I love how the writers put twists on the well known tales. For example (**SPOILER ALERT**), Rumpelstiltzkin turns out to be the beast in the Beauty and the Beast story, Red Riding hood is actually a werewolf, the queen from Snow White has a fascinating back story about how she turned evil, and Rumpelstiltzkin seems to have his manipulating hands in every fairy tale.
I am, however, getting a little overwhelmed with how Disneyfied the show is becoming. Once Upon a Time is the production of ABC, which is a Disney-owned channel. Therefore, there are lots of references to the Disney versions of these tales, particularly in the naming of characters (i.e. the seven dwarfs, Aurora, the Blue Fairy, Maleficent, etc.). I can live with that, but now we also have characters showing up from Disney movies that aren't even based on fairy tales; the likes of Captain Hook, the Mad Hatter, and Mulan have appeared, with more to follow. There is danger of the show getting too convoluted by combining so many different worlds. I wonder where they will draw the line and who is going to show up next... Simba? Robin Hood? Tarzan?
I still watch and greatly enjoy the show (particularly for Robert Carlyle's intriguing characterization of Rumplestiltzkin), but I wish it focused more on the original versions of fairy tales.
I'm a big fan of the show, I did notice the "Disney-fication" of it, but it is very well written so I don't mind. However, in the UK we're a season behind...think I'm going to have to unfollow the Facebook Page before it gives away too many spoilers (and no, you didn't give anything away for me, nothing Facebook didn't already ;) )
ReplyDeleteI finally watched the first season on NetFlix and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Since it's owned by Disney, that didn't surprise me. I mean, they threw Lancelot in there! Guess you just have to go with the 'any kind of fairy tale imaginable' concept.
ReplyDeleteI liked the show at first, but now it slips my mind to watch. Know what I mean? I agree about Robert Carlyle. He totally makes the show.
ReplyDeleteI've only watched a few episodes, and I thought Robert Carlyle was awesome in it. It kind of sucks that they're shoehorning other Disney characters in there (I suppose to the kids who grew up watching these Disney movies, they now count as fairy tales?)
ReplyDeleteJamie
I agree with you. I still really like it, but I wish they'd go a little darker on occasion. Though I agree - I love some of the twists they've thrown in. Though Frankenstein was a real stretch.
ReplyDeleteI watched the first half of season one, but stopped... Sounds like it's had some twists! Wow. Rumple was my fav character when I watched... And Tarzan? LOL. I wouldn't be surprised!
ReplyDeleteI JUST started catching up with this series on Netflix. Kind of hooked on it now, though I can see what you mean by having too many characters in the soup. I noticed Pongo the dalmatian in the first few episodes and had that same "Disney-fied" reaction. I agree it would be better to stick with Grimm's fairytale type characters, but I think I did read Robin Hood will be making an appearance.
ReplyDeleteThis was a programme that intrigued me when I saw the original trailers but I forgot to watch. I do that a lot - I'm really bad at watching TV :-)
ReplyDeleteMy family and I love this show, and we are totally hooked on it. However, I was suprised by Mulan and Captain Hook. We'll still keep watching, but some of the character add-ins do seem a little odd. I do like the new twist on Red Riding Hood . . .
ReplyDeleteThis show is so studip... I don't even know why I'm still watching it. Perhaps it's just boredom... Storyline and acting is too damn naive, predictable, and boring. You really do need to be 12 yo to still enjoy this.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't start out this way though... season 1 was really well done.