Editorial: Will We Ever See Tangled on Once Upon A Time? I Think So (Once Upon A Time)

"Tangled poster" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tangled_poster.jpg#/media/File:Tangled_poster.jpg

The last two seasons of Once Upon A Time have been quite surprising with which films from the Disney canon they've chosen to mine for material. Season 3 ended with the shocking but pleasantly surprising revelation that Frozen's Elsa would be coming to Storybrooke. 

Then, Season 4 followed that with the introduction of Brave's Merida on OUAT.

I think the most surprising thing about that is that Brave is technically a Pixar film rather than a Disney one. But that didn't stop them. 

The most surprising thing though about seeing Brave and Frozen become part of the canon of OUAT is that they are some of the most recent Disney/Pixar films to be released. Frozen came out in 2013 and Brave in 2012. Prior to Season 4, the most recent Disney film to be referenced on OUAT was Mulan and that came out in 1998. The point is that despite how good Brave and Frozen are, they have yet to reach the level of Disney classic as most of the films referenced on OUAT so far have. 

However, there is one fairly recent Disney animated film that was as or possibly more popular than either Frozen or Brave that as of yet hasn't really made its way to OUAT.   

That film is Tangled. 

I admit Tangled is one of my favorites of Disney's recent animated films. Also, despite how controversial such sentiments may be, I actually think it is overall better than Frozen.

Captain America. He's always right.

I admit though that Frozen's songs are much better than those in Tangled, but that is all I will admit.

Anywho, as a Tangled fan and a OUAT fan, I would love nothing more than to see Tangled become a part of OUAT. And I believe it is a very strong possibility that we will be seeing Tangled on OUAT quite soon. 

First off, look at the order of it. Season 4 started with the Frozen arc, and Frozen was released in 2013. The first arc of Season 5 features Brave, and Brave was released in 2012. Tangled was released in 2010. It's like they're featuring these films in backwards chronological order. That means they have to do Tangled next, maybe as soon as the second arc of Season 5 at least in some capacity. Of course, that is my least serious reason. The more serious ones are coming up. 

Secondly, it has been confirmed by the joint creators of Frozen and Tangled that they take place in the same continuity. Logically, this means if Frozen is part of OUAT, than Tangled must also be part of OUAT. We just haven't seen it yet. I think most of us are familiar with the moment in Frozen where you can see Eugene and Rapunzel from Tangled. 

Frozen's Makers have even further admitted that Anna and Elsa's parents were lost at sea on their way to Rapunzel and Eugene's wedding featured in the Tangled short "Tangled Ever After."

If you're a naysayer, they you may say nay and point out that Grand Pabbie said in OUAT's Season 4 premiere "A Tale of Two Sisters" that Anna and Elsa's parents said they were on a diplomatic mission to the Northern Isles, but they really went to Misthaven aka the Enchanted Forest. 

It can't be true then in OUAT that they were going to Rapunzel and Eugene's wedding. Besides the kingdom is in Tangled is called "Corona" on the Disney Wiki. 

Firstly, who's to say attending the wedding of foreign nation's princess wouldn't count as a "diplomatic mission." Secondly, who's to say "Northern Isles" isn't what they call Corona in Arendelle? They already call the Enchanted Forest "Misthaven." Plus, look at Corona.

It's capital city is on an island. What if the landmass its connected to by that bridge is also an island? Then, Corona would consist of "isles." I say, it's totally possible that it was actually meant that Anna and Elsa's parents were supposedly on their way to Rapunzel and Eugene's wedding. It's just vague enough to work. 

Next, there have already been some subtle clues pointing in the direction of possibly seeing Tangled on OUAT in the future. OUAT has often alluded in the past to things we would end up seeing in the future. Season 2 first introduced elements of Peter Pan, and then we finally saw Peter Pan in Season 3. Season 4 introduced elements of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" short from Fantasia, and after The Sorcerer's true identity was revealed in the finale, we finally saw him in Season 5. I think these kinds of subtle hints have also been done in Season 4 for Tangled. 

In the Season 4 episode "Poor Unfortunate Soul," Emma and the gang break into Mr. Gold's cabin to free August. Mary Margaret ends up sneaking up and knocking out Cruella De Vil with none other than a frying pan!

Ah yes, the frying pan. Rapunzel's weapon of choice. 

Why of all things did Mary Margaret sneak up and hit Cruella over the head with a frying pan? That's one of Rapunzel's moves. Could this be an indication that Snow White at one point met Rapunzel and possibly learned that from her? She did follow this action up with a comment about her time as a bandit. It could totally be possible that in her time as a bandit Snow ran into Rapunzel and very likely Eugene and had some kind of adventure. It would be almost like how David happened to meet Anna long before he became Prince Charming. 

An even bigger clue can be found in the Season 4 finale "Operation Mongoose." In the alternate universe Isaac has created in his storybook Heroes and Villains, Emma ends up being imprisoned in a tower by her mother the evil Queen Snow White. 

This is the exact same thing that happens to Rapunzel in Tangled. 

Not only that, but the costume Emma wears after Henry and Hook break her out of the tower is very similar to that worn by Tangled's Flynn Rider. 

There is no way this is unintentional. 

I say this is evidence means we will see Tangled at some point on OUAT.

However, I admit there is one possible reason we may not actually see Tangled. 

Technically, Rapunzel and her story has already been featured on OUAT way back in the Season 2 episode "The Tower."

However, this Rapunzel is nothing like the Rapunzel we know and love from Tangled for one very big reason. She lacked Rapunzel's spunk and sass. 

That is the only really important way she's different from Tangled's Rapunzel, and nothing else. 

Also, this Rapunzel's story is heavily altered from both the original "Rapunzel" fairy tale and Tangled. Charming slightly takes on the role of Flynn Rider and the prince from the original tale, and the witch ends up being a figment of her imagination. 

Despite this though, there are a number of ways to get around this episode and just feature Tangled. 

The first is the easiest. The writers could simply just ignore it. It's not like they haven't played fast and loose with OUAT's canon before. In Season 1, you can actually see a hat that look very similar to The Sorcerer's Hat in Rumplestiltskin's possession in the Season 1 episode "Skin Deep."

It isn't even established until Season 4 that Rumpelstiltskin has never possessed the Hat. 

There have also been an innumerable number of things that were brought up or established in Season 1 that now halfway through Season 5 have yet to be touched upon again. 

This though is a lazy solution. There are much better ways to get around the problem episode "The Tower" without breaking the canon so much. 

For one thing, OUAT has already established that there are often two different versions of the same character running around the Enchanted Forest. The best example is Sleeping Beauty. It is firmly established in the Season 4 episode "Enter the Dragon" that Aurora and Sleepy Beauty are two different people. This is merely intimated in previous episodes. Sleeping Beauty is actually Briar Rose, who is Aurora's mother. Of course, Briar Rose is the name the fairies raise Aurora under in the film Sleeping Beauty. It's also the name of the Grimm Brothers' version of "Sleeping Beauty." On top of all that, Charles Perrault's French version of "Sleeping Beauty" has her have a daughter named L'Aurore, which is just French for Aurora. See how they weaved it all together. 

The Frozen arc also feature two different versions of the Snow Queen. There's of course Elsa, the Snow Queen of Frozen, and her aunt Ingrid, who is closer to the Snow Queen from Hans Christian Anderson's original fairy tale "The Snow Queen." Ursula appears in the early part of the Season 4's Queens of Darkness arc, but in the episode "Poor Unfortunate Soul," it's stated that this Ursula was named after a goddess of old, presumably the same goddess mentioned in the Season 3 episode "Ariel." There could be a whole other Ursula out there! The point is this can be done with Rapunzel. Something interesting to note is that the Rapunzel from the episode "The Tower" mentions having an older brother who's deceased. From what I understand, in the musical and film Into the Woods, the Baker is Rapunzel's older brother. It could be that the Rapunzel in "The Tower" is a fast and loose version of the Rapunzel from Into the Woods, and the Tangled version of Rapunzel can still show up at some point in the future. 

One problem with this though is wouldn't it seem odd if there are two completely unrelated people named Rapunzel in the Enchanted Forest. How common can a name like Rapunzel be? I mean, Rapunzel could actually be a common name in the Enchanted Forest, or it might not. There is a way around this too though. 

The name of the Rapunzel in "The Tower" wouldn't actually be Rapunzel. How do I figure that? Well, the Frozen arc establishes that the events of Frozen took place sometime before those of the primary Enchanted Forest flashback storyline. The events of Tangled happened before those of Frozen. That means that if Tangled is a part of OUAT, then it must have taken place before the events of the Frozen flashbacks in Season 4. The Rapunzel in "The Tower" says she's been trapped there more years than she can count, so that fits. I figure in preparing to become queen of her kingdom after her brother's death, her royal parents sent her to attend various royal events. Among these could have been Rapunzel's wedding in "Tangled Ever After" or Elsa's coronation in Frozen. It is at either of these events that "The Tower" Rapunzel met the Tangled Rapunzel and learned her story. (It has already been established that Rapunzel was at Elsa's coronation.) When "The Tower" Rapunzel found herself in a rather similar predicament as Tangled Rapunzel, she gave David the name "Rapunzel" for fear of giving her actual name lest he actually meant her harm. It makes sense. That Rapunzel was quite fearful.

In these ways, we could still have the Rapunzel we know and love from Tangled as well as her true love Eugene on Once Upon A Time without disregarding that a Rapunzel appeared in the Season 2 episode "The Tower." I think later this season or the beginning of the next possible season would be a great time to see Tangled introduced on Once Upon A Time just as Frozen and Brave were before it. An animated series based on Tangled is supposed to air on the Disney Channel in 2017. It would be a great way to remind everyone out there that Tangled is still a thing. 

What do you all think of the possibility of seeing Tangled introduced on Once Upon A Time? Is it almost a certainty or a remote possibility? 

God bless you all. And God bless America.

Editorial: Why Merlin is a Surprisingly Apt Choice for The Sorcerer (Once Upon A Time)

Once Upon A Time ended its last season with a somewhat surprising development. It was revealed that The Sorcerer, the master of The Apprentice and owner of the magical hat Rumpelstiltskin was after, was none other than the great prognosticator and soothsayer... 

Merlin!

.....

Yeah, I know it wasn't that great a surprise. It was nowhere near as surprising as the reveal that Frozen's Elsa would be coming to OUAT. 

I would have been more surprised if that had made The Sorcerer Yen Sid like I had always expected. Because he's the actual Sorcerer in Fantasia's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."

But it is what it is. There's no use arguing with it. It's not too surprising. Merlin is the quintessential sorcerer archetypal character. Anyway, after thinking about it over the summer, I've come to realize that Merlin is actually quite an apt choice for The Sorcerer. This comes mostly from the fact that he has been a big part of Disney in the past. 

As you may or may not know, Merlin was one of the protagonists of Disney's adaptation of The Sword in the Stone, based on a novel by T.H. White. I've never read White's original novel, but I'm certain many liberties were taken. The titular Sword in the Stone figures very little in the film, only figuring in the first few and last few minutes of the film. (I don't really know if that is White's fault or Disney's.) The movie should really be called Merlin and Wart Go on Magical Adventures Wherein They Are Molested by Squirrels. 

Seriously, that is something that happens in this movie!

Anywho, The Sword in the Stone's Merlin is portrayed as a great prognosticator and soothsayer with decidedly modern mannerisms and ideas about the world around him. That's because not only has he seen the future, but he has traveled through time to the future and has seen first hand the greatest of what modernity has to offer. This has led him to develop disdain towards his presumably native medieval era as an inconvenient and backwards mess. (Though at the end of the film after returning from modern Bermuda after having blown himself there, he complains that it's a big ole' modern mess.) 

Despite this characterization, Merlin actually has a number of things in common with The Sorcerer of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." There's the obvious. They're both old wizards with long beards and blue robes as well as pointy blue wizard hats. There's also a scene in The Sword in the Stone where Merlin enchants the kitchen to clean itself so Wart will have more time to be educated by him. 

This is quite reminiscent to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" where the titular Apprentice enchants a broom to fill a cauldron with water for him.

Speaking of The Apprentice, what we've seen of The Apprentice on OUAT may indicate that their Sorcerer Merlin may share certain aspects with his Sword in the Stone counterpart. The Apprentice can create doorways between worlds and can freely travel between them. He's traveled with a certain frequency from the medieval-esque Enchanted Forest to the decidedly modern Land Without Magic.

It's natural to assume that The Apprentice learned this skill from his master The Sorcerer aka Merlin. It's also natural to assume that Merlin has made such trips in the past. It could then be possible that The Sorcerer Merlin shares an opinion on the wonders of modernity similar to that of his Sword in the Stone counterpart. It could be the reason we have yet to see him in the Enchanted Forest. He may prefer the modernness of the Land Without Magic. Also note that Isaac the Author also had a disdain for the medieval quality of the Enchanted Forest in favor of the Land Without Magic and, the Author works at the behest of The Sorcerer and The Apprentice. 

Another possible element from The Sword in the Stone that may connect with what we know of The Sorcerer on OUAT is Madam Mim.

In The Sword in the Stone, Madam Mim is a witch who delights in the grim and gruesome. She is Merlin's arch-rival when it comes to magic. Now, how could she connect with The Sorcerer Merlin on OUAT? Well, in the forth season finale "Operation Mongoose," we finally learned the origins of the Dark One. It turns out Merlin forged the Dagger to trap this primordial Darkness within a human vessel. Perhaps this first vessel was Madam Mim, making her the first Dark One. It seems quite likely given the antagonistic relationship Madam Mim and Merlin have. It's just like the antagonistic relationship the Dark One has had with The Sorcerer and The Apprentice. Also, Madam Mim likes to play around with loopholes and the meaning of her words much like Rumpelstiltskin always did. Like in her shape-shifting duel with Merlin, she stipulates they can't turn into mythical creatures like a pink dragon, but she ends up turning into a purple dragon. 

Speaking of the Dagger, the backstory of the Dagger actually has something in common with a key point from the film The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice of course was a live-action 2010 film starring Nicholas Cage and Jay Baruchel loosely adapted from Fantasia's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment. I find the film very underrated. It's actually pretty good, especially if you're also a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. (They have the same director: Jerry Bruckheimer.) Anyway, the titular sorcerer Balthazar Blake was also once an apprentice to none other than Merlin!

Not only that! In the film, Merlin's other apprentice Veronica imprisons the dark soul of the evil sorceress Morgana le Fay within her own body. Sounds familiar doesn't it. All that's missing is the Dagger. It seems OUAT may have even borrowed some elements from the film The Sorcerer's Apprentice, despite it's undeserved lack of notoriety. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Morgana le Fay also played a role in Season 5 of OUAT. It's already clear that this season will be introducing further elements from Arthurian legend to the show, and Morgana le Fey is based on Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend. 

Speaking of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, given that it featured Merlin and OUAT will also feature Merlin, it's also possible that there's a further connection between the film and OUAT. In the film, the titular sorcerer Balthazar started out as an apprentice himself. As already noted, he was Merlin's apprentice. On OUAT, Merlin is The Sorcerer. So, who should that make The Apprentice?

I submit to you this headcanon. The Apprentice is OUAT's version of Balthazar Blake from The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

I wouldn't be surprised if next season Merlin has a flashback episode, and it is revealed that The Apprentice is at least named Balthazar. At least, I hope that's the case. If it's never brought up, it will still always be my headcanon. 

As a final point, I'd like to bring up that Merida from the film Brave will also be making an appearance on OUAT's fifth season. 

Now, immediately it seems rather odd that Merida will be making her debut in a season that is already implied to heavily feature Arthurian mythology, in particular Merlin and King Arthur. I mean, Brave has nothing to do with Arthurian mythology. If you think about it though, perhaps there is a possible connection between Brave and Merlin. 

Assuming OUAT's will play the story of Brave straight as it did with Frozen and presuming that Merida's presence means we may also see other characters from Brave this season, we could possibly also see The Witch.

The Witch of course was the one who provided Merida with a potion to change her fate but ended up actually turning her mother into a bear. That's not the important part though. There's a brief moment in Brave where The Witch has a broom magically move on its own to sweep the floor. I recall reading somewhere that this was an intentional homage on the filmmakers' part to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." What if there's more to this than that when taking OUAT into account? What if The Witch actually learned that from Merlin? I submit that on OUAT, The Witch will also be one of Merlin's apprentices the same way Veronica in The Sorcerer's Apprentice film was also Merlin's apprentice. 

I just brought everything full circle. 

And even if this is not definitively proven to be the case, it will still be my headcanon. 

What do you all think considering the possible connections between Merlin of The Sword in the Stone, The Sorcerer from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and The Witch from Brave? Do any of these speculations have any merit where Once Upon A Time is concerned?

God bless you all. And God bless America. 

Headcanon Theory: Rumpelstiltskin is Regina's Actual Father! (Once Upon A Time)

Hello, and welcome to my first blogpost. Like many people, I am quite the fan of Once Upon A Time. I'm going to start this blog with a headcanon I've held for a while now that I hope will blow the minds of every Oncer reading this.

One of the best things about Once Upon A Time, at least to me, is how they have put all these classic fairy tale characters, mostly the Disney adaptations, in the same world together and at times conflated some of them in the same character in interesting ways. For example, Cora is not only the miller's daughter from the tale "Rumpelstiltskin," but also the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and the mother of Regina, the Evil Queen from Snow White. Rumpelstiltskin is not only the titular character from the tale "Rumpelstiltskin" but the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, and oddly enough the crocodile from Peter Pan.

Speaking of Cora and Rumpelstiltskin, we got their backstory in Season 2's "The Miller's Daughter," and it revealed quite a bit about the nature of the relationship between Cora and Rumpelstiltskin. This revelation has led me to theorize something about the nature of Rumpelstiltskin and Regina's relationship that as of yet has not been proven or disproved on the show itself.

I submit to you that Rumpelstiltskin is Regina's actual, factual biological father.

I believe that the episode "The Miller's Daughter" provides the evidence for this being the case.

So, "The Miller's Daughter" is OUAT's rendition of the tale of "Rumpelstiltskin" though it features some elements of "Cinderella" as well. (Which is ironic because because Season 1's "The Price of Gold" was OUAT's rendition of Cinderella that included elements of "Rumpelstiltskin.")

Anyway, Rumpelstiltskin appears to a young Cora after she has been locked in a tower after boasting to King Xavier that she can weave straw into gold. Rumple makes his usual deal with Cora. He will spin the straw into gold in exchange for Cora's fist born child. Here is where things begin to deviate from the original story. Cora instead demands that Rumple teach her how to spin straw into gold herself. It's in the process of Rumple teaching Cora to spin straw into gold that it is implied that they become intimate.

Rumple and Cora Getting sexy.

The next day, Cora proves she can indeed weave straw into gold and is engaged to the king's son Prince Henry. Despite this though, Cora and Rumple continue their relationship, and it's apparently quite physical. As they plan to run away together, Rumple even changes the terms of their agreement so that first born child she owes him is also his child.

Sealing that promise.

It is then that Cora wants Rumple to teach her how to use magic to rip out a person's heart. It is implied that she intends to rip out King Xavier's heart and crush his life out. Instead, it's revealed that Cora ripped out her own heart because she intends to go through with the marriage with Prince Henry. She loved Rumple so much she had to rip out her own heart to stop. 

Take a look inside. It's my heart in a box!

Anyway, Cora's last flashback of the episode features her with an infant Regina. 

And here lies the crux of this argument. It is not clear how long after Cora's last time together with Rumpelstiltskin this takes place. It could be years later, or it could be that Regina was born within nine months of Cora's last time with Rumple. I like to believe the later. But why is that? Well, Regina is quite magically gifted. Being the daughter of one of the most powerful magical beings in the Enchanted Forest could explain why that is. But I have my own reasons for thinking so.

It actually has a lot to do with Regina's son Henry. 

You see, Henry starts out the show as what is known as a catalyst hero. That's a type of hero that inspires a change in others. In Season 1's case, that was obviously his natural mother Emma. However, slowly but surely, Henry is becoming a hero in his own right. This can be especially seen in the fourth season finale "Operation Mongoose." What does any of this have to do with Regina being Rumple's daughter you may ask. Well, it is also revealed in Season 2 that Rumple's son Baelfire eventually made his way to the Land Without Magic and became Neal Cassady, Emma's former lover and the man who sired Henry. That makes Rumpelstiltskin his grandfather. 

If it is the case as I suspect that Regina is also Rumpelstiltskin's offspring, that mean she's Henry's biological half-aunt as well as his adoptive mother. So, why is that important? Well, as I was saying before, Henry is becoming a hero in his own right. One of things seen in the Hero's Journey motif is that the hero is often raised by someone who isn't his parents because they're dead or were forced to abandon them. Ofttimes, this is an aunt and uncle. You can see this in both Harry Potter and Star Wars. So, as Henry is also a hero, he must adhere to the Hero's Journey motif. He's already been abandoned by his parents. He just needed to be raised by an aunt. That is the case if Regina is indeed his aunt by being Rumpelstiltskin's daughter. 

I would love nothing more than seeing this theory confirmed on Once Upon A Time in the upcoming season. We'll just have to wait and see. 

What do you all think of my headcanon that Regina might be Rumpelstiltskin's daughter? Are there any other clues on the show that may further prove or this disprove this theory? 

God bless you all. And God bless America.