Why Didn’t I Know Howard Ashman Before?

I’m gonna be honest, I only watched Howard because I heard it was going away. However, this documentary was saved due to public outcry so that it wouldn’t be lost forever. It’s staying on Disney+, for now. It could be at risk again if businessmen want to get greedy again.

Howard Ashman’s friends, family and Disney colleagues put a lot of love and care into telling his story. How “he gave a mermaid her voice and beast his soul.”

Howard Ashman was a man living pretty authentically to who he was at a time where a lot of people couldn’t. The AIDS crisis caused a lot of panic and fear so that was a piece he hid until his near death while still working on Disney production.

The secret and the public angst towards those with AIDS can be reflected in Ashman’s work. Think of the “Mob Song” from Beauty and The Beast. I didn’t even realize that the lyrics could be interpreted as how the general public reacts to AIDS until this documentary opened my eyes to that interpretation. 

If you’ve seen The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, or Aladdin then you’ve heard some of Howard Ashman’s work. Ashman is the reason Jodie Benson is the voice of Ariel. He brought Broadway talent to the big screen through his path of becoming a songwriter.

He was fighting battles while making magic. 

Howard Ashman did a lot of revolutionary work for Disney, the least Disney could do is keep the documentary on Disney+.