Stephen Schwartz, an aspiring lyricist and songwriter, is about to have lunch on the Disney lot in Hollywood. Glancing around the table at the enthusiastic executives, he feels one emotion: cynicism. Experience has taught him that even if studio execs say they're interested, many times "they are just justifying office space." At least, he figures, he'll have a good meal.
By chance, he runs into his friend, composer Alan Menken at a benefit a few weeks later. Menken was involved in the Disney blockbusters Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. Schwartz learns through him that the Disney luncheon went well. Not long afterward, the two begin collaborating.
Fifteen years later, Schwartz (A'68) is in Menken's home studio revealing the title of a song for Disney's Enchanted, a movie that blends animation and live action to create a fairy tale.
Menken and Schwartz almost always begin composing with a title. It has been their routine from their first collaboration in 1993 to produce Pocahontas. Menken then uses the title for inspiration. The two work side by side, sharing pieces of the melody and lyrics, until the work is complete.
No less than three of their songs from Enchanted were among the five nominated for this year’s Academy Awards, an achievement in itself. None from Enchanted won, but Schwartz—who won two Oscars for his work on Pocahontas and another for DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt-- took it in stride. His industry savvy prepared him for what was to come. "I hadn't even bothered to write a speech," he says.
Moving on, he's already begun work on his first opera and imagines he'll partner again soon with Disney.
--Michelle Bova (HS'07)
