Alan Menken is a composer whose gift for melody has defined animated film music for generations. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Hercules earned him four Academy Awards and shaped how millions of people experience storytelling through music. Howard Ashman, the lyricist who collaborated with Menken on these landmark films, brought wit, heart, and theatrical sophistication to every song. Their partnership proved that music written for children could be genuinely excellent; Ashman's lyrics matched Menken's invention phrase for phrase, creating songs that work equally well for a six-year-old hearing them for the first time and a music director staging them decades later.
