Keck's Exclusives: Once Upon A Time Kills Off Its First Iconic Disney Character
Once Upon A Time, Catherine Lough Haggquist
On last night's Once Upon a Time, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother was snuffed out by Rumpelstiltskin just as she was about to wave her wand and make Cinderella's fantasy night come true — making her the first of Disney's iconic characters to be killed off ABC's new fantasy series. (And considering the show is being written and produced by two of Lost's longtime writers, it's a safe bet they'll be many more to come.) But turns out writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz didn't even realize they'd achieved this milestone until I clued them in.
"Oh my God, I guess we did," exclaims Kitsis. "I don't think we even thought about it in those historical terms. As storytellers, we just thought it would be cool if Cinderella got to the ball through a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, not the Fairy Godmother." Adds Horowitz: "One of the themes we're playing with on this show is the price of magic. Using magic even for good is a dangerous proposition."
While the writers say it's possible we could see the Fairy Godmother again in pre-death flashbacks, Horowitz insists, "We really want the stakes to be real and the audience not to feel cheated."
Might there be ramifications to killing off such a beloved figure? "I will say this," teases Kitsis. "If I were Rumpelstiltskin, I'd watch out for the other fairies [such as Pinocchio's Blue Fairy], because they're out for revenge!"
How do you all feel about Once Upon A Time killing off Disney characters? Would you be willing to accept six dwarves instead of seven? Sound off in the comments section.
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