 Ashman and Menken were later recruited to compose songs for "Beauty and the Beast".Linda Woolverton, who had also worked on "Beauty and the Beast", used their treatment and developed a draft with inspired elements from "The Thief of Bagdad" such as a villain named Jaf'far, an aged sidekick retired human thief named Abu, and a human handmaiden for the princess.Then, directors Ron Clements and John Musker joined the production, picking "Aladdin" out of three projects offered, which also included an adaptation of "Swan Lake" and "King of the Jungle" – that eventually became "The Lion King".