[The bird squeaks its approval.]
Will today be the day? Are you ready to fly?
[The bird squeaks its disapproval.]
You sure? Good day to try. Why, if-if I picked a day to fly, oh, this would be it! The Festival of Fools! It will be fun--the jugglers, and music, and dancing...
[The bird, who had been resting in Quasimodo's hand, has begun to flap its wings. Quasimodo slowly removes his hands until the bird is hovering in place. He chuckles and shows his hands to the bird, who finally realizes that it is flying. It squeaks an approval, then a question, as a flock of birds fly by.]
Go on! Nobody wants to be cooped up here forever!
[The bird flies off to join the flock. As soon as it's gone, Hugo, and later, Victor, come to life. Hugo spits out the nest.]
Oh, man! I thought he'd never leave! I'll be spittin' feathers for a week!
Well, that's what you get for sleeping with your mouth open.
Heh-heh, go scare a nun. Hey, Quasi, what's going on out there? A fight? A flogging?
You mean the Feast of Fools?
Alright alright! Pour the wine and cut the cheese.
It is a treat to watch the colorful pageantry of the simple peasant folk.
Boy, nothing like balcony seats for watching the old F.O.F.
Yeah, watching. [leaves, downcast]
Ah, look. A mime. [Hugo prepares to spit on the mime, Victor stops him and Hugo swallows his prize]
[after Quasimodo has saved all of Paris from Judge Claude Frollo’s tyranny]
Three cheers, for Quasimodo!
[the crowd cheers]
So here is a riddle to guess if you can, sing the bells of Notre Dame
What makes a monster and what makes a man?
C Chorus
Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells…
Whatever their pitch you, can feel them bewitch you
The rich and the ritual knells…
Of The Bells Of Notre Dame!
[A long pullout, as we see the crowd following Quasi, then the gargoyles looking over them. Birds have once again covered Laverne.]
[Quasimodo returns to his room and the gargoyles.]
Hey-hey! There he is! [the gargoyles applaud and cheer Quasimodo]
Oh, wonderful! Bravo, bravissimo! You ejected that tin-plated buffoon with great panache!
The nerve of him! Snooping around here trying to steal your girl.
Esmeralda. Dark hair, works with a goat. Remember?
Boy, I do. Way to go, lover boy!
[chuckles]
Lover boy? Oh, no, no.
Look, I appreciate what you're all trying to do. But let's not fool ourselves. Ugliest face in all Paris, remember? I don't think I'm her type. [The gargoyles slowly melt into the background as Quasimodo begins to sing, Heaven's Light.] SO MANY TIMES OUT THERE
I'VE WATCHED A HAPPY PAIR
OF LOVERS WALKING IN THE NIGHT.
THEY HAD A KIND OF GLOW AROUND THEM
IT ALMOST LOOKED LIKE HEAVEN'S LIGHT.
I KNEW I'D NEVER KNOW
THAT WARM AND LOVING GLOW
THOUGH I MIGHT WISH WITH ALL MY MIGHT
NO FACE AS HIDEOUS AS MY FACE
WAS EVER MEANT FOR HEAVEN'S LIGHT
BUT SUDDENLY AN ANGEL HAS SMILED AT ME
AND KISSED MY CHEEK WITHOUT A TRACE OF FRIGHT
I DARE TO DREAM THAT SHE
MIGHT EVEN CARE FOR ME
AND AS I RING THESE BELLS TONIGHT
MY COLD DARK TOWER SEEMS SO BRIGHT
I SWEAR IT MUST BE HEAVEN'S LIGHT!
[As Quasimodo rings the bells, we see a group of monks in the ground level of the cathedral. We fly over Paris toward the Palace of Justice. As we do, we can see isolated lights going out occasionally. We eventually end up in the firelit bedchamber of Judge Claude Frollo.] [The background as Judge Claude Frollo begins to sing, Hellfire.]
BEATA MARIA
YOU KNOW I AM A RIGHTEOUS MAN
OF MY VIRTUE, I AM JUSTLY PROUD
BEATA MARIA
YOU KNOW I'M SO MUCH PURER THAN
THE COMMON, VULGAR, WEAK, LICENTIOUS CROWD
THEN TELL ME, MARIA,
WHY I SEE HER DANCING THERE,
WHY HER SMOLDERING EYES STILL SCORCH MY SOUL
I FEEL HER, I SEE HER
THE SUN CAUGHT IN HER RAVEN HAIR
IS BLAZING IN ME OUT OF ALL CONTROL!
[As Judge Claude Frollo sings, the flames in the fireplace take the form of a dancing Esmeralda, dancing for Judge Claude Frollo's pleasure.] LIKE FIRE, HELLFIRE
THIS FIRE IN MY SKIN
THIS BURNING DESIRE
IS TURNING ME TO SIN!
[The walls of the room and the flames suddenly become a row of judges, all dressed in red robes. Judge Claude Frollo is terrified.] IT'S NOT MY FAULT!
I'M NOT TO BLAME!
IT IS THE GYPSY GIRL
THE WITCH WHO SENT THIS FLAME
IT'S NOT MY FAULT
IF, IN GOD'S PLAN,
HE MADE THE DEVIL SO MUCH STRONGER THAN A MAN!
PROTECT ME, MARIA!
DON'T LET THIS SIREN CAST HER SPELL
DON'T LET HER FIRE SEAR MY FLESH AND BONE
DESTROY ESMERALDA
AND LET HER TASTE THE FIRES OF HELL
OR ELSE LET HER BE MINE AND MINE ALONE!
BG Brutish Guard
[The room returns to normal as a guard pounds on the door, then enters.]
Minister Frollo, the gypsy has escaped.
BG Brutish Guard
She's nowhere in the cathedral. She's gone.
But how? I... never mind. Get out, you idiot! I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of paris! [sings] HELLFIRE, DARK FIRE
NOW GYPSY IT'S YOUR TURN!
CHOOSE ME OR YOUR PYRE
BE MINE, OR YOU WILL BURN!
GOD HAVE MERCY ON HER
GOD HAVE MERCY ON ME
BUT SHE WILL BE MINE, OR SHE WILL BURN!
[They proceed inside to Quasimodo. Laverne catches up to them.]
Hey, hey, hey! What gives?
Aren't you going to watch the festival with us?
Impossible. If 20 years of listening to you two hasn't made him sick by now, nothing will.
But watching the Festival of Fools has always been the highlight of the year for Quasimodo.
What good is watchin' the party if you never get to go? Here, get away from me! [Birds have begun to roost on Laverne. She waves them away.] Go on, you bunch of buzzards! He's not made of stone, like us.
[Laverne goes to Quasimodo, who is at his table with a model of the city and small toys painted like townspeople.]
Quasi, what's wrong? You wanna tell ol' Laverne all about it?
I... I just don't feel like watching the festival, that's all.
Well, did you ever think about going there instead?
Sure, But I'd never fit in down there. I'm not... normal.
Oh, Quasi, Quasi, Quasi. [She pauses as the birds have returned to perch on her again. - To birds] Do you mind? I would like to have a moment with the boy, if it's all right with you!
[To Quasimodo]
Hey, quit beating around the bell tower. What do we gotta do? Paint you a fresco?
As your friends and guardians, we insist you attend the festival.
[Enter Hugo, with a figurine of a Pope, from Quasimodo's tabletop scene.]
No, the Pope. Of course, you!
[Victor shoves the Pope figurine in Quasimodo's mouth.]
It would be a veritable potpourri of educational experience.
[Hugo pulls the figurine out of Quasimodo's mouth.]
Wine, women and song!
You can learn to identify various regional cheeses!
And the indigenous folk music.
Quasi, take it from an old spectator. Life's not a spectator sport. If watchin' is all you're gonna do, then you're gonna watch your life go by without you.
Yeah, you're human, with the flesh, and the hair, and the navel lint. We're just part of the architecture, right, Victor?
Yet, if you chip us, will we not flake? If you moisten us, do we not grow moss?
Quasi, just grab a fresh tunic and a clean pair of hose and--
Thanks for the encouragement. But you're all forgetting one big thing.
G Gargoyles
[dejectedly]
Oh, yeah, right [etc.]
Well, when he says you're forbidden from ever leaving the bell tower, does he mean "ever ever?"
Never ever! And he hates the Feast of Fools! He'd be furious if I asked to go.
It's just one afternoon...
He'll never know you were gone.
Better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.
You could wear a disguise. Just this once. What Frollo doesn't know, can't hurt you!
[aside]
Look who's talking...
Nobody wants to stay cooped up here forever.
[Quasimodo thinks for a moment, then a smile creeps across his face.]
You're right! I'll go! [The gargoyles cheer.] I'll get cleaned up. [Another cheer] I'll stroll down those stairs. [Another cheer] I'll march through the doors and--
[Quasimodo and the gargoyles have been advancing on the door leading downstairs.]
[stopping Clopin as he is about to hang Quasimodo and Phoebus, thinking they're Frollo's spies]
STOP!
QA Quasimodo and Phoebus
[muffled]
Esmeralda!
[untying Quasimodo and Pheobus]
These men aren't spies, they're our friends!
[confused]
Why didn't they say so?
QA Quasimodo and Phoebus
We did say so!
This is the soldier who saved the miller's family, and Quasimodo helped me escape the cathedral.
We came to warn you! Frollo's coming! He says he knows where you're hiding, and he's attacking at dawn with a thousand men!
Then let's waste no time. We must leave immediately. [the Gypsies hurry to escape] You took a terrible risk coming here. It may not exactly show, but we're grateful.
[sees Quasimodo sad seeing Esmeralda hug Phoebus; to Esmeralda]
Don't thank me, thank Quasimodo. Without his help, we would never have found our way here.
[off-screen]
Nor would I.
[unsheathes Phoebus' sword]
You!
Easy! Easy! I-I just shaved this morning.
[points Phoebus' sword at his goatee]
Oh, really? You missed a spot.
Alright, alright, just-just-just calm down. Just give me a chance to apologize.
[takes back his sword, and side-sweeps Esmeralda]
That, for example.
[angrily]
You sneaky son-of-a--
[interrupting]
Ah-ah-ah, watch it. We're in a church.
Are you always this charming, or am I just lucky? [uses candle-staff]
Ha-ha-ha-ha! Candlelight, privacy, music. Can't think of a better place for hand-to-hand combat. You fight almost as well as a man!
Funny. I was going to say the same thing about you!
That's hitting a little below the belt, don't you think?
[Phoebus avoids getting hit in the groin, but gets hit in the mouth by the candle-staff] [blubbers]
Touché. [gets rammed in the stomach by Djali] Oof! I didn't know you had a kid.
Well, he doesn't take to kindly to soldiers.
[painfully]
Eh! I noticed. [normally] Permit me. I'm Phoebus. It means "Sun god." [Esmeralda and Djali look at each other, incredulously] And you are?
Is this an interrogation?
[re-sheathes his sword]
I believe it's called an introduction.
Not as long as you're in here. I can't.
Huh. You're not at all like the other soldiers. [puts down the candle staff]
So, if you're not going to arrest me, what do you want?
I'd settle for your name.
Beautiful. Much better than Phoebus, anyway.
[To Esmeralda]
The time has come, gypsy. You stand upon the brink of the abyss. Yet even now, it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next. Choose me, or the fire.
[Esmeralda spits in his face in refusal, causing the crowd to gasp]
The Gypsy, Esmeralda, has refused to recant. This evil witch has put the soul every citizen in Paris in awful jeopardy.
[Quasimodo is chained up, and the gargoyles are trying to snap him out of his depression]
Come on, Quasi, snap out of it.
Your friends are down there.
Ya gotta break these chains!
I can't. I tried. What difference would it make?
But you can't let Frollo win.
So you're-- You're givin' up? That's it?
These chains aren't what's holdin' you back, Quasimodo.
[All the gargoyles are shocked, and they slowly begin to stone-walk away]
Okay. Okay, Quasi. We'll leave ya alone.
After all, we're only made out of stone.
We just thought maybe you were made of something stronger.
[The gargoyles then turn to stone, leaving Quasimodo with the line "Made of something stronger."]
For justice, for Paris, and for her own salvation, it is my sacred duty to send this unholy demon back where she belongs!
[He lights the pyre and the crowd yells in protest] [bellowing]
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
You! [points at Esmeralda] Gypsy girl! Get down at once!
Yes, your honor. Just as soon as I free this poor creature.
[Esmeralda pulls out a knife and cuts the rope tying Quasimodo to the wheel]
How dare you defy me?
Esmeralda You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people! You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!
[raising a fist]
JUSTICE!
[Everyone gasps]
Mark my words, Gypsy; You will pay for this insolence.
Then it appears we've crowned the wrong fool. [picks up King of Fools' crown] The only fool I see is you! [throws the King of Fools' crown at Frollo's feet; Djali raspberries Frollo]
[to Phoebus]
Captain Phoebus, arrest her.
Hey, Quasi, what's going on out there? A fight? A flogging?
You mean the Feast of Fools?
All right, all right! Pour the wine and cut the cheese.
It is a treat to watch the colorful pageantry of the simple peasant folk.
Boy, nothin' like balcony seats for watching the ol' F.O.F.
Yeah, watching. [Quasimodo leaves, downcast]
Oh, look. A mime. [Hugo prepares to spit on the mime, Victor stops him and Hugo swallows]
