Captain Phoebus

Pure Good

Full Name

Phoebus de Chateaupers

Alias

Captain Phoebus

Captain
Feeble
Doofus (both referred to by the gargoyles)

Origin

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Powers/Skills

Strength

Swordsmanship
High intelligence

Family

Esmeralda (wife)

Zephyr (son)

Allies

Esmeralda

Quasimodo
Djali
Madellaine
Clopin
Sora
Riku

Enemies

Judge Claude Frollo † (archenemy)

Brutish Captain and Oafish Guard
Frollo's soldiers
Archdeacon (formerly)
Sarousch

Goals

To save Paris from Frollo's oppression (succeeded).

Goodness Zone

Rallying the citizens of Paris against Frollo
Saving Quasimodo's life
Refusing to arrest Esmeralda and instead faking her pleading sanctuary
Saving the Miller and his family from their burning house caused by Frollo after he refused to burn it down
Considering the idea of being executed for treason against Frollo "his highest honor"
Warning the Gypsies when Frollo says he knows where the Court of Miracles is and will attack at dawn with a thousand men.

Type of Hero

Honorable Defector

“	With all due respect sir, I wasn't trained to murder the innocent.	„
	~ Phoebus refusing to burn the mill down

“	Citizens of Paris! Frollo has persecuted our people! Ransacked our city! And now, he's declared war on Notre Dame herself! WILL WE ALLOW IT?!	„
	~ Phoebus rallying the Citizens of Paris against Frollo.

“	Frollo: The sentence for insubordination is death. Such a pity. You threw away a promising career. Phoebus: Consider it my highest honor, Sir.	„
	~ Frollo preparing to have Phoebus executed for saving the Miller and his family from their burning house.

Captain Phoebus de Chateaupers, or simply known as Phoebus, is the tritagonist of Disney's 34th full length animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame and a major character in its direct-to-video sequel The Hunchback of Notre Dame II.

He was voiced by Kevin Kline.

What Makes him Pure Good?[]

When two of Frollo's guards harass Esmeralda over her honestly required earnings, he helps her get away by blocking the two with his horse Achillies, then later gives Esmeralda back her dropped coins.
When Quasimodo is humiliated at the Festival of Fools, he attempts to stop the cruelty and abuse, although he is held back when Frollo tells him not to.
When Frollo orders him to find Esmeralda, he tells the Judge's guards and soldiers not to harm her.
When he meets Esmeralda and gets into a minor altercation with her, he finds humor in the situation and compliments her on her fighting skills.
When Frollo orders him to arrest Esmeralda, he pleads with her to claim sanctuary, which he later admits to Quasimodo that it was the only way he could keep her safe.
- Also, when he meets Quasimodo, he isn't bothered by his appearance, likely from seeing him at the festival, attempts to be civil when Quasimodo tries to force him out of the church in hostility, likely from his association with Frollo's guards who were responsible for the humiliation the Hunchback endured, and tells him to tell Esmeralda she's very lucky to have a friend like him.
When Frollo goes on a massive raid against Paris and the Romani to find Esmeralda, he is shown to get more and more disgusted with Frollo's actions.
When Frollo orders him to burn down a Miller's house with the Miller and his family trapped inside, Phoebus refuses and puts out the torch he was given in a barrel of water, acknowledging that he wasn't trained to murder innocent civiliains while disobeying Frollo's orders.
When Frollo burns the house himself, Phoebus rushes in to save the Miller and his family.
When Frollo orders the Brutish guard to execute Phoebus for his insubordination, Phoebus said it was his "highest honor" and accepts that he was about to die, showing that he wasn't afraid.
After Frollo says to Quasimodo that he knows where the Court of Miracles is and will attack at dawn with a thousand men, Phoebus immediately goes to warn the Romani despite not knowing where the location is.
After Quasimodo saves Esmeralda from the stake, Phoebus frees himself and rallies the citizens of Paris against Frollo and his soldiers.
After Esmeralda loses her grip on Quasimodo, Phoebus catches him, saving his life.
While he didn't believe Madellaine is innocent, it's implied he later freed her. It's also implied that he simply had no reason to believe Madellaine, which means it wasn't a corrupting factor from the very beginning.
Despite being more serious than most characters, he doesn't darken the mood or the story.

Trivia[]

He used to be Near Pure Good due to his jerkish behavior towards Madellaine. But after it was discussed that he had subverted that corrupting quality, he was subsequently proposed and approved for Pure Good, while the Archdeacon became Near Pure Good instead.
- This makes him similar to Simba who was Near Pure Good due to gaining negative traits in a sequel only to subvert it by the film's end.
Phoebus' novel counterpart is not Pure Good, due to him being a villain and never redeeming himself, while the 1986 Burbank Australia version manages to prevent Esmeralda from being hung by proving her innocence. Here he's a combination of the original character from the novel and Pierre Gringore.