Today, "Enchanted" may feel as beloved as any other Disney fairy tale, but when it was released ten years ago this week (on November 21, 2007), the story of a cartoon princess transported to flesh-and-blood New York City was considered a risky project for Disney.

A lavish live-action/animation blend of the sort the studio hadn't tried for two decades, it featured an untried leading lady and a script that lampooned the princess musicals that had been the studio's signature fare for 70 years. Fortunately, "Enchanted" became a worldwide smash, earned three Oscar nominations, and made a star out of Amy Adams.

It's a wonder the movie worked so well, given the long struggle to get it made. The result could have been something a lot different -- less kid-friendly, and with another leading lady. Here, then, are the secrets of how the filmmakers overcame those obstacles, brought the fantasy realms of Andalasia and Manhattan together, and got all those rats and pigeons to clean Bill Kelly's screenplay to reach the screen. In part, that's because the script was initially R-rated; in one risqué sequence, poor stranded princess Giselle gets mistaken for a stripper. Disney bought the screenplay, but planned to release it through one of its grown-up imprints, not family-friendly Walt Disney Pictures.

2. Over the next ten years, the musical project went through numerous script doctors and four directors, including Junebug" put her on Disney's radar.

4. Since Adams was a non-entity at the box office, Disney sought insurance by seeking a better-known leading man to play jaded divorce lawyer Robert. Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick "McDreamy" Dempsey.
5. Future "Alan Menken.

6. Several actresses who starred in Disney musicals have cameos in "Enchanted." Sleeping Beauty." The Afro-puff hairdo worn by the Times Square bus driver looks like Mickey Mouse ears. And the hotel TV that Edward watches plays nothing but Disney clips.

8. Lima has a cameo of sorts in the movie as the yipping voice of Andalasian chipmunk Pip, once he's transported to New York and loses the ability to speak English.
9. The Disney studio may have pioneered hand-drawn animation in feature films, but by 2007, Disney was a computer-animated shop with hardly anyone left who could create the 13 minutes of hand-drawn animation "Enchanted" required. Disney had to farm those scenes out to one of its former animators, James Baxter, who ran his own animation studio in Pasadena.

10.Clueless" clothes, created the costumes for "Enchanted." Most elaborate was Giselle's poofy wedding dress, which included a hoop skirt that had 20 layers of petticoats. Adams said it was hard to move while wearing it because it weighed 45 pounds.
11. During the "Happy Working Song" sequence, among the CGI cockroaches, pigeons, and rats who swarm and clean Robert's apartment, there are some real birds and rodents. "We had a whole room full of live rats and pigeons," Adams told Collider. "Not all of them. You can't train them to scrub a toilet. I've tried. I would love if you could train animals to do the dirty work, but we did have live rats and pigeons and no cockroaches. I don't work with cockroaches."

12. Lima has said the hardest sequence to film was the "That's How You Know" number, shot in Central Park. It took 17 days, with shooting made difficult because of bad weather and overzealous Dempsey fans.
13. Menzel was supposed to sing "Enchanted," a duet with Marsden, but it was cut from the film.

14. Disney had hoped to cash in on merchandising with a Giselle doll, the studio's first to be modeled in the likeness of a real person rather than a cartoon. But then Disney's lawyers discovered that they'd have to pay Adams to license her image for the rest of her life, so the doll was scrapped.
15. "Enchanted" cost a reported $85 million to make. It earned back $128 million in North America and a total of $340 million worldwide.

16. Three of the movie's five songs were nominated for Oscars: "Happy Working Song," "That's How You Know," and "So Close."
17. It's taken even longer for an "Enchanted" sequel to get off the ground than it took to make the original film. As with "Enchanted," the sequel has gone through several writers and directors. Most recently, in October 2016, Disney announced that the movie would be called "Disenchanted," with Shankman set to direct and Adams set to return as a Giselle who's having second thoughts after ten years of marriage. "Disenchanted" was supposed to film Summer 2017 and be released next year, but we haven't heard much since last October's announcement.

Like Giselle, we may have to wait a while longer for our happily ever after.