbreaking look on his face...
    • If you listen closely, you can hear the crowd saying things such as "Oh my goodness, he's hideous!". Poor Quasi.
    • The fact that only minutes prior, he was literally crying tears of joy at being accepted.
    • Before that, Frollo gave an angry look at poor Quasi, who realized that Frollo was right about the cruel and wicked world. He told his master that he would never disobey him again.
    • As if it can't get any worse, the gargoyles, who've spent the film by then being cheerful, watch Quasi in heartbreaking sadness.
• Every song Quasimodo sings is, if not tragic (my God, "Heaven's Light (Reprise)"), unbelievably beautiful and uplifting
  I knew I'd never know that warm and loving glow
  Though I might wish with all my might
  No face as hideous as my face
  Was ever meant for Heaven's Light...
• "God Help The Outcasts". It might be the most beautiful Disney song ever created. It may bring more happy tears than sad ones but at this point, Esmeralda was nearly attacked by two guards simply for trying to earn a living, shunned by the townspeople and she's hiding in the cathedral for her life (not to mention, Frollo's cruel taunt beforehand). What does she pray to the Virgin Mary for? Help for others and nothing else.

  "I ask for nothing/I can get by/But I know so many less lucky than I."

• When Frollo holds baby Quasi over the well during 'Bells of Notre Dame', fully prepared to kill an infant. It's one of the most callous things a Disney villain has done - preparing to drown a baby simply for its deformity.
• The fact that Frollo gave Quasi a name that means "half-formed" in and of itself. The guy is more than the epitome of Jerkass.
  • In the book it is pointed out that Frollo in fact named him for the old name of the Sunday after Easter Sunday/the Octave of Easter, Quasimodo Sunday, because that was when he found him abandoned in the Cathedral in the pew where babies were usually abandoned. That day, in turn, got the name because of the first words (Quasi modo- note that it is written separately) of the traditional lecture that day, 1Peter 2:2, which translate to "as if in [this] manner", with the full quote being "As newborn babes desire the rational milk without guile..."
• When Quasi thinks Esmeralda is dead, the look on his face is just so heartbreakingly sad. And then he holds her in his arms and breaks down sobbing, while an offscreen children's chorus sings the melody of "Someday," just as they did at the moment when Esmeralda first showed him compassion at the pillory wheel.
• The song at the end, with the line "What makes a monster and what makes a man?" because it sums up the theme of the film, and causes you to flash back through the events of the story and appreciate Quasi's journey.
• At the beginning, Quasi is all excited about going to the festival, but the second he bumps into Frollo, all joy is gone and he is scared and trembling Quasimodo has to be the woobiest of all Disney heroes.
• Quasimodo lets slip the word 'festival' during his alphabet review, instantly angering Frollo. The poor guy falls into a panic trying to appease and apologize for upsetting his father figure, who then guilt trips him, belittles him, and threatens him into submission.
• During the opening of "Out There", Frollo curls his fist like he's threatening Quasimodo.
  • And in the intro to "Out There" when Frollo sings that Quasimodo is deformed and ugly and he is the only one who is looking out for Quasimodo, Quasimodo brokenly repeating these lines. It really hits home for someone who has been emotionally abused by a parent.
  • Heck, "Out There" itself is a really sad "I Want" song. It's all about Quasimodo's longing to be able to be normal and be amid people... for just one day. It really resonates for people who have been bullied, outcast or shunned.
    • Just to twist the knife, a sadder reprise of "Out There" wordlessly plays as Quasimodo returns to the cathedral in the rain. It's even more tragic as it's coupled with his devastated expression at experiencing human cruelty. The song is like hearing Quasimodo's broken heart vow to never leave Notre Dame again...
• Quasi finding out that Esmeralda loves Phoebus instead of him.
  • Especially when he rips the ace of hearts in half...
    • According to commentary from the directors, even the music makes a sound like a tiny glass heart breaking.
  • Topped off with the heartbreaking reprise of "Heaven's Light".
    I knew I'd never know
    That warm and loving glow
    Though I might wish with all my might
    No face as hideous as my face
    Was ever meant for Heaven's light.
• Frollo revealing to Quasi that his mother had died to save his life from none other than himself. After years of believing that he had been abandoned, to learn this from the one man who was the closest thing he had to a parent up until now leaves Quasi in utter disbelief.
  • Then there's the poor boy's mother, who fought desperately to save herself and her son immediately after losing what might have been her husband to Frollo's clutches, forced to save herself so that her son might have a chance. She meets her end on the steps of Notre Dame, unable to save her son until the Archdeacon, the only one present to mourn her needless death intervenes.
    • And for twenty years, her son never knew the truth, never knew how much she unconditionally loved her baby.
• "I ask for nothing; I can get by. But I know so many less lucky than I..." Even after everything Esmeralda goes through—sexual harassment, imprisonment, persecution for her race — she still uses her prayer to ask God to help others, not herself, saying she'll be fine. That single line shows just how selfless she really is.
• Say what you will about it being an Award-Bait Song, but the intended version of Someday still exists on some special features, and is perhaps more heartrending than "God Help the Outcasts" in its plea for justice.
  • In fact that was the very reason the song was cut and replaced with "God Help the Outcasts", it was too emotional.
• True, most of Hellfire is Frollo singing about how much he blames Esmeralda for tempting him and how if she won't submit to him she'll burn - he'll kill her - but after he throws her scarf on the fire, he murmurs "God have mercy on her," and his voice breaks as he whispers "God have mercy on me." He hates what's happening to him and knows it's wrong, but he can't see any way out. There's just enough of his real faith left for him to beg for one.
  • The French version is even more tragic, as early on, right after claiming his virtue, he invokes divine punishment on himself for his lust, before blaming it on men being weaker than Lucifer. This is his tragedy: he understands he's doing wrong, but he doesn't understand why he's doing it and can't accept it's his own fault, and so he continues until he crosses all lines, loses his power, and eventually his life.
• Of all things, A Guy Like You. It's cheesy, childish, and totally at odds with the tone of the film... but then you remember that the gargoyles are probably figments of Quasimodo's imagination. The entire sequence is not just Quasi convincing himself that Esmeralda returns his feelings, but an earnest attempt to have a little confidence — and a successful one. It makes it all the more painful to watch that belief in himself crumble.
  • One could argue that it is not a successful attempt at confidence at all. Certain lines by the gargoyles, such as Hugo mentioning he's "shaped like a croissant" or calling him a "surprise from every angle" can be seen as surprisingly harsh and mean-spirited remarks. With the interpretation that the gargoyles are his imagination, this can easily be seen as Quasimodo telling himself he's not really worthy of Esmeralda, which makes the following scene even more hard-hitting as his fear is seemingly realised.
• Frollo has made it known that he knows where the Court of Miracles is and will attack it the following day with a thousand men. Phoebus wants to warn Esmeralda and her people, but Quasi, cowed by Frollo and still heartbroken over Esmeralda choosing Phoebus over him, refuses to help. Once Phoebus has left, the gargoyles give Quasi a look, leaving Quasi to angrily snap at them.
  Quasimodo: What? What am I supposed to do? Go out there and rescue the girl from the, from the jaws of death and the whole town will cheer like I'm some kind of a hero?! She already has her knight in shining armor and it's not me! (deep breath) Frollo was right. Frollo was right about everything. And I'm tired of trying to be something that I'm not.
  • Gets turned on its head at the climax, where Quasi rescues the girl from the jaws of death and the whole town cheers like he's some kind of a hero.
• The deleted number, "In a Place of Miracles" is this and heartwarming in equal measures. Towards the end, Esmeralda approaches Quasimodo — who has only moments ago found peace with her choosing Phoebus — and invites him to dance. As they happily begin to do so, Clopin watches them through a wine bottle, and we see Quasimodo as a tall, handsome, able-bodied young man. Eventually the dance ends, the song ends, Esmeralda returns to Phoebus's side while Quasimodo cordially bows her off, and the wine bottle goes up to show Quasimodo as we've always known him. It's a deeply bittersweet moment.