The most undeniably moving moments in Don Hahn’s tremendous 2009 documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty, which charted the return of Disney Animation’s cultural dominance after decades in hibernation, were those dedicated to lyricist Howard Ashman. Ashman, who provided lyrics to The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and part of Aladdin, contracted AIDS and his health began to fail. An unforgettable anecdote from the documentary detailed how the filmmakers, after a particularly rapturous test screening, visited Ashman in his Manhattan hospital room. The lyricist, who helped save Walt Disney’s beloved feature animation program as it teetered on the …

Few individuals had as much of an impact on the resurgence of Disney Animation than lyricist and screenwriter Howard Ashman. Ashman, whose brilliance was well-known thanks to the Off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors, which he worked on with composer Alan Menken and later adapted for an equally brilliant film by Frank Oz, brought an element of theatricality and storytelling stability to projects like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. The key to Ashman’s success wasn’t just his ability to write a catchy tune, but his innate sense of story and character. He …

Disney+ continues to add more and more content to itself like some kind of ravenous Content Monster (an animated series coming soon to Disney+), and today the streaming serving bulked up its non-fiction output. At the International Documentary Association Showcase, the network announced a new slate of documentaries and docu-series to live next to scripted projects like The Mandalorian and Loki. Check out the newly announced projects below: [caption id="attachment_694925" align="alignright" width="360"] Image via Disney[/caption] Howard, directed by Don Hahn (Beauty and the Beast), which will look at the life and career of legendary …