Once Upon A Time

Once Upon a Time is the best. I repeat BEST show in existence.

From the creators of 'Lost' and ABC (owned by Disney) have created a masterpiece. Because ABC is owned by Disney, the fairy tale characters closely resemble the Disney costumes (ex: Belle and Cinderella shown below).

The season finale came out last week and I absolutely loved it. This is a series that I would actually consider buying instead of just watching it once it was that good.

Belle

Cinderella

I don't want to give too much away but...

Once Upon a Time, if you don't already know is the story of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin, He's just Not that Into You, Something Borrowed) and her prince (Josh Dallas) but combined with every other fairy tale imagined.  It starts as the classic tale, the prince and princess defeat the evil queen and live happily... for a while.

Snow White and Evil Queen Regina in Fairy Tale world

As Snow White and Charming prepare for the birth of their first child, the evil queen (Lana Parrilla) casts a curse on the kingdom that moves every fairy tale character into our world, which has no magic so the she will be the only one with a happy ending.  The only way the curse can be broken is by Snow White and Charming's daughter, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison, How I Met Your Mother), when she turns 28, sent to the our world beforehand to avoid the complications of the curse. On her birthday, her son (given up for adoption at birth), Henry (Jared Gilmore) finds her so that he can help break the curse, he is the only one who knows the truth.  Emma Swan travels to the tiny town of Storybrooke to protect and care for her son who has been adopted by the evil queen who is mayor of Storybrooke.

Snow White, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood in our world

As the series progresses, you learn about the character's pasts in fairy tale land and the effects of the curse in Storybrooke with some surprising twists and turns. Need I mention that Rumpelstiltskin or Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle, 28 Weeks Later) is behind most of the schemes that arise?

With this all-star cast and amazing plot line, I am going to be addicted to this show for a while. I wonder how they will continue season 2... If you haven't seen it yet, catch up while there is still time!

Emma Swan

Belle

One of my favorite princesses: Princess Belle!

Belle's story begins as a traditional French fairy tale. There was a rich merchant with three daughters, the youngest being Beauty (Belle) who was lovely and kind while her sisters were selfish and wicked. The merchant then lost all of his money and had to move himself and his daughters to a small town. While on a business trip the merchant asked his daughters if they wanted anything.  The two older sisters were selfish and wanted jewels and fancy dresses while Belle only wanted a single rose.

The merchant, on his way back, became lost and stumbled upon a castle where he was allowed to stay. He was given some riches yet when he went to pick the most beautiful rose for Belle, the mysterious Prince (who was actually a Beast) appeared and demanded either his life or one of his daughters to come of their own accord.  The merchant reluctantly agreed and returned home where Belle was the one to volunteer to go.

Upon arrival Belle was given anything she wanted, she was no prisoner yet he asked her every night to marry him.  After a few months, Belle grew homesick and wished to return home. The beast agreed only if she took a magic mirror and ring and if she returned in one week. When Belle returned home, she was dressed in such fine clothes, her sisters became jealous and forced Belle to stay home by crying, wishing that Belle would stay with them in hopes that the beast would become angry and eat her. Because of Belle's kind heart, she stayed. The beast became heartbroken and when Belle looked into her mirror to check on the beast, she found that he was dying and returned to him, crying over him stating she loved him. The beast then turned into a handsome prince and they got married and lived happily ever after.

Fun Facts:

Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film to win Best Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.

The dance between Belle and the prince in the final scene is actually reused animation from Sleeping Beauty's  last dance between Aurora and the Prince because the animators were running out of time.

According to the Official Encyclopedia of Disney the Beast's real name is Adam, but it is never mentioned in the film.