Geek Steep S3E5 – The Music of Disney
This is the tea that I picked for my pairing of Hellfire from Hunchback of Notre Dame.
So, if this was a top ten list of my favourite Disney songs I think probably close to half the songs would be villain songs. There’s something just so wickedly fun about a good villain song – they’re kind of the best to sing along to and for a few glorious minutes you kind of find yourself rooting for the villain to win. I mean… Be Prepared?? So fun. Gaston? A bop. Poor Unfortune Souls? On repeat always.
However, I knew IMMEDIATELY that I wanted to pick Hellfire. Unlike all my other song choice, Hunchback of Notre Dame is not one of my favourite Disney movies though I do think it’s highly underrated. This, however, is my favourite villain song. In fact, the only reason i was able to cut Poor Unfortunate Souls from my list of choices was because I was so confident about picking this one and I didn’t want to dedicate 2/4 of my choices to villain songs…
Hunchback of Notre Dame is a DARK movie. Like, it’s not for children and something like this would 100% never get made in 2023 by Disney. The movie starts with Frollo attempting to murder a baby. Like, let that set in. It’s one of MANY very, very evil things he does over the film and that’s because Frollo is easily the worst Disney villain. Why is that? Well, he’s the most real. That kind of wickedness exists both in and outside of the Church in both past, present, and probably future too.
It was hard for me to vocalize why I like Hellfire so much but I think it’s maybe in large part because it’s so capable of capturing the ominous, dark, and bone chilling elements of Frollo as a character and Hunchback of Notre Dame as a movie. It’s also just brilliantly composed. Even though I want nothing more than for Frollo to die, I can’t help but belt out the titular lyric ‘Hellfire’ with him throughout the song.
And then, of course, you have the latin in the background which adds to the atmosphere of the music. Much of it is from the Confiteor, which is the prayer used in catholic confession. It almost acts as this ominous call and response with Frollo saying things like “It’s not my fault” and the latin answering “Mea Culpa” (my fault) – basically condemning Frollo of the sins he is trying to falsely write off as justified by God. I have a complicated relationship with religion myself, so I’m not gonna dig into it too much. But, I just think it’s absolutely brilliant that even within his own song Frollo is painted as the villain of this story…
So obviously I paired it with a smoked tea. I mean, how can you not with a name like Hellfire?? I was very particular with which lapsang I picked though. I wanted to do Dead Spendor because of the irony that it comes from a company called Satanic Tea Company but also because this tea has 24K gold flakes in it which was the cherry on top for a song about lust. Smoke and gold. I mean, perfection for matching the tone of the song.
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3NoDEu7kpg
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Not Disney, but Hexxus’s song from FernGully is also amazing. :D
YEEESSS!! I rewatched FernGully over the pandemic and it honestly holds up.
Ha ha, I watch it a few times a year! Classic.
I remember Hunchback SO fondly as a favorite film from childhood. Then I rewatched it a couple years ago and was like “wait, this was shown to CHILDREN?!” Somehow the truly horrific parts hadn’t sunk in when I was a kid, or else maybe I blocked them out? Great movie but definitely a very adult story.
Hunchback is still my favorite Disney Movie on par with Beauty and the Beast. Most boys love Lion King as their favorite, but there’s something about the music and the artwork of that one that’s always stood out to me. I’m having fun reading your Disney paired notes. Hopefully, this tea won’t turn you to sin, mea culpa.
Not Disney, but Hexxus’s song from FernGully is also amazing. :D
YEEESSS!! I rewatched FernGully over the pandemic and it honestly holds up.
Ha ha, I watch it a few times a year! Classic.
I remember Hunchback SO fondly as a favorite film from childhood. Then I rewatched it a couple years ago and was like “wait, this was shown to CHILDREN?!” Somehow the truly horrific parts hadn’t sunk in when I was a kid, or else maybe I blocked them out? Great movie but definitely a very adult story.
Hunchback is still my favorite Disney Movie on par with Beauty and the Beast. Most boys love Lion King as their favorite, but there’s something about the music and the artwork of that one that’s always stood out to me. I’m having fun reading your Disney paired notes. Hopefully, this tea won’t turn you to sin, mea culpa.