Characters / The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame Main Character Index
Book | Disney (Judge Claude Frollo)

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From the Original Movie

Quasimodo

"Good morning. Will today be the day? Are you ready to fly? You sure? Good day to try! Why, if-if I picked a day to fly, oh! This would be it!"

Played by: Tom Hulce ^{Other voice actors}Martin Watier (Canadian French), Francis Lalanne (European French), Drew Sarich (German), Kanji Ishimaru (Japanese), Luis Posada (European Spanish), Michael Arden (US), Jorge Roig Jr. (Latin American Spanish, speaking), Adrian Barba (Latin American Spanish, singing), Alon Ofir (Hebrew)

Quasimodo is the bellringer of Notre Dame. He was born deformed, possessing a hunched back, from which the film takes its name. In spite of his ghastly appearance, Quasimodo is naïve, kindhearted, and knows little of the world outside his bell tower home from which he is forbidden to leave.

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• Abled in the Adaptation: In the original novel, Quasimodo is deaf due to working with loud bells and was born with a large wart over his left eye. In the Disney adaptation, he is able to hear and speak, and while he keeps the wart, both his eyes are functional. The stage version brings back his deafness, with his speech only becoming fully articulate during his musical solos because they represent his inner emotions.
• Acrofatic: He has a stocky build but is remarkably quick and agile all the same.
• Actually Pretty Funny: He's crowned the King of Fools for having "the ugliest face in Paris", and rather than being offended he happily goes along with it. It's only when the laughter goes from good-natured to malicious that he stops enjoying it, but even later on he references Clopin's description of him as ugly with a chuckle. Overall, he thinks light jokes at his deformities are funny, as long as he's not being treated as less-than-human for them.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: While not conventionally attractive, he's considerably less repulsive here than in most versions, being more ugly cute than monstrous.
• Adaptational Intelligence: Disney's Quasimodo is more intelligent than Hugo's version. Book Quasimodo is unable to function in society (but to be fair he's also deaf) and some actors even portray him as mentally challenged. Disney's Quasimodo is an awkward but creative and sensible person who is reasonably able to interact with people once he gets over his shyness, and also a talented wood carver.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: While still a heroic character, book Quasimodo is much more asocial and inclined to violence, displaying a softer side only toward Frollo and Esmeralda due to them being the only human beings to treat him somewhat decently. This incarnation pretty much is a Nice Guy with no resentment or animosity toward anyone.
• Adaptational Protagonist: Contrary to the English translation of the title, he wasn't actually the protagonist of the novel Notre-Dame de Paris. The main characters were Pierre Gringoire (the Author Avatar), Esmeralda, Claude Frollo (a much more complex character than later portrayals), Phoebus Chateaupers, and the cathedral itself (which was elaborately described in a chapter halfway through the book). Quasimodo was a key character due to being Frollo's ward, but his importance only came into play at the very end. ^note This was also why Victor Hugo despised the title of the first English translation: it put emphasis on the wrong character and undermined the importance of the rest of the above-mentioned cast. The Disney movie upgrades him into the protagonist role, shifting the story accordingly to fit.
• Affectionate Nickname: The Gargoyles, and later Esmeralda, call him "Quasi".
• All of the Other Reindeer: He's ostracized by society because of his deformed figure.
• Badass Adorable: He's very kind, but also a strong, athletic and a formidable, indomitable fighter on his own. Most apparent when he rips apart his chains and Notre Dame's pillars like Samson, rescues Esmeralda from the fire, and fights Frollo's soldiers by himself (with the help of the gargoyles, but it's implied they're figments of his imagination). Even Phoebus, an experienced soldier, is absolutely amazed.
• Bash Brothers: With Phoebus later on in the film when they work together.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Esmeralda's act of kindness of defending Quasimodo during the Feast of Fools is what makes Quasimodo fall for her.
• Beast and Beauty: The Beast (The Grotesque) to Madellaine's Beauty (a Lovely Assistant).
• Been There, Shaped History: During his rescue of Esmeralda, his great strength crumbles two pillars on the cathedral's balcony. In real life, Notre Dame does indeed have two pillars missing from that balcony.
• Betty and Veronica: The "Betty" (gentle and shy) to Phoebus's "Veronica" (a high-status soldier with an ego to match) for Esmeralda's "Archie". Esmeralda chooses Phoebus and Quasimodo gives both of them his blessing.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Quasimodo is perhaps the nicest Nice Guy to ever be nice to everyone, almost to a fault. He's also at least three times stronger than everyone around him. When Frollo ignites Esmeralda's pyre, Quasi finally unleashes his full strength and fury like Bruce Banner becoming the Incredible Hulk. When he thinks Esmeralda is dead and Frollo tries to murder him, Quasimodo looks very threatening towards his former guardian and calls him out for his cruelty. One could easily assume that if Esmeralda hadn't woken up, Quasimodo could've killed Frollo.
• Big Damn Heroes: When he rescues Esmeralda from the pyre in the climax.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: The Big Guy to Zephyr's Little Guy; they're great friends.
• Birds of a Feather:
  • With Esmeralda. Both are outcasts in society, but the other thing they have in common is that this has carried over into their religious beliefs. They both pray to God, but they also both don't think God has mercy for people like them. They are polar opposites when it comes to life experiences, though: Esmeralda has seen a lot of the world because of her constant moving from place to place and is widely liked for her beauty, but at the same time sexualized and objectified by people like Frollo, while Quasimodo has been restricted to just Notre Dame and is reviled for his ugliness.
  • With Madellaine. They're both nice, dorky, and (initially) extremely passive; they both also wear a green outfit and were raised by an abusive adoptive figure who serves as the Big Bad in their respective films. They both also share a constant active imagination and prefer to see the world with their other senses and not their eyes.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Of the three heroic leading characters, he is the Redhead to Phoebus's Blond and Esmeralda's Brunette.
• Boomerang Bigot: He believes Frollo's prejudice against gypsies and claims "they're evil". He's aware that he's of Romani descent, but since Frollo lied that his mother abandoned him, this only adds to the idea until he meets Esmeralda.
• Broken Pedestal: For the first twenty years of his life, Quasi saw Frollo as a good man who took him in out of the kindness of his heart when no one else would. As the film goes on, however, Quasi comes to see Frollo for the twisted abusive monster that he is, culminating in Frollo directly telling Quasimodo that he murdered Quasi's mother.
• Butt-Monkey: A rare version that is most certainly not played for laughs. All the torment heaped on him looks comical to the festival goers but the viewer sees it as traumatic.
• Calling the Old Man Out: In the climax, he calls out Frollo, the churchman who raised him, after the latter tries killing him and Esmeralda.
  Frollo: Now- now, l-listen to me, Quasimodo-
  Quasimodo: No, you listen!! All my life you've told me that the world is a dark, cruel place!! But now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!!
• Character Development:
  • Starts out as extremely passive to his oppressive guardian, but gradually becomes more assertive and willing to oppose Frollo for the sake of his new friends. To give a more specific example, he's tied up twice. The first time, it's with rope, he's completely helpless, begging Frollo to help him, until Esmeralda comes to his rescue; the second time, it's with chains, which he breaks with his own willpower, in an act of defiance against Frollo, so that he can rescue Esmeralda.
  • Due to being raised by the bigoted Frollo who told him that his Romani mother abandoned him, Quasimodo grew up with stereotypical views on Romani people. His friendship with Esmeralda and trials have him gradually lose these prejudices.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: A lifetime of single-handedly operating Notre Dame's bells has given him orangutan-like strength and agility, to the point that he can tear down pillars like Samson in the temple.
• Cool Uncle: In the sequel, he becomes an uncle figure to Zephyr, the son of Phoebus and Esmeralda. The two prove to have a close bond, even singing a song together.
• Dark and Troubled Past: As a baby, his mother was a Romani secretly entering Paris through the waterways. Judge Frollo, believing that the group had stolen something, stood in their way and gave chase to Quasimodo's mother when she ran and delivered a kick to her, breaking her neck on the steps of Notre Dame and killing her. When he discovered that the bundle she had been carrying was actually a baby, he planned to drown Quasimodo in disgust upon seeing that he was deformed. However, the Archdeacon of Notre Dame commanded him not to murder the baby. Frollo was then ordered to adopt Quasimodo as his own to make up for his sin of killing an innocent woman. Unfortunately, years of being "raised" by an emotionally abusive jerkass of an adoptive father resulted in Quasimodo gaining many self-esteem issues. Plus, he lived in complete isolation with his only friends being Victor, Hugo, and Laverne.
• Dark Is Not Evil: He may look very scary in appearance, but he is very kindhearted and courageous.
• Deadpan Snarker: Quasimodo does surprisingly have his moments such as sarcastically agreeing with Hugo watching the festival of fools and he sarcastically asks his gargoyle friends on what is he supposed to do about Esmeralda being in 'danger' after originally refusing to help Phoebus out of jealousy.
• Decomposite Character: In the original novel, he's Esmeralda's attacker (under Frollo's order), only to be stopped by Phoebus. The Disney version gives Quasimodo's attacker role to the Brutish and Oafish Guard.
• Delusions of Parental Love: Quasimodo is unaware of how sadistic and racist his adoptive father Judge Claude Frollo is. When Esmeralda asks him how he could've been so nice under Frollo's care, Quasimodo defends Frollo, saying that he must not be that bad if he took care of him when nobody else would. Quasi does come to realize what Frollo's really like, however, when Frollo attempts genocide to get Esmeralda all to himself.
• Determinator: Despite being heavily chained to the stone pillars atop Notre Dame, Quasimodo breaks free once he sees Esmeralda about to burn to death at the stake.
• Did Not Get the Girl: He's the character featured on the page's image. Unlike most lead characters from the Disney Renaissance, Quasimodo doesn't enter a romance with the woman he falls in love with. He realizes whom Esmeralda falls in love with and wishes them well. Averted in the sequel, where he falls in love and succeeds in getting Madellaine.
• Disney Villain Death: A heroic example is narrowly averted by Phoebus catching him when he falls from the cathedral parapet at the climax.
• Doorstop Baby: Frollo is so disgusted by the child's appearance that he plans to drop him down a well... but the Archdeacon of Notre Dame Cathedral informs him that killing an innocent child, even a deformed one, will certainly lead to damnation (especially after the whole "killing the child's mother" thing). In the face of that, Frollo has no choice.
• The Dragon: Subverted. Frollo intended for him to be this, hoping that he would one day cement his plans of eradicating the Roma. Clopin also mockingly calls him Frollo's "loyal, bell-ringing henchman". However, Quasimodo was too pure and good-hearted to become Frollo's lackey and aids Esmeralda and Phoebus however he can.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After a lifetime of loneliness and abuse, he ends the film with close friends and finally able to join the rest of the world. The film even ends with a young girl seeing him and not only not being repulsed but embracing him, and the people of Paris praising him as The Hero who saved them from Frollo's omnicidal mania. It's every bit as heartwarming as it sounds.
• Entitled to Have You: Averted. He does hope for a relationship with Esmeralda at first, and expressed longing for the kind of love he's seen watching couples from the bell-tower, but he never believes he deserves her. Quite the opposite. It takes the gargoyles to tell him (in their own way) how special he is for him to believe he has a chance, and although he is deeply disappointed when he sees that she prefers Phoebus, he does not hold it against her and in the end is happy for both of them. He has been Friend Zoned, but it's fine for him as his only wish is the happiness of his friends. (After taking a few potshots at Phoebus of course)
• Establishing Character Moment: Quasimodo demonstrates his compassion for living things and a longing to get out of the bell tower by helping a little bird learn how to fly.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones:
  • Quasimodo is very gentle and trusting, and he barely has any resentment towards anyone. He also sees the cruel Frollo as kind for supposedly taking care of him when no one else would^note In actuality, he only took care of him so he would not risk angering God.. After he learns about Frollo's true colors as a manipulative, prejudiced jerk who killed his mother, Quasimodo sees him as the monster he really is.
  • He's extremely hostile and almost violent towards Phoebus at first, partly out of jealousy but mostly because he doesn't trust him not to hurt Esmeralda. He eventually gets over it when Phoebus proves himself to really be the noble man he claims to be.
• Extreme Doormat: At first he lets people walk over him (no doubt a result of being emotionally and psychologically abused by Frollo for 20 years), but then he starts to grow a spine.
• Facial Horror: He is disfigured from birth, and everyone around him gets frightened and disgusted by him. He even gets crowned the king of fools because the people at the festival think he has the ugliest face in Paris.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Subverted. His outfit is symmetrical, but his hump gives the idea that his clothes are asymmetrical.
• Fiery Redhead: Inverted. In personality, he's closer to a Shrinking Violet. However, when provoked to anger, this is played straight, especially when he confronts Frollo about his cruelty and evil; or when he holds Phoebus over the lower stair and angrily interrogates him.
• Fire-Forged Friends: He befriends Phoebus when they try to rescue Esmeralda.
• Foil:
  • The defining trait that separates Quasimodo and Frollo is not their appearance or their standing in society, but their relations to Esmeralda. Both possess want towards her as a member of the opposite sex, but while Quasimodo loves her because she was kind and who saw him as a person and not as a monster, Frollo saw her as a target either to have sex or kill. While Quasimodo is heartbroken that she would rather be with Phoebus, he values her friendship enough that he wants her to be happy even if he is not the one who can do that, while Frollo is a maniac who would burn down all of Paris — unconcerned with the innocent lives he ruins and ends — to get to her and tries to burn her at the stake when she rejects him. Even their respective songs about her — Quasimodo' "Heaven's Light" and Frollo and "Hellfire" — are on opposite ends of the spectrum, Quasimodo wishing to see the good while Frollo "saw corruption everywhere... except within".
  • To Madellaine, despite their many similarities. Despite having an outwardly ugly appearance, Quasimodo is a Nice Guy, while Madellaine may be a beauty. but is actually (at least to herself) a horrible person. He accidentally leads Frollo to Esmeralda while Madellaine does help Sarousch steal the La Fidele, even if she regrets it later. Quasimodo has no recollection from his parents except from Frollo's lies while Madellaine was an orphan when Sarousch found her, implying she might have some memories of her birth parents.
• A Friend in Need: Quasimodo is a very good friend, is loyal to Esmeralda and Phoebus, and is incredibly supportive of both of them.
• Friend to All Children: His scene with the little girl at the end of the first film and his close relationship with Zephyr qualifies Quasi as this.
• Friend to All Living Things: His first scene is encouraging a bird to fly.
• From Zero to Hero: He started as a deformed infant almost thrown into a well by Frollo. He's rescued by the archdeacon, but kept as a recluse in the belltowers of Notre Dame. Quasimodo ultimately rescues Esmeralda and repulses an assault on the cathedral by Frollo's mooks. He ends the film being carried on the shoulders of grateful Parisians and hailed as a hero.
• Genius Bruiser: Strong enough to ring the bells of Notre Dame with ease. He's also carved a miniature wooden model of Notre Dame, as well as the surrounding village and even all the people who live there. That's pretty impressive. He's also quick to figure out a way to sneak Esmeralda past the guards outside the cathedral, as well as decipher that the charm she gave him is a map to the Court of Miracles. He also has an excellent memory and observational skills as mentioned below.
• Grew a Spine: Finally stands up to his abusive "father" Frollo in the climax.
• Gentle Giant: Quasimodo isn't particularly tall or big, but it is definitely this with regards to his strength as he is shown to be extremely physically formidable. Nonetheless, he's a kind soul who wouldn't hurt a fly. Most of the time.
• Good Colors, Evil Colors: He always wears green, in contrast with Frollo' always black clothing.
• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: His eyes are much bigger than Frollo's, and everyone else's as well.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Downplayed; he's definently jealous of Esmeralda and Phoebus, and takes a few harmless potshots at the latter; but he never lets his jealousy get the better of him and is happy to see them together at the end.
• The Grotesque: He won a prize for being the ugliest person in Paris.
• Handicapped Badass: He's hunched over but tremendously strong. He can perform parkour and lift people easily.
• The Hero: Of the story that Clopin-as-Narrator tells the kids; he looks like a monster but his actions prove his heroic nature.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Phoebus. He's an Honorary Uncle for Phoebus's kid.
• Hidden Depths: In the first place, there's his kindness and gentleness, overlooked by most of Paris, who view him a monster because of his looks. But even beyond that, he has an outstanding memory and knack for observation, as well as artistic talent. Esmeralda, while trapped in the bell tower, is amazed to see the accurate model he's carved of the town, as well as the fact that he knows each bell's name by heart; later, he uses the same skills to recognize Esmeralda's woven necklace as a map of the city. He even has a subtle Deadpan Snarker side to him, which mainly shows in his interactions with the gargoyles, but also when Frollo makes him review the alphabet and he almost rolls his eyes as he does it, implying he's far past that stage of education.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: During the battle, Quasimodo throws a large beam down onto Frollo's carriage. Some of the Mooks pick it up and use to break down the cathedral's door.
• Homeschooled Kids: Poor Quasimodo — Frollo must royally suck as a teacher, seeing that Quasimodo is still learning the alphabet at age 20. (Although it's hinted he's progressed beyond this and is just humoring his master)
• Honorary Uncle: To Zephyr because he's the best friend of the kid's dad. He's also his godfather.
• Hopeless Suitor: He falls immediately in love with Esmeralda... but then witnesses her kissing Phoebus. However, he comes to bless their relationship.
• Horrible Judge of Character: When it comes to Frollo's true evil nature (until the climax, at least). Justified due to being raised by Frollo for his entire life.
  Esmeralda: How could such a cruel man have raised someone like you?
  Quasimodo: Cruel?!? Oh, no. He saved my life. He took me in when no one else would. I am a monster, you know.
• Humble Hero: Quasi doesn't boast about the many impressive things he accomplished in the film. Not even to Esmeralda, who was his first love, and whose heart he could have won with his feats.
• I Just Want to Be Free: The reason he disobeys Frollo's orders to go in the Festival of Fools is that he craves one day of being outside his tower.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Combined with I Just Want to Be Free, "like ordinary men who freely walk about there. Just one day and then I swear I'll be content" as he says in his "I Want" Song.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: The only friends he had growing up were animated gargoyles. Thus, it's easy to understand why he considers Esmeralda's act of kindness to be "Heaven's Light".
• Insecure Love Interest: By the sequel, Quasimodo thinks that he'll never find true love because of his looks.
• In-Series Nickname: He's called "Quasi" by his friends.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Quasi (a man who is roughly the same age as his parents) shares a close bond with Zephyr (a pre-adolescent child), the son of Phoebus and Esmeralda, in the sequel.
• In the Back: Narrowly averts this. Frollo almost stabs him with a knife from behind, but Quasimodo sees the shadow and catches Frollo's hand just in time.
• In the Hood: Quasi uses a hood to disguise himself when he's out in public.
• Innocently Insensitive: Frollo has told him that Gypsies are evil people and tells Esmeralda that she's not like them when he realises that she's one herself. Luckily, Esmeralda isn't offended by his statement and feels empathy for how Frollo cruelly manipulated him.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Quasimodo does what he can to make Esmeralda happy, including blessing her relationship with Phoebus at the end.
• Le Parkour: Jumping from the eaves to the steeples to the gargoyles to the gutters of the Notre Dame cathedral is not a problem for him.
• Leitmotif: There are two variants of the melody from the verses of "Out There", (e.g.: the line "Every day they shout and scold, and go about their lives, heedless of the gift it is to be them"). Quasimodo sings in a major key, while the minor-key variant is found in every instrumental instance stated below, except for "Into the Sunlight". It first appears in Frollo's line from "Bells of Notre Dame" when he sings, "Just so he is locked away where no one else can see. Even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be of use to me." The most notable instance of the tune is in the transition between "In Here" and "Out There". This sets a divide between the two variants, marked further by the minor key being used during moments best matching Frollo's words, and the major key Quasimodo's. Then, after "Out There" proper, it briefly comes back in "Topsy Turvy", when the crowd discovers that Quasimodo's face is no mask. After that, it has a brief, subtle reiteration in the scene where Quasimodo is chained up in Notre Dame, and the gargoyles are trying to convince him to save Esmeralda. Finally, you can last hear it when Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Phoebus step out of the cathedral in front of a crowd at the end of the movie. It can be safely assumed that this melody is Quasimodo's leitmotif.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: The chains initially keep him trapped in the cathedral, but then his gargoyles buddies point out that they aren't the real reason he stays. Then he proves that he can break the chains with little trouble.
• Lightning Bruiser: For such a stocky, barrel-chested guy, Quasi is remarkably agile and fast.
• Like Brother and Sister: He eventually forms a brother-sister dynamic with Esmeralda.
• Loners Are Freaks: What the citizens of Paris think he is, but truthfully he isn't a loner by choice; Frollo deliberately keeps him hidden away in the cathedral.
• Love Hurts: When Quasimodo witnesses Esmeralda's and Phoebus's kiss and realizes that they are in love with each other, he buckles as though he's been physically wounded.
• Loving a Shadow: A downplayed version. While he wasn't wrong about Esmeralda's nobleness, he also painted her as something akin to an angelic being instead of a regular human.
• Manly Tears: He's the first adult male Disney hero to have multiple crying scenes: first when he's crowned King of Fools, then as he staggers back to the cathedral after his public humiliation, then again when he sees Esmeralda and Phoebus kissing, and again when he mourns over Esmeralda's seemingly dead body.
• Meaningful Name: Quasimodo means "half-formed", directly translated from Latin. In a more modern form, it also means "sub-human". Giving this name to him as a baby is just one example of Frollo's cruelty. Interestingly, in the book, Quasimodo's name isn't about his deformity, but refers to the rather obscure holiday called Quasimodo Sunday (as that was the day Frollo found him): the fact that Frollo unintentionally named him "half-formed" is a pun on Victor Hugo's part.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Quasi is a sweet and sensitive soul, but people (except Esmeralda and Phoebus), judge him harshly because of his deformity.
• Nice Guy: He's as handsome on the inside as he is ugly on the outside.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In the finale, even after Frollo tries to kill him, Quasimodo still goes out of his way to try and save his life when he's in danger of falling from the building. For his trouble, Frollo makes one final attempt on his life that almost sends him falling to his death were it not for the timely arrival of Phoebus.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: The Noble to Frollo's Roguish. He's loyal, good-hearted, well-meaning, will swing into action to save his friends from danger and truly knows right from wrong unlike his adoptive father.
• Parental Abandonment: Frollo told him that this was the case with his Romani mother. In reality, Quasi's mother tried sneaking into Paris illegally, was caught by Frollo who tried to take baby Quasi from her (mistaking him for a bundle of stolen goods), and was killed when Frollo kicked her onto the steps of Notre Dame as she sought sanctuary there. She still loved Quasi despite his appearance and died trying to save him.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: He's half as tall as Frollo or Phoebus and yet much stronger. He breaks metal chains!
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Esmeralda. While he initially holds romantic feelings for her, she's largely unaware of this and is interested only in Phoebus. Thankfully, Quasimodo blesses their relationship, and eventually develops more of a close brother-sister relationship with her.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: A mild example. Frollo raises him with the belief that all Romani are evil and untrustworthy, reinforcing it with the lies about Quasi's mother. However, he doesn't act hateful, and only brings it up when he tells Esmeralda that she isn't like "the others" (saying it more like a "fact" a schoolkid might list than with malice), and she gently teaches him better.
• Protagonist Title: Quasimodo is the "Hunchback" in the title and The Hero.
• Redheads Are Uncool: Quasimodo initially being the outcast.
• Redhead In Green: Quasi has red hair and wears a green shirt/tunic.
• Related in the Adaptation: Frollo is his uncle in the stage version.
• Rescue Romance: Esmeralda rescues him from the abuse of the Festival of Fools, thus prompting his attraction to her.
• Rivals Team Up: Quasi teams up with Phoebus to warn Esmeralda about Frollo.
• The Scapegoat:
  • After Frollo's guards help end the Festival of Fools, quite a few citizens and Frollo himself blame Quasimodo for indirectly causing it to happen.
  • Later, when Frollo (who is completely taken over by his lust and depravity at this point) blames Quasimodo for burning down Paris since he helped Esmeralda escape.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The quiet, shy Sensitive Guy to Phoebus's assertive, sarcastic Manly Man.
• Sent Into Hiding: Judge Frollo actively tries to keep Quasimodo hidden from the rest of the public and makes him stay in the tower by convincing him that the world is a cruel place and that he's safer in the bell tower. Of course, this only works up until the Feast Of Fools, and stories are still told about Quasimodo, making him legendary despite the fact only Frollo and the Archdeacon really knew he existed.
• Shipper on Deck: After a healthy amount of Character Development, Quasimodo blesses Esmeralda and Phoebus's relationship.
• Shrinking Violet: Very shy at first, though he starts to become more open after befriending Esmeralda.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: He is the protagonist and has red hair and blue-green eyes.
• Snarky Villain, Earnest Hero: Quasimodo is a gentle and earnest soul, while Frollo has his moments of Deadpan Snarker-nes and a wicked sense of humor.
• Spared by the Adaptation: In the novel, he lies next to Esmeralda's corpse and eventually dies of starvation. Like Esmeralda and most characters that die in the novel (except Big Bad Frollo), he's still alive in the Disney movies.
• Steel Eardrums: Unlike in the novel, Quasimodo's hearing is perfectly functional despite ringing the bells for years on end.
• Super-Strength: Picks up an armored man one-handed without noticing, slides a massive stone slab aside with an idle shove, and scales the cathedral walls one-handed while carrying Esmeralda and Djali. That's all before the Unstoppable Rage moment.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He and Phoebus start out bickering during their trip to the Court of Miracles; no doubt fueled by their love for the same woman. By the end, they're genuine friends.
• Tenor Boy: There's a contrast here. Quasi doesn't look the part but his inner innocent boyishness matches his voice.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: The Tiny Guy to Madellaine's Huge Girl. His deformity makes him smaller.
• Took a Level in Badass: He learns to stand up for himself, which leads to an epic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to his jerkass of an adoptive father.
• Two Guys and a Girl: With Phoebus and Esmeralda for a love triangle.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The Ugly Guy (hunchbacked, deformed, and buck-teeth) to Madellaine's Hot Wife (an extremely good-looking woman).
• Unwitting Pawn: Frollo tells Quasi that he knows where the Court of Miracles is, and that he will attack it at dawn. This prompts Quasi and Phoebus to find it and warn the Roma. It turns out that Frollo was lying all along, and secretly followed them to the lair.
• What the Hell, Hero?: A sad example during the climax: Quasi is chained up, but the gargoyles are trying to encourage him to snap out of his funk. When he instead snaps at them to leave him alone, they turn back into stone, disappointed.
• You Are What You Hate: While he knows his mother was Roma, he believes that she (and her people) was heartless and that Frollo saved him. He doesn't seem to hate Roma, though he mindlessly accepts Frollo's beliefs about them until meeting Esmeralda provides him with a new perspective. At the very end, Frollo reveals that his mother died protecting him, which makes him fully rethink things.
• You Killed My Father: It's established in the beginning that Frollo unintentionally, but remorselessly, murdered Quasimodo's mother when he was an infant. He doesn't find this out until twenty years later.

Esmeralda

"What do they have against people who are different, anyway?"

Played by: Demi Moore (speaking), Heidi Mollenhauer (singing) ^{Other voice actors} Lara Fabian (Canadian French, first film), Violette Chauveau (Canadian French, second film), Rebecca Dreyfus (European French, speaking), Claudia Meyer (European French, singing), Judy Weiss (German), Chizu Hosaka (Japanese), Marta Barbarà (European Spanish), Ciara Renée (US), Rebeca Rambal (Latin American Spanish, speaking), Fernanda Meade (Latin American Spanish, singing), Riki Gal (Hebrew)

Esmeralda is a fearless and streetwise Romani woman with a heart of gold and is very capable of defending herself. She's also able to look beyond physical appearances and is one of the first—and only—people in both films to befriend the deformed yet lovable hunchback Quasimodo. Esmeralda is a wonderful heroine whose greatest wish is to see outcasts like Quasimodo and her fellow Romani be accepted into society and be treated as people, not as property.

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• Action Girl: She holds her own against Phoebus, a professional soldier; defies Frollo in his face - twice; and we can't forget the Festival of Fools chase scene.
• Action Mom: Gives birth to her and Phoebus' son, Zephyr, in the sequel, but still kicks just as much ass.
• Adaptational Badass: In the book, she's weak and fickle. In the Disney film, she's an Action Girl through and through.
• Adaptational Curves: She is described as skinny in the book while in the Disney version, she's much more toned and curvaceous to the point of being a Ms. Fanservice. Justified, as she's been given an Age Lift from a sixteen-year-old to a twenty-something-year-old.
• Adaptational Intelligence: The Disney version is smarter and more streetwise than the naïve girl of the book.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: Esmeralda has black eyes in the original novel, but green eyes in the Disney adaptation.
• Age Lift: She's at least in her 20s, not 16 like in the source material.
• All-Loving Heroine: If her "God Help the Outcasts" doesn't fill the bill, her treatment of Quasimodo does.
• Amazonian Beauty: Is a large, muscular, broad-shouldered woman who wears revealing outfits that exemplify her toned body, sensually fights and dances in ways that show off her athleticism, and has no shortage of men lusting after her.
• Ambiguously Brown: She has a noticeably darker skin colour than even the other Roma seen in the film.
• Ambiguously Christian: While in Notre Dame, she prays for intercession on behalf of the outcasts... but begins her prayer with "I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're even there", implying she might be agnostic (or possibly Hindu). The French translation adds to ambiguity by having her say that she isn’t sure if her words will be heard by God, implying that she does believe in God.
• Babies Ever After: Has a son with Phoebus in the sequel.
• Badass Bystander: She could've minded her own business when the crowd was ganging up on poor Quasi. Instead, she not only defied Frollo, but managed to evade all of his guards.
• Barefoot Poverty: She dances on the streets for coins so she can't afford shoes. In the sequel, after her marriage to Phoebus, she is shown wearing them.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: She's a very beautiful Romani, both inside and outside, even though Frollo basely accuses her for making him lust over her with her good looks (when really, it's his own doing).
• Betty and Veronica: The "Archie" to Quasimodo's "Betty" (gentle and shy) and Phoebus' "Veronica" (a high-status soldier with an ego to match). Esmeralda chooses Phoebus, and Quasimodo gives both of them his blessing.
• Big "NO!": Esmeralda yells "No!" when she loses her grip on Quasimodo while trying to pull him up to the side of the cathedral so he doesn't fall. He falls, but Phoebus catches him.
• Big Sister Instinct: She becomes an older sister figure to Quasimodo and always does everything in her power to protect him.
• Birds of a Feather:
  • With Phoebus. Both are sarcastic, strong-willed, and ultimately rebel against Frollo to do what is right, but Phoebus doesn't rebel against Frollo until Frollo attempts to burn down a house with an innocent family still inside. Appropriately, it's at that point that Esmeralda falls in love with him.
  • With Quasimodo. Both are outcasts in society, but the other thing they have in common is that this has carried over into their religious beliefs. They both pray to God but they also both don't think God has mercy for people like them. They are polar opposites when it comes to life experiences, though: Esmeralda has seen a lot of the world because of her constant moving from place to place and is widely liked for her beauty, but at the same time sexualized and objectified by men like Frollo, while Quasimodo has been restricted to just Notre Dame and is reviled for his ugliness.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Of the three heroic leading characters, she is the Brunette (black hair) to Quasimodo's Redhead and Phoebus' Blonde.
• Brainy Brunette: A dark-haired girl who knows how to evade Frollo's guards, has knowledge about being protected by the Cathedral from Frollo and his men, and has some expertise over nursing and uses this to help Phoebus with a wound.
• Character Development: Initially starts off as confrontational and distrustful due to the hardships she and the other Roma have endured, but her interactions with Quasimodo and Phoebus gradually soften her and teach her how to trust.
• Cleavage Window: Most of her outfits show off her top assets, especially the festival dancer one.
• Color-Coded Eyes: She possesses the positive, exotic qualities associated with green eyes, which correspond her name. Even though she's the heroine, she was actually also modeled after several female villains from earlier Disney films, who all have green eyes, so that she will actually be portrayed as being evil by Frollo, the Big Bad, while, to the viewers, she's actually on the side of good. This is actually done to show the fact that she is hated by the villain because he thinks that she is evil even though she really isn't.
• Curse Cut Short: While in the cathedral, Esmeralda says "You sneaky son of...", but Phoebus stops her before she can finish.
• Damsel in Distress: She needs to be rescued and/or helped by Quasimodo twice, particularly in the scene where she is captured and Frollo wants to burn her alive. She also qualifies as Badass in Distress.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Implied. She gives several lines throughout the movie of constantly witnessing her people being mistreated.
• Deadpan Snarker: Expect her to be chock-full of sarcastic quips.
  Phoebus: You fight almost as well as a man.
  Esmeralda: Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Dude Magnet. The attention she gets from all the men around her ranges from good to bad, and has positive and negative effects on her.
• Defiant Captive: Her defiance of Frollo when he is about to set her on fire is remarkable.
• Defiant to the End: When Frollo is about to burn her at the stake, he informs her that she may choose him or the fire. She responds by spitting in his face and giving him a Kubrick Stare / Death Glare.
• Demoted to Extra:
  • Downplayed. While she still plays a pivotal role in the story, the first movie clearly gives Quasimodo more focus than her, even dropping her subplot of finding her mother.
  • While in the original film she is the female lead, in the sequel she's more of a secondary character.
• Deuteragonist: In the first film, but more of a supporting character in the sequel.
• Disney Death: After the climactic battle, Quasimodo finds her unconscious and unresponsive, but she is merely passed out due to smoke inhalation, not dead, and revives minutes later, unlike in the novel, where she's Killed Off for Real.
• Dude Magnet: Deconstructed. While all the men, including Quasimodo, are attracted to her, she also draws the unwanted attention of the Big Bad, Frollo. The different types of attraction run the gamut in the film to aid in the Deconstruction: the crowd in Paris find her attractive; Frollo is driven absolutely insane over his lust for her and is convinced that she's some kind of hellish temptress; and Quasimodo sees her as a perfect "angel" (his love for her doesn't appear in the least bit sexual) because she was the first person in his life to show him kindness. Only Phoebus is willing to both acknowledge her beauty and recognize her as a human being, flaws and all; that's probably why she ends up with him in the end.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Esmeralda is selfless and she cares more about outcasts being saved than herself. She's also one of the few people to treat Quasimodo nicely despite his appearance. However, she despises Frollo for his prejudice towards her and her fellow Roma.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Her Iconic Outfit. Esmeralda's outfit isn't symmetrical (she has a decorated wrap on one side of her skirt and only one ankle bracelet), and both she and most of the other Roma such as Clopin (who themselves are hardly symmetrical in dress) only have one earring. Esmeralda is actually sharing a pair of earrings with Djali.
• First Love: To Quasimodo; she never finds out that he likes her more than as a friend and is heartbroken over seeing her and Phoebus's kiss. Thankfully, he's happy that she's happy.
• Flirting Under Fire: During her banter in the cathedral with Phoebus. He starts it, but she engages him all the same.
• Foil: Esmeralda's song "God Help the Outcasts" contrasts sharply with Frollo's "Hellfire". While both songs are addressed directly to Mary, Esmeralda asks selflessly for the well-being of her people and the poor, while Frollo selfishly asks to kill and/or possess Esmeralda.
• Forgiving the Accidental Pervert: During the Feast of Fools, Quasimodo accidentally falls into Esmeralda's tent and pulls down the curtain while she's changing into her robe. Esmeralda, rather than be upset, asks Quasi if he's okay and checks him for any injuries, then allows him to leave her tent while gently telling him to be more careful next time.
• A Friend in Need: Esmeralda is there to support Quasimodo as much as possible and she is always there for him.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Her iconic outfit includes her sleeves being poofy.
• Gone Horribly Right: Her sexy dance. So much that she becomes the lust object of Frollo, a really evil and dangerous man.
• Good Bad Girl: She is the object of Frollo's Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny obsession because he thinks of her as a Femme Fatale of sorts. She is a much more kind-hearted person than that—she uses her sexuality in her dances in a lighthearted way, not in order to seduce but in order to entertain.
• Good Parents: She becomes a good mother towards her son Zephyr in the sequel.
• Good Samaritan: Esmeralda rescues and defends Quasimodo, who is a complete stranger to her, from being attacked at the Festival of Fools.
• Happily Married: With Phoebus in the sequel. It's a beta couple thing for our protagonist and his love interest.
• Head-Turning Beauty: Many men who see her go ga-ga over her. This is helpful to attract attention on the street, where she's dancing for coins, but less so when an evil man lusts over her, and pins on her his sexual cravings and religious weakness. Frollo sings a whole song about her effect on him.
• Hot Gypsy Woman: Esmeralda is a spirited Romani dancer with dark skin, loose black hair, and green eyes. She usually wears low-cut off-the-shoulder outfits adorned with golden jewelry, including a scarlet pole-dancing dress that accentuates her voluptuous figure. Hailed as "the finest girl in France", she attracts the attention of Quasimodo, Phebus, and Frollo, the last of whom hates and blames her for it.
• Iconic Outfit: Esmeralda's white top with a teal and gold bodice, with a purple sarong and white petticoat. She wears a golden hoop earring on her left ear, a golden bangle on her left wrist, and matching bracelet and anklet on both her right hand and right ankle.
• Improv Fu: Esmeralda beats the guards by simply running around and dodging, with a little help from her performer buddies.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Esmeralda bears a remarkable likeness to her voice actress, with the possible exception of the skin tan.
• In the Hood: She and Djali combine this with the Totem Pole Trench to disguise themselves as an old man.
• "I Want" Song: "God Help The Outcasts" is a inversion of this trope because she doesn't ask for anything ("I ask for nothing; I can get by") and instead depicts Esmeralda's selfless desire for the safety and protection of the weak and defenseless.
• Kubrick Stare: She looks at the camera menacingly, directed at Frollo, when he has tied her to the stake to burn her.
• Lady in Red: She wears a red pole-dancing dress in "Topsy Turvy". Ironically, in real life, red is considered bad luck for the Roma, and Judge Frollo was watching her dance in public... Bad luck indeed.
• Like Brother and Sister: She and Quasi form a sibling dynamic by the end of the first film.
• Love at First Sight: Phoebus, Quasimodo, and Frollo all fall in love with her practically at first sight. Inverted with Esmeralda herself, who ironically falls in love with Phoebus at first sight in the book. In the film adaptation, she's distrusting of but fascinated by Phoebus and doesn't necessarily fall for him until she witnesses him saving an innocent family from a burning house after refusing Frollo's order to burn it himself.
• Lovely Assistant: To Clopin. She appears to enchant the (in-universe!) audience after he gives the intro.
• Love Triangle: Esmeralda/Phoebus/Quasimodo... and Frollo.
• Loved by All: She is the prettiest girl in town and widely admired for her dancing; during the razing of Paris, none of the Roma betray her to Frollo; and her execution turns is the final straw that turns the entire populace against Frollo.
• Lust Object: Frollo lusts after her, wanting her to be his and his alone or else he will kill her.
• Meaningful Appearance: In the climax, when she's sentenced to be burnt at the stake, she is in a white dress. It's the symbol of purity and hence "innocent victim".
• Meaningful Name: "Esmeralda" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for "emerald", which reflects her eye color. Works only in the film, since as noted she has darker eyes in the original novel.
• Ms. Fanservice: She performs a pole dance wearing a red low-cut dress that accentuates her toned yet curvaceous figure. Deconstructed in that she attracts attention from men, but she ends up becoming the target of an extremely dangerous, immoral repressed sociopath's lust.
  Judge Claude Frollo: She will be mine, or she will burn!
• Muscles Are Meaningful: She has very toned muscles, and is one HELL of a fighter.
• Nice Girl: Helping Quasimodo for one. Telling him he's not a monster. Also, just being an overall kind and empathetic human being.
• Oblivious to Love: She has no idea of Quasimodo's crush on her.
• Official Couple: With Phoebus. They're married in the sequel.
• Offscreen Teleportation: [POOF] "Oh, boys! Over here!"
• Perpetual Poverty: Even though she is married to Phoebus, she still performs and resides in the streets with the other Romani. Well, gotta keep up appearances, but at least she gets shoes.
• Platonic Life-Partners: With Quasimodo. She's fully unaware of his (initial) romantic love for her. Even so, Esmeralda sees Quasi as a good friend and acts as a surrogate sister to him.
• Public Execution: Frollo stages a public burning because of "witchcraft", but it is thankfully thwarted by Quasimodo.
• Race Lift: In the book Esmeralda was revealed to be a French girl kidnapped by gypsies as a baby, though she still possessed the darker features of the Roma. Here that plotline is dropped and she is by all indications natural-born Romani.
• Rags to Riches: She was first introduced performing on the street for money. After marrying Phoebus, she obviously no longer has to do that.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives Frollo one that’s short and to the point:
  Esmeralda: You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help.
• Reluctant Fanservice Girl: She has outright stated she hates sensually dancing on the streets to feed herself due to people’s distaste of Romani people. She reacted in awe of Quasimodo’s artistry and craftsmanship after seeing his figurines and bemoaned how she would not be dancing on the streets for money if she had such skills.
• Sadistic Choice: "Me or the fire". The fire, Frollo.
• Samaritan Relationship Starter: Esmeralda and Phoebus are initially attracted to but wary of each other, and they only fall for each other after each witness the other committing a noble and selfless act (e.g. Esmeralda defending Quasimodo from Frollo; Phoebus refusing to burn an innocent family in their house and rescuing them).
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Esmeralda promptly takes out a knife and cuts the ropes holding Quasimodo down after Frollo orders Esmeralda not to free Quasimodo. Esmeralda then proceeds to publicly humiliate Frollo — and in effect, call Frollo a racist, to his face — for his hypocritical use of religion to justify his racist campaign of terror against the Romani people.
• Seeking Sanctuary: Phoebus invokes this first by whispering to her and later directly to Frollo.
• Shipper on Deck: She encourages Quasimodo to confess his love to Madellaine.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Esmeralda doesn't start to fall in love with Phoebus until after he saves a family from murder, even though it could mean his own execution. On a more specific note, Esmeralda's decision to marry Phoebus at the end of her film is likely the result of the way both Quasimodo and Frollo treated her throughout the movie, according to the Madonna-Whore Complex: Frollo constantly viewed Esmeralda as an evil seductress, causing him to want her as his own and threaten to kill her if she refused, while Quasimodo instead viewed her as a pure, angelic being, seeing her as being only kind and caring. However, both portrayals are considered insulting to women, and Phoebus, seeing her being feisty but good-natured, was the only male character that saw Esmeralda as a normal woman, and therefore becomes her husband.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Phoebus. They don't start the romance part till after she saves his life, but they were already flirting in that church.
• Smoke Out: She disappears into smoke at will. How she performs this remains unexplained.
• The Smurfette Principle: She is the most narratively prominent female character in the first movie.
• Spared by the Adaptation: She's hanged at the end of the book, but in this adaptation survives, although she nearly got a Disney Death from smoke inhalation.
• Spiteful Spit: She angrily spits Frollo in the face when he says humiliating things to her when he is about to burn her at the stake.
• Stage Magician: Her carny act combines this with a dance number. She also does palm reading and prestidigitation.
• Suffer the Slings: Esmeralda uses a makeshift sling to rescue Phoebus.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: In the sequel, the Tomboy to Madellaine's Girly Girl. Esmeralda uses her fists and weapons and Madellaine uses her ballerina skills.
• Totem Pole Trench: Esmeralda is known for doing this to hide from the soldiers. She does it by carrying Djali on her shoulders and wrapping a blanket around them so they can pass as an old man, with Djali smoking a pipe.
• Two Guys and a Girl: With Phoebus and Quasimodo in a love triangle. She ends up choosing Phoebus, and it's unknown whether she knew that Quasimodo was romantically attracted to her.
• Unkempt Beauty: Her hair is noticeably scruffy.
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: After she saves Quasimodo from the jeering crowds, Esmeralda pulls a silk handkerchief from her cleavage, and uses it in a disappearing magic trick to escape from Frollo's guards.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: According to the song "Topsy-Turvy", Esmeralda is "the finest girl in France".
• Xenafication: Disney turned Esmeralda into a street-smart Combat Pragmatist Action Girl who fights with Frollo's mooks on a regular basis, to the point that she needs Charles Atlas Superpower for most of her stunts to even work. It's downplayed overall as they also made her smarter than the original character and the character trait that stands out most about Esmeralda in the adaptation is her moral courage rather than being an Action Girl.
• You Know I'm Black, Right?: In the sequel, when Phoebus expresses he doesn't trust the circus folk, Esmeralda replies "Gypsies?", which causes him to reflexively give an affirmative "yes" when he can't figure out who to compare them to.

Phoebus

"I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm-readers?"

Played by: Kevin Kline ^{Other voice actors} Daniel Picard (Canadian French), Emmanuel Jacomy (European French), Fredrik Lycke (German), Sōma Suzuki credited as Eiji Akutagawa (Japanese), Armando Carreras (European Spanish), Andrew Samonsky (US), Salvador Delgado (Latin American Spanish), Ohad Shachar (Hebrew)

Phoebus is the captain of Frollo's guard. At 31 years old, he is noted to have a highly reputable caliber in the wars based on his bravery accounted in his service record. He is the only soldier in the movie that stands apart from the other soldiers and is claimed to be a knight in shining armor, and yet his character displays the exact opposite of the hopeless romantic knight from the fairy tales.

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• Action Dad: In the sequel to Zephyr, because he's still a captain.
• Action Hero: Phoebus is a captain, and is therefore involved in all of the action.
• Adaptational Heroism: In the book, he's a womanizing Jerkass who gets no comeuppance. Here he's pushed from being a loyal soldier into a revolutionary who opposes Frollo whenever he can.
• Amazon Chaser: Watching Esmeralda singlehandedly trounce Frollo's guards makes Phoebus exclaim, "What a woman!"
• Annoying Arrows: Played with. He gets hit by one arrow which causes him to be knocked out, but then has the arrow taken out of him quite easily, underwater too.
• Anti-Hero: After his Heel–Face Turn, Phoebus is a combo of Knight in Sour Armor and Pragmatic Hero.
• Anti-Villain: He starts as the Token Good Teammate of Frollo's army, a dutiful soldier who has to work for an evil man until his boss goes too far and he has a Heel–Face Turn.
• Apologetic Attacker: Phoebus tries one on Esmeralda, while she has him pinned to the floor with his own sword at his throat, and it works!
• Babies Ever After: Has a son with Esmeralda in the sequel.
• Badass in Distress: He can hold a fight, but when he gets shot by an arrow thanks to Frollo's guards, he falls into a river and it's up to Esmeralda to rescue him.
• Bash Brothers: With Quasimodo later on in the film when they work together.
• Betty and Veronica: The "Veronica" (a high-status soldier with an ego to match) to Quasimodo's "Betty" (gentle and shy) for Esmeralda's "Archie". Esmeralda chooses Phoebus and Quasimodo gives both of them his blessing.
• Big Brother Instinct: Towards Quasimodo, as he gives the former credit to Esmeralda for finding her when he notices his dejected attitude and then, later on, saves Quasimodo from falling to his death.
• Big Damn Heroes: Phoebus rescues Quasimodo from falling.
• Birds of a Feather: With Esmeralda. Both are sarcastic, strong-willed, and ultimately rebel against Frollo to do what is right, but Phoebus doesn't rebel against Frollo until Frollo attempts to burn down a house with an innocent family still inside. Appropriately, it's at that point that Esmeralda falls in love with him.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Of the three heroic leading characters, he is the Blond to Quasimodo's Redhead and Esmeralda's Brunette.
• Blue Is Heroic: Phoebus is the Tritagonist and prominently wears blue in his outfits.
• By-the-Book Cop: Zig-Zagged. He was trained to follow orders under Frollo, but the fact that he's ordered to harm an innocent family pushes him out of it. By the sequel, though well-meaning, he's more by the book, especially when it came to the whole ordeal about Sarousch and Madelline.
• Catch a Falling Star: Phoebus manages to catch Quasimodo as he falls off of Notre Dame and haul him inside. It's an especially egregious example of snatching someone out of midair since he'd gotten shot through the shoulder the day before.
• Character Development: Phoebus is initially the pawn who loathes injustice. In the opening, he discreetly rescues Esmeralda from arrest but never quite speaks out against injustice, and Frollo refuses to let Phoebus intervene when Quasimodo undergoes public humiliation. It's when he witnesses Frollo's attempted execution on an innocent family that Phoebus starts intervening explicitly from then on.
• The Charmer: Phoebus is charming and cocky, especially in the beginning.
• Chivalrous Pervert: A much milder case than the novel. He's obviously excited by Esmeralda's dancing but is able to look beyond just that to her kindness and her spirit.
• Composite Character: Phoebus gains his good traits from Pierre Gringoire, an Author Avatar character who appears in the book. He's one of three characters to incorporate parts of Gringoire into his character.
• Deadpan Snarker: His humor tends to be quite subdued, such as his flirting in the church.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Knight in Shining Armor. While he is a noble knight (who literally wears golden armor), he is still a soldier first and foremost, and serves the authority even when the authority orders him to arrest innocent people or let other suffer for things that aren't their fault. Reconstructed, however, when Frollo orders him to burn down a house with an innocent family inside, which Phoebus refuses to do. After escaping from Frollo's wrath, he joins the heroes and helps the people that he once aided in oppressing.
• Defiant to the End: When Frollo is about to have him executed for "insubordination" (a word which here means "refusing to stand by and let Frollo execute an innocent family by setting their house on fire with them locked inside"), all he has to say is "Consider it my highest honor, sir."
• Defector from Decadence: Turns against Frollo because Frollo tries to kill an innocent family and because he's after Esmeralda.
• Demoted to Extra: Like Esmeralda, his role in the sequel is smaller compared to the original film.
• Distressed Dude: First when he is shot with an arrow and nearly dies and second when he is captured at the Court Of Miracles.
• Dork Knight: In his initial attempts to talk to Esmeralda, he comes off as a bit more awkward than he probably hoped. Luckily, he's well-meaning and genuine enough to be charming.
• The Dragon: Initially, he's this to the villain Frollo because he is the captain of the man's armed forces.
• Embarrassing First Name: "Phoebus" isn't really all that embarrassing for the time period he's in, and the name's meaning does fit with his blond hair, heroic attitude, and shiny gold armor, but he's embarrassed by it anyway because of how pretentious it sounds.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • He is disgusted by the mob's treatment of Quasimodo and requests Frollo let him break up the spectacle. Frollo refuses to let him do so.
  • Steadily grows more disgusted with Frollo's brutality and open racism in persecuting the Romani, culminating in his sheer refusal to burn down the homestead of an innocent farmer on Frollo's orders.
    Phoebus: With all due respect, sir, I was not trained to murder the innocent!
    Frollo: But you were trained to follow orders! [Phoebus angrily douses the torch he was given to carry out the order]
• Establishing Character Moment: When he's first introduced, he deliberately distracts a pair of guards that were harassing Esmeralda, allowing her to escape. He then drops the coins they stole from her into the hat of a hooded beggar who turns out be Esmeralda herself. This initial act of kindness foreshadows his later Heel–Face Turn.
• Fire-Forged Friends: He befriends Quasimodo when they try to rescue Esmeralda.
• First Guy Wins: Phoebus, the first love interest Esmeralda meets, ends up with Esmeralda at the end of the first film.
• Florence Nightingale Effect: Downplayed. Phoebus was already in love with Esmeralda because of a combination of her beauty, strength, and personality. However, they truly enter into a romantic relationship after he is injured by an arrow and she tends to said wounds.
• Foil: Phoebus's strong sense of justice and protecting the innocent contrasts with Frollo's flagrant disregard for justice when it benefits himself.
• Four-Star Badass: He was a French Knight in the King's Army and by his own admission he'd been to war in four different continents.
• A Friend in Need: Comes to Esmeralda and Quasi's help, both on different matters.
• Good Parents: He becomes a good father to his son Zephyr in the sequel.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Phoebus has bright, blond hair and is a heroic Knight in Shining Armor.
• Happily Married: With Esmeralda in the sequel, as he proudly states in the early scenes.
• Heel–Face Turn: He works for Frollo at the start of the movie but turns against him by the climax.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Phoebus has a sword while working for Frollo. During the Final Battle, he starts out using a spear but soon swaps it out for another sword.
• Heroic Fire Rescue: When Frollo sets a miller's house on fire with the family trapped inside to make an example out of them, Phoebus rescues them, officially cutting off his servitude to Frollo.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Quasimodo. He even names the guy his son's Honorary Uncle.
• Hidden Depths: Appears to have a clear sense of moral right and wrong despite working for Frollo, as seen in the way he treats Esmeralda and in his kindness towards Quasimodo after he is pelted by the crowd and in acknowledging the latter's role in helping warn the Romani of Frollo's arrival.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He is this to a fault in the sequel when it comes to Sarsousch and Madelline, believing the former to be ashamed of the latter's love of thieving when it's the other way around.
• Hunk: A broad-shouldered knight with a fine beard.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: To the Brutish Guard. When Phoebus sees the Brutish Guard bullying Esmeralda, he immediately stops him in a humiliating way. The Brutish Guard is all too eager to take Phoebus out once he is no longer useful and fight him in the final battle, and Phoebus is quick to respond in kind.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Phoebus calls the Romani, "criminals and dangerous." He's not entirely wrong.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Phoebus may at times be insensitive and argumentative. He proves to have a good heart, nonetheless.
  • On the one hand, he's confused rather than opposed to Frollo's vendetta against the Romani, but on the other hand, he doesn't tolerate Frollo's obviously unjust order to burn down the farmhouse.
  • He becomes more wary of Quasimodo's emotional welfare and makes sure to give him the credit for locating the hideout.
• Knight Errant: At the start of the movie he has just come back from fighting in an offscreen war.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Shining gold-plated armor no less. The fire rescue wouldn't look out of place in a chivalric cycle.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Keeps on doing his knightly duties even when it seems that all is lost.
• The Leader: Downplayed. He's the Number Two under Frollo but no doubt badass. In the sequel, he is number two to the king, but his authority appears to be at the same level as Frollo's.
• Leitmotif: A five-note, military-sounding fanfare on the brass. It lets us know from the get-go that Phoebus is a decent man, as unlike Frollo's theme, which is dark and moody, Phoebus' theme is in a major key, and has an uplifting tone to it. His theme would eventually provide the melody for his solo, "Rest and Recreation", in the stage musical.
• Light Is Good: Wears shiny, golden armor that's a reference that he's a good and heroic person. His name is also an epithet of both Apollo and Helios, Greek light/solar gods.
• Love at First Sight: When Phoebus first lays his eyes on Esmeralda, he's immediately smitten. Esmeralda, on the other hand, is not impressed with Phoebus at first.
• Meaningful Name: His name means "Sun God" in Latin. Fittingly, Phoebus has blond hair, which could symbolize light and the sun.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: The Noble to Frollo's Roguish. He's an honorable war hero who will not give into Frollo's horrid, immoral tendencies.
• Noble Top Enforcer: At first for Frollo, as he is more noble-minded. Eventually, he quits.
• Official Couple: With Esmeralda. They're married in the sequel.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: The sequel shows he has some prejudiced views on Romani people but he's still a noble Knight who wants fairness for all.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He has the highest rank of the Guards and knows how to kick ass.
• Rivals Team Up: Phoebus teams up with Quasimodo to warn Esmeralda about Frollo.
• Samaritan Relationship Starter: Esmeralda and Phoebus are initially attracted to but wary of each other, but they only fall for each other after each witness the other committing a noble and selfless act (e.g. Esmeralda defending Quasimodo from Frollo; Phoebus refusing to burn an innocent family in their house and rescuing them).
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When Frollo orders Phoebus to burn down a house with a family locked inside of it, he tells Frollo that he wasn't trained to murder innocent people, to which the judge responds that he was trained to follow orders. Phoebus refuses, so Frollo torches the house himself. This causes Phoebus to break in and rescue the family, Frollo's orders be damned.
• Seeking Sanctuary: He urges Esmeralda to invoke this in an undertone while Frollo approaches them inside Notre Dame, and when she doesn't play along, he invokes it for her by bluffing and claiming she did.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The assertive, sarcastic Manly Man to Quasimodo's shy, quiet Sensitive Guy.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: With Esmeralda. They don't start the romance part till after she saves his life, but they already start flirting in that church.
• The Starscream: A heroic example as he was formerly the Noble Top Enforcer. He does this to Frollo, especially when after freeing himself, he takes leadership of the people he was ordered to oppress and turns them on Frollo's soldiers.
• Tempting Fate: Averted. He considers bad things that could happen ("A guard... A boobytrap...") then, mentions an ambush only when he realizes that they're about to be ambushed.
• To Be Lawful or Good: Technically, Frollo is the minister of justice and obeying him is the "lawful" choice, but not the "good" one. Being a loyal but also moral soldier, Phoebus faces this dilemma during the first part of the movie, trying to be both lawful in his service to Frollo and good to strangers. He chooses "good" completely when Frollo goes too far.
• Token Good Cop: He is the decent and honourable captain of Judge Frollo's guards, who initially dutifully follows orders, despite growing discomfort with Frollo's brutal persecution of the Romani. However, when Frollo orders him to burn down a house with an innocent family inside, he flat-out refuses, and starts openly opposing his former boss.
• Token Good Teammate: He is a professional soldier who however has moral standards that contrast with the orders he is supposed to follow. This applies especially when after freeing himself, he takes leadership of the people he was ordered to oppress and turns them on Frollo's soldiers.
• Token White: Amongst the heroes; Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and Clopin are all Romani, and Victor, Hugo, and Laverne are all rock.
• Tritagonist: In the first film, but becomes more of a supporting character in the sequel.
• Two Guys and a Girl: With Quasimodo and Esmeralda for a love triangle.
• Uptown Guy: Phoebus is a well-respected captain and decorated soldier while Esmeralda has to do street performances to make money.
• You Are in Command Now: He's called back to Paris on the heels of his predecessor disappointing Frollo, and Phoebus even hears him being tortured in The Palace of Justice's dungeons as Frollo brings him up to speed on his new job.

The Gargoyles (Victor, Hugo and Laverne)

Left to right:Hugo, Laverne and Victor.

Voiced by: English: Charles Kimbrough (Victor), Jason Alexander (Hugo), Mary Wickes (Laverne, first film), Jane Withers (Laverne, sequel)^{Other voice actors}European Spanish: Antonio Crespo (Victor), Salvador Aldeguer (Hugo), Carmen Contreras (Laverne) | Canadian French: Pierre Chagnon (Victor), Manuel Tadros (Hugo), Élisabeth Chouvalidzé (Laverne) | European French: Bernard Alane (Victor), Michel Mella (Hugo), Perrette Pradier (Laverne) | Latin American Spanish: Moisés Palacios (Victor), Herman López (Hugo), Renée Victor (Laverne) | Hebrew: Shashi Keshet (Victor), Yuval Zamir (Hugo), Rebekah Gor (Laverne)

Hugo, Victor, and Laverne are a trio of living gargoyle statues that live in Notre Dame. They act as positive, supporting family figures to Quasimodo.

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Tropes That Apply to All Three:

• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Hugo is the Big (fattest gut). Victor is the Thin (slimmest gut). Laverne is the Short (shorter than Hugo).
• Canon Foreigner: The trio never appeared in Victor Hugo's original story.
• Comic Trio: Their primary role is telling jokes and otherwise playing off each other for laughs.
• The Conscience: The trio tries to appeal to Quasimodo's better side, in two occasions spurning him into doing the right thing even after he has a Heroic BSoD.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Proved to be this in the first film's climax when they hold the line against Frollo's mooks.
• Dare to Be Badass: During the climax, when Quasi is having a Heroic BSoD after Frollo uses him to find the Court of Miracles and capture Esmeralda, they reluctantly obey his request to leave him alone, saying that they're only stone, but also comment that they thought Quasi was made of stronger stuff. This ends up giving him the motivation to save Esmeralda.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Considering the fact that they are heroic gargoyles, which are generally spooky.
• Freudian Trio: Let's look at Quasi sneaking out to the festival. Victor is the Superego (points out the educational benefits of going). Laverne is the Ego (gives Quasi the same advice he gave the bird earlier). Hugo is the Id (tells Quasi to go and not be anxious).
• Meaningful Name:
  • Victor Hugo is the name of the author of the original novel.
  • Laverne is also named after Laverne Andrews, one of The Andrews Sisters.
• Naughty Is Good: They encourage Quasimodo to disobey Frollo's strict rule about never leaving the tower.
  Quasimodo: He'd be furious if I asked to go [to the festival].
  Hugo: Who says you gotta ask?
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Victor (Nice) is quiet and the most thoughtful. Laverne (Mean) is the most snippy and frequently insults the other two. Hugo (Inbetween) is not as sensitive as Victor but isn't as cranky as Laverne.
• Only Friend: They were Quasimodo's only friends for most of his life.
• Parental Substitute: Besides being Only Friends to Quasimodo, the gargoyle trio also served as the only positive family figures he had for most of his life.
• Real After All: The first film leaned towards them being Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane. They only spoke with Quasimodo and were able to know and do things Quasi himself didn't. Should someone else appear, they appear as lifeless statues and situations, such as their own song, suggest it was all in Quasimodo's head. Even the climax, where they aid in stopping Frollo's men, could be seen as Quasimodo's perception of events. Granted Hugo flirting with Djali is a stretch. The sequel instead reveals they were real, as Madellaine seems to know they're alive and Hugo interacts with Djali more than before.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Hugo is the Red Oni (loud and impulsive) and Victor and Laverne are the Blue Onis (both are more rational and actually think before speaking).
• Shipper on Deck:
  • They were all rooting for Quasi and Esmeralda to become a couple throughout the first movie.
  • In the sequel, they happily welcome Madellaine, after she and Quasi became an Official Couple.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: The primary comic relief of the movie who disappear the moment things get serious. This is one of the primary criticisms aimed at the characters, that they vanish so quickly from the movie that it causes Mood Whiplash moving from their comedic scenes to the rest of the film's more serious tone. They play it straightest towards the end of the film when they quietly take their leave when Esmeralda seemingly dies, and are absent from the final confrontation with Frollo and don't return until the ending.
• True Companions: They were more of a family to Quasimodo than Frollo ever was, even considering themselves to be his guardians.
• Two Guys and a Girl: The trio of gargoyles has two guys (Victor and Hugo) and one girl (Laverne).

Tropes That Apply to Victor:

• Ambiguously Gay: Surprisingly, considering that Hugo is the one unambiguously attracted to a male goat and Victor is more effeminate that he'd be the ambiguous one; but he finishes Laverne's line, "We all have gaped at some Adonis", with, "But then we crave a meal more nourishing to chew"; implying he relates to being attracted to men. But it's not conclusive.
• Apologetic Attacker: Yells down “Sorry!” to a guard whose head he just crushed with a brick.
• British Stuffiness: Victor has a deep British accent, which makes him distinct from the other two and he also has a more sophisticated personality.
• Cowardly Lion: Victor is the most cautious and rational of the trio, but came to his friends' aid in the climax.
• Deadpan Snarker: Victor can also get in on the snark as well, as shown the first time the gargoyles appear.
  Hugo:(coming to life and spitting feathers out of his mouth) Man! I'd thought he'd never leave. I'll be spitting feathers for a week.
  Victor: (coming to life) Well, that's what you get for sleeping with your mouth open.
• Large Ham: When Quasimodo asks where Esmeralda is, he breaks down in tears when he accidentally spills the beans:
  Victor: Oh, it's a lost cause! She could be anywhere: in the stocks, in the dungeon, on the rack!
  • He even manages to paraphrase Shakespeare.
    Victor: Yet if you chip us, will we not flake? If you moisten us, do we not grow moss?
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Victor is the Feminine Boy (the most passive) and Laverne is the Masculine Girl (the most aggressive).
• Nice Guy: Victor isn't as loud as Hugo or snarky as Laverne. He's more level-headed, polite and endearingly naive than the other gargoyles.
• Prone to Tears: He's neurotic, cowardly and sensitive.

Tropes That Apply to Hugo:

• Big Eater: As the fat guy of the trio, he pretty much eats about anything.
• Big Fun: Hugo is the fattest of the Gargoyles and the most fun-loving.
• Bullet Seed: During the battle against Frollo's guards, Hugo chews a rock into gravel and then spits the shards out like machine-gun bullets after imitating an airplane.
• Composite Character: One of three characters to absorb the traits of Pierre Gringoire from the original novel. Although the only thing he took from Gringoire was his attraction to Esmeralda's goat.
• Discount Lesbians: Hugo and Djali are the first same-sex animated Disney couple. It so happens that Hugo's a piece of rock and Djali a goat, so it's forgiven as to why nobody (sane people or zealous Moral Guardians alike) didn't notice it as a massive breakthrough.
• Gratuitous French: "Mon dieu above, she's gotta love a guy like you!"
• Large Ham: He's the brash, immature and flamboyant Plucky Comic Relief.
• More Dakka: Hugo during the Final Battle as he spits rock out of his mouth at high speed at the guards.
• Official Couple: Hugo with Djali by the end of the sequel.
• Straight Gay: He has a thing for Djali (who's male). He's also a fat little gargoyle voiced by Jason Alexander who enjoys fart jokes and spitting on mimes.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Briefly dresses as Esmeralda in "A Guy Like You".

Tropes That Apply to Laverne:

• Cool Old Lady: An old gargoyle who's motherly towards Quasimodo and knows how to crack some jokes.
• Deadpan Snarker: Laverne has a dry, sardonic sense of humor and she's not afraid to show it. Especially in regards to Hugo.
• Friend to All Living Things: To her dismay, birds love her way too much. Though it becomes useful during the Cathedral fight in the climax where she sends the birds to attack Frollo's guards.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's stingy and insults her two other gargoyle buddies from time to time, but she's wise and always comforts and advises Quasimodo when he needs it.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Laverne is the Masculine Girl (the most aggressive) and Victor is the Feminine Boy (the most sensitive).
• The Napoleon: The shortest of the trio, and the most sassy and short-tempered.
• The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female gargoyle.
• Team Mom: Laverne acts as a mother figure to Quasimodo.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Laverne also has this relationship with the pigeons that hang around her. Despite constantly telling them to shoo for annoying her, they answer her call in the climax.

Djali

Voiced by: Frank Welker

Djali is a supporting character in the first film and its sequel. He is the goat who is constantly assisting Esmeralda and dances along with her to earn coins because of poverty.

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• Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: He wears a golden earring on his right ear.
• Action Pet: Goat kick!
• Amplified Animal Aptitude: A lot of people initially assumed that Djali was created for the Disney film, especially since he's rather animated, intelligent, and emotive for an ostensibly normal animal. Nope; all of it is carried over from Hugo's original work and just a little easier to see on-screen.
• Discount Lesbians: Hugo and Djali are the first same-sex animated Disney couple. It so happens that Hugo's a piece of rock and Djali a goat, so it's forgiven as to why nobody (sane people or zealous Moral Guardians alike) didn't notice it as a massive breakthrough.
• Gender Flip: Djali was female in the novel.
• Kid-Appeal Character: Djali is one of the very few characters in the entire film that was designed with children in mind with a noticeably cute appearance. Since the film's release, he managed to star in a few book tie-ins that was Lighter and Softer than the original movie.
• Loyal Animal Companion: He's with Esmeralda no matter what.
• Non-Human Sidekick: To Esmeralda.
• Official Couple: With Hugo by the end of the sequel.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: Like any goat, Djali has a real KICK to anyone who deserves it.
• Team Pet: For the good guys of course.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Djaii has a craving for wooden carvings.
• Undying Loyalty: Once again to Esmeralda as a Loyal Animal Companion.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He hates heights.

Achilles

Captain Phoebus' horse, trained to help his master in battle. And yes, the 'heel' pun was entirely intentional.

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• Ass Kicks You: On his master's order, Achilles restrains the Brutish Guard by sitting on him. First in the beginning of the movie, and one more time in the final battle.
• Cool Horse: He's Phoebus' warhorse.
• Hooked Up Afterwards: Immediately begins a relationship with an unnamed, female horse at the end of the sequel.
• Loyal Animal Companion: Again, to Phoebus.
• Running Gag: Whenever Phoebus said, "Achilles, sit." The horse immediately sits on whoever is closest to him.
• Silent Snarker: Gives a lot of snark (facially) in the sequel.

Judge Claude Frollo

• See his separate page.

The Archdeacon

"You can't right all the wrongs in this world by yourself."

Voiced by: David Ogden Stiers (first film), Jim Cummings (second film) ^{Other voice actors} Miguel Ángel Jenner (European Spanish), Edgar Fruitier (Canadian French), Dominique Tirmont (European French), Tito Resendiz (Latin American Spanish, speaking), Alejandro Villeli (Latin American Spanish, singing)

The clergyman at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He acts as a Foil to Frollo, being the moral voice of reason and Good Shepherd.

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• Actually Pretty Funny: When he speaks to Esmeralda while she's imprisoned in Notre Dame, he gives off an amused smile when he mentions her skirmish with Frollo's guards during the Festival of Fools.
• All-Loving Hero: He is outraged at the murder of Quasimodo's mother (a minority that the populace generally considers to be vermin) and demands that Frollo spare the (outrageously deformed) baby Quasimodo.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Almost every interaction between the Archdeacon and Judge Frollo involves the former stabbing holes in in the latter’s self-delusions.
  ’’And for one time in his life of power and control; Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul.’’
• Badass Boast: Remarkably mild, but no less firm.
  Don't worry, child. Minister Frollo learned years ago to respect the sanctity of the Church.
• Badass Pacifist: Standing up to and rebuking a furious man with armed soldiers at his back takes guts.
• Badass Preacher: Stands up to Frollo and his soldiers with nothing but his faith in God, his love of humanity and his adamantine balls.
• Big Good: As the Archdeacon, he is the highest (mortal) authority on the side of the angels.
• Big Damn Heroes: He prevents Frollo from drowning baby Quasimodo in the prologue.
  Clopin: STOP! cried the Archdeacon.
  Archdeacon: See here the innocent blood you have spilt/On the steps of Notre Dame.
• Children Raise You: "Care for the child and raise it as your own." One can only assume he hoped fatherhood would mellow Frollo out.
• Christianity is Catholic: After all, he's in charge of the Notre Dame, a Catholic church.
• The Conscience: Effectively acts as Frollo's conscience. Frollo tossing him aside at the end, could be considered him throwing away his morals in pursuit of vengeance.
• Decomposite Character: The Archdeacon is basically the good side of the sympathetic Anti-Villain Archdeacon Frollo from the original novel, with the evil side being Judge Claude Frollo.
• The Dreaded: A personal arch nemesis version for Frollo. The judge clearly fears his influence to the point he places armed guards outside Notre Dame to keep the Arch Deacon from intervening in Esmeralda's execution.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": "Arch Deacon" or some other title pertaining to his vocation.
• Formerly Fat: In the brief appearance he had in the sequel, he is shown to have become skinny.
• Good Counterpart: Easily this to Frollo. Both are very religious men, but Frollo is a more corrupt example while the Archdeacon demonstrates true piety. This yin-yang symbolism also shows in the fact that the Archdeacon is effectively the only thing that prevents Frollo from indulging in villainy in a completely unobstructed manner until the climax.
• Good Shepherd: The Archdeacon is well named; he's the most benevolent character in the story. A lesser man would give a minister with armed soldiers what he wanted but he denies Frollo with a simple rebuke and assures Esmeralda of her safety. He'll put the fear of God into anyone who violates the sanctity of the Cathedral.
• Light Is Good: He wears all white, and is the kindest character in the movie aside from Quasi himself.
• Morality Chain: He keeps Frollo restrained to a certain degree of civility, something Frollo dislikes greatly; persuading him to spare baby Quasimodo and enforcing sanctuary for Esmeralda. Frollo breaks the chain in the climax by violently throwing the Archdeacon down a flight of stairs.
• Not Allowed to Grow Old: Averted. Like Frollo, he's noticeably aged since the prologue; his hair is dark grey when he appears in the prologue but white in the present day.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: The man in charge of Notre Dame will make sure everyone acts civilly within the cathedral.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a short one in the opening song to Frollo about how he's a hypocrite and will never escape God's righteous judgment.
• Related in the Adaptation: His brother is Quasimodo's father in the stage version.
• Seeking Sanctuary: It's thanks to him (and to a lesser extent, Phoebus, who invoked it for her in the first place) that Esmeralda can do this in Notre Dame. Otherwise, Frollo would think nothing of dragging her out and then arresting her.
• Turbulent Priest: The Archdeacon shows up to put a stop to some of Judge Frollo's more morally questionable acts, such as drowning babies and violating the Church's sanctuary law. He also attempts to interfere with Esmeralda's execution before Frollo's soldiers prevent him from coming outside the cathedral.
• What You Are in the Dark: He originally gets under Frollo's skin by convincing him that this is NEVER the case. God is always watching, and so he is never in such a situation where "no one will know".
  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!
• You Can Run, but You Can't Hide: The Archdeacon rebukes Frollo for being a hypocrite and how God is watching everything. He even lampshades this in the What You Are in the Dark trope above.
• You're Insane!: Effectively calls Frollo this when he attacks Notre Dame after Quasimodo interferes in Esmeralda's execution. Frollo, too far gone to his hatred and insanity, just ignores him.
  Archdeacon: Frollo, have you gone mad?! I will not tolerate this assault on the house of God!
  Frollo: Silence, you old fool! (Frollo throws the Archdeacon down a flight of stairs) The hunchback and I have unfinished business to attend to, and this time, you will not interfere!

Clopin Trouillefou

"Listen. [The bells of Notre Dame are] beautiful, no? So many colors of sound, so many changing moods."

Played by: Paul Kandel (movie) ^{Other voice actors} Jesús Castejón (European Spanish), Jens Janke (German), Erik Liberman (US), Mario Fraser (Canadian French), Bernard Alane (European French), Julio Sosa (Latin American Spanish), Momi Levy (Hebrew)

Clopin is the leader of the Roma and is exceedingly protective of their headquarters, the Court of Miracles. Clopin is unusual for a prominent Disney character because of his neutrality towards both good and evil. He narrates the movie from start to finish, and he sings some of the movie's songs, "The Bells of Notre Dame", "Topsy Turvy", and "The Court of Miracles".

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• Acrofatic: While Clopin looks skinny as a pole, in the brief shirtless scene we get where Clopin changes into an executioner in "Court of Miracles", he has a clear muffin top. Doesn't stop him from jumping or dancing on poles though.
• Adaptational Comic Relief: In the novel, Clopin is an extremely violent and roguish Anti-Hero. Here, he's a colorful, over-the-top jester - well, as his public persona anyway.
• Adaptational Heroism: Overall, he's a much more positive character than his book counterpart. It's certainly a far cry from sentencing an innocent poet to death because he failed a pickpocketing test.
• Adaptational Wimp: In the original book, Clopin was an absolute beast in combat, defeating huge numbers of enemies singlehandedly and only being brought down by a gunshot, which was new technology at the time that was reserved for the military. This version of the character, while certainly no pushover, isn't shown to be the powerhouse his literary counterpart was.
• All-Knowing Singing Narrator: The movie begins and ends with him singing this story to a group of children.
• Ambiguously Evil: It's really hard to get a handle on his morality. Did he declare Quasimodo the King of Fools as a Pet the Dog moment to get the crowd on Quasimodo's side, or was it just to have a good show? While his attempt to hang Quasi and Phoebus is seemingly for the protection of his people, Clopin refuses to even give them a chance to defend themselves, seems gleeful at the idea at hanging them, and only laughs the whole thing off when Esmeralda tells him of their innocence; it's even implied that this isn't the first time he's done something like this ("that's what they all say"). Murky moments like these contrast with his unambiguous Pet the Dog moments, such as when he leads the crowd in cheering on Quasimodo in the end.
• Beneath the Mask: In public, he wears a literal jester's mask, costume, and persona to seem friendly and non-threatening to the Parisians. On his own turf in the Court of Miracles, he is much more dangerous; a ruthless and protective leader who will hang any intruders he suspects might be a threat to his people.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Is a wisecracking jester on the surface, but he's not The Leader of Paris' thieves and Roma for nothing.
• Black Comedy: Clopin seems pretty fond of it, joking around the entire time he's preparing to hang Quasi and Phoebus.
  Clopin: Gather 'round, everybody! There's good "noose" tonight!
• Changing Clothes Is a Free Action: While preparing to execute Quasimodo and Phoebus for trespassing into the Court of Miracles, Clopin changes outfits from his casual outfit to a replica of Judge Frollo's robes to a shirtless executioner's outfit in the blink of an eye.
• Cloudcuckoolander: One moment he's all over the place and absolutely ecstatic at the Feast of Fools, and the other overjoyed while about to hang Phoebus and Quasimodo under the suspicion they are spies. Luckily Esmeralda stops him before this could take way.
• Composite Character: In the original novel, Clopin was not the leader of the Roma. They had their own leader (known as the Duke of Egypt) who answered to Clopin as Paris' King of Thieves, Beggars and Vagabonds. In the film, Clopin is also the leader of the Roma.
  • Clopin is also one of three characters who absorb some traits of Pierre Gringoire from the novel, receiving his love of drama, storytelling and poetry.
• Cool Mask: Wears a fancy magenta mask that covers his eyes and nose during the opening sequence and the Feast of Fools, but takes it off for the rest of the film.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Played for Laughs.
  Esmeralda: These men [Quasimodo and Phoebus] aren't spies, they're our friends.
  Clopin: [incredulous] Why didn't they say so?
  Phoebus and Quasi: [ungagged] We did say so!
• Deadpan Snarker: Clopin has a rather macabre sense of humour.
  Clopin: Any last words?
  Phoebus and Quasimodo (both gagged): [unintelligible mumbling]
  Clopin: That's what they all say.
• Entertainingly Wrong: He is correct that Quasimodo and Phoebus were in the Court of Miracles because of Frollo. But he's wrong that they were there to antagonize the Roma; they were really there to warn them. Even so, Clopin is still proven right when Frollo finds them.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Clopin's jester outfit consists of a tunic and a pair of leggings with asymmetric pattern on it, and he always wears only one earring.
• Feet-First Introduction: After Phoebus and Quasi have been ambushed, the first we see of Clopin are his feet, before introducing a rather different side of him.
• Foil: Frollo and Clopin are both high-ranking men; one being the minister of justice, the other the leader of the Romani and Parisian underworld. Both won't shy away from committing murder; but Frollo is a racist, holier-than-thou bigot who sees Roma as inferior, which is why he wants them all dead. Clopin genuinely cares about his people, and his determination to keep them safe drives him to more extreme measures. Frollo also acts more poised and regal before his insanity really starts to show; while Clopin is lively, and always appearing a bit off his rocker, but as a whole is a lot saner than Frollo.
• Friend to All Children: He is seen in the beginning telling the movie's story through puppets to some children. At the end we also see him pick up a little girl while bringing out a puppet of Frollo to play with her.
• The Gadfly: During the Feast of Fools, Clopin is always hounding Quasimodo, who's trying to stay out of sight.
• Good Is Not Soft: He's the Big Good for the Roma and a Friend to All Children, but he is ready to kill those he thinks are Frollo's spies to protect his people.
• Hanging Judge: If he thinks you're working for Frollo, you will be hanged.
• Hero Antagonist: He becomes one when he catches Quasi and Phoebus in the Court of Miracles. He then tries to hang them, but Esmeralda comes in on the last minute and saves them.
• He Who Fights Monsters: He takes some extreme measures to protect his people from Frollo. Lampshaded when he dresses as Frollo when placing Phoebus and Quasimodo on 'trial'.
• Hidden Depths: When he's in front of a racially biased crowd, he acts like a silly fool who cracks jokes, pleases the crowds and earns money by pretending to be their perception of what a 'gypsy' is. In his real life, he's The Leader of the Roma and thieves in Paris. It's also interesting that when he first meets Quasimodo he instantly tames the crowd by pretending that it's all a part of the show. He's cunning and manipulative with people.
• Judge, Jury, and Executioner:
  "Justice is swift in The Court of Miracles,
  I am the lawyers and judge all in one!
  We like to get the trial over with quickly
  Because it's the sentence that's really the fun!"
• Large Ham: Clopin is all over the place, singing, dancing, doing flips, changing costumes in a matter of seconds, and arguing with his puppet. Of course, he is also the Master of Ceremonies of the Feast of Fools, so being a Large Ham is pretty much mandatory.
• Loveable Rogue: While Clopin will execute people he thinks are a threat to the Roma, his worries aren't exactly unfounded, and is still a great deal nobler than his literary counterpart. He cares deeply about his people and is a Friend to All Children.
• Monster Clown: A rare noble example, Clopin is a jester by day who employs the carnival imagery, puppetry, and lively performance style of his act in a public execution — though to be fair, he thought his would-be victims were spies working against the Roma, and Frollo was burning down Paris to find Esmeralda at the time.
• Never My Fault: Played for Laughs. When Esmeralda reveals that the "spies" he's about to hang are actually friends, Clopin incredulously asks why didn't they say so? Quasi and Phoebus retort that they did say so before he gagged and condemned them anyway.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Clopin has a habit of getting extremely close in people's personal bubble, often in combination with him popping out of no where.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: He plays dumb to entertain the Parisians, but is completely capable of being cutthroat in order to protect his people.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: Mocks Quasimodo's hunched stature twice - once behind his back after pulling him on stage during the festival, and again when Quasi and Phoebus are captured in the Court of Miracles.
• Purple Is Powerful: Clopin is the leader of the Paris' underworld, and has a purple outfit to match.
• Race Lift: In contrast to Esmeralda, whose literary counterpart was a case of Ambiguously Brown calling into question if her portrayal here is Romani by birth or adoption, Clopin's literary counterpart was a Frenchman, the King of Thieves, Beggars and Vagabonds, with the Roma having their own leader, who in turn answered to Clopin.
• Shirtless Scene: He has one for a split second during his song in The Court of Miracles, when he assumes the role of "executioner."
• The Social Expert: Clopin knows how to play a crowd, and one that is prejudiced against Roma as well. He's quick to calm the appalled masses and even cheer for Quasimodo as the new King of Fools, when they were previously disgusted by his appearance.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Clopin eventually dies in the novel but survives in the Disney movie in order to complete his role as the All-Knowing Singing Narrator.
• The Storyteller: The introductory sequence is presented as Clopin singing the story of Quasimodo's adoption to a brace of children.
• Third-Person Person: To judge by his opening narration, although this may have been included solely so the audience would know what his name was (since he isn't called by name at any other point in the movie).
• What the Hell Is That Accent?: Justified. His voice actor said Clopin's strange accent is actually a mixture of different accents from all over Europe, in keeping with his nomadic background.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Wears a skirt at one point during "Topsy Turvy".

Frollo's Guards

Voiced by: Jim Cummings, Patrick Pinney, Bill Farmer

Soldiers who serve Frollo, they act as minor antagonists during the film.

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• Battering Ram: The visored soldiers use one of the beams Quasimodo dropped to break down the cathedral doors in the climax.
• Butt-Monkey: Esmeralda puts them through hell during her escape at the end of the Feast of Fools. The creative counter-attacks they get from Quasimodo and the gargoyles during the climax aren't kind to them either.
• Dark Is Evil: They wear black armor and don't hesitate to follow Frollo's orders, no matter how despicable.
• Dark Is Not Evil: They retain their dark uniforms in the sequel, but now they're working for the heroes and act more professionally.
• Death from Above: One guard gets a brick dropped on his head by Victor. Then comes the molten metal...
• Disney Villain Death: A few of them get this during the final battle when Quasimodo and the gargoyles are dropping bricks and blocks on them from the balconies of Notre Dame.
• Doom Troops: The visored guards. See the entry for Elite Mooks below.
• Elite Mooks: The soldiers with the visors (pictured above) are far more competent and menacing than the rank and file guards. Apart from very few moments in the climax, they suffer no slapstick, they have no incompetent moments, they are far more brutal, effective, and cruel, and most distinctively, terrifying; they are treated with as much fear as Frollo himself. Even during the climax, they're still effective as they're the ones breaking down the door and despite all that Quasimodo and the gargoyles throw at them, they manage to make a big enough hole in the doors for Frollo to enter. ^note This makes a deal of sense, as they wear the more expensive sallet helms, compared to the more common kettle hats of their more incompetent comrades. They're better trained, and so get the better equipment.
• Evil Counterpart: All of them are villainous foils to Phoebus. While he's willing to defy Frollo to do what's right, they do what their leader commands them to do, whether it's right or wrong.
• Faceless Goons: The visored soldiers have visors, obviously, and more menacingly. It is averted with the other guards though.
• Heel–Face Turn: Working under Phoebus instead of Frollo in the sequel, though a number of them might have been arrested for crimes against the church.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: The visored Soldiers are good shots; they give a tight warning shot to the Romani 20 years ago, and it takes one arrow to drop an armored Phoebus, without hitting Frollo's horse no less.
• Jerkass: Even when not serving Frollo, they're not nice people. They encourage the entire crowd to humiliate Quasimodo at the Feast of Fools.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Even the Elite Mooks stop trying to break down the cathedral doors when molten metal is poured down on them.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Shortly after humiliating Quasimodo, they get a taste of their own medicine when Esmeralda outwits them at every turn as they try to chase her, making them look like incompetent idiots.
• Mook Carryover: Underlings of Judge Claude Frollo in the first movie, then of Captain Phoebus (and possibly whoever his new boss is) in the sequel, at least those who were spared punishment for that matter.
• Mooks: Frollo's interchangeable minions, specifically.
• Mook Horror Show: During the climax, as they attack the cathedral, we get their terrified perspective of some of Quasi and the gargoyles' defenses, such as the attacking birds and the raining molten copper.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: The visored Elite Mooks have red colors in their uniforms in addition to black.
• Would Hurt a Child: After Phoebus refused to burn down the miller's house with his family in it (children included), they did it for him.

Brutish Guard & Oafish Guard

Voiced by: Corey Burton (Brutish Guard) and Bill Fagerbakke (Oafish Guard) ^{Other voice actors}Yves Corbeil (Brutish Guard) and Bernard Fortin (Oafish Guard) (Canadian French); Francis Sarthour (Brutish Guard) and Jean-Michel Farcy (Oafish Guard) (European French); Raúl Carballeda (Brutish Guard), Arturo Casanova (Oafish Guard) (Latin American Spanish)

Two of Frollo's more featured soldiers aside from Phoebus.

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• Arch-Enemy: While Frollo may be the Big Bad, the Brutish Guard is this to Phoebus. Their first encounter has Phoebus stop the Brutish Guard, along with his Oafish counterpart, from harassing Esmeralda, and humiliating him in the process. While he is forced to serve under Phoebus for a while, after Phoebus disobeys Frollo's orders the Brutish Guard eagerly and immediately takes him out, and he is given Phoebus's position after Phoebus escapes. In the final battle, he and Phoebus square off with Phoebus not only beating him but humiliating in the same way he did when they first met (by have Achilles sit on him). While the Brutish Guard was following Frollo's orders, his rivalry with Phoebus comes across as more personal.
• Brick Joke: The Brutish Guard gets sat on by Achilles in Phoebus' first scene. During their duel, Djali kicks the same guard under Achilles. Guess what happens.
  Phoebus: Achilles, sit.
• Bumbling Henchmen Duo: They are a pair of guards working for Frollo who are always together, often getting in humiliating situations (mostly thanks to Phoebus).
• Butt-Monkey: Their attempt to arrest Esmeralda results in them being humiliated by Phoebus and Achilles, they embarrass themselves during the Feast of Fools by trying to follow Esmeralda by Crowd Surfing, and they get plenty of hits even before the Final Battle.
• Crowd Surfing: When Esmeralda evades them by jumping from a stage onto the crowd and by being helpfully carried away, both of the guards attempt to follow her this way, only for the crowd to give them space for a rough landing.
• Dirty Cop: They're essentially the medieval version of this trope. Their job is to protect the citizens of Paris, but they abuse their power, and Esmeralda accuses them of frequently stealing from others.
• The Dragon: The Brutish Guard is promoted to Frollo's second-in-command after Phoebus defects.
• Establishing Character Moment: In their first appearance, they walk past Phoebus (who's hiding his armor under his cape) and ignore him when he tries to ask them directions. Then they attempt to arrest Esmeralda who's street dancing, arrogantly accusing the Romani of stealing money without evidence to back this up. When Phoebus makes Achilles sit on the Brutish Guard, the Oafish Guard pulls out his dagger to teach "the peasant" a lesson, but when Phoebus reveals his military rank, the guards turn instantly submissive, loudly telling people to make way for the captain as they escort him to the Palace of Justice. This paints them as bootlicking bullies who act haughtily with anyone else but higher authority figures.
• Evil Sounds Deep: The Brutish Guard as voiced by Corey Burton, who even briefly seems to channel Christopher Lee when he tells Frollo that Esmeralda escaped Notre Dame.
• Fat and Skinny: The Oafish Guard and the Brutish Guard, respectively, because they are nameless and it helps to tell them apart.
• Fat Bastard: The Oafish Guard is an obese and corrupt guardsman.
• Heel–Face Turn: Implied in the sequel. A Freeze-Frame Bonus shows that they are among the guards working for Phoebus. Though it's unclear whether or not they still bear grudge against the protagonists.
• Hypocrite: They harass Esmeralda and accuse her of stealing money while having the gall to call her a troublemaker. According to Esmeralda, they also abuse their authority by engaging in deprivation themselves.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: While Frollo is a competent and intimidating villain, these two are morons who are usually easily outmatched by Esmeralda and Phoebus.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: Both have a grudge against Phoebus in a more personal way than Frollo.
• Jerkass: Even if their racially-charged hassling of Esmeralda didn't make them qualify as this, them starting the public humiliation Quasimodo suffers at the Feast of Fools definitely does.
• Kick the Dog: When Quasimodo is being cheered by the crowd as the King of Fools, the Oafish Guard throws a tomato in his face, after which the other guards and then the crowd follow suit.
  Oafish Guard: You think he's ugly now? Watch this. [throws the tomato in Quasi's face] Now that's ugly!
• Lancer vs. Dragon: Brutish Guard faces off with Phoebus during the climax after multiple confrontations throughout the film. Oafish Guard gets punched unconscious just as the battle starts.
• Lean and Mean: The Brutish Guard is lean of build and a massive douche.
• Mook Lieutenant: The Brutish Guard is given the charge after Phoebus turns on Frollo, who addresses him as captain during the climax. The Oafish Guard is called lieutenant by Phoebus when the captain first asserts himself.
• Mook Promotion: The Brutish Guard is promoted to captain after Phoebus defects.
• No Name Given: They're called nothing but by their military ranks in the movie, with the credits naming them as Brutish Guard and Oafish Guard.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: They're mostly presented as targets of slapstick, but they're still ruthless enforcers of Frollo's will. They're the ones who initiate the cruel public humiliation poor Quasimodo goes through, subdue Phoebus when he turns against Frollo and would have executed him on the spot if not for Esmeralda's interference.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: They harass Esmeralda in their first appearance, baselessly accusing her of stealing the money she earned with her street dancing and scoffing at the thought of a Romani having worked for it.
  Brutish Guard: Gypsies don't earn money.
  Oafish Guard: They steal it.
• Produce Pelting: The Oafish Guard begins the one Quasimodo's put through by throwing in his face a tomato to make him ugly enough of a King of Fools.
• Simpleton Voice: The Oafish Guard has one that some viewers might be able to recognize on a second viewing...
• Small Role, Big Impact: The Brutish Guard informs Frollo that Esmeralda escaped, setting off the entire second half of the film.
• Solid Cartoon Facial Stubble: The Oafish Guard has a permanant five o'clock shadow, compared to his mustashioed comrade.
• Tap on the Head: The Brutish Guard subdues Phoebus at the mill by hitting him on the back of the head with the pommel of a sword. Oafish Guard gets hit in the head by Phoebus as the soldiers try to invade the cathedral, which allows Phoebus to seize his keys and free himself.

The Fourth Gargoyle

Voiced by: N/A

A gargoyle that comes to life at the very end of the story.

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• Dark Is Not Evil: It is the most fearsome-looking gargoyle in the story, but it helps take down Frollo.
• Dragged Off to Hell: Apparently does this to Frollo as they both fall from the cathedral.
• Four Is Death: It is the fourth gargoyle that comes to life, and is the only one shown to unambiguously kill someone.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Its eyes glow with a menacing yellow light.
• Horrifying the Horror: It is the only thing in the setting that's able to scare the likes of Frollo to the point of madness.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It has been interpreted as everything from a simple statue that only looks alive from Frollo's perspective, a magical creature, Satan, or even God himself in a physical form any pious Christian would be completely TERRIFIED of!
• Our Gargoyles Rock: This one is an actual gargoyle (as in, it functions as a water duct), unlike Victor, Hugo, and Laverne, who, being statues, are technically grotesques. And while they're played for comedy and cuteness, the fourth is a thing of fear and righteous judgement. The fact that the Choir sings "Kyrie Eleison" (Lord have Mercy) in a high yet serious and cold tone when it comes to life subtly hints that Frollo’s deeds are so grave that God has descended from Heaven to punish Frollo personally.
• Scary Teeth: This thing has two huge, sharp fangs on the top and bottom of its mouth, making it look like a saber-toothed tiger.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Is only shown in the movie for five seconds at most. Those five seconds end up being Frollo's last.
• Taking You with Me: It breaks itself off of the cathedral so that it can kill Frollo.
• Throat Light: Its eyes and the inside of its mouth appear to be glowing with molten light.
• The Voiceless: It doesn't have any lines of dialogue, and just growls when it sees Frollo.

From the Sequel

Madellaine

Voiced by: Jennifer Love Hewitt ^{Other voice actors}Aline Pinsonneault (Canadian French), Laura Préjean (European French)

Madellaine is the assistant of circus ringmaster/master thief Sarousch and the romantic love interest of Quasimodo.

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• Anti-Villain: Prior to her High-Heel–Face Turn, Madellaine was a thief who stole for Sarousch but genuinely felt remorse for her actions and only stole because she had nowhere else to go.
• Ballet: One of her talents at Sarousch's circus.
• Beast and Beauty: The Beauty (a Lovely Assistant) to Quasi's Beast (The Grotesque).
• Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason she falls for Quasimodo is he treats her with genuine respect and affection.
• Becoming the Mask: Madellaine initially befriends Quasimodo so she can find out where he keeps La Fidele (under Sarousch's orders), but comes to fall in love with him.
• Birds of a Feather: With Quasimodo. They're both nice, dorky, and (initially) extremely passive; they both also wear a green outfit and were raised by an abusive adoptive figure who served as the Big Bad in their respective films. They both also share a constant active imagination and prefer to see the world with their other senses and not their eyes.
• Canon Foreigner: Only exists in the sequel of the Disney movie version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".
• Character Development: Like Quasimodo, Madellaine starts off as an Extreme Doormat in regards to her abusive adoptive father. But, her growing romance with Quasi helps her to gain a backbone.
• Circus Brat: Sarousch took her into his circus.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To Esmeralda. Both are love interests for Quasimodo (Esmeralda was the First Love, Madellaine was the Second Love), their lives were filled with struggles and fear, both have green eyes, are the deuteragonist to Quasi's protagonist (Esmeralda in the first movie, Madellaine in the sequel), they have a Birds of a Feather relationship with their respective husbands who are good men, and are nice girls. But there are some differences:
  • First, their existence (meta-wise in the story) — Esmeralda is from the book version of the story, while Madellaine is a Canon Foreigner.
  • Second, in respect to their relationship with the Big Bads of the two movies — Esmeralda knew of Frollo's reputation and didn't hide her hatred of the man, but Madellaine was raised by Sarousch and hid her great dislike for him.
  • Third, how their relationship with Quasimodo began and developed — Esmeralda wasn't frightened by his appearance, had no kind of secret agenda in getting close to Quasimodo, but was oblivious of his romantic interest in her, but they now have a close brother-sister relationship; Madellaine was initially afraid of Quasimodo because of his appearance (again, initially), got close to him to get the La Fidele bell (per orders from her abusive adopted father) but fell in love with him, and by the end of the sequel they are now husband and wife.
  • Fourth, they went in opposite directions of Character Development — Esmeralda started off as aggressive and confrontational, but gradually softens up to a degree, while Madellaine began as passive and insecure, but gradually became more aggressive.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: Accidentally bumps into people and falls off a tight rope, and still has a smile on her face.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her parents either died or abandoned her as a child, forcing her to become a Street Urchin. Madellaine stole coins from Sarousch when she was a little girl to avoid starving. Sarousch caught her but was impressed with her enough to take her in and raise her as his own, eventually making her his assistant in circus performing and thievery.
• Deuteragonist: In the sequel, she shares the spotlight with Quasi.
• Dumb Blonde: Subverted. Sarousch thinks of her as nothing more than eyecandy but she is not and has proven to be an intelligent person.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Doesn't like being called "Trinket" by Sarousch.
• Foil: To Quasimodo, despite their many similarities. Despite having an outwardly ugly appearance, Quasimodo is a Nice Guy, while Madellaine may be a beauty but is actually (at least to herself) a horrible person. He accidentally leads Frollo to Esmeralda while Madellaine does help Sarousch steal the La Fidele, even if she regrets it later. Quasimodo has no recollection from his parents except from Frollo's lies while Madellaine was an orphan when Sarousch found her, implying she might have some memories of her birth parents.
• Friend to All Children: Implied. Seeing Quasimodo playing with Zephyr allows Madellaine to see there is more to the bell ringer.
• Genki Girl: Mostly seen in the falling in love montage. Before and after that, Madellaine has a lot of spunk and enthusiasm.
• High-Heel–Face Turn: She never wanted to steal for Sarousch in the first place and is presumably the sole female member. It wasn't until she fell for Quasimodo that she confidently quit working for Sarousch.
• Honey Trap: Sarousch's Evil Plan to steal the La Fidele is to make Madellaine sweet-talk Quasimodo. She ends up falling for him for real.
• In Love with the Mark: Originally, she was ordered by Sarousch to get close to Quasimodo so he and his thieving band could steal La Fidele. However, she ends up falling for Quasimodo for real and was going to stop with the plot, but Sarousch threatened to hurt Quasi if she didn't comply.
• Justified Criminal: As a child, she only stole from Sarousch because she was a homeless and hungry orphan trying to survive.
• Lovely Assistant: To Sarousch. He makes it very clear to her that her job is to "smile and look pretty".
• Love Redeems: Downplayed. Madellaine was already disgusted with her adoptive father's crimes but she truly made a turn after meeting Quasimodo.
• Meaningful Name: In Aramaic, her name was originally "magdala" which means "tower". A possible foreshadowing that she lives in the bell tower after she and Quasimodo get together.
• Nice Girl: Sweet, innocent, kind, and loving.
• Official Couple: With Quasimodo by the end of the sequel.
• Rags to Riches: Downplayed. She mentions being a homeless orphan in her youth before being adopted into Sarousch's traveling thief group. At the end of the sequel, she moves in with Quasimodo.
• Reformed Criminal: Renounces her thieving past after meeting Quasi.
• Second Love: To Quasimodo. The first was Esmeralda.
• Shrinking Violet: She seems somewhat of a shy nature, but warms up to Quasimodo quickly once he shows her his world.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Begins to develop feelings for Quasimodo because of his close relationship with Zephyr and kind heart.
• Spell My Name With An S: Instead of one "L", she spells her name with two.
• Street Urchin: Before Sarousch adopted her, she lived on the street.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: The Huge Girl to Quasimodo's Tiny Guy. She's taller than her husband and he only reaches around her waist, but he's more muscular than her.
• Token Good Teammate: The only one of Sarousch's circus that is ashamed of their thieving ways.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Esmeralda's Tomboy. Esmeralda uses her fists and weapons and Madellaine uses her ballerina skills.
• Took a Level in Badass: In two ways.
  • She starts off as a quietly obedient "trinket" to Sarousch. Spending time with Quasimodo allowed her to grow a spine and fiercely tell Sarousch that she is not his "trinket" and Quasimodo isn't a monster.
  • Her first screentime has her doing a tightrope performance (which is a few feet above the ground) and ending up falling down after only a few seconds. Come the climax, she is able to walk on a makeshift tightrope (one end being held by Quasimodo) and way higher than the one at the beginning. She not only manages to walk it without falling, but she also manages to save Zephyr and carry him while standing on top of the tightrope.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The Hot Wife (an extremely good-looking woman) to Quasimodo's Ugly Guy (hunchbacked, deformed, and buck-teeth).
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She's shown to have a fear of spiders.

Zephyr

Voiced by: Haley Joel Osment ^{Other voice actors} Xavier Dolan (Canadian French, speaking), Simon Houle-Gauthier (Canadian French, singing), Mathias Mella (European French)

Zephyr is the rambunctious son of Esmeralda and Phoebus. He is close friends with Quasimodo.

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• Affection-Hating Kid: He has a clear and vocal dislike of romance. Whenever he sees displays of affection, his response is a quiet, but audible, "Yuck."
• Big Guy, Little Guy: The Little Guy to Quasimodo's Big Guy; they're great friends.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Averted. Even with the occasional child-like mischief, Zephyr never acts selfish or insensitive to his parents or Quasimodo.
• Canon Foreigner: Neither Phoebus nor Esmeralda had children in the original novel.
• Circus Brat: Invoked. Zephyr wants to join the circus and tries, but it doesn't go as planned.
• The Cutie: We see his energy and him falling asleep.
• Hollywood Genetics: As detailed in the main page, he is the son of the dark-skinned, ethnically Romani Esmeralda and blond, Caucasian adonis Phoebus but is inexplicably as white and blond as his father. Dark melanin pigmentation genes are stronger than light ones, and though not entirely dominant, this should result in a skin tone slightly lighter than Esmeralda's. And blond hair is genetically completely implausible with Esmeralda's dark hair being a dominant gene over the recessive gene of Phoebus' blond hair.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He (a pre-adolescent child) has a strong bond with Quasimodo (a man who is roughly the same as his parents).
• Keet: His mother even tells him he needs to slow down.
• Kid-Appeal Character: His dream is entering the circus, he dislikes romance, and has a lot of energy.
• Meaningful Name: His name refers to energetic behavior, friendship with Quasimodo, and means "Wind God", like his father's name means "Sun God".
• Military Brat: He is the son of Phoebus, a soldier in the French Army.
• Nice Guy: Very sweet and friendly, with the usual dislike of romance for someone his age.
• Pint-Sized Kid: He's around or lower than his parents' waists.
• Shipper on Deck: When he, his parents, and Quasimodo are at the circus and are watching Madellaine perform, Zephyr mistakenly refers to her as Quasimodo's girlfriend.
• Snooping Little Kid: What sets the climax of the sequel is Zephyr sneaking into Sarousch's boat and listening to his plans.
• Spanner in the Works: Had Zephyr not been snooping on Sarousch, the villain would never have used him for bait. This means that Madellaine wouldn't have redeemed herself by saving him and her adoptive father wouldn't have been arrested.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Except for his eyes, Zephyr looks exactly like Phoebus.
• Tritagonist: In the sequel according to his Disney wiki page and the fact his parents don't have a bigger role like in the previous film.

Sarousch

Voiced by: Michael McKean ^{Other voice actors}Denis Mercier (Canadian French), Edgar Givry (European French)

Sarousch is the circus ringmaster, master thief and the main antagonist in the sequel. He is also the abusive father figure to Madellaine.

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• Abusive Parents: Sarousch has no problem emotionally abusing and manipulating Madellaine if it helps to get what he wants.
• Ambiguously Gay: The way Sarouch looks at himself in the mirror and kisses his own reflection. His effeminate mannerisms and speech patterns suggest this. Although he could just be so in love with himself that he has no desire for sexual companionship from either female or male companions.
• Bald of Evil: He's the Big Bad and he has to wear a wig.
• Beauty Is Bad: Subverted. He's not as attractive as he appears onstage; his good looks are a product of makeup, a wig and a truss.
• Big Bad: Of the sequel; the Evil Plan to steal the bell is his idea.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Nowhere near as scary, sinister, intimidating, or threatening as his predecessor Frollo, who before his Karmic Death in the first film was twice Sarouch's age.
• Broken Pedestal: For Zephyr after the former sees him trying to steal La Fidele.
• Canon Foreigner: Again, he's not in the original.
• Character Catchphrase: "Lovely."
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Sarousch is the leader of a band of thieves posing as a traveling circus while Frollo was Paris' judge with an army of soldiers at his disposal. Sarousch is motivated by Greed while Frollo was a Knight Templar who longed to exterminate from the population what he considered sinful, including people with Sarousch's lifestyle. Also, while Frollo dies at the end of the first film, Sarousch goes to prison.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Since he runs a successful and popular circus, one would think he'd have no need to steal.
• Dirty Coward: Blames his own adoptive daughter for stealing the La Fidele and later uses a child to escape imprisonment.
• Evil Counterpart: Is this to Quasimodo and Clopin in a way.
  • Like Quasi, Sarousch is unattractive on the outside, but in contrast to the former, he hides it under a handsome masquerade which doesn't hide how ugly he is on the inside. Sarousch's narcissism seems to his way to compensate for his insecurities, while Quasimodo gets by with his insecurities through his kind and humble personality.
  • Both Clopin and Sarousch wear masks in their performance and act in the jester role. Both are also more dangerous than they seem, with Clopin being the leader of Paris' Romani population and Sarousch being the leader of a circus of thieves. But while Clopin honestly cares for his people in addition to being a Friend to All Children, Sarousch ultimately only cares for himself.
• Fat Bastard: He's fat when he isn't performing in front of an audience.
• Greed: He wanted to steal the La Fidele to sell it for a substantial amount of money.
• Jerkass: Even to his adoptive daughter, he's cruel.
• Me's a Crowd: Invokes this by constantly looking at himself in the mirror and kissing his reflection.
• Narcissist: Always looks at himself in the mirror. All the while calling himself "handsome" and such.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: At first, he just appears to be a petty thief leading a gang of circus-disguised pickpockets. The fact that he invoked the idea of something bad happening to Quasimodo or trying to threaten Zephyr's life proves that he may be no Frollo, but he is, without a doubt, cold and ruthless.
• Sissy Villain: Likes to look at himself in the mirror. A lot.
• The Sociopath: A textbook narcissist, expert liar, and a master backstabber.
• Stage Magician: He's a skilled illusionist who entertains crowds with his magic tricks.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Subverted. Once he's off stage, it's revealed that Sarousch is not only bald but fat.
• Ugly All Along: Sarouch may look like a handsome man, but it's revealed he wears a wig, corset and makeup to make himself look better out of overwhelming vanity. Without his make-up and costume, he's an old, balding man with sagging eyebags and a potbelly.
• Would Hurt a Child: Willing to kidnap a child and use the child as leverage to escape from arrest. This is what he did to Zephyr.

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