Mobile game Disney Twisted Wonderland sparked controversy when it revealed a new character this weekend. The character is based on Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Fans have called him racist as Frollo was extremely racist in the original Disney movie. Hereâs the complicated part: Twisted Wonderland characters arenât actually the same as their original inspirations. Itâs all very messy, but weâll get through this. I promise.
what in the yassfication is going on here pic.twitter.com/AVsORD4FXM
— ira ⧠(@fyodorai) October 23, 2022
Twisted Wonderland is a gacha rhythm game where players spend gems to roll for student characters based on Disney villains such as Maleficent, Jafar, and Ursula. These students arenât actually the villains themselves, but they take inspiration from the villainsâ visual designs, movie dialogue, and narrative themes. So you get a Kingdom Hearts-looking anime boy acting like a controlling jerk and yelling âOFF WITH YOUR HEADâ whenever someone displeases him. Rollo is an event character, but heâs also a dorm leader. So itâs not apparent yet whether or not players will be able to roll for him in the gacha.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1584466612564131840
According to Twisted Wonderland lore, the villains did exist at some point in the past (Frollo is portrayed as a heroic statue on the academy grounds), though theyâre known for positive qualities rather than the crimes they may have committed in the movies. So thereâs some narrative distance between Rollo and Frollo.
But thereâs concern among some that Frollo is prejudiced in ways that are hard for some players to ignore. While the Queen of Hearts has comparatively very milquetoast lines, Claude Frollo is known for calling a Romani character a racial slur and claiming that her people are ânot capable of real love.â Yikes. All Disney villains have terrible qualities. But some of their storylines approach real-life bigotries closer than others.
This is how I think Rollo introduction to the TWST boys are like #twistedwonderland pic.twitter.com/5z7AqUmS3a
— Kai (@kai_shinx) October 24, 2022
Why this new #twstăăĄăłă˘ăźă character based off of Frollo is problematic from someone who grew up with the experiences of a romani woman, a 𧾠pic.twitter.com/aesMP3sRUT
— sunie (@notshoinkzs) October 23, 2022
While one fan translator claimed Rolloâs personality is âniceâ rather than genocidal, others didnât think that his canonical personality mattered. They were concerned that Frollo was too bigoted to be used in a game where everyone is a beautiful anime boy. Although the original Disney movie contextualizes the extent of Claude Frolloâs villainy, the characters in Twisted Wonderland are portrayed as soft, misunderstood, and sympathetic.
Genocide tw
I think ppl r valid to be uncomfy with Frollo in twst &it cant really be excused with "story based off evil villains what did u expect" Bcs the evil of the other villains in twst is mostly "I WANT SOMETHING" Frollo's is straight up "I WANT TO WIPE OUT THIS WHOLE RACE-— ćčĺ¨ (maIIeyuu jesus)đšđđĽ (@koutingmiao) October 24, 2022
While the overall reception to the character seems positive, there are also many quote retweets expressing disgust that Twisted Wonderland players are simping for Rollo. Iâm going to remind everyone that The Hunchback of Notre Dame came out in 1996. Many young people have never seen that movie, which is part of the problem. Media is recycled over time. It retains some context and loses others, so people have totally different exposure levels to Notre Dame even if itâs still easy to assume that everyone has had the same experience.
In the meantime, some Twisted Wonderland players are just trying to head off the horny simps:
i hope you guys don't be too weird about the new twst frollo guy btw considering he's like, based off of the most vile disney villain in disney history ,,,, yknow
— MOVED TO @CHEEMAWZ đź CHECK BIO (@chee_maws) October 23, 2022
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