“Once Upon a Time” is a television series that meshes drama with the world of fairy tale characters. As a result, some of the most iconic entities that Disney introduced us to as a children – Snow White, Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket to name a couple of examples – can become involved in the tensest of situations in the modern era. It’s easy to see why they are incorporated, though, since there is a tremendous amount of history associated with them.
This is one of the reasons why the inclusion of a character from “Frozen” has become such a hot topic.
Earlier this week, the season 3 finale of “Once Upon a Time” concluded with the emergence of one of the most prominent characters from the latest Disney epic, “Frozen.” In the final scene, a deep blue substance appears on the ground before coming together in order to create the form of a young woman. With a blonde – almost frosty – head of air and a sparkling light blue dress, it was revealed that Elsa had emerged from the fictional realm and arrived in real-life location of the show known as Storybrooke.
This was shocking, partially because of the fact that the fairy tale characters, in “Once Upon a Time,” are personalities with at least a couple of decades under Disney’s umbrella. For example, Belle and the animated story of “Beauty and the Beast” came out in 1991. Disney’s “Snow White” made her debut in 1937. “Frozen,” meanwhile, was released in November of last year. When the season finale of “Once Upon a Time aired,” “Frozen” didn’t even have half of a year under its belt, so it’s understandable why fans of the show would be left stunned by this particular character addition.
With that said, it can be argued that the inclusion of a recent Disney entity in Elsa was for the best. The reviews for “Frozen” were glowing, to say the least. More importantly, though, “Frozen” did especially well at the box office, as it became one of the top ten highest-grossing movies, not only in animation but film in general. ABC wanted to strike while the iron was hot and there was no better time to include Elsa. Even though the fairy tale characters in “Once Upon a Time,” up until this point, followed a pattern of seniority of sorts, an exception was made for “Frozen’s” snow queen.
Ultimately, Elsa was included because the show’s creators saw storyline value in the character. “Once Upon a Time” is approaching its fourth season and with that comes the need for more engaging content, as any online marketing company can attest to. Where does the show take Elsa, who just recently etched her mark in Disney history? Does “Once Upon a Time” portray her as a protagonist, allowing her to use her powers for good? Will they take a more villainous approach with Elsa that “Frozen” only slightly touched upon? It’s a creative situation, to say the least, and it’s one that will have people tuning in for the fourth season coming up in the fall.
What is your take on the inclusion of Elsa in “Once Upon a Time?” Do you believe it is too soon for her to appear or do you think that it will only make the show better?
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