Once Upon a Time...

[loveofamouse]

I wasn't sure where to put this so we'll start here.


The T.V. show Once Upon a Time is based off of fairy tales, many of which have become Disney movies. It airs on ABC which is ran by Disney. When I watched this show, I would often see tiny little clues/hints at different disney aspects from movies or even the parks. Even the town, which is called Storybrooke, happens to be the same name as the new circus area in the FLE, Storybrook Circus.

Have you noticed other small hidden things?

 

[nolatron]

Even the town, which is called Storybrooke, happens to be the same name as the new circus area in the FLE, Storybrook Circus.

It's called storybook circus, not storybrook. Close but not the same.

 

[MissM]

It's called storybook circus, not storybrook. Close but not the same.

Yeah, while there ARE a lot of little nods to Disney references, this isn't one of them. StoryBOOK not StorybRook. Sorry.

ETA: But it is a great show!

 

[loveofamouse]

my mistake.

Still a connection, though. They live in the fictional town of Storybrooke which is a nod to the fact that they all came from Story books. Storybook is the circus area. Yes, it's a loose connection but a connection none the less lol

 

[loveofamouse]

I would have to look it up to see which episode but there was one episode where there was a Sorcerer Mickey hat in the background of a scene

 

[Zummi Gummi]

There have been many, many references.

The battle with Maleficent was almost shot for shot the same as the one the Prince has with her in the animated film.

Aladdin's lamp could be viewed in Mr. Gold's shop in a number of scenes.

In the Beauty and the Beast episode, the Beast's castle contained distinct images of a candleabra, clock, wardrobe, and tea set.

 

[Villains0501]

I think the Disney connections are nice, but I personally don't care for the show. I think it's cheesy, poorly written, and poorly acted. Lana Parilla is perhaps the worst actress to play the Wicked Queen in recent memory. 'The 10th Kingdom' does the exact same thing as 'Once Upon a Time', but with better acting/writing.

 

[bluefaery]

I am in love with this show. I have my DVR set to record all the new eps. I can't wait till season two.

 

[loveofamouse]

i love it! To each their own.

I noticed that Rumpel drank from a chipped tea cup.

I notice many but can't recall them right now.

 

[pluto77]

I love this show and can't wait until season two. I actually think the lady who played the wicked queen does a very good job. There are some poorly parts and acting, but it is just a tv show.

One Disney reference I can think of is that the Dalmatian that's in one of the episodes was named Pongo.

 

[loveofamouse]

I think the woman playing Regina is doing a good job. She goes from evil to hurt to love easily.

I caught the Pongo part There was also the time Grumpy/Leon was whistling "High Ho" while in jail

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

One Disney reference I can think of is that the Dalmatian that's in one of the episodes was named Pongo.

That one I caught too. Although, if they're all turning back into their fairy tale characters, Pongo remains Pongo. He's got no other form but Dalmation. And he's now owned by Jiminy Cricket.

I'm trying to think aside from Pongo, if there was any Disney specific stuff.

 

[rufio]

I haven't seen this yet, but now I want to! I'll have to see if I can watch it somewhere online.

 

[danlb_2000]

I have also seen a couple references to Tron in the series, not just a Disney connection, the creators of the series were writers on Tron: Legacy. In one episode Henry is playing a handheld videogame version of Space Paranoids, and in another episode he has a Tron lunch box.

 

[King Mickey]

When Snow White is cleaning she is whistling a song from her movie. And there's multiple Marvel referneces as well, usually Henry's comics

 

[loveofamouse]

I noticed the Tron bits, too.

 

[loveofamouse]

With Rumpel being played as the Beast, he often fiddled with a rose which hints at the BatB Disney did

She is also wearing a dress very similar to the gold dress of the cartoon with her hair done in a similar fashion

 

[loveofamouse]

 

[Did Knee]

It's pretty in your face with the Disney references sometimes. The 7 dwarves have the names from the movie (Happy, Grumpy, etc.) and in a scene when they were working the mine they were whistling "Heigh-ho". I LOVE this show too!

 

[AEfx]

It's pretty in your face with the Disney references sometimes. The 7 dwarves have the names from the movie (Happy, Grumpy, etc.) and in a scene when they were working the mine they were whistling "Heigh-ho". I LOVE this show too!

That's why it's so great it's a Disney/ABC show, otherwise it would have been much more difficult to pull off.

It's sort of like the Ruby Slippers in WoZ. Unless you recall reading the original book, most people automatically jump to the Ruby Slippers as one of the man iconic concepts in WoZ (probably only equaled by Emerald City itself). Yet the Ruby Slippers were completely an invention of the film, used to show off the Technicolor process (in the book, they are silver). So unless you specifically get the rights to the 1939 MGM film, even though all of the rest of Oz is in the public domain now (anyone can write and sell an Oz book), things unique to the film (like the Ruby Slippers) cannot be used.

So if they tried to do this show without access to Disney's library, they would have been constantly lawyer-checking everything to make sure they didn't impede on any Disney-contributed bits to the various fairy tales. They would have only been able to work with the original source material, and as most of these Disney films were made several generations ago and have now become the "official" versions of the stories in much of the public eye, they would have been really hindered.

Love the show. Sure, it has some cheese, and I hope the FX budget grows a bit next year, but it's really fun and I enjoy it. I loved the season finale when a lot of the "let's get this over with" secrets came out. Already pre-ordered the Blu-ray of S1 - and got a $15 off coupon at Amazon during a special last week to boot ($28 total).

Nice to have a show on Sunday nights to look forward to, now that my dear Housewives have left the lane.