Howard Ashman injected musical thrills into animations such as Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, as this exciting documentary shows
There’s something exciting about a film that immerses you in the life of a creative artist, and so it proves with this documentary about Howard Ashman. He was the fiercely talented lyricist and musical-theatre wizard who ran his own off-off-Broadway producing venue in the 70s, turned Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors into a mainstream stage smash, got signed up by
Disney for animations such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast and, sadly, became the first person with Aids to get an Oscar (posthumously).
It’s moving to see Ashman rehearsing his song Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid, and to see how it relates to his own unforgotten childhood when he yearned to be part of the magical world of show business. Ashman set a standard of flair, invention and Broadway-style showmanship in Disney lyrics that continues to this day.