Howard (2020)

Songwriter Howard Ashman was an unparalleled talent. His lyrics have a naturalness to them that makes them seem like they just flow out of the singer's mouth, and are filled with the most ingenious word plays and illusions. Often it's filled with meanings far beyond what the literal meaning of his words are. His work is as clever as Cole Porter, the rhythms, the rhymes, the pictures he paints, the allegories, but it never feels pretentious or out of reach. His work is simply beautiful and lovely. When I first discovered his work I was a child yet I still knew I had found something special. From the daring audacity of Little Shop of Horrors to the magical perfection of The Little Mermaid, his work was one of first times I found something that was heads and shoulders above most of what else I was hearing.

When Ashman passed away in 1991 I felt it deeply. His masterpiece, Beauty and the Beast, had just revolutionized animation as film in North America. Not only did I want more and more of this mans work, I loved seeing a queer man create this amazing music and be honoured for it. His death was a loss that just felt so overwhelming. He had invigorated in me (and so many others) a love for musical theatre and animation, and I wasn't sure I could find something like his work again. I never really did.

Life goes on for those of us left behind, but his work has always stayed with me. I can sing all of Gaston or Belle or Under the Sea without any prompting or reminders of the lyrics. And clearly I am not alone. Howard, a documentary about his career and life, is a loving tribute to him. The film celebrates his work and also shows him with his loving partner, and his suffering through AIDS which would eventually kill him. The film treats him as a hero and that is fitting, even if it shows his passion, especially at the end, where things became so hard. It captures the loss so many of us felt at the time of his death.

Howard is a lovely tribute to a beautiful artist and a reminder to all of us how lucky we are to have his work still here with us.

Howard
Writer/Director: Don Hawn