- “Are you always this charming, or am I just lucky?”
- ―Esmeralda
Captain Phoebus is the tritagonist in Disney's 1996 animated feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is a gallant war veteran summoned by Judge Claude Frollo to assist in the eradication of gypsies. However, Phoebus's righteousness, and love for the "gypsy woman" Esmeralda, drives him to betray his superior.
Background
Personality
The Disney Animators chose to deviate from the book and created a down-to-earth Phoebus who is far less the dimwitted, womanizing cad that he is portrayed in the book. Though he tends to over-analyze and act like he knows what he's doing, he is described as a soldier who is sarcastically witty, brave, confident, and enjoys finding humor in situations. Gary Trousdale admits that what he most likes about Phoebus is that "although he can keep a straight face when it's required of him, you can tell deep down, he'd rather tell a joke." Phoebus is almost always seeming to get into arguments, even with Esmeralda.
Out of Frollo and his men, Phoebus is the only one that cleverly sees through the disguise of Esmeralda and is also quick to discover that Frollo's ideals for justice are unethical and a twisted kind of corruption. Unfortunately, the opportunistic Phoebus had already accepted Frollo's summon to be his Captain of the Guard under the assumption that the Minister of Justice was righteous and fair; therefore, he accepts this reality of working for a corrupt man as a consequence for driving into this opportunity he should not have readily taken. He is disgusted when Quasimodo is tortured at the festival and asks Frollo for permission to stop the cruelty but is held back. When Phoebus meets Quasimodo formally, he treats him with a friendly attitude, not at all bothered by his deformities (most likely from seeing him before at the festival). As Frollo's cruelty towards the other gypsies increases with the level of obsession he has for Esmeralda, Phoebus is forced to choose between his passion for guarding the defenseless people with the condition that he works under Frollo, or be jobless due to the fact that he is trained to be nothing else but a soldier that he is fated to be in this feudalistic society.
Throughout the film, Phoebus becomes more of the neutral hero that takes orders from Frollo then later goes behind Frollo's back and helps those who were caught in Frollo's trail of injustice. However, when Frollo unreasonably orders Phoebus to burn down a miller's home with the innocent family trapped inside, Phoebus takes a stand and refuses to murder the innocents. When Frollo sets fire to the windmill and sends the miller's home ablaze, Phoebus bravely risks his own life on the line for the lives of another family and dives through the window of the burning building, takes the two children in his arms, and kicks down the bolted door to lead the rest of the family out to safety.
When he is sentenced to be beheaded for insubordination, Phoebus holds no fear of death from his experience in the wars and boldly accepts it as his highest honor. As an ex-soldier fugitive, Phoebus continues to help the gypsies from Frollo's obsessed wrath and after escaping from his imprisonment instills courage in the people and joins both the townspeople and the gypsies together to fight against Frollo and his men from the attack on Notre Dame.
At first glance, Phoebus finds Esmeralda to be an attractive woman to look at, but it was only until after witnessing her stand up against Frollo did his interests for her setting herself apart prompt him to find out her name. In the cathedral scene, Esmeralda takes him off guard when the gypsy abruptly takes him down and points his own sword at him, the first woman to do that in a time where women were regarded by everyone as submissive to men. Phoebus took her challenge and got out from his dangerous position in order to talk to her, but then finds his flirtatious entertainment in deflecting her attacks with the candle stand. Because he fails to take things seriously, he gets injured a few times as a result. Not intending the fight to be as serious as she was making it out to be, Phoebus bows out and acknowledges her as an equal. His confidence is neither passed arrogance nor conceitedness as he displays awkwardness to Esmeralda when he introduces himself with the meaning of his name, "Sun God." Contrary to all the men that fawn over her beauty, Phoebus is the only one that simply asks for her name out of his interest to get to know her better. The captain of the guards finds her to be more than just a beautiful woman to look at after the feisty gypsy proved to stand out from what society expected of women and also have a true sense of justice. According to the Disney animators, the soldier Phoebus enchants, beguiles, and challenges Esmeralda in the same way that she does to others. Explains Kirk Wise, "we had to create a character who would seem worthy of Esmeralda's love and be loved and accepted by the audience."
When Phoebus realizes Quasimodo also has feelings for Esmeralda, however, Phoebus steps back to give Quasimodo a chance to impress Esmeralda and settles on a friendship with Esmeralda instead. In the end, despite the fact that they are from two worlds that are forbidden to be together by society, Quasimodo steps back and reunites Phoebus with Esmeralda as an official and passionate couple in the end. Phoebus then shows Esmeralda a new Paris where the townspeople and the outcasts are united and both watch as Quasimodo is cheered on and accepted by the people like he rightfully deserved and wanted.
Phoebus, as shown in the second film, also has a very bad habit of asking his horse, Achilles, rhetorical questions (this happened twice in the second film, the first was "How many times have I ever been wrong?" and "Achilles, do you believe this? Everybody is mad at me. How often does that happen?") to which the horse ends up answering.
Physical appearance
Phoebus is a slender yet muscular man. He sports navy blue eyes, neck-long blond hair and a small goatee. He mostly wears golden armor and blue clothing underneath and a blue cape, and underneath these he wears a white shirt and brown pants.
Difference from original character
Phoebus' character is almost the exact opposite of his counterpart in Victor Hugo's novel. In the story, Phoebus is a vain, untrustworthy womanizer, who falls in love with Esmeralda solely for her beauty (much in the same way that Frollo does). While trying to seduce Esmeralda, he is stabbed in the back by Frollo. Pheobus is presumed dead and Frollo frames Esmeralda for the crime, but Phoebus actually survives and could have easily proved her innocence, but did not come forward, realizing that his politically convenient marriage to his cousin would be much more beneficial (to him) than one to a mere street dancer. In the end of the book, he is married to Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier and Victor Hugo indicates that their marriage is not a happy one.
Appearances
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Phoebus in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Phoebus is called home to Paris from an unnamed war in order to serve as Judge Claude Frollo's Captain of the Guard (or as the leader of Frollo's hired thugs). Following his arrival in Paris, he comes across a beautiful dancing gypsy girl, Esmeralda, and is taken with her, throwing her some gold coins. However, two thugs working for Frollo attempt to arrest Esmeralda solely for being a gypsy and stealing money. Phoebus helps Esmeralda escape by blocking the thugs' way with his horse, Achilles, and revealing his identity to them, prompting the scared duo to leave Esmeralda alone and escort him to the Palace of Justice. Once there, he meets and takes an apparent dislike to Frollo after hearing how his predecessor was treated for being "a bit of a disappointment" to the Judge; Frollo is quite sure that Phoebus will "whip [his] men into shape." As he is led into an outside balcony of the Palace, Phoebus is visibly surprised when he learns that he was summoned from the war to capture "fortune tellers and palm readers." Nevertheless, Phoebus accompanies Frollo to the Festival of Fools.
At the Festival, when the crowd turns on Quasimodo and begins torturing him thanks to a riot started by the thugs, Phoebus requests permission to stop it, but Frollo tells him to wait a minute, as Quasimodo needed to learn. When Esmeralda publicly ridicules Frollo for his cruelty to Quasimodo and evades his thugs, Phoebus is visibly impressed. Phoebus spots Esmeralda sneaking into Notre Dame in her old man disguise and, realizing the man is really her, follows her inside.
Phoebus meets Esmeralda
A brief skirmish ensues until Phoebus makes it clear that he has no intention of arresting her inside the cathedral. The two are visibly drawn to each other at this point, and just when they are apparently about to kiss, Frollo and his thugs appear. Esmeralda believes intentionally lured them there but Phoebus proves his innocence by claiming sanctuary for Esmeralda, and the Archdeacon intervenes and orders Frollo out, forcing Phoebus to leave as well. However, he sneaks back inside and searches for Esmeralda, but runs into Quasimodo, who dislikes Frollo's thugs greatly and almost successfully scares Phoebus away with a torch until Phoebus takes a moment to ask Quasimodo to apologize to Esmeralda for his accidentally trapping her inside Notre Dame, noting that he was only trying to protect her from Frollo, and notes how lucky Esmeralda is to have a friend like him.
Phoebus rebels against Frollo and saves an innocent family
Unfortunately, after Quasimodo helps Esmeralda escape, Phoebus is forced to join Frollo on a ruthless manhunt for the gypsy. Phoebus becomes increasingly annoyed and disgusted with Frollo's unjust actions, before he finally rebels against him when he is instructed to burn down the house of a miller, even though the miller and his family are innocent of any crime. Frollo instructs Phoebus to burn the house but he refuses so Frollo himself carries it out, though Phoebus quickly jumps through the window and rescues the family inside. This act along with his refusal causes Phoebus to be branded as a traitor and he is sentenced to death, but thanks to a distraction by Esmeralda, Phoebus almost escapes on Frollo's horse but is shot in the back by Frollo's thugs and falls into the river to escape, losing his armor in the process.
Phoebus and Esmeralda's first kiss.
He is rescued by Esmeralda, who takes him back to the cathedral and begs Quasimodo to help them. Phoebus and Esmeralda finally admit their feelings for each other and share a kiss, but Phoebus loses consciousness as Frollo returns, though Phoebus is hidden by Quasimodo underneath a table. Frollo lets Quasimodo in on his plan to attack the gypsy hideout (The Court of Miracles) with his thug army, and immediately after he leaves, Phoebus awakens and implores Quasimodo to join him in finding the court and warning the gypsies.
The two use a charm Esmeralda gave Quasimodo to find the court and are led to the cemetery after moving a tombstone, they find a passageway. The two are captured by the gypsies who accuse them of being spies for Frollo, while disregarding their words to the contrary. Inside the court, they are nearly hanged by Clopin and the gypsies, until Esmeralda appears and clears up their misunderstanding that they were spies. Phoebus then warns the gypsies of Frollo's intentions, and seeing Quasimodo's feelings for Esmeralda, gives all the credit to Quasimodo for helping him find the court.
However, Frollo arrives (having secretly followed them) as he has them all arrested, and at one point, expresses mild surprise at Phoebus's supposed return from the dead, but promises to "remedy" it before long.
At Esmeralda's execution, Quasimodo breaks free from the cathedral and rescues her, giving Phoebus enough time to escape from his cage, freeing himself and the other gypsies, and rallying the citizens and gypsies to fight against Frollo's tyranny. Phoebus holds his own rather well during the fight, even pushing three thugs back at once with a spear. During the climactic battle between Frollo and Quasimodo, Phoebus is nowhere to be found though he was possibly still fighting. However, when Esmeralda loses her grip on a dangling but unconscious Quasimodo, Phoebus, after finding a way into the cathedral unnoticed after Quasimodo and his gargoyle friends pour molten copper to prevent Frollo's thugs from breaking down the door, catches Quasimodo before he can fall to his death.
Once he awakens, Quasimodo accepts Phoebus as his friend and gives his Phoebus his blessing of the latter's relationship with Esmeralda.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
Phoebus continues to be captain of the guard.
Several years later, Phoebus has now married Esmeralda and had a son, Zephyr, with her. Once again, he is the Captain of the Guard under the new but unseen Minister of Justice. When Sarousch and his circus troupe arrive in Paris, people begin reporting thefts to Phoebus.
Eventually, Phoebus discovered the connection between the thefts and Sarousch, and realizes that he and his gang are thieves dressed as circus performers, but this revelation causes a brief rift between himself, Quasimodo (who is in love with Sarousch's assistant, Madellaine), Esmeralda (who believes Phoebus carries a prejudice towards gypsies), and Zephyr (who admires the circus). He then meets with Sarousch to discuss his theory and manages to find one of the stolen items in the latter's office and confronts Sarousch on this matter. To his surprise, Sarousch then "confesses" to the crimes but tells Phoebus that his assistant Madellaine is actually the thief by mentioning her stealing past. Finding this information to be useful, he questions Sarousch as to where she was and is told she was out with Quasimodo and he goes to find her after thanking Sarousch for his cooperation.
Phoebus finds the pair and arrests Madellaine, to Quasimodo's chargin. Phoebus reveals she was the one stealing. Unknown to Phoebus, this arrest inadvertently aids Sarousch in stealing Notre Dame's most valuable bell, La Fidèle, from the cathedral by keeping both him and Quasimodo at bay. He realizes Sarousch's real intentions after the bell is rung and believing her to be an accomplice in the crime takes her away, while leaving Quasimodo heartbroken.
Phoebus then has the city put on lock down to prevent Sarousch and his men from escaping. However, he is still unable to find them but Madellaine's true feelings for Quasimodo win over and she reveals to Phoebus how Sarousch will get La Fidèle out of Paris, via underground. Though skeptical, he realizes he has very little leads and decides to follow her theory but keeps her hands tied.
Madellaine's deduction proves right as Phoebus and the guards locate Sarousch and tell him to surrender.
Unfortunately, Sarousch had taken Zephyr hostage and uses him as leverage to keep Phoebus at bay, which forces Phoebus to relent as his son was in danger. Luckily, Zephyr is rescued by Quasimodo and Madellaine, and Phoebus orders Sarousch arrested.
Following this, Phoebus's relationship with his friends and family is mended, and in return for her help and saving his son, he sets Madellaine free in repayment. He and Esmeralda also proclaim their love for each other at the Festival and then watch happily as Quasimodo and Madellaine proclaim their love for each other.
Video games
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Shortly after Sora's arrival in La Cité des Cloches, Phoebus alerts Claude Frollo about the presence of monsters running about in the streets, while Frollo interrogates Sora about being a gypsy. From the beginning, Phoebus does not believe Sora to be guilty of any crime, and runs off to aid him against the Dream Eaters. He witnesses Sora defeat the Dream Eaters and save Frollo's ward, Quasimodo. While Frollo does not approve of this, since he had wanted to teach Quasimodo a lesson for leaving the cathedral, this cements Sora's goodness in Phoebus's eyes, and when Frollo falls for a gypsy girl, Esmeralda and begins a citywide manhunt for her, Phoebus begins to question his decision to serve Frollo.
Later on, when Frollo orders Phoebus to burn down the house of an innocent miller, Phoebus turns his sword on the mad judge just as Riku arrives on the scene. Frollo, however, summons the Bullet Gargoyle and flees. Realizing that Frollo may attack the gypsy hideout, the Court of Miracles, Phoebus decides to find it first and warn the gypsies, in the process crossing paths with Sora again. Though Sora is initially hesitant to trust Phoebus after seeing him with Frollo, Phoebus manages to convince the boy that they are on the same side. With help from Quasimodo, Phoebus and Sora find the Court of Miracles and warn Esmeralda, but Frollo follows them and subdues Sora and Phoebus with the Bullet Gargoyle while taking Esmeralda prisoner.
At Esmeralda's execution, Phoebus manages to escape from his cage and make his way into the cathedral. As he climbs upwards, he catches Quasimodo from falling to his death mere seconds after Frollo is killed. They reunite with Esmeralda, and Quasimodo blesses Phoebus' relationship with the gypsy girl.
Disney Parks
Phoebus appears a meetable character occasionally. He is most commonly seen in Disneyland Paris, although still very rare.
Walt Disney World
During the time of its run, Phoebus reprises his role from the film in the stage adaption of the film located in Disney's Hollywood Studios back when it was still named Disney's M.G.M. Studios.
He also makes occasional appearances at the France Pavilion in Epcot, though mostly for special events.
Relationships
Esmeralda
Phoebus was first introduced to Esmeralda at the Feast of Fools, where her alluring performance immediately caught his attention. After saving Quasimodo from the cruelty of Frollo and the people of Paris, Esmeralda sought refuge in the Notre Dame cathedral. Phoebus took the opportunity to greet the gypsy, though their first interactions were rather rough, as she found herself untrusting towards a member of Frollo's army. Nevertheless, Phoebus proves he's merely seeking friendship, as opposed to her freedom, earning a modest token of gratitude before Frollo arrives and spoils the moment.
Later on, after seeing Phoebus betray Frollo and his laws in exchange for the lives of innocent Paris citizens, Esmeralda begins to warm up to the now former soldier, and eventually saves his life from an attacking Frollo and his guards. That same night, after bringing him to Notre Dame to recover from the attack, Esmeralda and Phoebus share a soft conversation, and soon find themselves falling in love, sealing their mutual romantic attraction with a loving kiss.
Following the events of the film, the two apparently marry, and have a child, a boy named Zephyr. They are still very much in love as shown by their display of affection, though she was irritated by his distrust of the circus owned by Sarousch, believing they were thieves. Esmeralda considered this belief directed to gypsies as well and tension was made between them but she soon saw he was right when their son was taken. At the end, they reconcile and were seen kissing.
Gallery
Trivia
- Like most Disney assaults, Phoebus was shown shot in the shoulder, from the back, but his injury was shown and treated on the front of his chest.
- Despite being Captain of the Guard, Phoebus has his orders assigned from Judge Claude Frollo. By the sequel, however, he appears to have almost the same authority as Frollo had. For example, he has the authority to order a person's arrest.
- Phoebus is much older than Quasimodo. Quasimodo is 20 years old and Phoebus says that has been out of Paris in the wars for two decades unless he was exaggerating. Assuming he couldn’t be in the wars until he's 16 or 18 years old, Phoebus could be in his late 30s or early 40s, significantly older than Quasimodo or Esmeralda.
- In the original novel by Victor Hugo, Phoebus was a villain. He was vain, untrustworthy, and a womanizer who did not really like Esmeralda at the beginning, and at the end when Esmeralda was killed by Frollo, he watched her execution with little or no remorse. In the film, Phoebus is one of Quasimodo's good friends and the love interest of Esmeralda, despite that he was once Frollo's Captain of the Guard before he refused to do the judge's evil bidding.
- In the film, Phoebus's character is combined with Pierre Gringoire's from Hugo's original novel. He asks the guards to take him to the Palace of Justice, but the guards didn't listen to him, similar to the beginning of the novel where Gringoire attempts to entertain the Parisian audience with a play he wrote but was suddenly interrupted by Clopin, and the Parisians later ignore the play. Also, the part of the film where Phoebus enters Notre Dame to see Esmeralda, and Esmeralda turns against him at first, followed by Phoebus telling her that his name means "sun god", is reminiscent of Esmeralda turning against Gringoire and Gringoire telling her the meaning of the name "Phoebus" during their wedding night in the novel. The later part of the film where Phoebus enters the Court of Miracles with Quasimodo and they are about to be hanged by Clopin is much like the novel version, in which Gringoire also, though accidentally, enters the Court of Miracles and is about to be hanged by Clopin.
- In the original novel, his full name was Phœbus de Châteaupers. In the film, Phoebus is just called by his first name. His full name in the film is unknown. However, in the musical, Phoebus's full name was Phoebus de Martin.
- Phoebus is the only character in the film that does not sing at all. However, he does have a solo in the deleted song "As long as there's a Moon".
- In the scene where Phoebus is ordered to burn the miller's house, when Frollo reminds him that he was trained to follow orders, Phoebus was originally supposed to reply with "Not the orders of a mad man!" However, it was deleted for unknown reasons.
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