When composer Alan Menken first joined the animated film “Spellbound,” the prospect of writing the score and songs felt “exciting and terrifying at the same time” because the story “defied a formulaic approach.” It is a sentiment that his collaborator and lyricist Glenn Slater echoes, because “while this has the form of a fairytale story, it’s actually a much bigger story than your typical fairytale.” The new Netflix movie centers on Princess Ellian, whose parents have been inexplicably transformed into gigantic monsters. The lyricist continues, “It’s an allegory for a family dynamic that many, many families go through.” Watch our complete video interview above.

Menken and Slater are frequent collaborators, having preciously worked on films “Tangled” and “Home on the Range,” TV series “Galavant,” and Broadway musicals “The Little Mermaid” and “Sister Act” together. The lyricist says that their process “always starts with conversation,” adding, “We sit at...