Feature · Disney dark fantasy
Twisted Tale
What if the fairy tales ended badly?
Two Disney classics retold in a darker key, based on Liz Braswell's novels: what if the kiss had never woken Sleeping Beauty? What if Ariel had lost to Ursula? nobi nobi ! adapts the collection into manga. We read both volumes, and rated them.
Feature published on .
Twisted Tale © 2026 Disney Enterprises, Inc. French edition nobi nobi ! / Pika Édition. Covers: Yozai. Visuals from the press kit.
Take a Disney tale everyone knows. Shift a single moment (the kiss, the final victory) and let the story rewrite itself around that crack. That's the whole idea behind Twisted Tale.
Born in the US, the A Twisted Tale collection is written by Liz Braswell: novels that seize on the great Disney classics and spin out, for each, a "what if?" that tips the story to its dark side. The heroines are the same (Aurora, Ariel), but caught at the exact moment their tale could have gone wrong. And this time, it does.
In France, nobi nobi ! (Pika Édition's manga label) adapts these stories into manga, entrusted to studio G-Angle, with covers and colour illustrations by Yozai and a translation by Laurent Laget. Each volume is a self-contained one-shot: you can read one without the other, and start with whichever tale speaks to you most.
Two titles open the ball, released together on October 14, 2026 at €19.95: Il était un rêve, after Sleeping Beauty, and Profondeurs de l'océan, after The Little Mermaid. We put them both to the test below.
Who's it for?
- Disney fans curious about darker, more grown-up versions of their tales.
- Readers of dark fantasy, retellings and fairy-tale reworkings.
- Anyone who wants a complete one-shot, without committing to a long series.
Not for you if…
- You want the canonical Disney tale, with its happy ending intact.
- "What if" retellings and melancholy tones aren't your thing.
- You prefer Japanese auteur manga to licensed adaptations.
What if Sleeping Beauty had never woken up?
Prince Phillip's kiss didn't break the curse: it sealed both lovers in sleep. Aurora then wakes in a gilded world where every evening brings a new ball, where the last humans still alive dance within the walls of a castle out of time. Everything is perfect, and that's exactly the problem.
For this world is a dream, woven by Maleficent to keep the princess captive. To save Phillip, her kingdom and herself, Aurora will have to see through the illusion, take up arms and confront the evil fairy on the only ground that now matters: inside her own dream.
Adapted from Liz Braswell's novel Once Upon a Dream, the volume opens like a creaking lullaby before turning into a fairytale nightmare. Script by Ivana Murianni, art by Rossella Gentile.
"Sometimes I wish I had another life… but I think I'll remain a prisoner of this place forever."Twisted Tale: Il était un rêve
Visually, it's a fine gothic success. Rossella Gentile gives the tale an elegant shōjo line, beautifully worked screentones and a magnetic Maleficent, queen of a realm of thorns and black roses. The big set pieces (the christening, the final clash, the dragon) have real presence.
The genuinely clever idea is the trap: locking Aurora in a golden dream she must realise is false. The muffled unease works. One regrets that the heart of the volume drags a little: lots of dialogue, a dreamlike in-between that sometimes goes in circles before a blazing finale. A polished retelling, more contemplative than nervy.
Strengths
- A superb Maleficent, charismatic and thoroughly unsettling.
- An elegant shōjo-gothic line and very careful screentones.
- The dream-prison concept, eerie and well exploited.
- A spectacular finale: thorns, dragon, duel.
Weaknesses
- A saggy middle: the dream section stretches and repeats.
- A lot of text; the pacing sometimes lacks drive.
- Plainer backgrounds between the big scenes.
- Better to know the original tale to savour it fully.
The verdict · Il était un rêve
An elegant, eerie gothic retelling, carried by an unforgettable Maleficent. The pacing slackens in the middle, but the beauty of the art and the strength of the concept win you over. A lovely object for anyone who likes fairy tales that turn to nightmare.
What if Ariel had never defeated Ursula?
Five years have passed since Ursula triumphed. Under the name Vanessa, the sea witch rules the surface at Prince Eric's side, Triton's trident in hand. Beneath the waves, Ariel has become the silent queen of a kingdom robbed of its voice, and of its king.
When a clue suggests her father may still be alive, Ariel rises back to the human world to reclaim what was torn from her. She'll have to find her voice again, unmask Vanessa and challenge Ursula, before both worlds sink for good.
Adapted from Liz Braswell's novel Part of Your World, this one-shot trades the lagoon's carefree mood for a twilit undersea fresco. Script by Davide Sarti, art by Antonella Capolupo.
"In the deepest part of the ocean lay a kingdom… and one of the mermaids, whose heart was great and whose soul was a wanderer."Twisted Tale: Profondeurs de l'océan
It's the more ambitious of the two. Antonella Capolupo unfurls sumptuous undersea settings (wrecks, kelp forests, Ursula's lair) and an expressive cast, from a melancholy Ariel to a venomous Vanessa. The big double-page spreads are a treat.
The premise is the collection's strongest: five years after her defeat, Ariel reigns, voiceless, over a kingdom in mourning. The manga embraces real darkness and a genuine emotional charge. The price of ambition: adapting a dense novel sometimes compresses the plot, and some very busy pages slow the reading. But the whole thing is gripping, and visually a cut above.
Strengths
- Magnificent, highly detailed undersea settings.
- The collection's strongest premise, dark and melancholy.
- A real emotional charge: a voiceless Ariel, mourning.
- A successful cast: Ariel, Ursula/Vanessa, Eric, Triton.
Weaknesses
- A dense plot, sometimes compressed by the adaptation.
- Very busy pages that slow the reading.
- 432 pages: a brick that asks you to settle in.
- A few shortcuts for anyone without the novel in mind.
The verdict · Profondeurs de l'océan
The high point of this launch: a twilit undersea tale, gorgeous and surprisingly moving. Dense, sometimes too much so, but ambitious and accomplished. If you only read one, make it this one.
| Both volumes | Il était un rêve | Profondeurs de l'océan |
|---|---|---|
| Source tale | Sleeping Beauty | The Little Mermaid |
| The "what if?" | The awakening never happens | Ursula won |
| Source novel | Once Upon a Dream (Liz Braswell) | Part of Your World (Liz Braswell) |
| Script | Ivana Murianni | Davide Sarti |
| Art | Rossella Gentile · studio G-Angle | Antonella Capolupo · studio G-Angle |
| Cover | Yozai | Yozai |
| Translation | Laurent Laget | Laurent Laget |
| Publisher | nobi nobi ! / Pika Édition | nobi nobi ! / Pika Édition |
| Format | One-shot · 416 pp. · B&W · 15 × 21 cm | One-shot · 432 pp. · B&W · 15 × 21 cm |
| Reading direction | Right to left (Japanese) | Right to left (Japanese) |
| Price | €19.95 | €19.95 |
| ISBN | 978-2-38496-546-5 | 978-2-38496-781-0 |
| FR release | October 14, 2026 | October 14, 2026 |
| Our rating | 7.5 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
Good to know Both one-shots have been available since October 14, 2026 from nobi nobi ! (Pika Édition), in bookshops and from your usual manga retailer. Purchase links in each review (BDfugue, partner links).
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Credits & rights. Covers, logos and illustrations: Twisted Tale © 2026 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Based on Liz Braswell's novels. French edition nobi nobi ! / Pika Édition, covers by Yozai. Visuals from the publisher's press kit, reproduced for review purposes; the work may not be reproduced without permission. Reproduction and text/data mining for AI-training purposes prohibited without authorisation (art. 4(3) Dir. (EU) 2019/790).