Alan Menken

Sound

Alan Menken

Born

1949-07-22 (77)

Place of birth

New Rochelle, New York, USA

Known for

Sound

Credits

16 titles

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 mus…

Known for

Tony Awards poster
NR

The 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

Waking Sleeping Beauty poster
7.2

By 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

2010

Hollywood in Vienna poster
8.0

Hollywood 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

Disney 100: A Century of Dreams – A Special Edition of 20/20 poster
7.1

Commemorating 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

The Disney Family Singalong poster
8.2

Ryan 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

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story poster
7.4

The 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

Film credits

2020s · 4 titles

Disney 100: A Century of Dreams – A Special Edition of 20/20 poster
7.1

Commemorating 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

The Disney Family Singalong poster
8.2

Ryan 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

Hollywood in Vienna 2022: A Celebration of Disney Classics - Featuring Alan Menken poster
8.5

A 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.

Hollywood in Vienna 2022: A Celebration of Disney Classics - Featuring Alan Menken

2022

An Evening with Alan Menken poster
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The Walt Disney Family Museum is delighted to host Oscar®-, Grammy®-, Tony®-, and Golden Globe®-winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken for an intimate evening of music and storytelling. Streamed live on Thursday, August 6th, 2020. A free performance by Menken, showcasing some of his legendary Disney songs, “Under the Sea,” “A Whole New World,” and “Be Our Guest,” and other celebrated classics from his films and Broadway musicals. During the live performance, Menken will be joined by his friend and acclaimed composer and actor, Lin-Manuel Miranda, with whom he is currently writing new music for a liveaction reimagining of The Little Mermaid.

An Evening with Alan Menken

2020

2010s · 5 titles

Waking Sleeping Beauty poster
7.2

By 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

2010

Howard poster
6.8

Though 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

Disney's Broadway Hits at London's Royal Albert Hall poster
7.9

Experience 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

Beyond Beauty: The Untold Stories Behind the Making of Beauty and the Beast poster
6.0

An interactive, feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary teeming with worthwhile bonus content all its own.

Beyond Beauty: The Untold Stories Behind the Making of Beauty and the Beast

2010

Behind the Magic: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs poster
6.3

The 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

Series credits