Talk:Esmeralda/@comment-28683610-20160607200437

In The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Stephen Rebello the filmakers did mature Esmeralda from 16 to somewhere in her 20's. According to director Kirk Wise, Esmeralda is 21 years of age (same as Elsa)

The Disney writers and animators re-imagined Esmeralda as a more forthright and assertive than Hugo did. Writer Irene Mecchi said, "she is a snappy, wise, vital gal, quick with her wits, physical resources and a zingy comeback, one who has been knocked around in life and is all the stronger for it."

Supervising animator Tony Fucile said, "In a dangerous situation she doesn't really think about what she's doing beacuse she's developed her instincts over years of surviving tough situations.

As another of the film's outsiders and fugitives, her motivations extend beyond love: she wants to end the persecution of her people. Kirk Wise said, "She sees inequality and wants justice. She wants whats right for her people. She identifies with Quasimodo when she witnesses how the crowd mistreats him. That incident galvanizes her to take a stand against authority that says, 'You do this to him, you do this to us. Why do people have to be so cruel and terrible?'" According to Tony Fucile, "she's seen a lot, she has a lot to be angry about, but at her core she's a wonderfully heartfelt, emotional person.

The animators designed Esmeralda to appear fully prepared to stand up to the brutal, persecutory enviroment and social conditions under which she lives. Designed with an unruly mane of jet-black hair, a quality of having a harscrabble life, and the carriage of a born leader, she marks a refinement and maturity.

To voice this combination of self-reliance, beauty, vulnerability, and smarts, the moviemakers secured the services of actress Demi Moore. The directors particularly liked the combination of maturity and warmth that Moore's voice lent to the character. "The fact that she doesn't sound like a typical clear voiced Disney Heroine immdeiately makes me understand that this is a gal raised on the streets, not a castle," says Kirk Wise. Adds Gary Trousdale, "Her voice also has tremendous warmth to it.

Like Quasimodo Esmeralda lost her parents, is judged and persecuted for her looks, her opinions and her station in life. In the novel Esmeralda inspires tragic devotion from Quasimodo, the Disney filmakers softened the passion according to co-director Gary Trousdale, to "puppy love and gratitiude for being the first person to treat Quasimodo like a human being. The story is more about 'Will Quasimodo get out from under Frollo and become part of the outside world?' than Does he get the girl?' Quasimodo has to accept the fact that the woman he has a terrible crush on belongs to someone else."