Anyone familiar with popular culture of the last 40 years likely knows the name of Howard Ashman. And yet it's astonishing how much more about his work we know than about the man himself.
Don Hahn’s remarkable new documentary, Howard, now streaming on Disney+, is going to change that. It’s the most soulful, spiritual, and peaceful movie of the year, and an terrific feat of documentary filmmaking.
Howard Ashman, if you don’t know, is the writer of stage musicals and lyricist for some of the most famous movie musicals of all time.
The documentary covers all times in his short life (from 1950 to 1991) equally. It goes from his childhood to school to his WPA theatre company to legendary work at Walt Disney Studios.
Disney+ has been pining for a truly remarkable movie since its launch nearly a year ago. The Hamilton film was an exception, being a recorded play, and the other great titles never truly soared as individual works. Howard is the first truly great movie on Disney+.
The movie's story in Howard is exactly how he himself would tell it
Hahn’s feature film about the songwriter and dramatist is a cerebral success that, like Ashman himself did throughout his life, taught us the structure of emotion in art.
That might sound complicated at first. But Ashman’s gift was taking complicated ideas in the necessary steps of making people care about a story, and then presenting them in a clear, entertaining way.
The dozen or so narrators tell Howard’s story sincerely and with an unparalleled, relaxed warmth. The narrative itself feels and sounds like friends reminiscing in the living room at the twilight of a small party.
Maybe, in that way, the living room screens of Disney+ is the perfect place to see Howard. Like Ashman’s early New York theatre days, there’s something special and strikingly human about the small screen that works better here than most movies should.
As a director, Hahn’s wisest choice is allowing Ashman’s closest friends, relatives, and collaborators to be the voices that tell his story. Saying the quality they bring to his life story is “personal” seems insulting, but they really bring something special.
One interview snippet from Roy Disney compares Howard’s work and influence being the closest thing to Walt Disney himself since Walt’s passing in 1966. That’s high praise for anyone at the heralded Disney studio.
The best part of watching the movie is how deeply engaging the story is. Even though half of it is simply narration over still photographs, the viewer is totally hooked in wanting to learn about Ashman’s life.
That’s one of the great gifts Howard himself has as a storyteller. He knew how and when people would care about the story. And that legacy carries over today. This is especially with his connections to cultural history in the 1980s and the early AIDS epidemic.
Music theatre nerds will find great joy in learning about his technical work too (including a powerful connection to “The Mob Song” from Beauty & the Beast), but Howard really is the star of his own movie.
This is a truly emotional and warm documentary about a great artistic talent. And it is well worth your time to see.
Howard
9 out of 10
PG, 1hr 34mins. Musical Documentary.
Directed by Don Hahn.
Starring Howard Ashman.
Now available to stream on Disney+ for subscribers.
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