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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1alan_menken_pink_2010_a_l_5203.png]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:Disney's musical [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Renaissance]] man.]]
3->''"I always wanted to be a composer, and I sort of went in to NYU as pre-med because I just thought, 'Well... who actually becomes a composer?'"''
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5Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is a composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for theater and film. Since 1989, he has been the go-to guy for [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney musicals]], having composed the songs and scores for ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'', ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}''. This has earned him ''eighteen'' MediaNotes/AcademyAward nominations, eight of which he won -- more Oscars than any other living individual. In 2020, he became the 16th person to achieve the EGOT - though Menken [[MedalOfDishonor proudly talks about the]] MediaNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward [[http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/preview/la-et-cm-spring-arts-preview-theater-newsies-20150315-story.html which he won for]] ''Film/{{Newsies}}'', though ironically, he earned the Tony when it was adapted to stage. To date, he's the only EGOT to also have a Razzie.
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7Menken first made a name for himself as a composer in 1982 with the Off-Broadway musical ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'', for which he co-wrote the songs with lyricist/librettist Creator/HowardAshman. The musical's producer, David Geffen, recommended them to then-Walt Disney Pictures chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg (''Little Shop'' company manager Peter Schneider was vice president of Disney's feature animation division at the time) to compose the songs for the studio's adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', beginning what would be a long and fruitful partnership between Menken and the studio.
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9Following Howard Ashman's death from AIDS in 1991 during the production of ''Beauty and the Beast'' and ''Aladdin'', Menken has written with an ever-rotating cast of lyricists, including Creator/TimRice, Jack Feldman, Creator/StephenSchwartz, David Zippel, Glenn Slater, and Creator/LinManuelMiranda.
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11He had been set to compose for the film that would eventually become ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', until he was ultimately replaced with Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Christophe Beck, instead serving as composer and songwriter for a different Disney project, the short-lived ABC musical series ''Series/{{Galavant}}''. Afterward, he was going to provide music for a Creator/DreamWorksAnimation movie titled ''Series/{{Lidsville}}'', but after former co-worker Katzenberg's studio wound up in a rut and restructured their business strategy and film lineup, word on ''Lidsville'' has gone silent.
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13In 2016, he returned to his roots in [[RefugeInAudacity tongue-in-cheek raunchy humor]] by co-writing the score (with Christopher Lennertz) and composing the opening song "The Great Beyond" for the R-rated animated comedy ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty''.
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15----
16!!Films:
17* ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'' (lyrics by Howard Ashman)
18* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' (lyrics by Howard Ashman; also Menken's first instrumental underscore)
19* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' (lyrics by Howard Ashman)
20* ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'' (song "My Christmas Tree", lyrics by Jack Feldman)
21* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' (lyrics by Howard Ashman, with additional lyrics by Creator/TimRice after Ashman died in 1991)
22** ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'' (song "Arabian Nights", lyrics by Howard Ashman)
23** ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves'' (song "Arabian Nights", lyrics by Howard Ashman)
24* ''Film/{{Newsies}}'' (lyrics by Jack Feldman; first score written without Howard Ashman)
25* ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}'' (lyrics by Creator/StephenSchwartz)
26* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'' (lyrics by Creator/StephenSchwartz)
27* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' (lyrics by David Zippel)
28* ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'' (lyrics by Glenn Slater)
29* ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' (lyrics by Creator/StephenSchwartz)
30** ''Film/{{Disenchanted|2022}}'' (lyrics by Creator/StephenSchwartz)
31* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' (lyrics by Glenn Slater)
32* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' (song "The Star-Spangled Man," lyrics by David Zippel)
33* ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'' (lyrics by Glenn Slater; score co-composed by Christopher Lennertz)
34* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'' (additional lyrics by Creator/TimRice)
35* ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'' (song "A Place Called Slaughter Race," lyrics by Phil Johnston & Tom [=MacDougall=])
36* ''Film/Aladdin2019'' (additional lyrics by [[Music/PasekAndPaul Benj Pasek & Justin Paul]])
37* ''Film/TheLittleMermaid2023'' (additional lyrics by Creator/LinManuelMiranda)
38* ''Spellbound'' (lyrics by Glenn Slater)
39
40----
41!!Television:
42* ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1992 The Little Mermaid: The Series]]'' (instrumental theme and end credits music)
43* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' (song "Arabian Nights", lyrics for opening version by Howard Ashman)
44* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' (song "Zero to Hero", lyrics for opening version by David Zippel)
45* ''Series/{{Galavant}}'' (lyrics by Glenn Slater; score co-composed by Christopher Lennertz)
46* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' (lyrics by Glenn Slater)
47
48----
49!!Theater:
50* ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' (lyrics by Howard Ashman)
51* ''Literature/TheApprenticeshipOfDuddyKravitz'' (lyrics by David Spencer)
52* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' (additional lyrics by Creator/TimRice)
53* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}''
54* ''Theatre/TheLittleMermaid'' (additional lyrics by Glenn Slater)
55* ''Theatre/SisterAct'' (lyrics by Glenn Slater)
56* ''Theatre/{{Newsies}}''
57* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' (additional lyrics by Chad Beguelin)
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59For samples of Alan Menken music, go to {{AwesomeMusic.Disney}}.

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