Column by Katherine Hunt
Hunt is a senior marketing and management double major and can be reached at [email protected]
Remember as a kid when you watched Disney movies with your parents? Then, you grew up and had to pretend to not love them as society expected you to mature? Well, ABC has developed a show that allows adults to relive their childhood movies with a new twist. “Once Upon A Time” is a fairly new fantasy-drama show that places some of the world’s most beloved fairytale characters into modern society today.
The series started off with an opening episode that left viewers spinning. Emma Swan, the protagonist, is an average woman with a difficult past who is discovered by her son whom she put up for adoption a decade before. Her son, Henry, begs her to come home with him and to listen to his story. Henry’s story is a tale of Snow White and Prince Charming and how the Evil Queen concocted a powerful curse to destroy all happy endings forever for the characters by erasing their memories and sending them to a world where no happy endings exist, or our world.
Thinking her son is absolutely crazy, Emma doesn’t believe anything Henry says until she arrives in Storybrooke, Maine where these so-called “fairytale” characters live. After seeing for herself and making connections, Emma begins to believe Henry’s story although it goes against all logical and scientific reason. Together, Henry and Emma must uncover the mysteries behind the characters of Storybrooke and prepare for a prophesized final battle between Emma and the Evil Queen.
The greatest thing about this show is that there are so many elements to the story that it remains new and exciting from episode to episode. In one episode, the viewers may meet Jiminy Cricket and in the next see Maleficent and the Evil Queen having a fight. Furthermore, the show takes some classic childhood heroes and princesses and turns them into “real” people like you and me. What’s not to love?
Another fascinating component is the style and layout of the show. Producers make Storybrooke a typical small town with seemingly average citizens and events with just enough of a touch of the supernatural to keep the fairy tale world and our world connected. This element is crucial, otherwise, the show would be too whimsical for adults or too impossible to occur. In the fairytale world, however, anything is possible and that’s how it should be. After all, fairy tales have happily ever afters, magic spells and exotic locations.
While this show is definitely intriguing and keeps the viewer involved, this show is definitely too much for children. There may not be bloody battles or crude language, but the little nuances and tiniest details that make this show so wonderful would definitely not be caught by a ten year old. Also, it is sometimes hard to keep the show straight. With so many character backstories on top of their “current” stories in Storybrooke, Maine, it can be hard to keep straight what has happened to whom.
Overall, I’d give this show 4-and-a half stars. There are some truly fascinating parts to this show, and the opportunities/characters are endless. To check out “Once Upon A Time,” tune in Sunday nights at 7 p.m. CT.
