Snowball is Claude Frollo's horse in Disney's 1996 animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is mostly seen to mirror Phoebus' horse, Achilles.
Background[]
Very little is known about Snowball, except that he appears to be a Friesian, a light draft horse known for nearly always being solid black, characterized by being muscular and quite graceful and nimble for its size. He is loyal to his master, and can't be considered truly evil as he does not have a human-based personality like other animals in Disney films are sometimes seen to have, although he does always appear to have an angry snarl on his face, hinting that he does have some sort of dark personality.
In the audio commentary of the DVD, film directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale and film producer Don Hahn revealed the name of Frollo's horse to be Snowball.
Role in the film[]
Snowball appears only a handful of times in the film. During the opening scene, he is with Claude Frollo chasing after the Romani woman who is holding baby Quasimodo. In one scene, he gives a harsh glare to Phoebus' horse, Achilles. When Phoebus rebels against Frollo at the windmill, Esmeralda slings a stone at Snowball's rump, causing him to rear and throw Frollo off. Phoebus then steals Snowball in order to escape in the ensuing confusion. When Frollo orders his men to fire at Phoebus, he also tells them to not hit Snowball. Whether this was because he cared for Snowball or needed him for transportation, it was clear that Frollo did not want harm to come to Snowball. He is immediately recovered by Frollo after Phoebus is wounded and thrown off the horse.
It is unknown what happened to him after his master's death.
Trivia[]
- While his name was never mentioned in the film, it was confirmed by the writers.
- His name is intentionally ironic, as he is black like nearly all Friesians, whereas snowballs are usually white.
- He is a Friesian horse.
- In Beauty and the Beast, Gaston rallies the mob while riding a horse which bears a striking resemblance to Snowball.
- Snowball was a grown stallion when Quasimodo was a baby and was still alive when Quasimodo was 20. This would make him a senior horse of at least 24 years. Horses generally live to around 30 years old, and can be active and worked until very close to this age.
- At two points in the movie, Snowball's eyes have no pupils, showing only the whites.
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