After finishing his work on The Little Mermaid, lyricist Howard Ashman pitched an idea to Disney to adapt the story of Aladdin.
Though initially rejected, it was picked up around the time Ashman and his musical partner, Alan Menken, agreed to work on Beauty and the Beast.
Mermaid’s directors John Musker and Ron Clements joined as directors, but sadly Ashman passed away in 1991 before seeing the film come to fruition.
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