Forbidden Fortress

There's a place that sits on top of the Forbidden Mountain: Maleficent's castle.

—Will Scarlet to Robin Hood^src

The Forbidden Fortress, also known as Maleficent's Castle, is an Enchanted Forest location featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It first appears in the second episode of the first season of Once Upon a Time.

The Forbidden Fortress is based on the Forbidden Mountain from the Disney film Sleeping Beauty.

History

Before First Curse

Home to Maleficent and her black unicorn, the Forbidden Fortress rests on top of the Forbidden Mountain in the Enchanted Forest. ("The Thing You Love Most")

In his ploy to obtain a curse from the Bald Mountain, Rumplestiltskin knows he cannot do it alone, as there are three great obstacles inside, and the sought after object is guarded by the Chernabog. Sending invitations to Cruella De Vil and Ursula, he asks them to meet at the Forbidden Fortress. Once there, the women crash with Maleficent, who is upset that strangers are in her home. Revealing himself as the invitation sender, he proposes the three women help him gain the curse so each can have happy endings they would otherwise not get as villains. Although his words sound promising, Rumplestiltskin intends to let the Chernabog devour them after he gains the curse for himself. The trio eventually agree and set out with him to Bald Mountain. ("Darkness on the Edge of Town")

At one time, Robin Hood and his men invade the fortress while Maleficent is away in order to steal gold for poor villages. Among them, a young man named Will manages to get a treasure unbeknownst to the others. When Maleficent notices the object missing, she makes a threat upon the thieves of the consequences, but Will escapes from the Enchanted Forest. ("Forget Me Not")

On a mission per a deal made with Rumplestiltskin, Prince Charming heads to the Forbidden Fortress to place a true love potion inside a beast. Inside the castle, Maleficent climbs some steps before sitting on her throne, to which Prince Charming ambushes her at sword-point. When he demands to know where the beast is, she magically throws him several feet away. After admitting she is the beast, Maleficent transforms into a dragon and chases the prince around the room. While hiding behind a pillar, Prince Charming notices there is a flap behind her ear and decides he must put the potion in it. Alerted by his shouts, she begins pursuing him. At one point, Prince Charming hops onto her neck and he tosses the potion into her ear flap. In agitation, Maleficent shakes him off, although he quickly avoids her fire breath by jumping out a window and into the sea. As Prince Charming surfaces above water, he looks up to see Maleficent angrily spouting another stream of fire out the window. ("A Land Without Magic")

Later, the Evil Queen visits Maleficent to take back the Dark Curse, which she previously traded for the sleeping curse. The two battle and the Evil Queen wins; taking back the scroll containing the curse. ("The Thing You Love Most")

Trivia

On-Screen Notes

The Forbidden Fortress is located at the top of the Forbidden Mountain. ("Forget Me Not")

Production Notes

The establishing shot of the Forbidden Fortress in "Forget Me Not" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is stock footage from "The Thing You Love Most," but with a different color hue and without the Evil Queen's carriage.

Disney

A small statue of a raven is sitting on a table inside Maleficent's castle. This is a reference to Diablo, Maleficent's pet raven who was turned into a statue in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. ("Darkness on the Edge of Town")

Set Dressing

The circular glass-stained rose window in Maleficent's castle also appears in King Leopold's throne room in "The Queen Is Dead," "Quite a Common Fairy" and "Bleeding Through." ("A Land Without Magic," "Forget Me Not")

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season One
"Pilot":	"The Thing You Love Most":	"Snow Falls":	"The Price of Gold":	"That Still Small Voice":	"The Shepherd":	"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter":	"Desperate Souls":	"True North":	"7:15 A.M.":	"Fruit of the Poisonous Tree":
Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Skin Deep":	"What Happened to Frederick":	"Dreamy":	"Red-Handed":	"Heart of Darkness":	"Hat Trick":	"The Stable Boy":	"The Return":	"The Stranger":	"An Apple Red as Blood":	"A Land Without Magic":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears

Once Upon a Time: Season Four
"A Tale of Two Sisters":	"White Out":	"Rocky Road":	"The Apprentice":	"Breaking Glass":	"Family Business":	"The Snow Queen":	"Smash the Mirror":	"Fall":	"Shattered Sight":	"Heroes and Villains":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Darkness on the Edge of Town":	"Unforgiven":	"Enter the Dragon":	"Poor Unfortunate Soul":	"Best Laid Plans":	"Heart of Gold":	"Sympathy for the De Vil":	"Lily":	"Mother":	"Operation Mongoose Part 1":	"Operation Mongoose Part 2":
Appears	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Season Seven
"Hyperion Heights":	"A Pirate's Life":	"The Garden of Forking Paths":	"Beauty":	"Greenbacks":	"Wake Up Call":	"Eloise Gardener":	"Pretty in Blue":	"One Little Tear":	"The Eighth Witch":	"Secret Garden":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"A Taste of the Heights":	"Knightfall":	"The Girl in the Tower":	"Sisterhood":	"Breadcrumbs":	"Chosen":	"The Guardian":	"Flower Child":	"Is This Henry Mills?":	"Homecoming":	"Leaving Storybrooke":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Appears

*Once Upon a Time in Wonderland*
"Down the Rabbit Hole":	"Trust Me":	"Forget Me Not":	"The Serpent":	"Heart of Stone":	"Who's Alice":	"Bad Blood":
Absent	Absent	Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Home":	"Nothing to Fear":	"Dirty Little Secrets":	"Heart of the Matter":	"To Catch a Thief":	"And They Lived...":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Specials
"Magic is Coming":	"The Price of Magic":	"Journey to Neverland":	"Wicked is Coming":	"Storybrooke Has Frozen Over":
Archive	Absent	Archive	Absent	Absent
"Secrets of Storybrooke":	"Dark Swan Rises":	"Evil Reigns Once More":	"The Final Battle Begins":
Archive	Archive	Archive	Absent

Other Appearances
The Forbidden Fortress is mentioned in Once Upon a Time's Season One novelization, Reawakened: A Once Upon a Time Tale.

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.