Esmeralda

Esmeralda is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1996 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame and a secondary character of its sequel. She is voiced by Demi Moore in both films.

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 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.

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 sinks into dreams of obsession about her. He then gives her the chance to live with him as his wife, or to die at the stake, when she is accused of witchcraft. Phoebus also loves her, and he is eventually the one who winds up earning her love in return.

Design
Esmeralda goes barefoot in the first film (but wears black shoes in the sequel), and she has light brown skin, raven-black hair, and striking emerald-green eyes (in fact, a possible reason is that "Esmeralda" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for "emerald").

Backstory
Esmeralda first arrived in Paris as a little girl with her parents. But when she was 6 years old, soilders ambushed her family, and her mother told her to run and hide. She never saw her parents again after that. Then, Clopin took her in as his own. Due to the tragedy that happened to her parents, Esmeralda since then had an intense hatred for soldiers.

Phoebus
At first, Phoebus and Esmeralda weren't very good friends. Actually, they weren't friends at all, for that matter. She was initally agressive towards him, up to the point of attacking him with a candlestick. After learning that he was honorable about the sanctity of the church, they began to develop a romantic relationship.

Quasimodo
Ever since they first met, Esmeralda and Quasimodo have had a great friendship. It is shown that in the second film, Whenever Quasimodo had problems, he usually turned to Esmeralda for advice.

Judge Claude Frollo
Frollo is Esmeralda's archnemesis and was a serious threat to her life. Despite his power and authority, she was not afraid of him. Not only was she even brave enough to publicly humiliate and insult him at the Festival of Fools (also intriguing him a bit as well), she even had the courage to spit in his face before her attempted execution.

Zephyr
Esmeralda and her son, Zephyr, loved each other very much.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
She is the deuteragonist of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She is first seen dancing in the streets for coins. Some guards come along and harass her, but with the help of Djali and Phoebus, Esmeralda escapes. She is then seen dancing at the festival of fools and catches the attention of everyone, even Frollo. When the time comes to crown the king of fools, she pulls Quasimodo onto the stage, thinking his face to be a mask. When the crowd is torturing Quasimodo, she comes to his aid and accuses Frollo of cruelty for not having it stopped sooner. Frollo orders her arrest for insulting him, but she uses magic to disappear by blowing her nose, after which Frollo accuses her of witchcraft. She gets rid of some of his soldiers by throwing a guard's helmet at them like a frisbee. Esmeralda is next seen following Quasimodo into the cathedral disguised together with Djali as an old man, but Phoebus follows. She is initially agressive towards him, up to the point of attacking him with a candlestick, but she realizes that he is honorable about the sanctity of the church and is not intending to arrest her. She then begins to pray to God to help her and her people. Quasimido watches from afar and stumbles on some candles, alerting her of his prescence. He runs away and she chases him, attempting to apologize to him for bringing him onto the stage. She then stumbles upon Quasimido's workshop and is instantly impresssed by his talent. He begins to understand that she means him no harm and decides to show her around the bell tower.

She tells him he is a very wonderful person and not at all the monster that he is claimed to be. Quasimodo offers to let her live with him in the bell tower but she expresses her desire to escape the church as "gypsies don't do well in stone walls" and Quasimodo helps her avoid the guards. In return, she gives him a map of the town which will lead him to the Court of Miracles where all the gypsies are hiding. Shortly afterwards, Frollo sends out a search party for her and throws the town into chaos. She follows and sees him burn down an innocent family's house. Phoebus saves them in time and is mortally wounded trying to escape. She saves him and brings him to Quasimodo who she knows will help her. She tends to his wounds and the two passionately kiss, breaking Quasimodo's heart as he was convinced she loved him. She escapes the bell tower when she hears Frollo approaching and leaves Phoebus in Quasimodo's care. Frollo bluffs that he knows where the Court of Miracles is and that he will attack it with one thousand men. Quasimodo and Phoebus quickly reach the Court of Miracles using the map Esmerelda gave them and try to warn them, only for Frollo to suddenly appear, having used Quasimodo to lead him there. Esmerelda is captured and sentenced to burn at the stake becuase she is believed to use witchcraft. Frollo offers her one last chance to be with him or die. She spits in his face and he attempts to burn her alive.

She is saved in time by Quasimodo but ends up hurt and unconcscious. Quasimodo cries over her seemingly dead body before fighting off Frollo. Esmerelda manages to wake up and save Quasimodo from falling before he slips out of her hands and is caught by Phoebus. Frollo soon falls to his death. The three reach the bottom of the church. Phoebus, aware of Quasimodo's feelings for Esmerelda, stands aside so Quasimodo can be with her. However, Quasimodo understands their feelings for eachother and interlocks their hands, having accepted thier love and the two kiss. Esmerelda, in return, takes out her hand and walks him out of the church for everyone to see him and he is hailed as a hero.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
In The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, Esmeralda becomes Phoebus' wife and has a son named Zephyr. She also wears black shoes instead of being barefoot.

Kingdom Hearts


Esmeralda is set to appear in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

She also appears in The Sceptre and the Kingdom, a spinoff comic published in Spain, where she helps Sora and Riku escape Frollo when they are accidentally teleported to Paris. Sora briefly thinks Esmeralda is a Princess of Heart. She is flattered by this, but tells him she's not. Sora and Riku continue on their journey, with Laverne pointing the way to their next destination.

Disney Parks


Esmeralda appears as a walkaround in the Disney parks, though she is now rare to find.

House of Mouse
Esmerelda makes several appearences along with Quasimodo, the Gargoyles, and Phoebus.

In Ask Von Drake ,she is seen dancing on a table.

Trivia

 * Esmeralda is not part of the official Disney Princess line up. Coincidentally, she appears in books and doll sets promoting the Disney Princess franchise.
 * In the second movie Esmeralda's hairstyle is drawn like Aurora's from Sleeping Beauty (but only in some scenes).
 * In the original book by Victor Hugo, Esmeralda is successfully killed by Frollo and is the main protagonist in the book.
 * Esmeralda is hanged in the original novel, not burned at the stake in the film.
 * In the original novel Esmeralda does not like Quasimodo right away. He actually grows on her throughout the course of the novel.
 * Esmeralda is the only Disney heroine to dance in a seductive manner.
 * Esmeralda is the first Disney heroine to have green eyes, with Rapunzel being the second.
 * Esmeralda is the first Disney heroine to be seen inside a holy building, with Tiana being the second.
 * Esmeralda is the second Disney heroine to be bare-footed though-out most of her movie, the first being Aurora and the third being Rapunzel