List of Disney References

This page lists Once Upon a Time's references to various Disney works.

"Pilot"

 * Snow White is lying in glass coffin surrounded by the seven dwarfs, and is awakened by a kiss from Prince Charming.
 * Regina is notably known as the Evil Queen in the Enchanted Forest.
 * As Emma's car passes into town, a lawn pinwheel of Tinkerbell spins in the wind.
 * Archie Hopper shares his name with Hopper, an actual hopper.
 * Archie is heard whistling the song "Give a Little Whistle" as he walks away from Emma and Henry.
 * 8:15 is also the time that Peter Pan and the Darling children change the time to after landing on the minute hand of one face of the Clock Tower in the animated Disney movie.
 * Snow White attracts a blue bird that flies onto her hand. Mary Margaret Blanchard sets free a blue bird from her hands into its nest house.
 * There is a plush of Minnie Mouse in Emma's baby room at the castle.
 * The fairy with the turquoise hair is called The Blue Fairy, like in the film.
 * Pinocchio was seen playing with a wooden whale; a nod to Monstro the Whale.
 * Leroy whistles, "Whistle While You Work" when he sees Emma in jail.
 * Sheriff Graham's full name is Graham Humbert. In the Disney film, the Huntsman's name is Humbert as well.

"The Thing You Love Most"

 * Maleficent made the sleeping curse to use on Sleeping Beauty.
 * Regina's apples are alluded to being poisonous. Henry refuses to let Emma eat them.

"The Price of Gold"

 * Cinderella's dress is similar to the one she wears in the film.

"That Still Small Voice"

 * Archie's dog is called Pongo, the main character from this film.
 * Martin and Myrna have costumes resembling the characters Honest John and Gideon respectively from the film.
 * The talking cricket is named after Jiminy Cricket from the film.

"The Shepherd"

 * When zoomed up close, the back of the dish Mary Margaret is washing has a Disney logo on it.

"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter"

 * The Evil Queen and Regina both collect human hearts of their enemies.
 * The Evil Queen sends the Huntsman out to kill Snow White and bring her heart as proof of death, but he cannot bring himself to kill her.

"Desperate Souls"

 * During Emma's confrontation with Mr. Gold in his shop, a Mickey Mouse figurine rests in a case on the bottom left of the screen. A Minnie Mouse figurine is also on the table to the right of Mr. Gold.

"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree"

 * The Genie lives inside a lamp that when rubbed grants the user three wishes. The Genie is also not free, and is bound to the lamp. When he is set free, his bracelets disappear.
 * King Leopold releases the Genie by rubbing the lamp, trying to clean it. In the Disney animated film Aladdin, he also met the Genie in the same situation.

"Skin Deep"

 * Belle's clothes are similar to the ones she wears in the film, and so are Gaston's.
 * Rumplestiltskin turns Belle's fiancé, Gaston, into a rose, giving it to Belle saying that he had bought it from an old woman who sold roses.
 * There is a kind of fur with horns which resembles Disney's Beast.
 * Gaston is named after the character from the film. In both versions, Belle does not want to marry him.
 * Belle's father is called Maurice as in the film.
 * There is a candlestick and clock in Rumplestiltskin's castle that resembles Lumière and Cogsworth.
 * The chipped tea cup is a reference to Chip.
 * In the castle, there is a hat which resembles that of Master Yen Sid, in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" scene.

"What Happened to Frederick"

 * Regina gives Henry "Space Paranoids"; a game created by Kevin Flynn, the protagonist of the film.
 * Emma eludes to Flynn by quoting his advice to Henry while he is playing the game; "It's all in the wrists."
 * Henry has a Tron lunchbox.

"Dreamy"

 * Grumpy and Leroy were both seen whistling the song "Heigh-Ho".
 * Belle is seen wearing a similar looking blue dress from the film, except this one is short sleeved.
 * Sister Astrid gives Leroy a pie to thank him for selling candles to help the Convent. Snow White bakes Grumpy a pie in the film.
 * After Stealthy dies, there are seven dwarves remaining.

"Red-Handed"

 * When Peter first visits Red at her cabin at the beginning of the episode, he claims that if she does not come out to talk to him, he will "...huff and puff..." and blow the house down.

"Heart of Darkness"

 * Snow White was seen humming "With a Smile and a Song".
 * Snow wears a similar looking red bow/hairband as the Disney Snow White.
 * A small bambi statue is seen in Mary Margaret's Apartment.

"The Stable Boy"

 * Young Snow White wears several bows/hairbands; among them a blue bow as in Disney film.

"Hat Trick"

 * The Evil Queen disguised herself as a hag to lure in Jefferson's daughter, Grace; much like how the Evil Queen dressed as a hag selling apples to Snow White in the film.
 * The doll in the marketplace that the Mad Hatter's daughter Grace wanted was a white rabbit wearing a petticoat; a reference to the White Rabbit.
 * When approached by Regina and the Mad Hatter who are visiting Wonderland, the Caterpillar blows his hookah pipe and asks very slowly, "Who are you?"
 * Regina picks a piece of a mushroom from Wonderland for her father Henry to eat so he can return to normal size after having been shrunken.
 * The Queen of Hearts is shown in Wonderland, and orders her soldiers to cut off the Mad Hatter's head. In the film, the Queen is constantly shouting, "Off with her head!"
 * Mary Margaret hits Jefferson over the head with a croquet mallet.

"The Return"

 * A Mickey Mouse phone is in Mr. Gold's shop.

"The Stranger"

 * Henry has a Tron: Legacy lunchbox.
 * Monstro, Pinocchio, and Geppetto are featured in this episode.

"An Apple Red as Blood"

 * Snow White falls, after eating the apple, in the same way as she does in the film.

"A Land Without Magic"

 * Maleficent transforms into a fire breathing dragon.
 * Emma throws the sword directly hitting Maleficent the dragon in the heart just as Prince Phillip did.

"Broken"

 * Mulan is thought by Aurora to be a man after she sees her dressed in heavy armor. However, when Mulan takes off her helmet, Aurora is surprised to see a woman.
 * Prince Phillip had to cut down thorns to get to the sleeping Aurora.
 * The prince is named Prince Phillip, like in the film.
 * The daughter of the original Sleeping Beauty is named Aurora, after the princess in the Disney film.

"We Are Both"

 * Leroy says "It's off to work we go." from the song "Heigh-Ho".
 * Regina uses the line "fairest of them all".
 * In Mr Gold's shop there is an African mask, alluding to the film.

"Lady of the Lake"

 * Mulan tells Emma and Mary Margaret "You might survive", a line from the song "I'll Make a Man Out of You".

"The Crocodile"

 * Mr. Gold gives Belle the library to try to regain her affections, similar to what the Beast does in the film.
 * Mr. Gold tells Belle after their fight "Come on, at least come and eat something", this is similar to the movie, when the beast makes Belle eat dinner with him and she refuses; claiming that she is not hungry.
 * William Smee's hat is red, much like in the movie.
 * As Rumplestiltskin is about to kill Captain Hook in their first duel, he says, "Tick-tock dearie, Tick-tock!" This is an allusion to the crocodile that takes Hook's hand in the film. Furthermore, Hook's nickname for Rumplestiltskin is "Crocodile."
 * Neverland is alluded to by Captain Hook as a place "where people never grow old."

"The Doctor "

 * Rumplestiltskin's witch-in-training replacement, Trish, bears a resemblance to Esmeralda.

"Child of the Moon"

 * Billy's Enchanted Forest counterpart is Cinderella's household mouse, Gus.

"Into the Deep"

 * David Nolan pricks his finger on a spinning wheel.

"Queen of Hearts"

 * The Queen of Hearts tells Hook to call her "your majesty".
 * The mask Cora holds resembles the baton the Queen of Hearts carries.

"The Outsider"

 * Mulan telling Belle to only fight for what's worth fighting for is a reference to the song from the Disney version of Mulan called "A Girl Worth Fighting For".
 * Belle reverses a curse which makes a beast human again.

"Tiny"

 * Leroy and the other dwarves whistle the melody of "Heigh-Ho".

"Welcome to Storybrooke"

 * Kurt and Owen's last name is Flynn.
 * A bench which features an ad for computers with the Encom logo.
 * Emma mentions magic laws are not capable of bringing back the dead or making someone love another.

"Selfless, Brave and True"

 * There is a honey neon sign for a pub called "Winnie's".

"Lacey"

 * In the Enchanted Forest, Belle wears a similar dress to the one in the ballroom scene.

"Second Star to the Right"

 * John was carrying an umbrella and a top hat and Michael carries a teddy bear.
 * The time on Big Ben is 8:15, the same time that is shown in the film.

"And Straight On 'Til Morning"

 * Hook references the song "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)".

"The Heart of the Truest Believer"

 * Neal makes a reference to the film.