123-547: Once Upon a Time is an American fantasy adventure drama television series that aired for seven seasons on ABC from October 23, 2011, to May 18, 2018. The action alternates between two main settings: a fantastical world where fairy tales happen, and a fictional seaside town in Maine called Storybrooke. The "real-world" part of the story unfolds with the characters of Emma Swan ( Jennifer Morrison ) and her 10-year-old son, Henry Mills ( Jared S. Gilmore ). Henry discovers
246-496: A Time ' s first season received generally favorable reviews from critics who praised its cast, visuals, and twists on fairy tales, though some criticized its uneven tone. The pilot episode was watched by 12.93 million viewers and achieved an adult 18–49 rating/share of 4.0/10. Those numbers dipped late in the season to a series low of 8.36 million viewers and a 2.8/8 adult 18–49 rating/share in April 2012, but rebounded slightly for
369-443: A Time book of fairy tales that holds the key to breaking the curse. Henry is also the adopted son of Regina, providing a source of both conflict and common interest between the two women. Episodes usually have one segment that details the characters' past lives that, when serialized, adds a piece to the puzzle about the characters and their connection to the events that preceded the curse and its consequences. The other segment, set in
492-486: A Time book to find her now-adult father Henry ( Andrew J. West ), who is needed by his family. Henry, along with characters from the New Enchanted Forest, have been brought to the neighborhood under a new curse and are caught in a rising conflict involving Cinderella ( Dania Ramirez ) and Lady Tremaine ( Gabrielle Anwar ), whose dangerous history with Mother Gothel ( Emma Booth ) is revealed, as well as
615-653: A Time first aired on Seven Network , starting on May 15, 2012. In Canada it airs on CTV from October 23, 2011. It premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2012. On December 17, 2013, it was confirmed that Channel 5 would not be picking the series up for the third season airing in the UK. On March 14, 2015, Netflix picked up the show in the United Kingdom and Ireland, subsequently showing all seasons and premiering each new episode on Wednesdays after their initial showing on Sundays on ABC. All seven seasons of
738-434: A Time in 2004 before joining the writing staff of Lost but wanted to wait until that series was over to focus on this project. The idea is to take these characters that we all know collectively and try to find things about them that we haven't explored before. Sometimes it's a story point, sometimes it's a thematic connection, sometimes it's a dilemma they face in both worlds that is similar. We are not generally retelling
861-452: A Time was created by Lost and Tron: Legacy writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz . The core themes of the show are hope and optimism. Horowitz told The Hollywood Reporter that they had a conscious purpose to "do a show that had optimism at its heart", as they "felt like there was so much darkness in the world". Kitsis said: "We are guys who like to see the world as half-full, not half-empty ", and it's about "seeing that among all
984-508: A Time in Wonderland , consisting of 13 episodes featuring the title character of the 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll , premiered on October 10, 2013, and concluded on April 3, 2014. The series is primarily set in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine , in which the residents are actually fairy tale characters that were transported to the real world town and robbed of their memories by Regina ,
1107-461: A city in the clouds with the birds and challenges Zeus 's authority. Ovid 's Metamorphoses and Apuleius 's The Golden Ass are both works that influenced the development of the fantasy genre by taking mythic elements and weaving them into personal accounts. Both works involve complex narratives in which humans beings are transformed into animals or inanimate objects. Platonic teachings and early Christian theology are major influences on
1230-690: A feudal society hindering the modernization of China. Stories of the supernatural continued to be denounced once the Communists rose to power, and mainland China experienced a revival in fantasy only after the Cultural Revolution had ended. Fantasy became a genre of pulp magazines published in the West. In 1923, the first all-fantasy fiction magazine, Weird Tales , was published. Many other similar magazines eventually followed, including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ; when it
1353-465: A guest appearance in the seventeenth episode. For the third season, Michael Raymond-James was promoted to series regular status as Neal Cassidy, while Ory did not return as a regular due to commitments to the CBS series Intelligence . Ory continued to make recurring appearances throughout the season. For the fourth season, Michael Socha was brought onto the series as Will Scarlet / Knave of Hearts from
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#17327727561291476-564: A large audience. Lord Dunsany established the genre's popularity in both the novel and the short story form. H. Rider Haggard , Rudyard Kipling , and Edgar Rice Burroughs began to write fantasy at this time. These authors, along with Abraham Merritt , established what was known as the "lost world" subgenre, which was the most popular form of fantasy in the early decades of the 20th century, although several classic children's fantasies, such as Peter Pan and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , were also published around this time. Juvenile fantasy
1599-471: A main plot element, theme , or setting . Magic, magic practitioners ( sorcerers , witches and so on) and magical creatures are common in many of these worlds. An identifying trait of fantasy is the author's use of narrative elements that do not have to rely on history or nature to be coherent. This differs from realistic fiction in that realistic fiction has to attend to the history and natural laws of reality, where fantasy does not. In writing fantasy
1722-548: A mysterious new arrival: Aladdin ( Deniz Akdeniz ). The war between light and darkness leads to the arrival of the Black Fairy ( Jaime Murray ) as well as the final battle that was prophesied before the casting of the original curse. In the seventh and final season, years after the final battle, Lucy ( Alison Fernandez ) arrives in the fictional neighborhood of Hyperion Heights in Seattle , Washington with her Once Upon
1845-412: A new style of "fuzzy" supernatural texts. The fantastic is on the dividing line between supernatural and not supernatural, Just as during this time period the women were not respecting the boundary of inequality that had always been set for them. At the time, women's roles in society were very uncertain, just as the rules of the fantastic are never straightforward. This climate allowed for a genre similar to
1968-548: A plan to obtain the "Heart of the Truest Believer" from him. Their increasing power struggle with Pan continues in Storybrooke, which results in the reversal of the original curse. All the characters are returned to their original worlds, leaving Emma and Henry to escape to New York City . The characters are then mysteriously brought back to a recreated Storybrooke with their memories of the previous year removed, and
2091-557: A powerful curse enacted by the Evil Queen ( Lana Parrilla ), a curse in which the queen is the only one with a happy ending. Because of the curse, everyone in Storybrooke is frozen in time with no memories of their former selves—except for the Queen, who is Storybrooke's mayor and Henry's adoptive mother, Regina Mills. Emma of course considers this theory to be completely outlandish and returns Henry home, but she still decides to remain in
2214-606: A resistance led by Tiana, and the Coven of the Eight led by Mother Gothel. Most flashbacks involved events that happened before the original curse and before the latest curse that brought everyone to Hyperion Heights, where unlike Storybrooke, its cursed inhabitants are living among ordinary people. The series, including its Wonderland spin-off , have explored beyond the main settings to numerous realms, each based on fairy tales, literature, and folklore. Known realms are Fairy Tale Land ,
2337-555: A review from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , TV critic Gail Pennington hailed it as one of the "Most Promising Shows of The Fall" and, unlike Gilbert, had high marks for Morrison. USA Today ' s Robert Blanco placed the series on its top ten list, declaring that "There's nothing else on the air quite like it." Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times preferred the series to another fairy-tale themed drama, Grimm , citing that
2460-553: A scene of the pilot, in which there is a war council featuring Geppetto, Pinocchio, and Grumpy. Horowitz elaborated, "One of the fun things for us coming up with these stories is thinking of ways these different characters can interact in ways they never have before." Since then, the showrunners have added more elements, and given its ties to Disney , have expanded the universe to include more recent material, by throwing out hints that they might look ahead at incorporating characters from Brave and Frozen in future seasons, if they get
2583-425: A secret relationship that becomes public and upsets Kathryn. Kathryn eventually decides to go to Boston and let David be with Mary Margaret only to disappear before leaving Storybrooke. Sometime later, an antique jewelry box that belonged to Mary Margaret when she was a child is found buried near the old toll bridge and is revealed to contain a human heart, which is proven to be Kathryn's via DNA testing. Mary Margaret
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#17327727561292706-453: A series regular before his character was killed off in the seventh episode (he later appeared as a guest star for the season finale), while Eion Bailey was cast as Pinocchio / August Wayne Booth in a recurring role, starting with the ninth episode, "True North", where he was credited as "Stranger". He was promoted to series regular status for the fifteenth episode, "Red-Handed". Raphael Sbarge portrayed Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archie Hopper. For
2829-613: A single source. The Welsh tradition has been particularly influential, due to its connection to King Arthur and its collection in a single work, the epic Mabinogion . There are many works where the boundary between fantasy and other works is not clear; the question of whether the writers believed in the possibilities of the marvels in A Midsummer Night's Dream or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight makes it difficult to distinguish when fantasy, in its modern sense, first began. Although pre-dated by John Ruskin 's The King of
2952-674: A wide audience, with the success of Robert E. Howard 's Conan the Barbarian and Fritz Leiber 's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories. However, it was the advent of high fantasy , and most of all J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , which reached new heights of popularity in the late 1960s, that allowed fantasy to truly enter the mainstream . Several other series, such as C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and Ursula K. Le Guin 's Earthsea books, helped cement
3075-624: Is One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) , which is a compilation of many ancient and medieval folk tales. Various characters from this epic have become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin , Sinbad and Ali Baba . Hindu mythology was an evolution of the earlier Vedic mythology and had many more fantastical stories and characters, particularly in the Indian epics . The Panchatantra ( Fables of Bidpai ), for example, used various animal fables and magical tales to illustrate
3198-726: Is also often used to refer to this genre by the Anglophone literary critics. An archaic spelling for the term is phantasy . Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these can occur in fantasy. In popular culture , the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works. Many works of fantasy use magic or other supernatural elements as
3321-483: Is arrested for Kathryn's supposed murder and hires Mr. Gold as her attorney. As Mary Margaret is about to be prosecuted by corrupt District Attorney Albert Spencer ( Alan Dale ), Kathryn is found alive in an alley. It is revealed that Regina and Mr. Gold plotted to frame Mary Margaret and force her out of Storybrooke, but Mr. Gold double-crossed Regina and let Kathryn go to exonerate Mary Margaret. When Daily Mirror chief editor Sidney Glass ( Giancarlo Esposito ), previously
3444-404: Is not about finding a man or going to a ball all gussied up, but about detective work, about building a relationship with her son Henry, and about seeking the 'truth' as to why time stands still in the corrupt Storybrooke world." The show began to receive less favorable reviews beginning with the second season, and reception became mixed overall until the final season. The first season premiered as
3567-488: Is often violent -- including murder, sword fights, and death threats -- and much of the story is clouded in a sense of peril and shifting loyalties. There's some implied sexual content (including shirtless men, women buttoning up their blouses, and lovers escaping out of windows), some innuendo, and some iffy language ("hell", "ass", "suck"). The upside? It has multi-generational appeal, but parents may want to preview before sharing with tweens". E! 's Kristin dos Santos cited
3690-491: Is soon elected as Sheriff following the sudden death of the previous Sheriff, Graham Humbert ( Jamie Dornan ), believed by Henry to be the Huntsman . Regina's antagonistic attitude raises Emma's suspicions and prompts her to move in with Henry's teacher Mary Margaret Blanchard, believed by Henry to be her mother, Snow White. Regina's bitter rivalry with Storybrooke's wealthiest resident, Mr. Gold, becomes heated when she learns he
3813-436: Is still aware of his true identity as Rumplestiltskin. Mary Margaret falls in love with David Nolan, a coma patient who is really Prince Charming. David wakes up after she reads Henry's fairytale book to him as a favor to Henry. David, however, is married to Kathryn Nolan, the woman who is (in the fairy tale world) his ex-fiancée Princess Abigail, daughter of King Midas. Unable to deny their love, David and Mary Margaret soon begin
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3936-632: The Epic of Gilgamesh . The ancient Babylonian creation epic, the Enûma Eliš , in which the god Marduk slays the goddess Tiamat , contains the theme of a cosmic battle between good and evil, which is characteristic of the modern fantasy genre. Genres of romantic and fantasy literature existed in ancient Egypt. The Tales of the Court of King Khufu , which is preserved in the Westcar Papyrus and
4059-509: The 2012 Satellite Awards but lost to The Walking Dead . Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction which involves themes of the supernatural , magic , and imaginary worlds and creatures . Its roots are in oral traditions, which became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film , television , graphic novels , manga , animations , and video games . The expression fantastic literature
4182-521: The Elder Edda and the Younger Edda , includes such figures as Odin and his fellow Aesir , and dwarves , elves , dragons , and giants . These elements have been directly imported into various fantasy works. The separate folklore of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland has sometimes been used indiscriminately for "Celtic" fantasy, sometimes with great effect; other writers have specified the use of
4305-466: The Evil Queen ( Lana Parrilla ), who used a powerful dark curse obtained from Rumplestiltskin ( Robert Carlyle ). The residents of Storybrooke, where Regina is mayor, have lived an unchanging existence for 28 years, unaware of their own agelessness and their past lives. The town's only hope lies with a bail bond agent named Emma Swan ( Jennifer Morrison ), who is the daughter of Snow White ( Ginnifer Goodwin ) and Prince Charming ( Josh Dallas ). Emma
4428-1181: The Land Without Magic , Wonderland , the Dreamscape , the Land Without Color, the Netherworld , Neverland , Victorian England , the Land of Oz , Kansas , Asgard , 1920s England , the Heroes & Villains alternate reality , the Underworld , the Worst Place , Mount Olympus , the Land of Untold Stories, 19th Century France , the World Behind the Mirror, the Dark Realm, the Wish Realm, New Fairy Tale Land,
4551-540: The Magic Mirror , confesses to having abducted Kathryn to jump-start his career, Emma is not convinced. She concludes that Regina orchestrated the conspiracy and forced Sidney to "confess". Emma soon discovers that writer August W. Booth ( Eion Bailey ), who is the first stranger ever to arrive in town after she did, is from the Enchanted Forest as well: he is Pinocchio , who was sent to our world through
4674-404: The 'break-the-curse show.' Despite the comparisons and similarities to Lost , the writers intend them to be very different shows. To them, Lost concerned itself with redemption, while Once Upon a Time is about "hope". Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof aided in the development of the series as an uncredited consultant. Kitsis and Horowitz called him a "godfather" to the series. To differentiate
4797-526: The American ABC fantasy - drama series Once Upon a Time premiered on October 23, 2011, and concluded on May 13, 2012. The series was created by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz . The series' first season centers around the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, and the Evil Queen's ( Lana Parrilla ) plot to destroy everyone's happiness so she can be the only one with a happy ending . Once Upon
4920-699: The Edge of Realms, New Wonderland, and the Prison Realm. In the series finale, all the realms are merged via a variation of the Dark Curse, being known as the United Realms. As a nod to the ties between the production teams of Once Upon a Time and Lost , the former show contains allusions to Lost . For example, many items found in Lost , such as Apollo candy bars , Oceanic Airlines , Ajira Airways ,
5043-600: The Golden River (1841), the history of modern fantasy literature is usually said to begin with George MacDonald , the Scottish author of such novels as Phantastes (1858) and The Princess and the Goblin (1872); the former is widely considered to be the first fantasy novel ever written for adults. MacDonald was a major influence on both J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis . The other major fantasy author of this era
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5166-459: The New England town after becoming attached to him. This action causes the hands of the clock tower to move for the first time in 28 years. Henry also tells Emma that they are the only people who can leave Storybrooke, as others who try will suffer accidents. In the fairy tale world, it is revealed that Snow and Charming, concerned for the safety of their unborn child, went to seek advice from
5289-593: The Ogre Wars, which played a part in the formation of the War Council that is formed by Prince Charming and served as the catalysts in the backstories involving Rumplestiltskin and the Evil Queen. Several independent kingdoms are implied by an array of different rulers. Most of the stories detailed their earlier lives before ascension to power and being influenced by their mentors through their upbringings. Meanwhile, Storybrooke serves as an isolated town separated from
5412-592: The RPG products sold in 2005. The science fantasy role-playing game series Final Fantasy has been an icon of the role-playing video game genre (as of 2012 it was still among the top ten best-selling video game franchises ). The first collectible card game , Magic: The Gathering , has a fantasy theme and is similarly dominant in the industry. Fantasy encompasses numerous subgenres characterized by particular themes or settings, or by an overlap with other literary genres or forms of speculative fiction. They include
5535-689: The Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson , and the Harry Potter films, two of the highest-grossing film series in cinematic history. Fantasy role-playing games cross several different media. Dungeons & Dragons was the first tabletop role-playing game and remains the most successful and influential. According to a 1999 survey in the United States , 6% of 12- to 35-year-olds have played role-playing games. Of those who play regularly, two thirds play D&D . Products branded Dungeons & Dragons made up over fifty percent of
5658-476: The Supernatural in the 1890s and 1920s , Lizzie Harris McCormick, Jennifer Mitchell, and Rebecca Soares describe how the social climate in the 1890s and 1920s allowed for a new era of "fantastic" literature to grow. Women were finally exploring the new freedoms given to them and were quickly becoming equals in society. The fear of the new women in society, paired with their growing roles, allowed them to create
5781-665: The TV series Exposé , and the MacCutcheon whiskey, can be seen in Once Upon a Time . Mark Isham composed the series' theme and music; he was joined by Cindy O'Connor and Michael D. Simon for the seventh season. An extended play featuring four cues from the score was released on February 15, 2011, by ABC Studios. A full-length 25-track official soundtrack album was released on May 1, 2012, by Intrada Records to accompany season one. Another full-length 25-track official soundtrack album
5904-457: The agendas of Dr. Facilier ( Daniel Francis ). Lucy must try to break this new curse and free her parents with the help of the now-cursed Regina, Wish Realm Hook, Rumplestiltskin and Zelena. As they succeed in breaking the curse, the arrival of Wish Realm Rumplestiltskin with a plot to condemn every hero into eternal unhappiness leads to an ultimate sacrifice to save their happily ever after. Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis conceived Once Upon
6027-575: The aid of the town's residents, they encounter the Snow Queen ( Elizabeth Mitchell ). Meanwhile, Regina seeks the author of Henry's Once Upon a Time book so that she can have her happy ending. Later on, a banished Rumplestiltskin returns with the help of Cruella de Vil ( Victoria Smurfit ), Maleficent ( Kristin Bauer van Straten ), and Ursula ( Merrin Dungey ), carrying out his own plans to rewrite
6150-505: The air of uncertainty in its narratives as described by Todorov. Jackson also introduces the idea of reading the fantastic through a psychoanalytical lens, referring primarily to Freud's theory of the unconscious, which she believes is integral to understanding the fantastic's connection to the human psyche. There are however additional ways to view the fantastic, and often these differing perspectives come from differing social climates. In their introduction to The Female Fantastic: Gender and
6273-460: The arrival of Dr. Jekyll ( Hank Harris ) and Mr. Hyde ( Sam Witwer ). In the sixth season , the residents of Storybrooke set out to protect the town from the combined threat of Mr. Hyde and an unleashed Evil Queen, as well as dealing with new arrivals from the Land of Untold Stories. Emma's destiny as the Savior weighs heavy on her, and her desperation to alter her fate leads to revelations about
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#17327727561296396-438: The author uses worldbuilding to create characters, situations, and settings that may not be possible in reality. Many fantasy authors use real-world folklore and mythology as inspiration; and although another defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is the inclusion of supernatural elements, such as magic, this does not have to be the case. Fantasy has often been compared to science fiction and horror because they are
6519-402: The balance between light and darkness using Excalibur and the help of a vengeful Zelena. A tragic loss forces Emma to lead a rescue party to the Underworld , where the gang encounters souls of those with unfinished business and must face the conniving Hades ( Greg Germann ). The characters' dangerous manipulations of magic lead to the separation of Regina and her Evil Queen persona, as well as
6642-591: The central Indian principles of political science . Chinese traditions have been particularly influential in the vein of fantasy known as Chinoiserie , including such writers as Ernest Bramah and Barry Hughart . Beowulf is among the best known of the Old English tales in the English speaking world, and has had deep influence on the fantasy genre; several fantasy works have retold the tale, such as John Gardner 's Grendel . Norse mythology , as found in
6765-644: The circular effect that all fantasy works, even the later The Lord of the Rings , were therefore classified as children's literature . Political and social trends can affect a society's reception towards fantasy. In the early 20th century, the New Culture Movement 's enthusiasm for Westernization and science in China compelled them to condemn the fantastical shenmo genre of traditional Chinese literature. The spells and magical creatures of these novels were viewed as superstitious and backward, products of
6888-646: The convention. The first WFC was held in 1975 and it has occurred every year since. The convention is held at a different city each year. Additionally, many science fiction conventions, such as Florida's FX Show and MegaCon , cater to fantasy and horror fans. Anime conventions, such as Ohayocon or Anime Expo frequently feature showings of fantasy, science fantasy, and dark fantasy series and films, such as Majutsushi Orphen (fantasy), Sailor Moon (urban fantasy), Berserk (dark fantasy), and Spirited Away (fantasy). Many science fiction/fantasy and anime conventions also strongly feature or cater to one or more of
7011-421: The corrupt Storybrooke world. All tracks are written by Mark Isham The album was released with five different collectible covers. All tracks are written by Mark Isham Once Upon a Time debuted a fantasy novel from Disney-owned Hyperion Books . Titled Reawakened , the novel covers the first season and promises to give "fans of the show a whole new look at their favorite characters and stories". The narrative
7134-437: The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, is brought to Storybrooke by her biological son Henry Mills in the hopes of breaking the curse cast by his adoptive mother, Regina Mills –the Evil Queen. In the second season , despite Emma having broken the curse, the characters are not returned to the fairytale world and must deal with their own dual identities. With the introduction of magic into Storybrooke by Rumplestiltskin ,
7257-469: The difference of critical traditions of each country have led to controversies such as the one led by Stanislaw Lem . Rosemary Jackson builds onto and challenges as well Todorov's definition of the fantastic in her 1981 nonfiction book Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion . Jackson rejects the notion of the fantastic genre as a simple vessel for wish fulfillment that transcends human reality in worlds presented as superior to our own, instead positing that
7380-418: The dragon, Emma heads back to save Henry, but Mr. Gold intervenes and steals the potion, leaving Emma halfway up the elevator shaft and Regina tied to a chair and gagged. When Henry is pronounced dead, Emma and Regina return to the hospital to say goodbye to his body. Emma kisses him on the forehead, causing a pulse of energy to engulf the entire town and restore everyone's true memories while freeing Henry from
7503-476: The effects of the poisoned apple. Snow and Charming reunite with each other, and Regina returns to her mansion alone as Emma begins to wonder why no one is returning to the Other World since the curse is broken. Rumplestiltskin reunites with his true love Belle ( Emilie de Ravin ) and takes her to a Wishing Well deep in the heart of the forest, a well with the power to restore that which one had lost. He takes
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#17327727561297626-411: The envious Zelena / Wicked Witch of the West ( Rebecca Mader ) from Oz appears with a plan to change the past, prompting Emma and Henry to return. In the fourth season , Emma and Hook's time travel adventures lead to the accidental arrival of Elsa ( Georgina Haig ) from the Enchanted Forest of the past to present-day Storybrooke. As she searches for her younger sister Anna ( Elizabeth Lail ) with
7749-465: The exact same story as the fairy tale world. — Executive producer Adam Horowitz Eight years before the pilot began development (the two had just completed their work on Felicity , in 2002), Kitsis and Horowitz became inspired to write fairy tales out of a love of "mystery and excitement of exploring lots of different worlds." They presented the premise to numerous networks, but were refused due to its fantastical nature. From their time on Lost ,
7872-486: The fairy tale world. On the night of her 28th birthday, bail bonds collector Emma Swan ( Jennifer Morrison ) is reunited with Henry Mills ( Jared S. Gilmore )—the son she gave up for adoption ten years previous—who takes her back to his hometown of Storybrooke, Maine . Henry possesses a large book of fairy tales , suspecting that Emma is the daughter of Snow White ( Ginnifer Goodwin ) and Prince Charming ( Josh Dallas ), who sent her away so she would be protected from
7995-514: The fantastic is a liminal space , characterized by the intrusion of supernatural elements into the realistic framework of a story, accompanied by uncertainty about their existence. However, this precise definition is not the predominant one in English critical literature, and the French term fantastique is used to differentiate the French concept from the broader English term of fantastic, synonym of fantasy. The restrictive definition of Todorov and
8118-429: The fantastic represents the unspoken desire for greater societal change. Jackson criticizes Todorov's theory as being too limited in scope, examining only the literary function of the fantastic, and expands his structuralist theory to fit a more cultural study of the genre—which, incidentally, she proposes is not a genre at all, but a mode that draws upon literary elements of both realistic and supernatural fiction to create
8241-554: The fantasy publisher Tor Books , men outnumber women by 67% to 33% among writers of historical, epic or high fantasy. But among writers of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, 57% are women and 43% are men. Fantasy is studied in a number of disciplines including English and other language studies, cultural studies , comparative literature , history and medieval studies . Some works make political, historical and literary connections between medievalism and popular culture. French literature theorists as Tzvetan Todorov argues that
8364-457: The fates of the two worlds become intertwined, and new threats emerge in the form of Killian Jones ( Colin O'Donoghue ), Regina's mother Cora ( Barbara Hershey ), and sinister operatives Greg Mendell ( Ethan Embry ) and Tamara ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) from the real world with an agenda to destroy magic. In the third season , the main characters travel to Neverland to rescue Henry, who has been kidnapped by Peter Pan ( Robbie Kay ) as part of
8487-535: The finale. Principal photography for the series takes place in Vancouver , British Columbia . The village of Steveston in the adjacent city of Richmond doubles as Storybrooke for the series, with props and exterior sets disguising the existing businesses and buildings. During filming, all brightly colored objects (flowers, etc.) are hidden to reinforce the fictional town's spell-subdued character. Certain sets are additionally filmed in separate studios, including
8610-483: The first category, Supernatural in the second two, and Ellen Pompeo (from Grey's Anatomy ) in the last category. The show was nominated at 40th People's Choice Awards but lost to Beauty & the Beast and The Vampire Diaries , respectively. The show was also nominated for "Best Genre Series" at the 2011 Satellite Awards but lost to American Horror Story . The show was nominated in this category again at
8733-405: The first time, women started to possess more masculine or queer qualities without it becoming as much of an issue. The fantastic during this time period reflects these new ideas by breaking parallel boundaries in the supernatural. The fantastic breaks this boundary by having the readers never truly know whether or not the story is supernatural. Once Upon a Time season 1 The first season of
8856-536: The following: In her 2008 book Rhetorics of Fantasy , Farah Mendlesohn proposes the following taxonomy of fantasy, as "determined by the means by which the fantastic enters the narrated world", while noting that there are fantasies that fit none of the patterns: Publishers, editors, authors, artists, and scholars with interest in the fantasy genre get together yearly at the World Fantasy Convention . The World Fantasy Awards are presented at
8979-465: The form of an apple turnover. Henry, desperate to prove to Emma that the curse is real, takes a bite of the turnover and collapses to the floor unconscious. Emma, who now starts to believe after seeing flashbacks of her true past, is forced to ally with Regina to save Henry and retrieve Rumplestiltskin's true love potion from Maleficent, imprisoned as a dragon underneath the Clock Tower. After slaying
9102-468: The fourth season. The seventh and final season marked a major cast overhaul for the series, with original cast members Goodwin, Morrison, Dallas and Gilmore as well as long-time cast members De Ravin and Mader all exiting as regulars. Gilmore and Mader joined the recurring cast for the season, while Goodwin, Morrison, Dallas and De Ravin all made guest appearances, particularly in the finale. Along with departures, Andrew J. West and Alison Fernandez joined
9225-528: The genre is inseparable from real life, particularly the social and cultural contexts within which each work of the fantastic is produced. She writes that the "unreal" elements of fantastic literature are created only in direct contrast to the boundaries set by its time period's "cultural order", acting to illuminate the unseen limitations of said boundaries by undoing and recompiling the very structures which define society into something "strange" and "apparently new". In subverting these societal norms, Jackson claims,
9348-633: The genre's popularity. The popularity of the fantasy genre has continued to increase in the 21st century, as evidenced by the best-selling status of J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series, Robert Jordan 's The Wheel of Time series, George R. R. Martin 's Song of Ice and Fire series, Steven Erikson 's Malazan Book of the Fallen sweeping epic, Brandon Sanderson 's The Stormlight Archive series and Mistborn series, and A. Sapkowski 's The Witcher saga. Several fantasy film adaptations have achieved blockbuster status, most notably The Lord of
9471-513: The green light from Disney. The characters from Frozen and Brave ultimately appeared as supporting characters in the fourth and fifth seasons, respectively. The general premise, importing the Snow White core characters into the "real world", was previously seen on ABC television in the short-lived 1980s comedy The Charmings . The show also has a similar premise to Bill Willingham 's ten-year-old comic series Fables , to which ABC bought
9594-501: The imprisoned trickster Rumpelstiltskin ( Robert Carlyle ). In exchange for the child's name, he told them their only hope was the child, who would return on her 28th birthday and begin "The Final Battle". The child, an infant girl, is born on the day the Queen enacts her curse and is placed in a wardrobe carved out of an enchanted tree which takes the child to our world, where she grew up in the foster system, rebelled in her teen years, and ended up having Henry at 18. In Storybrooke, Emma
9717-580: The interior of Mr. Gold's pawn shop and the clock tower, which are not found in Steveston. Downtown Vancouver doubles as other major cities such as New York City , Boston and Seattle . During the first six seasons, the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke, Maine are the main settings of the series. The Enchanted Forest is a realm within Fairy Tale Land, but the actual spread and scope of the realm are not known. However, they are later united during
9840-504: The main cast for the season as an older Henry and his daughter Lucy, respectively, after guest starring in the previous season's finale. Dania Ramirez and Gabrielle Anwar joined the main cast as new iterations of Cinderella and Lady Tremaine , respectively; Anwar exited after the eleventh episode, where her character was killed off. Mekia Cox , who portrays Tiana , was promoted to the main cast after initially joining as recurring. Additionally, Sbarge and Maguire made guest appearances in
9963-452: The main cast. Ory also returned in a recurring capacity after being absent since the third season. Additionally, Raymond-James made a guest appearance in the twelfth episode. For the sixth season, Maguire exited the main cast after his character was killed off in the previous season but remained in a recurring capacity as an alternate version of the character. Sbarge and Bailey also returned in recurring capacities, both having been absent since
10086-415: The major categories of speculative fiction . Fantasy is distinguished from science fiction by the plausibility of the narrative elements. A science fiction narrative is unlikely, though seemingly possible through logical scientific or technological extrapolation, where fantasy narratives do not need to be scientifically possible. Authors have to rely on the readers' suspension of disbelief , an acceptance of
10209-510: The modern fantasy genre. Plato used allegories to convey many of his teachings, and early Christian writers interpreted both the Old and New Testaments as employing parables to relay spiritual truths. This ability to find meaning in a story that is not literally true became the foundation that allowed the modern fantasy genre to develop. The most well known fiction from the Islamic world
10332-494: The number one non-sports program in the U.S. with viewers and young adults on Sunday nights. Once Upon a Time was nominated for a 2012 People's Choice Award for "Favorite New TV Drama", but lost to Person of Interest . The show was nominated at the 39th People's Choice Awards in four categories: Favorite Network TV Drama, Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show, Favorite TV Fan Following, and Favorite TV Drama Actress ( Ginnifer Goodwin ); it lost to another ABC show Grey's Anatomy in
10455-473: The other people of the town are fairy-tale characters. The audience is shown the backstory of the town's people as fairy-tale characters, in conjunction with their unfolding stories in the "real-world". In the seventh and final season, the "real-world" portion of the story takes place in Seattle, Washington , in the fictitious neighborhood of "Hyperion Heights", with a new main narrative led by adult Henry ( Andrew J. West ), and his wife and daughter. Once Upon
10578-726: The potion and drops it into the well, causing a purple cloud to emerge and consume Storybrooke as the clock strikes 8:15. Once Upon a Time is created and produced by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz . In addition, Jane Espenson , Steve Pearlman, Kathy Gilroy, Damon Lindelof , and Brian Wankum are also producers. Liz Tigelaar also serve as series executive producers. Paul Kurta, Chad Oakes, Michael Frislev are producers, while Jordan Feiner and Keri Young are associate producers. Writers for season one episodes include: Kitsis, Horowitz, Espenson, Liz Tigelaar , David H. Goodman , Andrew Chambliss , and Ian Goldberg , with Daniel T. Thomsen writing an episode teleplay. Rotten Tomatoes gave
10701-405: The premise takes its time building up the charm and that the producer "has that part nailed". She also gave excellent reviews for Morrison's character: "Her Emma is predictably cynical and prickly – fairy-tale princess, my Aunt Fanny – but she's sharp and lively enough to keep audiences begging for 'just a few more pages' before they go to bed." Several feminist outlets were pleased with
10824-546: The present day, follows a similar pattern with a different outcome, but also offers similar insights. In the first season , the Evil Queen interrupts the wedding of Snow White and Prince Charming to announce that she will cast a curse on everyone that will leave her with the only happy ending. As a result, the majority of the characters are transported to the town of Storybrooke, Maine , where most of them have been stripped of their original memories and identities as fairy tale characters . On her 28th birthday, Emma Swan ,
10947-579: The rest of the Land Without Magic, where the cursed inhabitants are trapped by various forces. During the seventh season, the New Enchanted Forest and Hyperion Heights, Seattle are the main settings. As a realm in New Fairy Tale Land, the New Enchanted Forest is divided into several independent kingdoms with different rulers. The inhabitants are in conflict with each other, most notably between Lady Tremaine, Cinderella, Drizella,
11070-427: The rights in 2008 but never made it past planning stages. After Fables fans raised controversy over possible appropriation, the show writers initially denied a link, but later said they may have "read a couple issues" of the comic book and while the two concepts are "in the same playground", they are "telling a different story." Bill Willingham responded to the controversy in an interview, where he stated he did not feel
11193-478: The rules governing the fates of all heroes and villains. Henry and Emma race to restore reality and the truth before the twisted inversion becomes permanent. In the fifth season , the characters embark on a quest to Camelot to find the Sorcerer Merlin ( Elliot Knight ) in order to free Emma from the powers of an ancient darkness. To complicate matters, King Arthur ( Liam Garrigan ) sets out to alter
11316-516: The same wardrobe that brought Emma to watch over her. He abandoned her out of fear and is slowly turning back into a wooden puppet as a result. Emma then attempts to take Henry out of Storybrooke forever but is then forced to reconsider when he refuses to go. She finally makes a deal with Regina, in which she agrees to leave but will still get to visit Henry on occasion. Since Regina knows Emma's true identity, however, she retrieves her poisoned apple (the same one she used on Snow White) to use on Emma in
11439-413: The same way, asking themselves, "How do we make these icons real, make them relatable?" The pilot is meant to be the "template of the series". Kitsis confirmed that every week will contain flashbacks between both worlds, as they "love the idea of going back and forth and informing what the character is missing in their life." The writers' desire to present a "mash up" of many small characters can be seen in
11562-423: The saving with the men, for subverting the fetishization of true love, and for dealing with the idea of what makes a mother in a more nuanced fashion. Wilson went on to state about the lead: "Her pursuit of a 'happy ending' is not about finding a man or going to a ball all gussied up, but about detective work, about building a relationship with her son Henry, and about seeking the 'truth' as to why time stands still in
11685-425: The season an approval rating of 80% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 6.06/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Charming and fantastical, Once Upon a Time is tonally uneven but derives strength from an outstanding cast and handsome visuals." Metacritic gave it a score of 66 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Washington Post ' s Hank Stuever called
11808-410: The season finale with 9.66 million viewers and a 3.3/10 adult 18–49 rating/share. All of the classic fairy tales and other stories exist together in the same continuity, though many of the events played out slightly different to how the stories are told in our world. The structure of the show cuts back and forth between the events happening in the real world and the corresponding events that happened in
11931-490: The second season, Meghan Ory and Emilie de Ravin were promoted to series regulars as Red Riding Hood / Ruby and Belle / Lacey respectively, while Bailey made guest appearances in two episodes and Sbarge joined the recurring cast. Colin O'Donoghue was cast as Captain Killian "Hook" Jones , initially in a recurring role, before being promoted to the main cast starting from the fourteenth episode. Additionally, Dornan made
12054-426: The series "a smartly-crafted reward for fans of light fantasy, with the right mix of cleverness, action and romance." Verne Gay of Newsday said the series "glows with a near-theatrical shine, challenging viewers to think about TV drama as something other than boilerplate." Several feminist outlets were pleased with the show for its feminist twist on fairy tales. Avital Norman Nathman of ##### stated that she liked
12177-623: The series were released on Disney+ in September 2020, and on Hulu in September 2023. Critical response to the first season was generally positive. On Metacritic , it was given a score of 66 out of 100 with "generally favorable reviews". Common Sense Media rated the show 4 out of 5 stars, stating, "Parents need to know that although Once Upon a Time is inspired by classic fairy tales such as Snow White , Pinocchio , and revivals of popular stories such as Mulan, Brave, and Frozen , it's not always age-appropriate for younger kids. The content
12300-458: The several subcultures within the main subcultures, including the cosplay subculture (in which people make or wear costumes based on existing or self-created characters, sometimes also acting out skits or plays as well), the fan fiction subculture, and the fan video or AMV subculture, as well as the large internet subculture devoted to reading and writing prose fiction or doujinshi in or related to those genres. According to 2013 statistics by
12423-462: The show as one of the five new shows of the 2011–2012 season to watch. Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe gave the show a "C+" grade commenting: From a pair of Lost producers, this is a love-or-hate proposition. The ambition is impressive, as it asks us to imagine Goodwin's Snow White and Parrilla's Evil Queen as moderns. But Morrison is a wooden lead, and the back stories – a random collection of fairy tales -- don't promise to surprise." In
12546-489: The show for "infusing a feminist sensibility" into the stories. Feministing ' s Genie Leslie commented that Emma was a "badass", that she liked how Emma was "very adamant that women be able to make their own decisions about their lives and their children", and how Emma was a "well-rounded" character who was "feminine, but not 'girly'". Natalie Wilson from Ms. praised the show for a strong, "kick-butt" female lead, for including multiple strong women who take turns doing
12669-413: The show for its feminist twist on fairy tales. Avital Norman Nathman of Bitch stated that she liked the show for "infusing a feminist sensibility" into the stories. Genie Leslie at Feministing commented that Emma was a "badass", that she liked how Emma was "very adamant that women be able to make their own decisions about their lives and their children", and how Emma was a "well-rounded" character who
12792-401: The show was plagiarism and said: "Maybe they did remember reading Fables back then, but didn't want to mention it because we've become a very litigious people." The secondary character casting director Samuel Forsyth started the casting process in 2010. Horowitz stated that everyone they initially wanted for roles in the series accepted their roles after being sent a script. Ginnifer Goodwin
12915-465: The social structure to emerge. The fantastic is never purely supernatural, nor can the supernatural be ruled out. Just as women were not equal yet, but they were not completely oppressed. The Female Fantastic seeks to enforce this idea that nothing is certain in the fantastic nor the gender roles of the 1920s. Many women in this time period began to blur the lines between the genders, removing the binary out of gender and allowing for many interpretations. For
13038-496: The spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland , while Raymond-James exited the regular cast after his character was killed off in the previous season. Bailey returned in a recurring arc towards the end of the season after being absent since the second season. For the fifth season, Rebecca Mader and Sean Maguire were promoted to series regular status as Zelena / Wicked Witch of the West and Robin Hood respectively, while Socha exited
13161-419: The storytelling from what the audience already knew, the writing staff decided to begin the pilot with the end of the typical Snow White fairytale. Themes concerning family and motherhood were emphasized, in contrast to the focus on fatherhood in Lost . Kitsis and Horowitz sought to write strong female characters, rather than the classic damsel in distress . Horowitz stated their desire to approach each character
13284-476: The top-rated drama series. The pilot episode was watched by 13 million viewers and received a 4.0 rating/share among 18- to 49-year-olds. It was the season's highest-rated drama debut among the age range and ABC's biggest debut in five years. With DVR viewers, the premiere climbed to 15.5 million viewers and a 5.2 rating/share in adults 18–49. The show's next three episodes had consistent ratings every week with over 11 million viewers. The series became
13407-500: The trials and tribulations of life, you can persevere and find light among the darkness"; "it's that ability to think your life will get better". Star Jennifer Morrison told the Calgary Herald that it's a show about hope and positivity and connectivity, which "encourages people to believe in themselves and believe in the best versions of themselves and to have hope to have the life that they have." A spin-off series, Once Upon
13530-494: The unbelievable or impossible for the sake of enjoyment, in order to write effective fantasies. Despite both genres' heavy reliance on the supernatural, fantasy and horror are distinguishable from one another. Horror primarily evokes fear through the protagonists' weaknesses or inability to deal with the antagonists. While some elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were a part of literature from its beginning, fantasy elements occur throughout ancient religious texts such as
13653-399: The writers learned to look at the story in a different way, namely that "character has to trump mythology." They explained, As people, you've got to see what the void in their heart or in their lives is to care about them ... For us, this was as much about the character journeys and seeing what was ripped from them in coming to Storybrooke – going at it that way as opposed to making it
13776-603: Was William Morris , an English poet who wrote several novels in the latter part of the century, including The Wood Beyond the World (1894) and The Well at the World's End (1896). Despite MacDonald's future influence with At the Back of the North Wind (1871), Morris's popularity with his contemporaries, and H. G. Wells 's The Wonderful Visit (1895), it was not until the 20th century that fantasy fiction began to reach
13899-399: Was "feminine, but not 'girly ' ". Natalie Wilson from Ms. praised the show for a strong, "kick-butt" female lead, for including multiple strong women who take turns doing the saving with the men, for subverting the fetishization of true love, and for dealing with the idea of what makes a mother in a more nuanced fashion. Wilson went on to state of the lead: "Her pursuit of a 'happy ending'
14022-414: Was cast as Emma Swan . The actress explained her character as someone who "help[s] her son Henry whom she abandoned when he was a baby and who seems like he's a little bit emotionally dysfunctional", but noted that Emma does not start out believing in the fairytale universe. Ten-year-old Jared S. Gilmore , known for his work on Mad Men , took the role of her son, Henry. The role of the Evil Queen / Regina
14145-481: Was cast as Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard, who appreciated that she would be playing a strong character that was fleshed out for the audience. Goodwin had stated in interviews that she would love to play Snow White, and called her acceptance of the role "a no-brainer." Both Kitsis and Horowitz are self-described big fans of Goodwin's previous series, Big Love , and wrote the part of Snow White with her in mind. Josh Dallas , who portrays Prince Charming / David Nolan,
14268-424: Was considered more acceptable than fantasy intended for adults, with the effect that writers who wished to write fantasy had to fit their work into forms aimed at children. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote fantasy in A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys , intended for children, although his works for adults only verged on fantasy. For many years, this and successes such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) created
14391-401: Was founded in 1949, the pulp magazine format was at the height of its popularity, and the magazine was instrumental in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and Britain. Such magazines were also instrumental in the rise of science fiction, and it was at this time the two genres began to be associated with each other. By 1950, " sword and sorcery " fiction had begun to find
14514-498: Was given to Lana Parrilla . "There's always two stories being told when playing Regina. There's the threat of her knowing she's an evil queen and then there's just the pure simple fact that the biological mother has stepped into her world and the threat of losing her son is just enormous. That's a fear that I think any adopted mother would have. I think that's going to really help the audience relate to Regina in some level." — Lana Parrilla The role of Rumplestiltskin / Mr. Gold
14637-402: Was given to Robert Carlyle , after having been written with him in mind, though the writers initially thought he would not accept the part. Horowitz recalled Carlyle's prison sequence, which was the actor's first day on the set as "mind-blowing ... You could see Ginny actually jump, the first time he did that character. It was fantastic!" Jamie Dornan portrayed the Huntsman / Sheriff Graham as
14760-460: Was pleased the writers took "some dramatic license" with his character, believing the prince had become more real. He explained, Prince Charming just happens to be a name. He's still a man with the same emotions as any other man. He's a Prince, but he's a Prince of the people. He gets his hands dirty. He's got a kingdom to run. He has a family to protect. He has an epic, epic love for Snow White. He's like everybody else. He's human. Jennifer Morrison
14883-548: Was probably written in the middle of the second half of the eighteenth century BC, preserves a mixture of stories with elements of historical fiction, fantasy, and satire. Egyptian funerary texts preserve mythological tales, the most significant of which are the myths of Osiris and his son Horus . Myth with fantastic elements intended for adults were a major genre of ancient Greek literature . The comedies of Aristophanes are filled with fantastic elements, particularly his play The Birds , in which an Athenian man builds
15006-434: Was released on August 13, 2013, by Intrada to accompany season two. Since December 2015, Mark Isham had begun to release music that was previously not released from the third, fourth, and fifth seasons on his SoundCloud account. An extended play featuring nine tracks from the score for the seventh season was released on August 17, 2018, by ABC Studios. The series has been licensed to over 190 countries. In Australia, Once Upon
15129-470: Was transported from the Enchanted Forest to the real world via a magic wardrobe as an infant before the curse was cast. As such, she is the Savior, the only person who can break the curse and restore everyone's lost memories. She is aided by her ten-year-old son, Henry Mills ( Jared S. Gilmore ), with whom she was recently reunited after giving him up for adoption upon his birth, and his Once Upon
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