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A new episode of the hit ABC fairy tale show 鈥淥nce Upon a Time鈥� surprised fans and included another development for one of Disney鈥檚 most famous characters, Belle of 鈥淏eauty and the Beast.鈥�

The show, which depicts various fairy tale characters and their adventures, revealed during the March 20 episode that Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and her husband, Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle), are expecting a child.

This latest development in the relationship between Rumpelstiltskin and Belle is another example of unexpected storylines for characters that viewers may think they already know. But how much freedom do the show's writers have to change aspects of characters that are no doubt valuable properties for Disney? And will viewers follow along if they think characters are being too manipulated by the Disney machine?

Not unlike the second act of the Broadway musical "Into the Woods," which dives into fairy tale life after familiar happily-ever-after endings, "Once" creators continue to strive for the right balance in exploring how characters and their relationships continue to evolve and change in a way that is believable to loyal fans.

鈥淧art of the fun of the show for us was taking these stories that were so formative for us and saying, 'What鈥檚 our spin on them?,鈥� 鈥� 鈥淥nce Upon A Time鈥� co-creator Adam Horowitz . 鈥溾��.[T]he brand management people at the Walt Disney Company have been great. From when we first pitched the idea, they鈥檝e been very supportive of allowing us to play with their icons and kind of re-invent them.鈥�

But for that to work, it also requires fans to let go of their favorite endings. For example, Belle and Rumpelstiltskin were introduced as a couple in Season One, with Rumpelstiltskin replacing the familiar Beast. Belle was held as a prisoner inside Rumpelstiltskin鈥檚 castle, which led to the familiar narrative of the pair falling in love.

Despite this slight variation, the storyline proved popular with viewers, and the couple has become a 鈥渇an-favorite, 鈥� notes .

Some critics felt that marketing from Disney has occasionally intruded on the show, however, with writing about the drawbacks of the sudden appearance of characters from the smash hit Disney film 鈥淔rozen.鈥�

鈥淏y scooping up 10-month-old Anna and Elsa, 鈥極nce Upon a Time鈥� has abandoned any pretense of nervily refreshing timeless tales, or engaging with a tradition,鈥� Ms. Waldman wrote. 鈥淲e fans aren鈥檛 mad 鈥� we like the series鈥� 鈥榓nything goes鈥� attitude, its willingness to mash unlikely elements together. On the other hand, there鈥檚 nothing less magical than the profit motive taking over your dream factory. Disney loosed a good dream to add to the collection when it released 鈥楩rozen鈥� last November. A little less factory would be nice.鈥澛�

agreed that the integration of 鈥淔rozen鈥� characters like Anna and Elsa led to mixed results.

鈥淲hile the Anna/Elsa arc provided some cute moments 鈥� too often characters were ignored...,鈥� Ms. Caldwell wrote. 鈥淎t times it felt cynical; why further develop fan favorites when you can drop a 鈥楲et It Go鈥� reference and just give the people (children) what they want?鈥�

鈥淥nce Upon A Time鈥� is currently airing its fifth season and was renewed for another season earlier this month.