Clopin

***Clopin Trouillefou*** (pronounced [klɔ.pɛ̃ tʁuj.fu], literally "Lame Terror-Mad") is a fictional character first created in the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by French author Victor Hugo, and subsequently adapted.

## In the novel

In the story, Clopin disrupts Pierre Gringoire's play, begging the audience for money. Later that night, Gringoire runs into him once again in the Court of Miracles, where Clopin is revealed not as a beggar, but as the King of Truands (the criminals and outcasts of Paris). He prepares to execute Gringoire for trespassing, until the beautiful Esmeralda agrees to marry him in order to save him.

Near the end of the novel, Clopin receives news of Esmeralda's upcoming execution for the framed murder of Captain Phoebus. In order to rescue her, he rounds all of the Truands to attack Notre Dame Cathedral where Esmeralda is protected by Quasimodo. In response to the assault, Quasimodo retaliates with stones, timber, and molten lead. Finally, the author notes that Clopin dies courageously during the attack.

## Disney version

Clopin is also present in the 1996 Disney film version of the same name, in which he is a more jovial and less sinister character than in the novel, and is portrayed as Romani. However, he is much darker, in clothing and humor, when Quasimodo and Captain Phoebus arrive in the Court of Miracles, suggesting his personality during the day to have been something of a façade. Yet he is also shown to have a gentle nature at the end of the film when he picks a little girl up and entertains her with a puppet resembling Judge Claude Frollo. Regardless of which side of his personality is on display, Clopin retains boundless energy and a tendency to get into the personal space of whomever he's dealing with, much to the other's annoyance. Clopin's ending pitch of the song "The Bells of Notre Dame" has garnered incredible acclaim for its high D-note singing. He is voiced by Paul Kandel and animated by Michael Surrey.

As the opening and closing narrator, Clopin introduces the film and begins the story with the song "The Bells of Notre Dame," where he introduces the audience to the story by explaining how Quasimodo, the bell ringer from Notre Dame, ended up there. He also sings "Topsy Turvy" about the traditional Parisian "Feast of Fools," also known as Twelfth Night held every year on January 6.

Clopin wears two main costumes during the film: a jester suit (seen to the right), which he wears at the Festival of Fools; he also wears a similar costume in the catacombs, but it is almost completely purple with a little gold trim, no mask, and no bells. In performing the song "The Court of Miracles," he wears a lawyer's outfit, a judge's outfit (resembling Frollo's), and an executioner's outfit for brief periods of time.

As the movie's narrator, Clopin has a great deal of knowledge about Quasimodo's past, seemingly more than Quasimodo himself. This suggests that to know the whole story, throughout Paris he must have many contacts. Clopin's age is never given, so it is unknown if he was a child or at least old enough to remember the murder of Quasimodo's mother.

Not only is Clopin the narrator in the story, but he is also the leader of the Roma, who at the time were being rounded up and murdered in an act of "purification" by Frollo. He is often referred to by fans as the "King of Gypsies," but this title is never officially given to him in the film, as the Roma don't have actual kings and only use the title "king of Gypsies" as a decoy during persecution.

### Original film

Clopin appears in the film five times. The first appearance is when Clopin sings "The Bells of Notre Dame," which tells the tale of how Frollo killed Quasimodo's mother, but was stopped by the Archdeacon before he could kill the infant Quasimodo by drowning him in a well.

The second appearance is at the Festival of Fools, where he acts as the Lord of Misrule, or master of ceremonies, sings "Topsy Turvy," a dance number that explains that it is "the day we do the things that we deplore on the other three-hundred-and-sixty-four." It is also during this song that he crowns Quasimodo the "King of Fools." He plays no part whatsoever in Quasimodo's subsequent humiliation by the crowd and rescue by Esmeralda.

His third appearance is much later in the film, at the Court of Miracles, where a much darker side to his personality is shown. He and a large group of Roma apprehend Quasimodo and Phoebus at the entrance to the Court of Miracles, believing them to be spies. They sing the song "The Court of Miracles" as Clopin puts Quasimodo and Phoebus on "trial," which includes a jury consisting of a puppet crafted in Clopin's likeness. He eventually finds them "totally innocent, which is the worst crime of all." He prepares to hang them, but Esmeralda arrives in time to stop him and tell the Roma of their good intentions, explaining how Phoebus rescued the miller and his family from being burned by Frollo and how Quasimodo helped her escape the cathedral. Clopin humorously asks why they didn't just say so, having gagged the two earlier to prevent them from interrupting him or expressing their "last words." Phoebus warns the Roma to leave, saying that Frollo knows of their hideout. Clopin responds to this with quiet skepticism, then alarm. All the Roma prepare to leave Paris, but unfortunately, Frollo arrives just in time to attack the Court of Miracles. Clopin is seen bound with his people in ropes. He looks up in horror when Frollo announces that they are all "invited" to a "little bonfire," indicating his intention to execute all of the Roma.

Clopin's fourth appearance is briefly during the climax of the film where Esmeralda is at the scaffold before Notre Dame. When Quasimodo rescues Esmeralda, Phoebus breaks free and rouses the civilians into action, inciting them to release the Roma and help them protect the cathedral from Frollo's soldiers. Clopin is seen jumping out of one of the many cages that hold the Roma, freed by the civilians. Along with the civilians, they attack Frollo's soldiers.

His fifth and final appearance is at the end, where Quasimodo is escorted out from the cathedral to be praised by the people for his actions. Having developed a newfound respect for Quasimodo, Clopin happily declares, "Three cheers for Quasimodo!" He then sings a reprise of "The Bells of Notre Dame" while entertaining one of the young children as the civilians finally cheer Quasimodo, accepting him into their society.

### Sequel

Clopin also appeared in the straight-to-video sequel, *The Hunchback of Notre Dame II*, as the host for the Festival of Love (Le Jour D'Amour, "the day of love"), although he is no longer the narrator and plays a much smaller role.