True enough
Joss Whedon: "The animated musical died with Howard Ashman."
Indeed. The rest of the interview is nice, too.
(Crib sheet for the uninitiated: Lyricist Howard Ashman, along with his composer Alan Menken, wrote Little Shop of Horrors, as well as the music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and part of Aladdin before Ashman died. This is why half the music in Aladdin sucks. Menken's still alive, and did the music for several more Disney films, but he was never as good as when Ashman was around. Ashman is my second-favorite musical lyricist, behind only Stephen Sondheim.)
Indeed. The rest of the interview is nice, too.
(Crib sheet for the uninitiated: Lyricist Howard Ashman, along with his composer Alan Menken, wrote Little Shop of Horrors, as well as the music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and part of Aladdin before Ashman died. This is why half the music in Aladdin sucks. Menken's still alive, and did the music for several more Disney films, but he was never as good as when Ashman was around. Ashman is my second-favorite musical lyricist, behind only Stephen Sondheim.)
posted by Jeff at 3:46 PM
5 Comments:
Boy, ain't that the sad truth.
Although the lyrics for "Hunchback of Notre Dame" are actually quite breathtaking. Too bad the movie is so uneven.
It's funny, because Ashman was the lyricist, and yet Menken's music itself, without even taking the words into consideration, immediately becomes so much blander after his partner's death.
I also think it's not hard to argue that the animated musical had been dead for at least a quarter century prior to Beauty and the Beast. So basically it was only revived for two, maybe two and a half, movies.
Reading this article, I was really amused how the caption for the top photo identified Whedon as directing all of the actors pictured, except for the guy who plays the doctor. His name is not mentioned. I guess because he appears to be holding that metal pipe they assumed he was a grip.
A number of cruel gags involving Sean Maher and his acting ability spring to mind, but I'm too much a gentleman to repeat them.
I always felt like Joss Whedon made him seem a much better actor simply by virtue of where he placed him in the show. Because you watch it thinking, "Man, you're wooden, Maher! And you read pretty gay. But, oh, wait, I guess you're character is clearly heterosexual. That disconnect adds a whole extra layer of dimension and personality. Good acting, Maher!"
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