Disney+ Walks Back On Removing Powerful Documentary About The Little Mermaid Lyricist Howard Ashman After The Internet Was Rightfully Upset

Well, here’s a rare instance of the wrath of the internet being used for good. As the Walt Disney Company undergoes budget cuts that included thousands of Disney layoffs, a Thursday report shared that numerous Disney+ titles were on the chopping block next, including many of the streamer’s originals like Willow, Big Shot and The Mysterious Benedict Society. One title that particularly boiled Disney fans brains was the intended removal of the 2018 documentary Howard on the same day as The Little Mermaid remake is set to hit theaters. 

The late Howard Ashman was an accomplished lyricist behind the beloved songs of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, along with three big songs from Aladdin (“Arabian Nights,” “Prince Ali” and “Friend Like Me”). Ashman’s work with Disney is credited with breathing back the life to the animation studio and dawning what’s called the Disney Renaissance Era with his work for the company. Ashman, who was a queer man, got diagnosed with HIV/AIDS during the production of The Little Mermaid and died in 1991 before he could truly see the fruits of his labor for Disney. Howard tells that story.