I would wager that every theatergoer who has seen the musical Rent knows that its creator, Jonathan Larson, passed away unexpectedly the night before its Off-Broadway premiere. I would also bet that most people who have seen Disney’s Beauty and the Beast have no clue that the man largely credited with molding the troubled production into the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards also didn’t live to see the finished film. That man was Howard Ashman and his story is about to be told in Howard, a documentary film by Don Hahn.
The name Howard Ashman is not unknown in the Disney fan community, or even the theater community where he made his start. But the film uses first hand accounts from those who knew him best to tell his story as never before, from his sister Sarah Ashman and his life-partner Bill Lauch to his frequent collaborator Alan Menken and even the film’s director and producer, Don Hahn.
Howard plays almost like a sequel to another Don Hahn documentary, Waking Sleeping Beauty. Howard Ashman’s Disney contributions were a big part of that film and Don Hahn chose a similar storytelling style with this film, refraining from talking-head interviews and filling the film with footage and photos of Howard Ashman’s life. Waking Sleeping Beauty told the story of the renaissance of Disney Animation, while Howard tells the life and death of Howard Ashman.
Viewers get to intimately know Howard Ashman the son, Howard Ashman the brother, Howard Ashman the friend, Howard Ashman the colleague, and Howard Ashman the spouse through this beautiful tribute to a remarkable man. His story is told in linear form, taking audiences through his early years to his school days and his innovative way of breaking into the New York theater scene. The ups and downs and unpredictability of success with the Broadway community is tracked through shows like God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Little Shop of Horrors, and Smile, with rare footage from all three shows in the film.
The film adaptation of Little Shop of Horrors becomes Howard Ashman’s stepping stone into Disney Animation where his musical theater background reinvigorated the animated medium when he brought Alan Menken with him to work on The Little Mermaid. A familiar story from Waking Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin was the film they were supposed to do next and a true passion project for Howard Ashman. But the struggling Beauty and the Beast needed help desperately and the songwriting team came to the rescue, which would be Howard Ashman’s last film.
Howard does a much better job of telling the HIV/AIDS story than Bohemian Rhapsody did, despite both Ashman and Freddie Mercury succumbing to the same fate. The “Gay Cancer,” as it was initially called, is introduced early in the documentary, with Howard losing friends and even an ex boyfriend to the disease. The film chronicles how he found out he had it and how he kept it a secret for so long. His passion and dedication to his work kept him going until his final days, still working on Beauty and the Beast from a hospital bed after losing his sight.
You may be reading this review and thinking Howard sounds very depressing, but it’s quite the opposite. It’s the story of a life lived to the fullest that seems destined to inspire all viewers. Howard Ashman didn’t take no for an answer and took charge of his destiny, giving the world some of the greatest animated films of all time.
I give Howard 5 out of 5 “I want” songs.
Howard premieres Friday, August 7th, only on Disney+.