Biography Alan Menken was born on July 22, 1949 in Rochelle; New York. He studied at the New York University before he started writing successful hit songs on and off Broadway and stepped in movie scoring a couple of years later. His first feature film Little Shop of Horrors included both score as songs written by Menken and that took his career on the move. Alan Menken has especially Disney to thank for that because he scored The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin the next years, Menken collaborated with lyricists Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz on those pictures and it resulted in Oscars and Golden Globe Awards. From that day Menken became a legend. His next triumph came with Pocahontas, once again did he score as worked on the songs and his fourth Oscar was won. The next project was the first that didn't win an Oscar but there was still a nomination for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, an impressive and very mature effort. But the success story came at an end with Hercules, both the movie as the score were critical flops and since that day it was over with Menken's contract for Disney, now Mancina and definitely Newton Howard have the pleasure to score Disney efforts. Still, in 2004 Menken seems finally back on the saddle of animation scoring with Home on the Range. Noel, A Christmas Carol for TV and The Shaggy Dog bringing him firmly back on track.
(on Hercules)
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