Esmeralda (Disney)

Esmeralda is the deuteragonist of Disney's 34th full-length animated feature film and a supporting character in its direct-to-video sequel .
==Voices==
*Demi Moore - performance
*Heidi Mollenhauer - singing
*Renee Faia - video games
==Personality==
She is a fearless and streetwise gypsy 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 gypsies be accepted into society and be treated as people. She also seems to be quite witty, as when Captain Phoebus first confronts her in the church, she verbally challenges him.
She is quite passionate and demands justice, and displays this at the Festival of Fools when she stands up for Quasimodo while the crowd jeers at him thanks to Frollo's men who started the riot. After the Festival she sings "God help the Outcasts" which also leads Quasimodo to her. But before Quasimodo can talk to her, a parishioner, who mistakes him causing trouble, unexpectedly shouts at him, causing Quasimodo to knock down a candlestaff and returns to the bell tower. Esmeralda was terrified, realizing what the parishioner has done (thus becoming hostile to the former for scaring and scolding the latter), follows him. The parishioner also attempts to stop her and Djali from following him, but he is then stopped by the archdeacon. She finds Quasimodo in the bell tower and apologizes to him for what happened at the festival.
She is very beautiful and attracts the attention of three men during the course of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Quasimodo is the first to fall for her as soon as he meets her during the Festival of Fools. Claude Frollo takes a (rather unhealthy) liking to the gypsy as well and develops a perverse and twisted obsession with her. Accusing her of witchcraft, he attempts to have her burned at the stake, forcing her to choose him or the fire, only for Esmeralda to reject him. The last of the three men to fall for her is Captain Phoebus, and he is eventually the one who winds up earning her love in return after Esmeralda realizes that he is not like Frollo's other men.
==Trivia==
*The filmmakers originally wanted Esmeralda to kill Judge Frollo in order to save Quasimodo. Esmeralda would've jumped onto the ledge then grabbed Quasimodo's hand. Judge Frollo would've attempted to kill Quasimodo with his sword then Esmeralda would've kicked Judge Frollo off the cathedral causing Frollo to fall to his death. This idea was ultimately abandoned, as having a heroine kill the villain was considered improper in a family film and may have gotten the film a PG-13 rating.
*Her red dress and purple silks worn during her performance in the Festival of Fools is a reference to the Whore of Babylon seen in the Book of Revelation from the Bible, who is described as being "arrayed in purple and scarlet colour". This paralel was likely done in order to reflect how Frollo saw her as a symbol of temptation and lust.
*Many aspects of her character were changed from the original novel.
**The novel states that "Esmeralda" is actually just an alias she uses for her performances and that her real birth name is Agnès. It is unknown whether or not this is the case for her Disney version, as this is never once brought up.
**While in the Disney movie, Esmeralda could see past Quasimodo's looks and was the first real person to treat him with respect, in the novel she's just as disgusted by his appearance as everyone else, only helping him out of pity rather than genuine kindness.
**Lastly, in the novel, Esmeralda dies after being hanged alongside Quasimodo, who refused to let her go in her final moments. This was, unsurprisingly, changed in the Disney adaptation, which ends with Quasimodo saving her from the stake. Oddly enough, the writers did briefly consider having Quasimodo be killed off at the hands of Frollo in the end of the movie, which would cause Esmeralda to kill Frollo to avenge his death.
==External Links==
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==Navigation==
fr:Esméralda (Disney)
ru:Эсмеральда (Дисней)
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