Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1916997-20160401165933/@comment-24674051-20160401173554

Thanks.

One comment on the sourcing of stories. Disney has done representations of many of the traditional fairy tales, and the Disney versions are familiar to many people. So it would make sense that they would incorporate some of the recognizable elements into the show. Things like the names of the Dwarves (which were not named in the original story).

Also, incorporating a lesser know piece of literature requires great deal more set up. If you say Snow White, Cinderella, Maleficent, Blue Fairy, etc, everyone has at least an idea about who the character is, so it is easy to slip them in. Emma (as the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming), is the main character, so they have had time to build her up.

They tried some originality with Greg and Tamara, and failed miserably. Lily is another attempt at originality, and if they can get Agnes back for an entire arc, they might be able to do a better job. Ingrid (aka the Snow Queen) is a little more obscure, and it took a couple of episodes to establish her.

The Sorcerer's apprentice and Chernabog are actually supported by literary references. The SA was, as noted in other threads, a German Poem, which was the inspiration for the musical work for the Sorcerers Apprentice, which is ultimately how Disney came to present it (using the ubiquitous mouse in the feature role). Similarly, there was a story of a Demon (I'd have to go back and review) that came out once a year, which inspired the music for "Night on the Bald Mountain", which again Disney used in the original Fantasia. So both pieces, though inspired by Disney, have literary origins.

So, I think that the writers may indeed draw initial inspiration from the things that Disney has adapted (ease of familiarity), and they use some of the visuals to help solidify the picture. But they then also go back to the source material and pull from that to help generate the twists that they take.