On the same day as Disney‘s live-action version of The Little Mermaid swims into theaters worldwide, promoting an ensemble cast let by a Black woman in Halle Bailey and boasting a diverse cast including Daveed Diggs and Awkwafina, the House of Mouse has made the controversial decision to remove Howard, a documentary that recalls the life and accomplishments of lyricist Howard Ashman, from its streaming platform. And right before June, which is recognized as the annual Pride Month to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. As for Ashman, he saved Walt Disney Studios from an early grave and became the company’s biggest queer figurehead, but ever since his unfortunate death in 1991, Disney have been campaigning for better LGBTQ+ representation. We can smell the hypocrisy from here.
For the uninitiated, Howard Ashman worked closely with composer Alan Menken on many classic Disney feature films, such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast. In fact, Ashman has been credited as the main driving force behind the Disney Renaissance, which occurred during the late ’80s and ’90s and includes other influential Disney productions in The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Mulan, and Tarzan. Most of these stories were musical adaptations of well-known stories, be it fairytales or folklore.
Directed by Don Hahn, producer of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, 2018’s Howard chronicles the life of the famed songwriter, who also wrote the songs for the stage musical Little Shop of Horrors. The documentary premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for the Best Documentary Award at the 2018 Heartland Film Festival. Disney has made the contentious decision to remove Howard from the Disney Plus catalogue on May 26, 2023, the same day as The Little Mermaid premieres in theaters.
Naturally, audiences were outraged to discover Disney’s plans to axe the tribute to Ashman, especially so close to the commencement of Pride Month on June 1.
Ashman discovered he was attracted to men during his time at a summer university program in 1969, where he met one of his first same-sex partners, Stuart White. In the late ’60s, however, being gay was severely frowned upon. Hence, Ashman was forced into a secret relationship with White, with whom he eventually fell out. Ashman and White completed their master’s degrees and re-opened the Workshop of Players Art Foundation (WPA) together as artistic directors. Years later, Ashman met Bill Lauch in 1984, who worked as an architect. It was Launch who accepted Ashman’s posthumous Oscar for Beauty and the Beast following his death in 1991.
During production for The Little Mermaid, Ashman was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, a deadly disease that was untreatable at the time and transmitted through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment. Ashman never saw Beauty and the Beast in its completion, but an end-credits message was dedicated to his memory: “To our friend Howard, who gave a mermaid her voice, and a beast his soul. We will be forever grateful. Howard Ashman 1950-1991.”
Ashman was the voice of the LGBTQ+ community at Walt Disney Studios, but the House of Mouse are now choosing to silence him for good over 30 years after his passing, even in the wake of a live-action adaptation paying homage to his award-winning music. Understandably, Disney fanatics and LGBTQ+ persons are in shambles as Disney continues to self-sabotage and contradict itself by including more same-sex couples in their animated features and at the same time snuffing out one of the queer community’s brightest stars.
RIP, Howard Ashman. The LGBTQ+ community will never forget your devotion to fiction, fantasy, freedom, and fun.
