At the urging of his gargoyle pals, Quasimodo leaves the solitary safety of his Notre Dame tower against the wishes of his guardian, the evil Judge Claude Frollo. He ventures out to the Festival of Fools and finds his first true friend, a Romani woman named Esmeralda, who entrusts him with a secret. When the secret is revealed, Quasi soon finds himself fighting to save the people and city he loves.
Still the faithful protector of Notre Dame's beloved bells, Quasimodo now rings them with the help of his best friend Esmeralda and Phoebus's little boy, Zephyr. Stopping with Zephyr at a traveling circus owned by the evil magician Sarousch, Quasi is captivated by Sarousch's lovely assistant, Madellaine. But greedy Sarousch is plotting to steal the cathedral's most famous bell—with Madellaine's unwilling help. Encouraged by some laughably misguided advice from his gargoyle pals, Quasi listens to his own heart and discovers that he, too, must look past appearances to find true love.