Howard (film)


Howard is a 2018 American documentary film written and directed by Don Hahn about the life of songwriter Howard Ashman.

Summary

The film documents the life of songwriter Howard Ashman, who wrote the lyrics for the songs in the Disney classics The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, as well as the stage musical, Little Shop of Horrors, and who died in March 1991 of complications from AIDS at the age of 40.

Music

composed the score for the film, while Chris Bacon adapted the score. When Hahn showed a reel of the movie to Menken, who worked with Ashman on several projects until the latter's passing, he told Hahn that " to score this movie". According to Hahn, Menken composed the score during the holiday season, and describe his score as "one of the most personal and touching scores that from him".

Releases

Howard premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, and was nominated for the Best Documentary Award at the 2018 Heartland Film Festival, before having a limited theatrical run on December 18, 2018. On October 18, 2019, it was announced that the film will be released on Disney+ in 2020. On July 16, 2020, it was elaborated that the film would be released on Disney+ on August 7.

Critical reception

It has earned critical praise. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a rich cinematic portrait" while Melissa Leon of The Daily Beast stated that the film is "riddled with gems from the production of now-iconic films".