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Alan Menken
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Alan Menken (born in New York in 1949) began in the theatre. With lyricist Howard Ashman he wrote the musical Little Shop of Horrors, which was made into a film in 1986. Disney then brought the duo in. The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992) brought the Broadway musical to the animated film, with a fixed type of song: the 'I want' song in which the main character tells what she longs for. This ushered in the so-called Disney Renaissance. Ashman died in 1991. Menken afterwards worked with other lyricists, such as Glenn Slater for Tangled (2010). He won eight Oscars.
Listening
Listening tip. Listen to the theatrical build of the song: a quiet start, a chorus that builds and a musical climax that moves the story a step further.
Under the Sea · Samuel E. Wright, 1989
Beauty and the Beast · Angela Lansbury, 1991
I See the Light · Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi, 2010
Discography
Studio albums
- 1982Little Shop of Horrors (soundtrack)
- 1986Little Shop of Horrors (soundtrack)
- 1989Den Lille Havfrue: Originalt Dansk Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1989La Petite Sirène - Une Bande Sonore Originale de Walt Disney Records (soundtrack)
- 1989The Little Mermaid (soundtrack)
- 1990Arielle, die Meerjungfrau (soundtrack)
- 1990De kleine zeemeermin (soundtrack)
- 1990Den lilla sjöjungfrun (soundtrack)
- 1990Den lille havfruen (soundtrack)
- 1990La Petite Sirène (soundtrack)
- 1990La sirenetta (soundtrack)
- 1991Beauty and the Beast (soundtrack)
- 1991Belle en het Beest (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1992Belle en het Beest (soundtrack)
- 1992Der kleine Horror-Laden (soundtrack)
- 1992Die Schöne und das Biest (soundtrack)
- 1992La Bella y la Bestia (soundtrack)
- 1992La Belle et la Bête (soundtrack)
- 1992Lincoln [Original Soundtrack Recording] (soundtrack)
- 1992Newsies (soundtrack)
- 1992Skønheden Og Udyret (soundtrack)
- 1992Skönheten och odjuret (soundtrack)
- 1992Walt Disney's Aladdin Original Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1993Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1993Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1993Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 1993Life With Mikey (soundtrack)
- 1993Weird Romance: Two One-Act Musicals of Speculative Fiction (soundtrack)
- 1994A kis hableány (soundtrack)
- 1994Beauty and the Beast (soundtrack)
- 1994La Sirenita (soundtrack)
- 1995「リトル・マーメイド」オリジナル・サウンドトラック (日本語版) (soundtrack)
- 1995A Christmas Carol: A Musical (soundtrack)
- 1995Beauty and the Beast (soundtrack)
- 1995Little Shop of Horrors (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas (Eredeti filmzene magyarul) (soundtrack)
- 1995Pocahontas: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1996De klokkenluider van de Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 1996Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 1996Disney's Die Schöne und das Biest: Das Musical (soundtrack)
- 1996El jorobado de Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 1996El jorobado de Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 1996Le Bossu de Notre-Dame (soundtrack)
- 1996O corcunda de Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 1996Ringaren i Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 1996The Hunchback of Notre Dame: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1996ノートルダムの鐘 (soundtrack)
- 1997Disney’s Herkules: Originalt Dansk Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1997Hercule (soundtrack)
- 1997Hercules (soundtrack)
- 1997Hercules (soundtrack)
- 1997Hércules (soundtrack)
- 1997Hércules (soundtrack)
- 1997Hercules: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1997Herkül (soundtrack)
- 1998Arielle, die Meerjungfrau (soundtrack)
- 1998Disney's Die Schöne und das Biest: Das Musical (soundtrack)
- 1998Küçük Deniz Kızı (soundtrack)
- 1998La Petite Sirène (soundtrack)
- 1998La Sirenita (soundtrack)
- 1998Η Μικρή Γοργόνα (soundtrack)
- 1999Beauty and the Beast (soundtrack)
- 1999Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 1999La Bella y la Bestia: El musical de Broadway (soundtrack)
- 1999Personals (soundtrack)
- 2000ポカホンタス (soundtrack)
- 2002La Bella y la Bestia (soundtrack)
- 2003A pequena sereia (soundtrack)
- 2003Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2003Little Shop of Horrors (soundtrack)
- 2004A Christmas Carol: The Musical (soundtrack)
- 2004Home on the Range (soundtrack)
- 2005A Christmas Carol: A Musical (soundtrack)
- 2005Beauty and the Beast (soundtrack)
- 2006Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (soundtrack)
- 2006The Shaggy Dog (soundtrack)
- 2007Enchanted (soundtrack)
- 2007Little Shop of Horrors (soundtrack)
- 2008The Little Mermaid (soundtrack)
- 2009Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy (soundtrack)
- 2010Enredados (soundtrack)
- 2010Enrolados (soundtrack)
- 2010Raiponce (soundtrack)
- 2010Rapunzel: L'intreccio della torre (soundtrack)
- 2010Rapunzel: Neu Verföhnt (soundtrack)
- 2010Tangled (soundtrack)
- 2011A Bela e a Fera (soundtrack)
- 2011Das Broadway-Musical: Sister Act (soundtrack)
- 2011Enredados (soundtrack)
- 2012Mirror Mirror (soundtrack)
- 2012Newsies: The Musical (soundtrack)
- 2014Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2015Galavant: Original Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2015The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A New Musical (soundtrack)
- 2016Galavant: Season 2 (soundtrack)
- 2016Sausage Party (soundtrack)
- 2017A Bela e a Fera (soundtrack)
- 2017A Bronx Tale: The Musical (soundtrack)
- 2017Beauty and the Beast (soundtrack)
- 2017Die Schöne und das Biest (soundtrack)
- 2017Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (soundtrack)
- 2017La Belle et La Bête : Bande originale française du film (soundtrack)
- 2017미녀와 야수 (soundtrack)
- 2017美女と野獣 (soundtrack)
- 2017美女与野兽 (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladdin (soundtrack)
- 2019Aladyn: Muzyka z filmu (soundtrack)
- 2019Little Shop of Horrors (soundtrack)
- 2019Аладдин: Бірегей саундтрек (soundtrack)
- 2019Аладдин: Оригинальный саундтрек (soundtrack)
- 2019알라딘: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2019アラジン (オリジナル・サウンドトラック / 日本語版) (soundtrack)
- 2019阿拉丁: 中文版电影原声带 (soundtrack)
- 2022Disenchanted: Original Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2022魔法にかけられて2 (オリジナル・サウンドトラック) (soundtrack)
- 2023A pequena sereia (soundtrack)
- 2023A pequena sereia (soundtrack)
- 2023Arielle die Meerjungfrau (Deutscher Original Film-Soundtrack/Deluxe Edition) (soundtrack)
- 2023La Petite Sirène (2023 Bande Originale française du Film) (soundtrack)
- 2023La sirenita (soundtrack)
- 2023The Little Mermaid (soundtrack)
- 2023בת הים הקטנה (soundtrack)
- 2023인어공주 (soundtrack)
- 2023リトル・マーメイド (soundtrack)
- 2024Spellbound (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film by Skydance Animation) (soundtrack)
- 2025Hercules (Original London Cast Recording) (soundtrack)
- ?Hercule (Une Bande Sonore Originale De Walt Disney Records) (soundtrack)
Other work
- 1996The Hunchback of Notre Dame
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Film Music MapNL Map
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 7NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Disney Renaissance Genre
The composer Alan Menken and the lyricist Howard Ashman brought the craftsmanship of the Broadway musical.