Turn-of-the-century Paris. A young gypsy woman is running away from the royal soldiers and manages to hide her baby inside Notre Dame cathedral before being killed. The baby, Quasimodo, grows up kind and generous, but deformed and unknown to everybody. One day, a caravan of gypsies arrives in Paris to celebrate the Festival of Fools, and Quasimodo escapes from Notre Dame cathedral to wander through the city, where he meets Esmeralda, a young gypsy dancer. Thanks to the girl, Quasimodo begins to understand what friendship is and that the man who's keeping him inside the tower is not as good as he thought?