Once Upon a Time executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz have always had a pretty good relationship with Disney when it came to bringing iconic pieces from the universe into the show. But in Sunday night’s season premiere, arguably one of the sweetest moments from Disney past was brought to the live-action drama, via Belle and Rumple, who had their first dance as a married couple in a ballroom, dressed in the iconic costumes from Beauty and the Beast. So how did the producers pull off this major surprise? Simple, they say. They asked. Kitsis says, “Really it was just a matter of getting the rights for the song.” The challenge, they say, was in capturing the magic of the moment. Kitsis says, “In the script, I think it was, once he does the magic, ‘He grabs her hand and they dance.” We knew they would take it from there and make it magical.”
