God Help the Outcasts

{{Listen|type=music|pos=right|filename=God Help the Outcasts.ogg|title=Film version (Heidi Mollenhauer)|description=While Esmeralda asks God to help those the world has forgotten, the nobility pray for material possessions and entitlement.

This "juxtaposition of their selfish petitions to Esmeralda's humble prayer" is illustrated by the huge swelling choir and Mollenhauer's lone voice. The song "is obviously critical of their attitudes as they contrast with Esmeralda's".}}

"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."{{Cite book|title = Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked|last = Giere|first = Carol de|publisher = Applause Theatre & Cinema|year = 2008|isbn = 9781458414168|location = United States|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xRYwlVL0vH8C&pg=PT341 }} 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."{{cite web|url = http://listverse.com/2012/12/30/10-disney-songs-that-didnt-make-the-cut/|title = 10 Disney Songs that Didn't Make the Cut|date = December 30, 2012|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = Listverse|publisher = Listverse Ltd.}}

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."{{cite web|url = http://www.deseretnews.com/top/2407/7/Someday-The-Hunchback-of-Notre-Dame-15-Disney-songs-that-were-cut-before-they-ever-made-it-onto.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140410125609/http://www.deseretnews.com/top/2407/7/Someday-The-Hunchback-of-Notre-Dame-15-Disney-songs-that-were-cut-before-they-ever-made-it-onto.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = April 10, 2014|title = 15 Disney songs that were cut before they ever made it onto the big screen|date = April 6, 2014|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = Deseret News|last = Hicken|first = Jackie}} 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."{{Cite book|title = The Musical Theater of Stephen Schwartz: From Godspell to Wicked and Beyond|last = Laird|first = Paul R.|publisher = Scarecrow Press|year = 2014|isbn = 9780810891920|location = United States|page = 242|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1uBhAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA242 }}

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".{{cite web|url = http://tigernewspaper.com/2009-2010/November/13.pdf|title = An interview with Heidi Mollenhauer Disney's Esmeralda|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = Tiger Online|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714175343/http://tigernewspaper.com/2009-2010/November/13.pdf|archive-date = July 14, 2014}} 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."{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pe7WRyNWh4 | title=The Making of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2/2) | website=YouTube | access-date=18 June 2014}} 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."{{Cite web|url = http://www.frollozone.org/interviews.html|title = Online Star-Telegram Interviews|access-date = July 11, 2014|website = Frollozone|publisher = The Frollo Zone 2007|last = Camp|first = Todd|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150901060511/http://www.frollozone.org/interviews.html|archive-date = September 1, 2015}} Mollenhauer's performance of "Someday" is featured on the re-release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

One of The Hunchback of Notre Dame{{'}}s most poignant moments,{{cite web|url = http://www.susannadathur.com/2012/08/17/god-help-the-outcasts/|title = God Help The Outcasts|date = August 17, 2012|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = Susan Nadathur|last = Nadathur|first = Susan|archive-date = October 26, 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141026232044/http://www.susannadathur.com/2012/08/17/god-help-the-outcasts/|url-status = dead}} "God Help the Outcasts" is Esmeralda's only song.{{cite web|url = http://unshavedmouse.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/disney-reviews-with-the-unshaved-mouse-34-the-hunchback-of-notre-dame/|title = Disney Reviews with the Unshaved Mouse #34: The Hunchback of Notre Dame|access-date = June 21, 2014|website = unshavedmouse|date = 24 July 2013}} Identified as the film's "prettiest" musical number,{{cite web|url = http://www.thehunchblog.com/2011/09/the-music-of-the-disney%E2%80%99s-hunchback-of-notre-dame-%E2%80%93-god-help-the-outcasts/|title = The Music of the Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame – God help the Outcasts|date = September 1, 2011|access-date = June 27, 2014|website = The Hunchblog of Notre Dame| author=Jess}} the song occurs immediately after Esmeralda, relentlessly pursued by Judge Frollo, claims sanctuary in the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral upon "see[ing] how ... Quasimodo, and her people are treated by others", according to Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked "bring[ing] with her a bitter and acute awareness of the injustice of her situation." Preceded by a brief exchange between Esmeralda and the Archdeacon, the latter ultimately suggests that Esmeralda approach God for help, explaining, "You can't right all the wrongs of this world by yourself, perhaps there's someone in here who can."{{Cite book|title = Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon: Preaching and Popular Movies|last = Cargal|first = Timothy B.| year=2007 |publisher = Westminster John Knox Press|isbn = 9780664236335|location = United States|pages = 70–71|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5tbxAqNXtdoC&pg=PA71 }} During the "heartwarming" musical sequence, Esmeralda "pray[s] selflessly on behalf of the world's outcasts." "[F]illed with religious imagery," the song "sum[s] up everything that [Esmeralda] stands for".{{cite web|url = http://whatculture.com/film/5-reasons-why-the-hunchback-of-notre-dame-is-disneys-under-appreciated-gem.php/3|title = 5 Reasons Why The Hunchback Of Notre Dame Is Disney's Under-Appreciated Gem|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = WhatCulture.com|last = Pointek|first = Jason|date = 15 June 2013}} Meanwhile, an earnest Quasimodo, enamored with Esmeralda's beauty and sincerity, hides in the bell tower, "overhearing her prayer" and "being drawn down to her."

File:Notre Dame 208.jpg in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris]]

In terms of character development, "God Help the Outcasts" establishes Esmeralda as a "thoughtful, empathetic" character, "worthy of our compassion," "developing Esmeralda's character"{{cite web|url = http://theliteraryomnivore.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/page-to-screen-the-hunchback-of-notre-dame-1996/|title = Page to Screen: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)|date = September 2, 2011|access-date = June 20, 2014|website = The Literary Omnivore}} while "depict[ing] the rest of the Paris commonfolk as simple and selfish, asking for wealth and fame for themselves while Esmeralda prays for the salvation of the Gypsy race."{{cite web|url = http://ranksfornothing.blogspot.ca/2014/03/best-disney-song-tournament-introduction.html|title = Best Disney Song Tournament: Introduction|date = March 24, 2014|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = Ranks for Nothing| author= Stan}} In Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out, author Sean Griffin observed that "the more respectable parishioners pray for wealth, fame and glory."{{Cite book|title = Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out|last = Griffin|first = Sean |authorlink=Sean Griffin|publisher = NYU Press|year = 2000|isbn = 9780814731239|location = United States|page = [https://archive.org/details/tinkerbellesevil00grif_0/page/217 217]|url = https://archive.org/details/tinkerbellesevil00grif_0 |url-access = registration}} According to Annalee R. Ward, author of Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film, "God Help the Outcasts" is a "tender prayer-song" in which "Esmeralda expresses a heart full of concern for others, which ultimately Quasimodo mistakes as a heart for him."{{Cite book|title = Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film|last = Ward|first = Annalee R.|publisher = University of Texas Press|year = 2002|isbn = 9780292791534|location = United States|page = 60|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EW0f0d5dj_8C&q=%22Bells+of+Notre+Dame%22+disney&pg=PA58}} Esmeralda is "bathed in colored light from the stained glass window"{{cite web|url = http://www.lariat.org/AtTheMovies/hunch.html|title = Hunchback of Notre Dame – 'Hunchback' is the best Disney feature cartoon in years|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = Laramie Movie Scope: Hunchback of Notre Dame|publisher = Robert Roten|last = Roten|first = Robert|year = 1996}} as "God’s light shines down upon Esmeralda"{{cite web|url = http://weminoredinfilm.com/2013/02/17/rasha-mundane-disneys-hunchback-of-notre-dame/|title = We Debate: The Surprising Bleakness of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame|date = February 17, 2013|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = We Minored In Film|last = Ramsey|first = Julianne}} via a rose window. Initially, the song does not specify to whom the prayer is being recited – Mary, Jesus or God. It does, however, suggest that both Mary and Jesus are former outcasts, much like Esmeralda herself. In The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past, author Tison Pugh described Esmeralda as "latently or innately Christian."{{Cite book|title = The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past|last = Pugh|first = Tison|publisher = Palgrave Macmillan|year = 2012|isbn = 9781137066923|location = United Kingdom|page = 239}}

{{Blockquote|text = "'God Help the Outcasts' is sung by Esmeralda as an intercessory prayer on the behalf of Quasimodo and her people, the gypsies, whom are treated as outcasts by the rest of their society. Esmeralda begins her prayer by realizing that Jesus Christ must have also known what it was like to be treated as an outcast, for his own people crucified him on the Cross at Calvary. The heart of her prayer can be summed up in this statement, 'I thought we all were the children of God.'"|sign = Program Notes for the Senior Showcase of Mariel Villarreal and Preston-Joseph Woods.{{cite journal|title=Program Notes for the Senior Showcase of Mariel Villarreal and Preston-Joseph Woods|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:PnXnIhNAVcAJ:www.shorter.edu/academics/arts/programs/examples/villarreal_woods_notes.pdf+&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgt4-ihy4CmAwN3upvHzXpmf7v07bITKdC2H3AxUznyFClajS-kN9JaFZn_EuZBDSD3vPgXCgXlZJB6cbh8-l8ObGrVNgNzo34j5h8TLDtYA-ZlHvmNgbNMwfaVEw5oCUP_nsRW&sig=AHIEtbTK07_NSO6AhgiXiQlQagOtxl83Dg|access-date=18 June 2014}}}}

In Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood, and Corporate Power, Dr. Robert B. Pettit identified "God Help the Outcasts" as "a plea on behalf of all minorities – not only by ethnicity, but also by race, class, gender, or sexual orientation." Additionally, Pettit feels that the song "might have been a jab at the homophobic religious right who were organizing a boycott of Disney."{{Cite book|title = Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood & Corporate Power|last = Pettit|first = Robert B.|publisher = The Media Education Foundation|location = United States|page = 14|url = https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:_7xlsEWQwEsJ:www.mediaed.org/assets/products/112/studyguide_112.pdf+&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg0WL1v5RyAdqYkwr8cOxMXn6x227_6BBMO2pge_0h9AjziEiJEXguf5ZsIOyl6Q_wUXQUwZrsBezXsJFqaT0HzMrjtRgCVB_7Km5KgPO6OjYwMib6JYRX97vJlU8pFlu3ZmQJS&sig=AHIEtbTWvZHnhd_jI_WXPaNRlkoXZ2Txlw}} A somber song, "God Help the Outcasts" also "underlines the theme of Victor Hugo’s novel": "At one point in the song, we have a group of rich, well-off Christians asking God for wealth, fame, and love" while "Esmeralda, a penniless gypsy who confessed that she didn’t know if God was there, prays for her people and asks that they be shown mercy and love," additionally "pointing out that Jesus was also an outcast when he walked on this Earth, and that we’re all children of God no matter who we are or what we’ve done."{{cite web|url = http://lgalfonso.wordpress.com/tag/god-help-the-outcasts/|title = Top 12 Somber Songs|date = April 6, 2014|access-date = June 21, 2014|website = Igalfonso}} The scene additionally suggests "a more positive view of the Church than found in Hugo's novel" as it provides outcasts such as Esmeralda with both shelter and sanctuary.

File:BetteMidler90cropped.jpg's pop rendition of "God Help the Outcasts" features modified lyrics. ]]

{{Listen|type=music|pos=left|filename=God_Help_the_Outcasts_-_Bette_Midler.ogg|title=Single version (Bette Midler)|description=

Midler's version of the song, featuring modified 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 {{music|time|3|4}} time. The vocal range of singer Heidi Mollenhauer, who provided Esmeralda's singing voice in lieu of actress Demi Moore,{{Cite book|title = The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television|last = Hischak|first = Thomas S.|publisher = Oxford University Press|year = 2008|isbn = 9780195335330|location = United Kingdom|page = 357}} spans two octaves, from F₃ to C₅.{{cite web|url = http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0123266&|title = God Help the Outcasts From The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Digital Sheet Music|access-date = June 18, 2014|website = Musicnotes.com|date = 12 May 2014|publisher = Walt Disney Music Publishing}} Transposed to the higher key of E♭ major, Midler's vocal range also spans two octaves, from B♭₃ to F₅.{{cite web|url = http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0057146&|title = God Help the Outcasts By Bette Midler - Digital Sheet Music|access-date = June 18, 2014|website = Musicnotes.com|date = 13 April 2007|publisher = Walt Disney Music Publishing}} While Mollenhauer's version spans three minutes and forty-five seconds,{{Cite web|url = https://music.apple.com/ca/album/hunchback-notre-dame-original/156093514|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Original Soundtrack)|access-date = July 8, 2014|website = iTunes| date=28 May 1996 |publisher = Apple Inc}} Midler's rendition of "God Help the Outcasts" lasts a shorter length of three minutes and twenty-six seconds.{{Cite web|url = https://www.amazon.com/The-Hunchback-Notre-Dame-Soundtrack/dp/B000001M31|title = The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack [Original recording remastered, Soundtrack]|access-date = July 8, 2014|website = Amazon.com|publisher = Amazon.com, Inc}}

"[A]n intercessory prayer," "God Help the Outcasts" is both "a powerfully quiet song" and a "heart-rending aria"{{cite web|url = http://www.awn.com/mag/issue1.4/articles/mortiz1.4.html|title = The Hunchback of MTV?|website = Animation World Network|last = Moritz|first = William}} performed with "agony and beauty."{{cite web | url=http://blog.animeinstrumentality.net/2013/04/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame-original-soundtrack-review/ | title=The Hunchback of Notre Dame Original Soundtrack – Review | publisher=Anime Instrumentality Blog. | date=April 9, 2013 | access-date=10 July 2014 | author=maskerade}} 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 part to its "tenderness."{{cite web|url = http://www.dvdizzy.com/disneysongscountdown/index3.htm|title = Top 100 disney songs|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = DVDizzy.com|publisher = DVDizzy.com.}} A "haunting prayer" and a "simple hymn,"{{Cite book|title = The Disney Song Encyclopedia|last1 = Hischak|first1 = Thomas S.|publisher = Scarecrow Press|year = 2009|isbn = 9780810869387|location = United States|page = 66|last2 = Robinson|first2 = Mark A.|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3mxHH9bKbPEC&q=%22god+help+the+outcasts%22&pg=PA66}} "God Help the Outcasts" is "the most spiritual and transendent [sic] tune to emerge from an animated feature."{{cite web|url = http://themoviereport.com/movierpt7.html#hunchback|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame (G)|date = June 17, 1996|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = The Movie Report|publisher = Michael Dequina}} The ballad, "plain in structure," is a "hopeful and sweet anthem"{{cite web|url = http://news.moviefone.ca/2013/11/27/best-disney-soundtracks-of-the-past-25-years/|title = The Best Disney Soundtracks of the Past 25 Years: 'Frozen,' 'Lion King,' and More (VIDEO)|date = November 27, 2013|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = Moviefone|publisher = Moviefone Canada|last = Chen|first = Sandie Angulo|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140806123354/http://news.moviefone.ca/2013/11/27/best-disney-soundtracks-of-the-past-25-years/|archive-date = August 6, 2014|url-status = dead}} 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.{{Cite book|title = Film Genre 2000: New Critical Essays|last = Dixon|first = Wheeler W.|publisher = SUNY Press|year = 2000|isbn = 9780791445136|location = United States|page = 54|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=u92yAqdWcawC&pg=PA54 }} Performed "as a prayer for deliverance from [the gypsies'] pain and suffering,"{{Cite book|title = Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews and Christian Truth|last = Mueller|first = Walt|publisher = InterVarsity Press|year = 2006|isbn = 9780830833375|location = United States|page = 117|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mVmMD-n7GcAC&pg=PA109 }} 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."{{cite web|url = http://www.assignmentx.com/2011/10-themes-and-songs-that-glee-needs-to-do-for-season-3/|title = 10 Themes (and Songs) That GLEE Needs to Do for Season 3|date = September 26, 2011|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = Assignment X|publisher = Midnight Productions, Inc}} Asking "was Jesus [God] not an outcast, too, as [Esmeralda] sees firsthand how her people, are persecuted for their differences,"{{cite web|url = http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2013/09/07/disney-53-hunchback-notre-dame/|title = Disney 53: The Hunchback of Notre Dame|date = September 7, 2013|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = The Hollywood News|last = Burch|first = Rob}} 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 downtrod/I thought we all were the children of God.”{{cite web|url = http://www.thenerdmachine.com/the-hunchback-of-notre-dame-watched-as-an-adult/|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Watched As an Adult|date = April 2, 2013|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = The Nerd Machine|publisher = WebMovement, LLC}} 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."{{Cite book|title = The Gospel According to Disney|last = Pinsky|first = Mark I.|publisher = Westminster John Knox Press|isbn = 9780664234676|location = United States|page = 170|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YGtbYTyulb4C&q=%22god+help+the+outcasts%22&pg=PA170}} Midler's shorter rendition, considered a reprise of Mollenhauer's original,{{Cite book|title = Hollywood Musicals Year by Year|last = Green|first = Stanley|author-link=Stanley Green (historian)|publisher = Hal Leonard Corporation|year = 1999|isbn = 9780634007651|location = United States|page = 301|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XD2xNKSN3E8C&q=%22god+help+the+outcasts%22&pg=PA286}} features modified lyrics, replacing "to a gypsy's prayer" with "to a humble prayer."{{Cite book|title = Finding the Missional Path|last = Winders|first = Barry E.|publisher = Xulon Press|year = 2007|isbn = 9781602668171|location = United States|page = 85|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VZopOlJiSpAC&q=%22god+help+the+outcasts%22&pg=PA85}}

File:Mietta @ Camellino 2016 (cropped).jpg singer Mietta was awarded best foreign Esmeralda worldwide]]

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".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ogkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22god+help+the+outcasts%22+billboard+chart&pg=PA56|title=Billboard - Google Books|date=1996-07-13|via=Google Books|access-date=2014-06-27}}

Mietta, who voiced Esmeralda in the Italian version, won a prize as the best foreign version.{{Cite web|url=https://disneyinternationalvoices.weebly.com/esmeralda.html|title=Esmeralda|website=Charguigou|access-date=2016-05-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.lecittadelledonne.it/index.php/component/k2/item/345-intervista-a-mietta-artista-eclettica-voce-calda-e-potente-come-la-sua-terra-la-puglia|title=Le città delle donne - Intervista a Mietta, artista eclettica, voce calda e potente come la sua terra, la Puglia|last=eleonora|website=www.lecittadelledonne.it|access-date=2016-05-11|archive-date=2016-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513034805/http://www.lecittadelledonne.it/index.php/component/k2/item/345-intervista-a-mietta-artista-eclettica-voce-calda-e-potente-come-la-sua-terra-la-puglia|url-status=dead}}

{{legend|PaleTurquoise|Highlighted versions were released later than 1996}}

File:God Help the Outcasts scene.png

Critical reception towards "God Help the Outcasts" has been generally positive, with some critics dubbing the song the film's "most memorable"{{cite web|url = http://www.all-reviews.com/videos-2/hunchback-notre-dame-2.htm|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame|access-date = June 26, 2014|website = All-Reviews.com}} and "best number."{{cite web|url = http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=4075|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = Spirituality and Practice|publisher = Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat.|last1 = Brussat|first1 = Frederic|last2 = Brussat|first2 = Mary Ann}} Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote very positively of "God Help the Outcasts", saying, "The score ... soars to sanctimonious heights with the lilting, catchy power ballad 'God Help the Outcasts'." Maslin continued, "[the song is] a sure thing for next year's Oscar show."{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901E3DE1539F932A15755C0A960958260&partner=Rotten%2520Tomatoes|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) FILM REVIEW;The Dancing Gargoyles Romp and Wisecrack|date = June 21, 1996|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = The New York Times|last = Maslin|first = Janet}} Deeming "God Help the Outcasts" "the primary song" of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Filmtracks.com hailed it as "A truly lovely and inspirational piece." Filmtracks.com went on to extol Mollenhauer's "elegant" vocal performance, joking, "apparently Demi Moore couldn't sing well enough to suffice."{{cite web|url = http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/hunchback.html|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame: (Alan Menken)|access-date = June 15, 2014|website = Filmtracks.com|publisher = Christian Clemmensen (Filmtracks Publications)}} Similarly praising Mollenhauer's delivery, Animation World Network wrote that the singer's "voice timbre blends seamlessly with Demi Moore's speaking voice." Teen Ink described "God Help the Outcasts" as "a wonderful song,"{{cite web|url = http://www.teenink.com/reviews/music_reviews/article/467239/God-Help-The-Outcasts-by-Disney-Esmeralda/|title = God Help The Outcasts by Disney (Esmeralda)|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = Teen Ink|publisher = Emerson Media|last = Q|first = Jessica}} while About.com's Espie Estrella highlighted "God Help the Outcasts" as the film's "Featured Song."{{cite web|url = http://musiced.about.com/od/toppicksandreviews/ss/cellobrands2_8.htm|title = Memorable Disney Movie Songs|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = About.com|last = Estrella|first = Espie|archive-date = July 12, 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140712181013/http://musiced.about.com/od/toppicksandreviews/ss/cellobrands2_8.htm|url-status = dead}} Hailing The Hunchback of Notre Dame as "my favorite soundtrack of any Disney movie," Emerson College's Entertainment Monthly extolled the film for "trad[ing] the traditional happy tunes for heartfelt and heart-wrenching ballads like ... 'God Help the Outcasts.'"{{Cite web|url = https://emertainmentmonthly.org/2013/06/23/the-top-ten-most-underrated-disney-films-2/|title = The Top Ten Most Underrated Disney Films|date = June 23, 2013|access-date = July 1, 2014|website = Entertainment Monthly|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140620234122/http://emertainmentmonthly.com/2013/06/23/the-top-ten-most-underrated-disney-films-2/|archive-date = June 20, 2014}}

In a mixed review, Kenneth E. Rathburn of Sputnikmusic commented, "Both versions of 'God Help the Outcasts' offer a level of mid-road quality that came to be expected after the Disney Renaissance," writing of Mollenhauer's, "The film version seems to limp around a bit while delivering more of that emotional punch needed as we transition to the second act," while Midler's "has that credits vibe we all know and love from Disney films" which "keeps us sticking around when we'd otherwise abandon the theater." However, Rathburn concluded, "said version is a little detached for the sake of thematic relevance."{{cite web|url = https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/52185/Disney-Soundtracks-The-Hunchback-of-Notre-Dame/|title = Disney Soundtracks – The Hunchback of Notre Dame|date = September 29, 2012|access-date = June 15, 2014|website = Sputnikmusic|publisher = Sputnikmusic.com|last = Rathburn|first = Kenneth E.}} Jack Smith of BBC Online gave the song a very unfavorable review, writing, "The sentiments of 'God Help The Outcasts' ... are spoiled by syrupy production," describing Midler's rendition as "overwrought."{{cite web|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/fd54|title = Alan Menken The Hunchback of Notre Dame Review|access-date = June 15, 2014|website = BBC Online|publisher = BBC|last = Smith|first = Jack|year = 2004}} Plugged In (publication) observed, "One heartwarming scene finds Esmeralda praying selflessly on behalf of the world's outcasts." However, "such moments are overshadowed by simmering passions, a shapely heroine and dark elements likely to upset."{{cite web|url = http://www.pluggedin.ca/videos/1999/Q1/HunchbackofNotreDame.aspx|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = Plugged In|publisher = Focus on the Family|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://archive.today/20140616121519/http://www.pluggedin.ca/videos/1999/Q1/HunchbackofNotreDame.aspx|archive-date = June 16, 2014}}

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.{{cite web|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19960622&id=OrFOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6875,2163336|title = 'Hunchback' soundtrack not thrilling|date = 1996|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = Star-News|last = Cohen|first = Howard}} 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."{{cite web|url = http://www.dvdizzy.com/hunchback-2moviecollection.html|title = The Hunchback of Notre Dame & The Hunchback of Notre Dame II: 2 Movie Collection Blu-ray + DVD Review|date = March 6, 2013|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = DVDizzy.com|last = Luke|first = Bonanno}} Menken told HitFix, "The loss for the 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' score in 1997 ... were 'disappointing.'{{cite web|url = http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/the-beat-goes-on/posts/interview-oscar-winning-composer-alan-menken-talks-captain-america|title = Interview: Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken talks 'Captain America'|date = July 21, 2011|access-date = June 16, 2014|website = HitFix|last = Newman|first = Melinda}} 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.{{Cite book|title = The World of Musicals|last = Robinson|first = Mark A.|publisher = ABC-CLIO|year = 2014|isbn = 9781440800979|location = United States|page = 447|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=E8mUAwAAQBAJ&q=%22god+help+the+outcasts%22&pg=PA447}}

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.{{cite web|url = https://www.buzzfeed.com/azafar/the-definitive-ranking-of-the-102-best-animated-disney-songs|title = The Definitive Ranking Of The 102 Best Animated Disney Songs|date = April 21, 2014|access-date = June 17, 2014|website = BuzzFeed|last = Zafar|first = Aylin}}

{{Listen|type=music|pos=right|filename=God_Help_The_Outcasts_-_Der_Glockner.ogg|title=Stage musical version (Judy Weiss and Drew Sarich)|description=The song was reinterpreted as a duet for the 1999 stage musical adaption Der Glöckner von Notre Dame. This version is performed by Judy Weiss (Esmeralda) and Drew Sarich (Quasimodo).}}

"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".{{cite web | url=http://www.stephenschwartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/hunchback-stage-production1.pdf | title=Questions and answers from the archive of the StephenSchwartz.com Forum | publisher=StephenSchwartz.com | date=2010 | access-date=27 October 2014 | author=Schwartz, Stephen | archive-date=27 October 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027065507/http://www.stephenschwartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/hunchback-stage-production1.pdf | url-status=dead }} 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 parishioners [and] show[s] his pure compassion for other's pain, unselfishly. A brilliant stage device and moment".{{cite web|url=http://www.musicalschwartz.com/the-hunchback-review1.htm |title=Disney Musicals - Der Glockner Von Notre Dame - The Hunchback of Notre Dame Stage production recording |publisher=Musicalschwartz.com |access-date=2014-06-27}} The Hunchblog noted turning this song into a duet means Esmeralda gets no solos in the musical.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehunchblog.com/2012/01/hilf-den-verstosenen-and-hoch-uber-der-welt-music-of-der-glockner-von-notre-dame-part-3/ |title=Hilf den Verstoßenen and Hoch über der Welt – Music of Der Glöckner von Notre Dame – Part 3 | The Hunchblog of Notre Dame |publisher=Thehunchblog.com |date=2012-01-26 |access-date=2014-06-27}} 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.{{cite web|url = http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/12/30/video-jodi-bensons-dis-unplugged-performance-a-wonder/|title = Video: Jodi Benson's DIS Unplugged Performance a Wonder|date = December 30, 2010|access-date = June 19, 2014|website = DIS Unplugged Disney Podcast|publisher = The DIS Unplugged Disney Podcast}}

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.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ig0EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22god+help+the+outcasts%22+billboard+chart&pg=PA24 |title=Billboard - Google Books |via=Google Books|date=1999-05-22 |access-date=2014-06-27}}

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• [https://genius.com/Walt-disney-records-god-help-the-outcasts-lyrics Lyrics] on genius.com

{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:God Help the Outcasts}}

Category:1990s ballads

Category:1996 songs

Category:Bette Midler songs

Category:Disney Renaissance songs

Category:Pop ballads

Category:Songs about racism and xenophobia

Category:Songs from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)

Category:Songs written by Stephen Schwartz (composer)

Category:Songs with music by Alan Menken

Category:Song recordings produced by Alan Menken