
Alan Menken
Sound · b. 1949 · New Rochelle, New York, USA
Alan Irwin Menken (born July 12, 1949) is an American composer, pianist, music director, and record producer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's music for The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) has each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), and Disenchanted (2022), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards — becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman (who has 9 Oscars), a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of nineteen people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony ("an EGOT").
Movies12
Movie7.2DocumentaryBy the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009 · 116 votes
Movie6.8DocumentaryMusicThough legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
Howard
2018 · 57 votes
Movie7.4DocumentaryMusicThe troubled fraternal relationship between songwriters Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar and Grammy-winning Sherman Brothers, famous for the iconic hits they wrote for Disney.
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
2009 · 42 votes
Movie7.1DocumentaryCommemorating the 100th anniversary of the entertainment company with interviews, rare footage and photos, and never-before-heard stories from those who built the Disney legend; a look inside Disney's newest attraction.
Disney 100: A Century of Dreams – A Special Edition of 20/20
2023 · 15 votes
Movie8.2FamilyFantasyRyan Seacrest hosts a nationwide singalong event featuring celebrities and their families as they take on their favorite Disney tunes from their homes; onscreen lyrics allow viewers to sing along.
The Disney Family Singalong
2020 · 18 votes
- Movie8.0Documentary
Find out how the spectacular music inspired the animation, and learn more about the development of the characters—such as how Ursula ended up being a big octopus—and how the memorable song "Part of Your World" almost got cut from the film.
Movie8.0MusicExperience the Disney on Broadway songs you know and love in a whole new way from the comfort of your home. Disney's Broadway Hits at Royal Albert Hall is now available on demand!
Disney's Broadway Hits at London's Royal Albert Hall
2016 · 10 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryFamilyHosted by John Rhys-Davies, a made-for-TV documentary details the work that went into the production of Aladdin, Disney's musical rendition of the classic Arabian Nights' tale. Animation fans are treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this family favorite, as well as to interviews with the director and cast members, who give their insights into the inspirations for the various characterizations and effects of the film, and also the efforts that were needed to bring this project to completion.
The Making of Aladdin: A Whole New World
1992 · 2 votes
Movie6.5DocumentaryThe making of Disney's Aladdin
Diamond in the Rough: The Making of Aladdin
2004 · 4 votes
Movie6.3AnimationDocumentaryThe story of the rocky road that Walt Disney took to get his interpretation of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) to the silver screen.
Behind the Magic: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2015 · 5 votes
Movie8.0DocumentaryDocumentary on the actress & singer.
Movie8.5MusicA CELEBRATION OF DISNEY CLASSICS - FEATURING ALAN MENKEN In 1989, THE LITTLE MERMAID marked Disney’s glorious return to the genre of the grand fairy tale musical. Music was more important than ever for these big screen masterpieces, breathing life into the skillfully animated fairy tale worlds. One name shaped the films of the so-called "Golden 90s" and beyond like no other: Alan Menken. Besides THE LITTLE MERMAID, the composer wrote scores and songs for the modern Disney classics BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, POCAHONTAS, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and many more and lend the Disney's dream worlds their unmistakable sound.
Series2
TVTalk ShowThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.
Tony Awards
1956
TV8.0Hollywood in Vienna is an annual film music gala hosted in the Vienna Concert Hall where the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award is presented.
Hollywood in Vienna
2011 · 1 votes