God Help the Outcasts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "God Help the Outcasts" |
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|---|---|
| Song by Heidi Mollenhauer | |
| from the album The Hunchback of Notre Dame: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack | |
| Released | 1996 |
| Recorded | 1996 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:44 |
| Label | Walt Disney |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | |
"God Help the Outcasts" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz for Walt Disney Pictures' 34th animated feature film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). A pop ballad, the song is performed by American singer Heidi Mollenhauer as the singing voice of Esmeralda on American actress Demi Moore's behalf, who provides the character's speaking voice. A prayer, "God Help the Outcasts" is a somber hymn in which a beset Esmeralda asks God to shield outcasts and Roma like herself against racism and discrimination at the hands of Paris and Judge Claude Frollo. The song also establishes Esmeralda as a selfless, empathetic character with whom Quasimodo falls in love.
After Menken and Schwartz wrote "God Help the Outcasts", directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale and Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg debated whether or not the film required a more uplifting song; Menken and Schwartz wrote the inspirational "Someday" with which to replace "God Help the Outcasts" at the behest of Katzenberg. However, Wise and Trousdale ultimately decided that "God Help the Outcasts", a religious ballad, was more suitable for the scene.
American singer Bette Midler recorded a pop rendition of "God Help the Outcasts" for the film's soundtrack. The film version of "God Help the Outcasts" has garnered generally positive reviews from both film and music critics, who enjoyed the song's lyrics and music, as well as Mollenhauer's performance. Conversely, critics deemed Midler's rendition too sentimental and overwrought. In addition to Midler, "God Help the Outcasts" has since been covered several artists, including singer Lara Fabian in Canadian French and The Little Mermaid's Jodi Benson. The song also appears in the film's stage musical adaptation, performed by Ciara Renée.
Contents
Background
"God Help the Outcasts" was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, both songwriters who had just recently collaborated on writing the music for Disney's Pocahontas (1995). Upon completing "God Help the Outcasts", Menken and Schwartz composed "Someday" at the behest of Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg; the filmmaker suggested that the dark, somber film required "a more liftable song of inspiration." Also a ballad, "Someday" was to have served "as an energetic alternative to 'God Help the Outcasts'." Ultimately, directors Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale decided that “God Help the Outcasts” "fit the tone of the scene more effectively."
According to the Deseret News, "Someday" was excluded from The Hunchback of Notre Dame "because it was ... too powerful", while "God Help the Outcasts" is "a more humble, personal song for Esmeralda to sing as she prayed for God's help." Although both "God Help the Outcasts" and "Someday" are similar, "God Help the Outcasts" specifically mentions outcasts while the latter "is about all people coming to together ... for the betterment of everyone." In addition to this, while "God Help the Outcasts" is religious, "Someday" is, according to The Musical Theater of Stephen Schwartz: From Godspell to Wicked and Beyond, "more of an anthem of hope than a prayer."
Dubbing "God Help the Outcasts" one of the highlights of her career, singer Heidi Mollenhauer described the experience in an interview with South Pasadena High School as "very exciting, a little terrifying, and sometimes overwhelming". On recording the song, Mollenhauer said, "The challenge really was to be able to release all that this song made me feel. I get choked up every time I talk about it because I think it's such a beautiful moment." Because Esmeralda is voiced by two different actresses, it was mandatory that Mollenhauer's singing voice blend with actress Demi Moore's husky speaking voice "seamlessly." Mollenhauer's performance of "Someday" is featured on the re-release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Music and lyrics
According to the song's official sheet music, published at Musicnotes.com by Walt Disney Music Publishing, "God Help the Outcasts" is a pop power ballad, written in the key of B♭ major at a slow tempo of 63 beats per minute in triple 3
4 time. The vocal range of singer Heidi Mollenhauer, who provided Esmeralda's singing voice in lieu of actress Demi Moore, spans two octaves, from F3 to C5. Transposed to the higher key of E♭ major, Midler's vocal range also spans two octaves, from B♭3 to F5. While Mollenhauer's version spans three minutes and forty-five seconds, Midler's rendition of "God Help the Outcasts" lasts a shorter length of three minutes and twenty-six seconds.
"[A]n intercessory prayer," "God Help the Outcasts" is both "a powerfully quiet song" and a "heart-rending aria" performed with "agony and beauty." Musically, the "heart-wrenching ballad" "has a Broadway and choral feel to it," distinct from the majority of The Hunchback of Notre Dame's songs due in large to its "tenderness." A "haunting prayer" and a "simple hymn," "God Help the Outcasts" is "the most spiritual and transendent [sic] tune to emerge from an animated feature." The ballad, "plain in structure," is a "hopeful and sweet anthem" and "lilting plea" accompanied by "syrupy production." According to The Musical Theater of Stephen Schwartz: From Godspell to Wicked and Beyond, "Menken's melody is mostly a descending, stepwise line in triple meter with constantly moving eighth notes accompanying," while "Schwartz wrote four dignified, rhymed couplets for the main tune."
According to the book Film Genre 2000: New Critical Essays, "God Help the Outcasts" has an "unusually somber tone" for an animated Disney film. Performed "as a prayer for deliverance from [the gypsies'] pain and suffering," lyrically, "God Help the Outcasts," a song about faith, explores themes such as discrimination. Additionally, “God Help the Outcasts” "touches on a basic idea behind most faiths." Asking "was Jesus [God] not an outcast, too, as [Esmeralda] sees firsthand how her people, are persecuted for their differences," the first verse of the song reads, "I don't know if You can hear me/Or if You're even there/I don't know if You would listen/To a gypsy's prayer." Teen Ink observed, "This part is about how it seems like God doesn't listen to you or help you, no matter how much you pray or talk to him." Finally, asking people to be kind and unselfish, Esmeralda sings, "Please help my people, the poor and downtrodden/I thought we all were the children of God.” In The Gospel According to Disney, author Mark I. Pinsky drew similarities between "God Help the Outcasts" and the Christian hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," as both songs explore "the love of God that knows no bounds." Midler's shorter rendition, considered a reprise of Mollenhauer's original, features modified lyrics, replacing "to a gypsy's prayer" with "to a humble prayer."
International versions
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At the time of its original theatrical release, the film was released in 30 versions worldwide, to which 5 more versions where added in the following years, raising the number of official versions to 35.
Belgo-Canadian artist Lara Fabian released the official Canadian French-language single "Que Dieu Aide Les Exclus"; her version was added to the English-language album release in Canada as an extra track. As she provided the singing voice for Esmeralda in the film, the French-Canadian soundtrack contains two separate renditions sung by Fabian; the film version and the single. Marketing coordinator for the Walt Disney Corporation (Canada) Todd Maki said "That hasn't been done before. Originally, when we set up the deal with Lara, it was only to have her sing during the cathedral sequence of the film, but producer Havier Ponton heard her and asked us to do a single version as well". Fabian said "I'm really happy doing this particular character with this song, because it's so touching...The sincerity that comes across [Esmeralda's] face and the intimacy was just amazing".
Mietta, who voiced Esmeralda in the Italian version, won a prize as the best foreign version. Highlighted versions were released later than 1996
| "God help the outcasts" worldwide | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Languages | Performer(s) | Title | Translation |
| Arabic | جيهان الناصر (Gihan Elnaser) | "يا رب أرحمهم" ("Ya rab erhamhom") | "God, have mercy on them" |
| Cantonese | 陳美鳳 (“Mei Fung Chan”; May Chan) | "流浪人之歌" (unknown) | "Song of the Homeless" |
| Catalan | Àngels Gonyalons | "Déu, salva els pàries" | "God, save the outcasts" |
| Czech | Leona Machálková | "Chraň Bůh ty bídné" | "God, protect the miserable ones" |
| Danish | Evy Krogh | "Gud vær' barmhjertige" | "God, be merciful" |
| Dutch | Vera Mann | "Esmeralda's Gebed" | "Esmeralda's Prayer" |
| English | Heidi Mollenhauer | "God help the outcasts" | |
| Finnish | Tiina Lymi | "Auta, oi Luoja" | "Help, oh God" |
| Flemish | Vera Mann | "God Heb Genade" | "God have mercy" |
| French (Canada) | Lara Fabian | "Que Dieu aide les exclus" | "May God help those left out" |
| French (Europe) | Claudia Benamou | "Les bannis ont droit d’amour" | "The banned ones have a right to love" |
| German | Ute Lemper | "Gott, deine Kinder" | "God, your children" |
| Greek | Άλκηστις Πρωτοψάλτη (Alkistis Protopsálti) | "Η προσευχή της Εσμεράλδας" ("I prosefchí tis Esmeráldas") | "Esmeralda’s prayer" |
| Hebrew | ריקי גל (Riki Gal) | "ילדי אלוהים" ("Yaldei Elohim") | "Children of God" |
| Hungarian | Koós Réka | "Isten óvja a számkivetettek" | "God Protects The Exile" |
| Icelandic | Edda Heiðrún Backman | "Guð náði gleymda" | "God, help the outcast" |
| Indonesian | Tisa Julianti | "Tuhan bantu yang terbuang" | "God help the outcasts" |
| Italian | Mietta | "Dio, fa’ qualcosa" | "God, do something" |
| Japanese | 保坂知寿 (Hosaka Chizu) | "ゴッド・ヘルプ" ("Goddo herupu") | "God help" |
| Korean | 문희경 (Moon Hee-kyung) | "이방인의 기도" ("Ibang-ine kido") | "The prayer of a stranger" |
| Malaysian | Juwita Suwito | "Tuhan, tolonglah" | "Oh God, please help" |
| Mandarin Chinese | 楊昆 (Yáng Kūn) | "苍天的泪" ("Cāngtiān de lèi") | "Heaven’s tears" |
| Norwegian | Benedicte Adrian | "De utstøtte" | "The outcasts" |
| Polish | Anna Ścigalska | "Modlitwa Esmeraldy" | "Esmeralda’s prayer" |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Rosanah Fienngo | "Salve os proscritos" | "Save the outcasts" |
| Portuguese (Europe) | Dora Fidalgo | "Protege os párias" | "Protect the outcasts" |
| Romanian | Delia Matache | N/A | N/A |
| Russian | Екатерина Гусева (Yekaterina Guseva) | "Боже, помоги отверженным" ("Bozhye, pomogi otvyerzhennym") | "God, help the outcasts" |
| Slovak | Zuzana Mauréry | "Pane, si jedným z nás" | "Lord, you’re one of us" |
| Spanish (Europe) | Sol Pilas | "Oración de Esmeralda" | "Esmeralda’s prayer" |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Fernanda Meade | "Dios ayude a los marginados" | "God, help the outcasts" |
| Swedish | Sharon Dyall | "Esmeraldas bön" | "Esmeralda’s supplication" |
| Thai | ผุสชา โทณะวนิก (Pusacha Donavanik) | "ขอพรให้คนจน" ("Kŏr pon hâi kon jon") | "Bless the poor" |
| Turkish | Sertab Erener | "Yardim et tanrim" | "Dear God, help out" |
| Ukrainian | Мила Нітіч (Mila Nytych) | N/A | N/A |
Accolades
In spite of both The New York Times' and Star-News' predictions that "God Help the Outcasts" would be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, with Star-News' Howard Cohen writing, "next year's Best Song Oscar is sure to spring from this bunch (our guess is the sugary God Help the Outcasts)," the song was ultimately denied an Academy Award nomination at the 1997 award ceremony, along with the rest of Hunchback's original songs. Notably, prior to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, "Disney had been dominating the Original Song category at the Academy Awards, often claiming multiple nominations and a win, but Hunchback was shut out, receiving only a nod for Original Score." Menken told HitFix, "The loss for the 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' score in 1997 ... were 'disappointing.' In spite of this, Mark A. Robinson, author of The World of Musicals, deemed "God Help the Outcasts" one of Menken's most popular songs in 2014.
Ranking "The Best Disney Soundtracks of the Past 25 Years," Moviefone hailed "God Help the Outcasts" as a "hopeful and sweet anthem" in 2013. Meanwhile, author Sandie Angulo Chen highlighted "God Help the Outcasts" as one of the film's most "Notable Songs." On BuzzFeed's "Definitive Ranking Of The 102 Best Animated Disney Songs," "God Help the Outcasts" was ranked fifty-forth.
Cultural impact
Live performances
"God Help the Outcasts" was adapted for the stage version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which premiered in a 1999 German production entitled Der Glöckner von Notre Dame. Called Hilf den Verstoß'nen in German, this rendition is a duet between Esmeralda and Quasimodo, and was originally performed by Judy Weiss and Drew Sarich respectively. Stephen Schwartz said "the scene...with all its candles and projected re-creation of Notre Dame, I thought was absolutely stunning". Reviewer Edward R. Cox wrote "The addition of Quasi to this song adds such a world of unity to the pleas of Esmeralda and the parishoners [and] show[s] his pure compassion for other's pain, unselfishly. A brilliant stage device and moment". The Hunchblog noted turning this song into a duet means Esmeralda gets no solos in the musical. In the 2014-5 La Jolla Playhouse/Paper Mill Playhouse English production, the song was reverted to a solo.
American actress and singer Jodi Benson, best known for voicing Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989), performed "God Help the Outcasts" during the Dis Unplugged Podcast Cruise 2.0 in 2010.
Covers
In 1996, American singer and actress Debbie Gravitte recorded a medley of "God Help the Outcasts" and "Someday," and included it on her Alan Menken-themed cover album, Part of Your World: The Alan Menken Album (1996). American theatre actress Kerry Butler "made a notable recording in 2008, linked with 'It's a Small World'". American gospel singer Cynthia Clawson covered the song on her 1999 album Broken: Healing the Heart.
