At the end of Beauty and the Beast, Disney acknowledged his contributions with this tribute: “To our friend Howard Ashman who gave a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul, we will be forever grateful.”īut Ashman’s story also offers an example of how the substance of Disney’s films reflect an interest in LGBT peoples’ struggles.
Not only did Ashman write songs for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, he was also closely involved in those films’ productions, casting actors and holding story meetings with animators. One of the most poignant examples of the company’s tolerant atmosphere is the case of lyricist Howard Ashman, who was openly gay and died of AIDS in 1991. Gay pride events have been hosted at Disney World since 1991, and the company started offered its gay employees health insurance benefits for their partners since 1995, a decision that wasn’t entirely popular back then. To start in the most obvious place: As a business, Disney has long held a progressive attitude toward LGBT people. Through both its corporate practices and the content of its films, Disney for decades has implemented the so-called 'gay agenda'-which is to say, helping make the world a more accepting place. Hell Is Other People’s Vacations Ben Healyīut the most remarkable thing about queer readings of the film may be how unremarkable they really are.
