Sarousch

**Sarousch** is the circus ringmaster, master thief and the main antagonist of the 2002 Disney sequel *The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.*

## Background

### Physical Description

Sarousch is shown to have a narrow face and blue eyes with pronounced eyebrows, a thin body structure. However, he is actually quite overweight but forces himself to appear skinnier in public, by the use of a corset which is tightly placed on. He is also balding when he is not primped for the public, so he wears a wig.

For most of the movie, he bears blue, long-sleeved clothing with maroon stripes adjoining the blue on the sleeves, waist, and lower half, complete with a red cape tied around his neck.

### Personality

While Sarousch is not nearly as sadistic or as genocidal as Judge Claude Frollo, but regardless, he still proved to be highly greedy, selfish, deceptive, opprobrious, untrustworthy, and quite avaricious for a kleptomaniac thief who is willing to commit kidnapping and murder for his goals to be fulfilled. Sarousch is narcissistic, uncompromising, presumptuous, and completely in love with himself, he is seen admiring his reflection in the mirror and even says "I'd kiss me but then I'd fall in love" which is a homage to the Greek God Narcissus who actually fell in love with his own reflection in the river all the time.

Sarousch took in a young girl named Madellaine who was caught stealing from him, he is seen putting her down and rarely shows her any affection and just wants her to "stand there and look pretty" and only cared for her as long as she completed whatever task he always wished for her to carry out. When he got confronted by Captain Phoebus, he places all of the blame on Madeleine for his crimes, proving himself to be a dirty coward with no love in his heart.

Sarousch is also very shallow, negligible, and inconsequential, only wanting Madeleine to act as a pretty face and completely ignores her talents, he also describes Quasimodo, the Bell-Ringer of Notre Dame as a "hideous monster" When the situation calls for it, Sarousch can also be quite uncaring, deceiving, hypocritical, traitorous, and egomaniacal, as he threatens the life of Captain Phoebus' son, so he could make an escape with La Fidele.

## Role in the Sequel

In the movie, Sarousch is the owner of a traveling circus that comes to Paris, France. However, this is a merely front as he and his circus are notorious thieves who steal from the visiting patrons. Sarousch tells his personal assistant Madellaine to go and search in the Bell Tower and find out which bell is La Fidèle because it's the most famous bell ever and he wishes to steal it so he can become rich but when Madellaine returns from searching she tells him that she has met the bellringer Quasimodo and that she doesn't want to have any part of it. However, Sarousch reminds her that he took her in when she was a poor six-year-old orphan child instead of handing her over to Frollo and his guards when he caught her stealing from him, and she unwillingly agrees to help him.

During the show, Sarousch has his men steal jewelry and gold from the audience while they watch his performances. Sarousch then sends Madellaine once again to find out about La Fidèle, to which she does by going out on a date with Quasimodo into the Church of Notre Dame. The next day, Sarousch has Madellaine take Quasimodo for a walk while he and his men steal La Fidèle and threatens to kill Quasimodo if Madellaine doesn't do what he says to which she does.

Later on, Phoebus comes to Sarousch's circus to investigate the missing jewelry and gold and finds one of the missing items in Sarousch's office and interrogates him on this discovery. Realizing he could use this to his advantage, Sarousch "confesses" to the crimes but lies and says that it was all his fault for not watching Madellaine because she was a thief since she was six, to which Phoebus easily believes. He asks Sarousch where she went and leaves to go find Madellaine after Sarousch tells him she is with Quasimodo.

After Phoebus leaves, Sarousch goes with his men to the Notre Dame Cathedral and finds La Fidèle and makes it disappear so they can steal it. Unknown to Sarousch, Phoebus and Esmeralda's son Zephyr and pet goat Djali had followed them to the Cathedral and witnessed them steal the Bell and they secretly follow them onto Sarousch's boat underground.

When Sarousch finds Zephyr and Djali, he takes Zephyr hostage after hearing him say he is Phoebus' son but Djali manages to escape and runs off to go and find Esmeralda, Phoebus, Quasimodo, and Madellaine. When Djali brings them to where Sarousch is, Phoebus closes the gates to the entrance of the under bridge and orders Sarousch to give up. However, Sarousch shows Phoebus that he has Zephyr and threatens to hurt him if Phoebus doesn't let him pass safely. Phoebus opens the gate and allows Sarousch to pass safely but just as Sarousch is about to escape with Zephyr Madellaine, with a little help from Quasimodo manages to stop him by using Madellaine's tightrope walking to which she swoops down and rescues Zephyr while Phoebus' guards pounce on Sarousch and his men and arrest them.

As he is being arrested, Sarousch tries to talk his way out of being arrest and says that he does birthday parties but this doesn't change the guards' minds and they arrest Sarousch. What happens to Sarousch after he is arrested remains unknown, though it could be possible that he was imprisoned or executed.

## Trivia

* He seems to be in love with himself. This is especially hinted at when the line: "I could kiss me, but I'd fall in love."
* Sarousch has become a considerable object of scorn from fans of the original film, who consider Claude Frollo to be the superior villain.
* The voice that Michael McKean used for the character is the same one he uses for his *Spinal Tap* alter ego David St. Hubbins.