Spoiler Warning: Please if you haven’t watched the documentary Howard please do so. This article will be covering some of the interesting moments from this wonderful documentary.
Don Hahn’s new documentary dives into the life and legacy of lyricist Howard Ashman. Who went on to deliver some of the most beloved songs of all time alongside his songwriting partner Alan Menken.
Here are some of the more unique things we noticed in Howard.
Ashman was connected to Disney even before his journey as a songwriter began
Before, Howard Ashman would create some of the most iconic Disney songs of all time he worked for the company briefly as a copywriter/editor. Ashman was the editor on the Mickey Mouse Club scrapbook. Ashman even got a trip to Disneyland out of the job.
Ashman did ‘The Snow Queen’ for the stage as his master’s thesis
Walt Disney wanted to do The Snow Queen film back in 1943. The Snow Queen was a project at The Walt Disney Company that would be brought up time and time again. It was even brought up by Disney CEO Michael Eisner in 2003. It finally made its way to the screen in 2013’s Frozen.
Yet, as Howard reveals The Snow Queen tale by Hans Christian-Andersen was used as Howard Ashman’s master’s thesis as he adapted the classic tale into a stage show.
He wrote a biopic about Tina Turner for Disney
Ashman’s first project at Disney was writing a biopic about Tina Turner along with the singer called I, Tina. The biopic wasn’t gaining traction at Disney at the time, and Ashman went on to work with the folks at Walt Disney Animation.
A Tina Turner biopic would eventually come out called What’s Love Got to Do with It. The film was distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and the production company was Touchstone Pictures. So, the project stayed within Disney without Ashman’s involvement.
Jeffrey Katzenberg’s letter to Howard Ashman about potential projects he could work on
After his frustrating experience with his Broadway musical Smile. Ashman was being courted by Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg. During Howard, it shows a letter that Katzenberg sent to Ashman, and we couldn’t help ourselves but notice there were some interesting projects on there.
The first project was The Little Mermaid, which Ashman would end up working on with his songwriting partner Alan Menken.
The second project was called Dufus. In an interview with Collider’s Drew Taylor, Don Hahn revealed that Dufus was a planned adaption of JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye but with German shepherds. Yes, Disney was going to make an animated Catcher in the Rye film with German shepherds.
Disney CEO Michael Eisner loved Catcher in the Rye and told the animators to do a film about it. Hahn and the other animators had to break the news to Eisner that there was zero chance that author JD Salinger would do a film adaption of Catcher in the Rye for anyone. That’s when Eisner told them to just make a similar “coming-of-age, growing up” story. It’s unclear how far in development, Dufus ever got but it’s funny to imagine the possibility of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken working on that project instead of let’s say Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin.
The final film on Katzenberg’s list (or the last one that the audience can actually see) is a Mary Poppins film. This would be the Mary Poppins Comes Back film that would’ve seen Michael Jackson playing a Bert-like character alongside Julie Andrews reprising the iconic role. I have actually written about Katzenberg’s desire to do a Mary Poppins film in the 80s. Yet, I never knew that Katzenberg courted Ashman to do the songs for it.
Ashman’s life was sadly cut short in 1991 after his battle with HIV/AIDS. At one point in Howard, Roy E. Disney compares Howard Ashman to Walt Disney due to his contributions to Disney. Which makes sense considering how Howard Ashman helped Disney Animation usher in the Disney Renaissance.
As Howard Ashman’s sister Sarah Gillespie says in the documentary. Howard was just getting started and that his work up to his early death at 40 was the tip of the iceberg. Just look at what Howard Ashman accomplished in his first three (technically two and a half) projects at Disney. His songs for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin have inspired a generation and will outlive all of us. His projects would go on to fit comfortably on the shelf next to Ashman’s Disney favorites like Pinocchio and Peter Pan.
Just imagine all the things he could’ve accomplished if he only had time.
Howard is now streaming on Disney+.
