"Enchanted," opening November 21, is many things -- a comedy, an adventure, a spoof, a love story ... and a fairy tale. So perhaps it's appropriate that it brought about a real-life wish come true for songwriters Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

The duo have contributed to some of the most memorable Disney moments of the last few decades. Together they wrote the songs for Disney's animated classics "Pocahontas" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and separately they each have a long list of Disney credits, from the theme song for Disney Channel's "Johnny and the Sprites" (Stephen) to songs for "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway (Alan), along with dozens more. The two hadn't collaborated for more than a decade, since 1996's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," when the call came to create songs for a new Disney comedy, "Enchanted," and all the pieces fell into place.

"Stephen had said to me, at least three or four years ago, 'What I want to do next is for you and I to do a live-action film musical together.' And I thought 'Oh, wouldn't that be nice?' But the opportunity to...