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Meet Disney Lyricist Howard Ashman in Trailer for 'Howard' Doc Film

by Alex Billington
July 16, 2020
Source: YouTube

"Howard and Alan Menken had captured the imagination of a generation…" Disney has released the new official trailer for a documentary titled Howard, made by the acclaimed Disney veteran Don Hahn. The doc film tells the story of songwriter Howard Ashman, who penned the lyrics for the musicals Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast, before he died of AIDS at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1991. "You may not know his name, but you sure know Howard Ashman's music," states Hahn. "He's one of the greatest storytellers of the twentieth century who helped to revitalize the American musical and re-energize Disney Animation. He left us a songbook that still lives on in us today, yet his personal story has never been fully told until now." The film features interviews with Ashman's longtime musical collaborator Alan Menken, who also scored the film, Bill Lauch (Ashman's partner), Jodie Benson (The Little Mermaid), Paige O'Hara (Beauty and the Beast), Sarah Gillespie (Ashman's sister), and more. This originally premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018, but is finally coming to Disney+ this summer.

Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Don Hahn's documentary Howard, direct from Disney's YouTube:

Howard is the untold story of Howard Ashman, the brilliant lyricist behind Disney classics like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and the creator of musicals including Little Shop of Horrors. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, personal films and photographs, as well as interviews with Howard's friends and family, the documentary film is an intimate look at the Disney Legend's life, his creative drive, and the process behind the music. Spanning his childhood in Baltimore, to his formative years in New York, and his untimely death from AIDS in 1991, Howard goes in-depth to explore his journey to become the lyricist behind some of the most beloved and well-known classic family films in the world. Howard is directed by Disney animation veteran Don Hahn, also director of the doc films Waking Sleeping Beauty, Christmas with Walt Disney, and Hand Held previously. He has worked in various roles in Disney animation for decades and is considered a Disney Legend. This first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. Disney releases Hahn's Howard streaming on Disney+ starting August 7th this summer.

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