That year Clements and Musker expanded the two-page idea into a 20-page rough script, eliminating the role of the mermaid's grandmother and expanding the roles of the Merman King and the sea witch. However, the film's plans were momentarily shelved as Disney focused its attention on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Oliver & Company" as more immediate releases. In 1987, songwriter Howard Ashman became involved with the writing and development of "The Little Mermaid" after he was asked to contribute a song to "Oliver & Company". He proposed changing the minor character Clarence, the English-butler crab, to a Jamaican crab and shifting the music style throughout the film to reflect this. At the same time, Katzenberg, Clements, Musker, and Ashman revised the story format to make "The Little Mermaid" a musical with a Broadway-style story structure, with the song sequences serving as the tentpoles of the film. Ashman and composer Alan Menken, both noted for their work as the writers of the successful Off-Broadway stage musical "Little Shop of Horrors", teamed up to compose the entire song score. In 1988, with "Oliver & Company" out of the way, "The Little Mermaid" was slated as the next major Disney release.