1. Early Life and Education
Alan Menken's early life was marked by a burgeoning interest in music, nurtured by his family and formal education.
1.1. Early Life and Family Background
Alan Irwin Menken was born on July 22, 1949, at French Hospital in Manhattan, New York City. His parents were Judith and Norman Menken. His father, Norman, was a dentist who also enjoyed playing boogie-woogie piano, while his mother, Judith, worked as an actress, dancer, and playwright. The Menken family has Jewish heritage, with roots tracing back to Belarusian immigrants.
Menken developed an interest in music at an early age, taking lessons for both piano and violin. He began composing in his childhood. At the age of nine, his original composition "Bouree" received "Superior" and "Excellent" ratings from judges at the New York Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers Contest, showcasing his early talent. Prior to attending college, Menken initially aspired to be a rock star or recording artist, influenced by Bob Dylan, and composed mostly on guitar, though he had started on piano.
1.2. Education and Early Musical Development
Menken attended New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, New York, graduating in 1967. During his time there, he recalled often improvising his own Bach fugues and Beethoven sonatas because he found traditional piano practice boring and sought tangents.
After high school, he enrolled at New York University. Although he initially pursued pre-medical studies, considering a career as a dentist like his father, he later shifted his academic focus. He explored various fields, including anthropology and philosophy, before ultimately concentrating on music. He graduated in 1972 from the University College of Arts and Science at the Heights campus, which is now part of the College of Arts and Science. He received his degree in musicology from the Steinhardt School in 1971.
Following his university studies, Menken joined the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, where he was mentored by Lehman Engel. He noted that it was in this workshop, surrounded by other composers, that he realized his true calling in musical theater. In the period after college, he worked various musical jobs, including a ballet and modern dance accompanist, a musical director for club acts, a jingle writer, an arranger, a songwriter for Sesame Street, and a vocal coach. He performed his own material at New York clubs such as The Ballroom, Reno Sweeny, and Tramps.
2. Career
Alan Menken's career spans several decades, marked by his profound impact on musical theater, animated films, and live-action cinema, particularly through his collaborations with Disney.
2.1. Early Career and Breakthrough (1970s-1980s)
From 1974 to 1978, Menken showcased various works from the BMI workshop, including Midnight, Apartment House (with lyrics by Muriel Robinson), Conversations with Pierre, Harry the Rat, and Messiah on Mott Street (with lyrics by David Spencer). In 1976, The New York Times reported on his participation in the "Broadway at the Ballroom" series. By 1977, his accompanying style had evolved to include vocal contributions beyond just piano playing.
Menken contributed material to several revues, such as New York's Back in Town, Big Apple Country, The Present Tense (1977), Real Life Funnies (Off-Broadway, 1981), Diamonds (Off-Broadway, 1984), and Personals (Off-Off-Broadway, 1985). His revue Patch, Patch, Patch, featuring Chip Zien, ran at the West Bank Cafe in New York City in 1979. He also composed music for unproduced shows like Atina, Evil Queen of the Galaxy (1980), with lyrics by Steve Brown, and The Thorn (1980), a parody of the film The Rose, commissioned by Divine, though it never secured funding for production. During this period, he collaborated on incomplete musicals such as Babe (circa 1981) with Howard Ashman, Kicks: The Showgirl Musical (1984) with Tom Eyen, and The Dream in Royal Street (circa 1981), an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream with David Rogers. He also provided music for Robert J. Siegel's 1980 film The Line.
Menken achieved his first significant success in 1979 when playwright Howard Ashman selected him and Lehman Engel to compose the music for his musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. The musical premiered at the WPA Theater, receiving excellent reviews, and later transferred to the Off-Broadway Entermedia Theater.
His collaboration with Ashman continued with the 1982 musical Little Shop of Horrors, based on the 1960 black comedy film. Designed for a small cast, it opened at the WPA Theater to critical acclaim before moving to the Off-Broadway Orpheum Theatre in the East Village, Manhattan, where it ran for five years. The production set a new box-office record for the highest-grossing Off-Broadway show. Its global tours and numerous theater awards led to a 1986 musical film adaptation starring Rick Moranis, which earned Menken and Ashman their first Academy Award nomination for the song "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space". For his extensive work in musical theater, Menken received the BMI Career Achievement Award in 1983.
In 1987, Menken, with lyricist David Spencer, adapted Mordecai Richler's 1959 novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz into a musical, which was produced in Philadelphia. After significant revisions, it was later staged in Montreal in 2015. Menken also collaborated with Spencer again on Weird Romance, which the WPA Theatre produced in 1992. In 1994, his musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol, with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and book by Mike Ockrent, premiered at Madison Square Garden's Paramount Theater. The show became a successful annual New York holiday event. From 1989 to 1990, Menken and Howard Ashman wrote songs for the popular puppet television show Sesame Street, including "Grouchelot", "What is Friend?", "It's Gonna Get Dirty Again," "Snuffle Friends," "Martian Family (Yip Yip Song)," "Monster Up and Down", "Pond Full of Fish" and "Todos un Pueblo". Menken noted that despite the "pathetic money," it held some prestige. The duo also contributed "Wonderful Ways to Say No" to the 1990 animated anti-drug special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.
2.2. Disney Renaissance and Film Scores
Building on the success of Little Shop of Horrors, Menken and Ashman were enlisted by Walt Disney Studios to create the music for The Little Mermaid (1989). This project aimed to revive the classic animated musical tradition of films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella. The Little Mermaid was a critical and commercial triumph, marking the beginning of the "Disney Renaissance". It earned Menken and Ashman their first Oscar for Best Song for "Under the Sea", and Menken also won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Score. Film critic Roger Ebert lauded the film, stating it contained "some of the best Disney music since the glory days."
Their next collaboration, Beauty and the Beast (1991), received three Academy Award nominations for Best Song, ultimately winning for its title song. Menken also secured another Academy Award for Best Score. The pair were working on Aladdin when Ashman passed away in 1991. Ashman had contributed three songs to the film, and Menken subsequently collaborated with Tim Rice, who was then involved with The Lion King, to complete the soundtrack. Aladdin won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Song ("A Whole New World") and Menken again won the Oscar for Best Score.
Menken's live-action musical film Newsies, with lyrics by Jack Feldman, was released in 1992. He continued his successful run with Disney, collaborating with Stephen Schwartz on Pocahontas (1995), for which they won two Academy Awards: Best Song ("Colors of the Wind") and Best Musical or Comedy Score. In 1996, the same musical team developed the songs, and Menken composed the score, for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In 1997, Menken reunited with his earlier collaborator, David Zippel, for his final animated film in this era, Hercules.
Beyond his major animated works, Menken also composed music for the Michael J. Fox film Life with Mikey (1993), including "Cold Enough to Snow" and "Life with Mikey Theme" with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and Jack Feldman. Other film scores include the holiday film Noel (2004), for which he wrote the song "Winter Light" with Stephen Schwartz, and Mirror Mirror (2012). His scores for Disney also extended to Home on the Range (2004), the Tim Allen remake of The Shaggy Dog (2006), Enchanted (2007), and Tangled (2010). He also contributed "Measure of a Man" to Rocky V (1990) and "My Christmas Tree" to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), both with Jack Feldman. For Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), he composed "Star Spangled Man" with David Zippel.
2.3. Broadway and Stage Musicals
Menken's musical theater adaptation of Beauty and the Beast debuted on Broadway in 1994, running for an impressive thirteen years until its closing in 2007. In 1997, he collaborated with lyricist Tim Rice on King David, a musical based on the biblical character, which was performed in a concert version on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre. A revival of Little Shop of Horrors also played on Broadway from 2003 to 2004.
He later created the stage version of The Little Mermaid, which ran on Broadway from 2008 to 2009 and earned him a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Score. Menken's stage adaptation of Sister Act premiered in London in 2009 and opened on Broadway in 2011, for which he received another Tony Award nomination for Best Score. In 2010, Menken was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He made a guest appearance on the NPR quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in December 2010.
In 2012, Menken won a Tony Award for Best Score for his musical adaptation of Newsies, which enjoyed a successful run until 2014. He also composed the music for Leap of Faith, which had a brief run on Broadway in 2012. His stage adaptation of Aladdin opened on Broadway in 2014, earning him yet another Tony nomination for Best Score. In 2013, he was a special guest at the annual Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was honored with the Junior Theater Festival Award. During his appearance, he performed a concert that included music cut from various productions and discussed his creative process.
Menken's stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame was performed at La Jolla Playhouse, California, in 2014. In 2015, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz was revived in Montreal. In 2016, A Bronx Tale: The Musical played at the Paper Mill Playhouse before moving to Broadway. Menken is also reportedly working on stage musical adaptations of Night at the Museum and Animal Farm, with Glenn Slater.
2.4. Television and Other Projects
Menken has contributed significantly to television. From 1989 to 1990, he composed several songs for Sesame Street. In 1989, he worked on the television film Polly, contributing the song "By Your Side" with Jack Feldman. He also oversaw the music for the 1990 TV special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, for which he composed "Wonderful Ways to Say No" with Howard Ashman. Other TV film credits include Lincoln (1992) and A Christmas Carol (2004), the latter featuring songs with Lynn Ahrens.
In 2013, Menken's work appeared in an episode of The Neighbors, titled "Sing Like a Larry Bird," for which he composed several songs. From 2015 to 2016, he co-composed the score for the musical television series Galavant alongside Christopher Lennertz, reuniting with Tangled screenwriter Dan Fogelman. He also co-wrote songs for the series with Glenn Slater. The series ran for two seasons.
Menken and Slater collaborated again to write songs for the animated series Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, which is set after the events of Tangled and aired from 2017 to 2020. On July 26, 2020, Menken and Slater won the Daytime Emmy Award for Original Song in a Children's, Young Adult or Animated Program for "Waiting in the Wings," an achievement that completed Menken's EGOT status. He also composed original songs (with Howard Ashman) and new songs (with Glenn Slater) for The Little Mermaid Live! (2019) and original songs (with Howard Ashman) and new songs (with Tim Rice) for Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration (2022). His song "Spoiler Alert" (lyrics by Glenn Slater) was featured in an episode of Central Park (2020). The song "Star Spangled Man" (lyrics by David Zippel) was featured in an episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021).
Menken has also composed for various other projects, including Aladdin, Jr., a musical adapted from the 1992 animated film. He wrote music for several theatrical shows at Walt Disney World and Disney California Adventure Park, such as Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, and a stage production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He contributed music to the attraction The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure and "Compass of Your Heart" for Sindbad's Storybook Voyage at Tokyo DisneySea. His work also includes the theme song "All the Wonders of the Universe" for Dubai Parks and Resorts (2016) and "The Sum of Us" (lyrics by Jack Feldman) for the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular 2017. He also created Tangled: The Musical for the Disney Cruise Line (starting November 2015).
2.5. Live-Action Disney Films and Recent Projects
Menken has been deeply involved in the recent wave of live-action adaptations of Disney classics. In March 2017, he worked on the live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, directed by Bill Condon and starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. This film featured songs from the original 1991 animated movie, along with new material co-written by Menken and Tim Rice.
He then collaborated with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul on writing new songs for the 2019 live-action version of Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie. Menken also contributed new music to Disenchanted (2022), the sequel to Enchanted, working again with Stephen Schwartz. For the 2023 live-action film adaptation of The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall, Menken teamed up with longtime fan Lin-Manuel Miranda to create new songs, an association Menken had since Miranda's childhood, as Miranda attended the same school as Menken's niece.
Menken is also involved in projects outside of Disney, collaborating with former Disney chief creative officer John Lasseter on a project at Skydance Animation. This project was revealed to be Spellbound (2024), directed by Vicky Jenson, for which Menken will co-write songs with Glenn Slater. Additionally, Menken is reportedly attached to a sequel to Aladdin.
Future projects include a prospective prequel/spin-off series to the 2017 Beauty and the Beast film, titled Little Town, which would center on Gaston and LeFou, with Menken involved in writing songs and executive producing; however, in February 2022, it was reported that this series would not proceed for the time being. Menken was also set to work with Stephen Schwartz on new songs for a remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which Menken would score, but in May 2023, he indicated that development had stalled due to the original movie's content and themes. He is also reuniting with his Newsies creators, Jack Feldman and Harvey Fierstein, to develop a new musical called Greetings from Niagara Falls, with a reading held in January 2019.
3. Artistry and Musical Style
Alan Menken's distinctive compositional approach is characterized by his versatility, emotional depth, and a unique blend of genres, making his music resonate across different media and generations.
Menken has described his signature songwriting style as a fusion of pop and rock music, infused with a "theatrical sensibility" that he attributes to his early work with theater composers Lehman Engel and Maury Yeston. His early Disney films alone showcased an impressive range of musical genres and styles, incorporating elements such as sea shanties, German cabaret, French music hall, Mozart operetta, and the Harlem grooves reminiscent of Fats Waller and Cab Calloway. Debbie Cuthbertson of The Sydney Morning Herald identified romance, swelling strings, and humor as common trademarks of Menken's songs. Menken emphasizes the importance of creating "hummable" compositions-infectious melodies and rhythms designed to evoke specific emotions.
He describes his composing process as "chameleon-like." When working on Disney films, he meticulously gathers information about the project to ensure his music appropriately advances the story and character development. His musical compositions are often created even before scripts and storyboards are finalized. Menken typically records his own demos using either a straight piano-vocal or a piano-vocal-MIDI orchestral arrangement. He firmly believes in the importance of writing music that elicits strong emotional responses from listeners. While he rarely orchestrates or conducts his own work, he produces his film soundtracks and remains present in the control room during recording sessions.
Throughout his career, Menken has collaborated with numerous lyricists. Despite working together for a relatively short period, his partnership with Howard Ashman remains his most famous. Although he initially wrote both music and lyrics and considers himself a capable lyricist, he chose to focus on composing after meeting Ashman. He appreciates working with diverse lyricists, stating that "they reflect different dimensions of my career." Glenn Slater, a frequent collaborator, has praised Menken as "arguably the greatest melodist that we've had in the theatre and the film world for the past 30 years."
Critics and industry professionals widely recognize Menken's significant impact. Steve Hochman of Grammy.com stated that Menken "ranks among the top composers in film and theater," with his music forming "part of the DNA of several generations of children and parents alike." Katcy Stephan of Variety noted in 2024 that Menken "remains one of the industry's most sought-after songwriters." Logan Culwell-Block of Playbill described him as "one of musical theatre's most prolific composers-but what puts him in an elite class is not the quantity of his output, but its quality." The Hollywood Reporter's Jeff Bond credited Menken with largely redefining the musical genre for contemporary audiences in both film and on stage, calling him "one of film music's most versatile craftspeople." Phil Sweetland of American Songwriter even credits Menken's work for Disney with preserving musical theater after its decline following the Golden Age of musicals, leading to its resurgence in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Despite his immense achievements, Menken's work is sometimes overlooked or dismissed due to its strong association with animation and children's entertainment. However, Menken himself has stated that he dislikes writing specifically for children, attributing his approach to Ashman's teaching. He clarified, "I never write for kids ... I write for myself. I want to tell a story. I want to make those kids feel like I felt when I saw those earlier movies." His work has profoundly influenced a generation of songwriters in both film and stage, including Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Elton John, and Sara Bareilles. Robert Lopez, in particular, has lauded Menken for possessing "a God-given gift for a heartfelt emotional melody that will bring tears to your eyes."
4. Personal Life
Alan Menken is married to Janis Roswick-Menken, a former ballet dancer. They met while working with the Downtown Ballet Company. The couple married in November 1972 and reside in North Salem, New York. They have two daughters, Anna and Nora.
5. Works
Alan Menken's extensive body of work spans film, television, and stage, comprising numerous scores, songs, and theatrical productions.
5.1. Film Scores
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Credited as | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | A Dancer's Life | William Richert | - | - | Documentary film |
| 1980 | The Line | Robert J. Siegel | - | - | Music contribution |
| 1986 | Little Shop of Horrors | Frank Oz | - | - | Composed original and new songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; score by Miles Goodman |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Robert Zemeckis | - | - | Composed song "This Only Happens in the Movies" |
| 1989 | The Little Mermaid | John Musker | |||
| 1990 | Rocky V | John G. Avildsen | - | - | Composed song "Measure of a Man" with Elton John and Tim Rice; score by Bill Conti |
| 1991 | Beauty and the Beast | Gary Trousdale | |||
| 1992 | Newsies | Kenny Ortega | - | - | Composed songs with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by J.A.C. Redford |
| 1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Chris Columbus | - | - | Composed song "My Christmas Tree" with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by John Williams |
| 1992 | Aladdin | John Musker | |||
| 1993 | Life with Mikey | James Lapine | - | - | Composed songs "Cold Enough to Snow" and "Life with Mikey Theme" with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz & Jack Feldman |
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Mike Gabriel | |||
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Gary Trousdale | |||
| 1997 | Hercules | John Musker | |||
| 2004 | Home on the Range | Will Finn | |||
| 2004 | Noel | Chazz Palminteri | - | - | Composed song "Winter Light" with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz |
| 2006 | The Shaggy Dog | Brian Robbins | - | - | |
| 2007 | Enchanted | Kevin Lima | - | - | Composed songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz |
| 2010 | Tangled | Byron Howard | |||
| 2011 | Captain America: The First Avenger | Joe Johnston | - | - | Composed "Star Spangled Man" with lyrics by David Zippel; score by Alan Silvestri |
| 2011 | Jock the Hero Dog | Duncan MacNeillie | - | - | Composed song "Howling at the Moon" (two versions) with lyrics by Tim Rice; score by Klaus Badelt and Ian Honeyman |
| 2012 | Mirror Mirror | Tarsem Singh | - | - | |
| 2016 | Sausage Party | Conrad Vernon | |||
| 2016 | Aria for a Cow | Dan Lund | |||
| 2017 | Beauty and the Beast | Bill Condon | - | - | Returned from the 1991 animated film; composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; composed new songs with Tim Rice |
| 2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | Rich Moore | |||
| 2018 | Holmes & Watson | Etan Cohen | - | - | Composed song "Strange Sensation" with lyrics by Glenn Slater; score by Mark Mothersbaugh |
| 2018 | Howard | Don Hahn | - | - | Documentary film; Disney+ original film; limited theatrical run in 2018; official release in 2020 |
| 2019 | Aladdin | Guy Ritchie | - | - | Returned to score from the 1992 animated film; composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice; composed new songs with lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul |
| 2022 | Disenchanted | Adam Shankman | - | - | Disney+ original film; returned from the 2007 film; composed songs with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz |
| 2023 | The Little Mermaid | Rob Marshall | - | - | Returned to score from the 1989 animated film; composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; composed new songs with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda |
| 2024 | Spellbound | Vicky Jenson | - | - | Netflix original film; composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
5.2. Television Scores
| Year | Title | Credited as | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-1990 | Sesame Street | - | - | Composed "Grouchelot", "What is Friend?", "It's Gonna Get Dirty Again," "Snuffle Friends," "Martian Family (Yip Yip Song)," "Monster Up and Down", "Pond Full of Fish" and "Todos un Pueblo" |
| 1989 | Polly | - | - | Television film; composed song "By Your Side" with lyrics by Jack Feldman; score by Joel McNeely |
| 1990 | Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue | - | - | TV special; composed "Wonderful Ways to Say No" with lyrics by Howard Ashman; score by Richard Kosinski, Sam Winans, Paul Buckmaster, Bill Reichenbach, Bob Mann and Guy Moon |
| 1992 | Lincoln | - | - | Television film |
| 2004 | A Christmas Carol | - | - | Television film; composed songs with lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; score by Michael Kosarin |
| 2013 | The Neighbors | - | - | Episode: "Sing Like a Larry Bird"; composed "More or Less The Kind of Thing You May or May Not Possibly See on Broadway", "Giselle", "More or Less The Kind of Thing You May or May Not Possibly See on Broadway" (Reprise) |
| 2015-2016 | Galavant | - | - | Composed complete soundtrack, score co-composed with Christopher Lennertz |
| 2017 | Tangled: Before Ever After | - | - | Television film; Disney Channel original film; composed songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater; score by Kevin Kliesch |
| 2017-2020 | Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure | - | - | Composed complete soundtrack, score composed by Kevin Kliesch |
| 2019 | The Little Mermaid Live! | - | - | TV special; composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; composed new songs with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
| 2020 | Central Park | - | - | Episode: "Dog Spray Afternoon"; composed song "Spoiler Alert" with lyrics by Glenn Slater |
| 2021 | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | - | - | Episode: "The Star-Spangled Man"; composed "Star Spangled Man" with lyrics by David Zippel for Captain America: The First Avenger; score by Henry Jackman |
| 2022 | Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration | - | - | TV special; composed original songs with lyrics by Howard Ashman; composed new songs with lyrics by Tim Rice |
5.3. Stage Musicals
- Dear Worthy Editor (Off-Broadway, c. 1974)
- Book by Judy Menken
- Based on the letters-to-the-editor of Jewish-American newspaper Daily Jewish Forward
- Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (Off-Broadway, 1979)
- Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Dennis Green
- Based on a 1965 novel by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Dream on Royal Street (Regional, 1981)
- Lyrics by David Rogers
- Based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Little Shop of Horrors (Off-Broadway, 1982; West End, 1983; Broadway, 2003)
- Lyrics by Ashman
- Based on the 1960 black comedy film
- Weird Romance (Off-Broadway, 1992)
- Lyrics by David Spencer
- Two one-act musicals: Based on "Her Pilgrim Soul" and "The Girl Who Was Plugged In"
- Beauty and the Beast (Broadway, 1994; West End, 1997)
- Lyrics by Ashman and Tim Rice
- Based on the 1991 Disney film
- A Christmas Carol (Madison Square Garden, 1994-2003)
- Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
- Based on 1843 novella by Charles Dickens
- King David (Broadway, 1997)
- Lyrics by Rice
- Based on the Biblical books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles and Psalms
- Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (Berlin, 1999; La Jolla Playhouse, 2014)
- Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
- Based on the Disney film and the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo
- The Little Mermaid (Broadway, 2008)
- Lyrics by Ashman and Glenn Slater
- Based on the Disney film
- Sister Act (West End, 2009; Broadway, 2011)
- Lyrics by Slater
- Based on the 1992 comedy film
- Leap of Faith (Broadway, 2012)
- Lyrics by Slater
- Based on the 1992 film
- Newsies (Paper Mill Playhouse, 2011; Broadway, 2012)
- Lyrics by Jack Feldman
- Based on the 1992 film
- Aladdin (Seattle, 2011; Broadway, 2014)
- Lyrics by Ashman, Rice and Chad Beguelin
- Based on the 1992 film
- The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (Montreal, 2015)
- Lyrics by Spencer
- Based on the 1959 novel by Mordecai Richler
- A Bronx Tale: The Musical (Broadway, 2016)
- Lyrics by Slater
- Based on the 1990 autobiographical one-man play by Chazz Palminteri
- Hercules (Central Park, 2019)
- Lyrics by David Zippel
- Based on the 1997 Disney film
5.4. Other Works
- Aladdin, Jr. - 1-act, 7-scene musical adapted from the animated film Aladdin (1992)
- Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage - Theatrical show at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World
- Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular - Theatrical show at Disney California Adventure
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Theatrical show at Disney's MGM Studios, Walt Disney World
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure - Attraction at Disney California Adventure
- Sindbad's Storybook Voyage featuring "Compass of Your Heart" - Attraction at Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo Disney Resort
- Dramatists Guild of America YouTube Channel music video featuring "Someone Wrote That Song"
- Tangled: The Musical - Theatrical show on the Disney Cruise Line (starting November 2015)
- Dubai Parks and Resorts's official theme song "All the Wonders of the Universe" (opening October 2016)
- Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular 2017 celebration featuring the world premiere of "The Sum of Us" (lyrics by Jack Feldman) for soloist, chorus, and orchestra (Brian Stokes Mitchell, U.S. Army Soldier's Chorus and the Boston Pops Orchestra)
6. Awards and Nominations
Alan Menken has received extensive recognition for his musical contributions across film, television, and theater, earning him a place among the most awarded artists in entertainment history.
He is an EGOT winner, having received at least one Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Oscar, and Tony Award for his work. He is one of only 21 individuals to have achieved this competitive status.
He has won eight Academy Awards from nineteen nominations, making him the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman (nine wins). Overall, he is tied for fourth place with costume designer Edith Head, behind only Newman, art director Cedric Gibbons (eleven wins), and Walt Disney (twenty-two wins). Menken currently holds the record for the most Oscar wins for a living person. Four of Menken's songs have won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award in a songwriting category (either Song Of The Year or Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture Or For Television).
His Academy Award wins and nominations include:
- 1986:
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" (from Little Shop of Horrors)
- 1989:
- Won, Best Original Score (for The Little Mermaid)
- Won, Best Original Song - "Under the Sea" (from The Little Mermaid)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Kiss the Girl" (from The Little Mermaid)
- 1991:
- Won, Best Original Score (for Beauty and the Beast)
- Won, Best Original Song - "Beauty and the Beast" (from Beauty and the Beast)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Belle" (from Beauty and the Beast)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Be Our Guest" (from Beauty and the Beast)
- 1992:
- Won, Best Original Score (for Aladdin)
- Won, Best Original Song - "A Whole New World" (from Aladdin)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Friend Like Me" (from Aladdin)
- 1995:
- Won, Best Original Song - "Colors of the Wind" (from Pocahontas)
- Won, Best Musical or Comedy Score (for Pocahontas)
- 1996:
- Nominated, Best Musical or Comedy Score (for The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
- 1997:
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Go the Distance" (from Hercules)
- 2007:
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Happy Working Song" (from Enchanted)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "So Close" (from Enchanted)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "That's How You Know" (from Enchanted)
- 2010:
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "I See the Light" (from Tangled)
Menken has won eleven Grammy Awards from twenty-four nominations, including "Song of the Year" in 1993. His most recent Grammy was for Best Song Written for Visual Media for "I See the Light" in 2010.
He has won one Tony Award from four nominations:- 1994: Nominated, Best Original Score (for Beauty and the Beast)
- 2008: Nominated, Best Original Score (for The Little Mermaid)
- 2011: Nominated, Best Original Score (for Sister Act)
- 2012: Won, Best Original Score (for Newsies)
He has won one Daytime Emmy Award. In 2020, he won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song in a Children's, Young Adult or Animated Program for co-writing "Waiting in the Wings" (for Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure), which completed his EGOT status.
Menken has also won seven Golden Globe Awards from sixteen nominations:- 1990:
- Won, Best Original Score (for The Little Mermaid)
- Won, Best Original Song - "Under the Sea" (from The Little Mermaid)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Kiss the Girl" (from The Little Mermaid)
- 1992:
- Won, Best Original Score (for Beauty and the Beast)
- Won, Best Original Song - "Beauty and the Beast" (from Beauty and the Beast)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Be Our Guest" (from Beauty and the Beast)
- 1993:
- Won, Best Original Score (for Aladdin)
- Won, Best Original Song - "A Whole New World" (from Aladdin)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Friend Like Me" (from Aladdin)
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Prince Ali" (from Aladdin)
- 1996:
- Won, Best Original Song - "Colors of the Wind" (from Pocahontas)
- Nominated, Best Original Score (for Pocahontas)
- 1997:
- Nominated, Best Original Score (for The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
- 1998:
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "Go the Distance" (from Hercules)
- 2008:
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "That's How You Know" (from Enchanted)
- 2011:
- Nominated, Best Original Song - "I See the Light" (from Tangled)
He has won one Drama Desk Award from five nominations. He was nominated for Outstanding Music for Little Shop of Horrors (1983), Beauty and the Beast (1994), Sister Act (2011), and Leap of Faith (2012), and won for Newsies (2012). He has also won three Outer Critics Awards.
Other significant accolades include being named a Disney Legend in 2001, receiving a Richard Kirk Career Achievement Award in 1998, a Freddie G. Award for Musical Excellence in 2013, and The Oscar Hammerstein Award in 2013. The American Film Institute included the title song from Beauty and the Beast in its AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs. Five other songs from his Disney films were nominated: "Under the Sea" (from The Little Mermaid), "Be Our Guest" and "Belle" (from Beauty and the Beast), and "A Whole New World" and "Friend Like Me" (from Aladdin). In 2006, AFI listed its 25 greatest movie musicals, with Beauty and the Beast (1991) ranked 22nd, making it the only animated musical film on the list. Four of his other film musicals were also nominated: Little Shop of Horrors (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). In 2019, Menken publicly accepted the Razzie Award for "Worst Original Song" he had won at the 13th Golden Raspberry Awards (1993) for "High Times, Hard Times" from Newsies (1992). This made him the first person to win both a Razzie and an Oscar in the same year. He shared this Razzie award with lyricist Jack Feldman.
7. Legacy and Influence
Alan Menken's contributions have left an indelible mark on film music, musical theater, and popular culture, profoundly influencing subsequent generations of composers and songwriters.
His music is widely recognized as a foundational element of the Disney Renaissance, effectively revitalizing the animated musical genre and setting a new standard for storytelling through song. Critics credit him with redefining the musical genre for a contemporary audience in both film and on stage. His scores, particularly for Disney, are often described as being "part of the DNA of several generations of children and parents alike," highlighting their widespread and enduring appeal. Phil Sweetland of American Songwriter has credited Menken's work for Disney with helping to preserve musical theater during a period when the genre had seen a decline, preceding its significant resurgence in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Despite his immense achievements, Menken's work is sometimes overlooked or dismissed due to its strong association with animation and children's entertainment. However, Menken clarifies that he does not write specifically for children. Instead, he focuses on telling a compelling story and evoking the same powerful emotions in young audiences that he experienced watching earlier films.
Menken's distinctive style and successful career has made him an influential figure among contemporary songwriters and musicians. He has noted his influence on artists such as Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Robert Lopez, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Elton John, and Sara Bareilles. Robert Lopez, in particular, has lauded Menken for possessing "a God-given gift for a heartfelt emotional melody that will bring tears to your eyes." His legacy is defined not only by the quantity of his output but also by its consistently high quality, ensuring his continued relevance as one of the industry's most sought-after and influential songwriters.