| The King of the Gypsies is a master at puppetry, trickery, leadership, and stealing fangirls' hearts. Seems like 75% of the HoND fans out there are totally into Clopin, so much so that they know the pattern of his outfit by memory. Well I'm in the remaining 25%. Sure, he's a great leader of ceremonies and storyteller and all that, but I can't imagine being obsessed with him. Anyway, all that aside, Clopin is a great character. His energy and humor uniquely move the story along. Although he doesn't get much backstory or screen time, it doesn't undermind his mystique. Paul Kandel is the perfect voice, both speaking and singing. The way he hits that last note in Bells of Notre Dame always leaves me in awe, and his accent is always charming. Mike Surry's animation is equally facinating. I imagine Clopin's quick moves are no easy task. Clopin is a shadowy character, which is probably why there have been so many fanfics that dig into his mind. On the surface, he appears to be a crazy jester, but he has many layers just beneeth the surface. He talks postitively about Quasi at the beginning of the movie, but then he proceeds to mimic Quasi's body shape twice (once at the Festival of Fools lineup, and once in the Court of Miracles), and deems him the ugliest face in Paris. He viciously defends his people, regularly carrying out the practice of hanging any outsider who dares to enter the Court of Miracles, including (almost) Quasimodo. He seems to care about Quasimodo, but he is first and foremost a protector of his people, and he takes any means to protect them. He also sees himself as grand and important, even though he belongs to a group of vagabonds. Don't we all have a craving to be important? |
| TOP TEN CLOPIN QUOTES 10. "Three cheers for Quasimodo!" 9. "But the dead don't talk, so you won't be around to reveal what you've found!" 8. "And not just any spies! His Captain of the Guard, and his loyal bell-ringing henchman!" 7. "Every man's a king and every king's a clown!" 6. "Why didn't they SAY so?" 5. "You're very clever to have found our hideaway. Unfortunatly, you won't live to tell the tale!" 4. "Nooow here is a riddle, to guess if you can, sing the bells of Notre Dame. Who is the monster and who is the man?" 3. "We find you totally innocent, which is the worst crime of all!" 2. "Whatever their pitch you can feel them bewitch you, the rich and the ritual nells, on the BELL OF NOTRRRRRE DAME" 1. "That's what they ALL say!" |
| Clopin Voice: Paul Kandel Supervising Animator: Mike Surry |
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| Personally, I think he looks better without his mask. |
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