Howard (2018) on Netflix
TV-PG20181h 34mBiographyDocumentaryMusic
Lyricist Howard Ashman wrote the lyrics for Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Family, friends and his partner Bill Lauch recall him.
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- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.5/101,710 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes93%
Trailer
Plot summary
Howard Ashman wrote the lyrics for the Disney animated films The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, and for the stage musical Little Shop of Horrors. He died from HIV/AIDS in 1991. The film follows his life and work on Broadway and in movies through rare archival footage and conversations with his family, friends, associates and his longtime partner Bill Lauch. The interviews are heard as audio while speech bubbles name each speaker, the presentation used in an earlier documentary by the same filmmaker. Rotten Tomatoes records a 94 percent approval rating from 47 reviews, and Metacritic a score of 76 from 13 critics.
Cast
- Bill Lauchas Self
- Sarah Gillespieas Self
- Shirley Ashmanas Self
- Kyle Renickas Self
- Nancy Parentas Self
- Dennis Greenas Self
- Chris Montanas Self
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Howard (2018)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Alan Menken, who had worked with Howard Ashman until Ashman's death, offered to score Howard during the 2017-18 Christmas season after Don Hahn showed him a reel; Hahn initially refused because the budget couldn't pay Menken, but agreed when Menken said he saw it as a chance to create a musical homage to Ashman.
- In May 2023, Disney+ planned to remove Howard among nearly 60 original films and series on May 26 to cut costs; backlash from Disney fans and the LGBTQ+ community, especially as it was the eve of Pride Month and the same day as the live-action The Little Mermaid remake, led Disney+ to keep the film on the service.
