“Howard” Disney Plus Movie Review by Brooke Daugherty : Pop Culture Leftovers

“Howard” Disney Plus Movie Review by Brooke Daugherty

August 23, 2020 12:37 pm |

The story of songwriter Howard Ashman who penned the lyrics for 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.

In 2018, Dan Hahn debuted his documentary, Howard, chronicling the life of songwriter/producer/writer Howard Ashman, at the Tribeca Film Festival. After showing at a couple other festivals that year, it is finally available to the masses on Disney+ two years later. Disney no doubt added this film to their streaming service due to Ashman’s hand in making Disney Animation what it is today. Without him, it’s hard to believe they would’ve had all the hits they have been turning into live action films as of late. They may have never purchased Pixar without those hits.

Hahn’s documentary is different from most. Instead of the talking head format, he tells the story with visuals and voice overs. His other documentary on Disney+, Waking Sleeping Beauty, is filmed in a similar format. We are shown photographs as Ashman’s friends and family tell his story. Storyboards and film clips are shown while his colleagues talk about working with him. Ashman worked on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, as well as Beauty and the Beast. Hahn uses demo tapes Ashman and his writing partner Alan Menken made with Howard himself singing the lyrics. A decent portion is devoted to Ashman’s first hit, the musical, Little Shop of Horrors.

Menken not only composed the music for Ashman’s lyrics, but he also composed the music for the documentary. Menken insisted he score the film after Hahn showed him a copy of it. Composer Chris Bacon took that score and adapted it for the film. Bacon himself isn’t a slouch as he composed the score for Wonder Woman plus Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was the best part of that movie.

Ashman’s entire life is shown in the film, not just his Disney career. Hahn didn’t shy away from including more “controversial” topics such as Ashman’s HIV diagnosis or his life as a gay man in the 70s and 80s. Love and loss are discussed. When it comes to coworkers, they describe him as genius, but still mention he could be a diva at times. All in all, they respected and loved him, noting how he seemingly could write a song quickly that was both entertaining and progressed the plot.

I was delighted to find out that the same man wrote the songs for Little Shop of Horrors also wrote the songs for some of my all time favorite Disney movies. Let’s be honest, if it weren’t for the songs in The Little Mermaid, it would be a dud with a story that doesn’t age well. Ashman’s work on that film make it a classic. Go ahead, try not to sing “Under the Sea” as you head over to Disney+ to check out this doc.

PCL Rating: Tupperware

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅