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Once Upon a Time...
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<p><i>Once Upon a Time...</i> ("<i>Il était une fois...</i>") is a French <a href="/facts/Educational_animation/7sv46lXv">educational animation</a> franchise, created by <a href="/facts/Albert_Barill%25C3%25A9/GRBKTkwM">Albert Barillé</a> for his animation studio <a href="/facts/Procidis/JNbc9seN">Procidis</a>. There are eight distinct series, each focusing on different aspects of knowledge. Once Upon a Time... has been shown in a hundred different countries, and 150 million <a href="/facts/Video_cassettes/vNXMylt5">video cassettes</a> and <a href="/facts/DVDs/7fJsHJrN">DVDs</a> have been sold around the world, as well as 250 million tie-in books. </p><p>There are eight series in all. These are mostly <a href="/facts/History/bSKgXaCA">historical</a>, with <i>Once Upon a Time... Man</i> being focused on the overall history of <a href="/facts/Mankind/rlcTENsr">mankind</a>. Most of the others are more focused on specified historical fields, such as the lives and exploits of the <a href="/facts/Exploration/wXUhG45B">explorers</a> or <a href="/facts/Inventor/P3LdUHBY">inventors</a>, except for <i>Space</i> and <i>Life</i>. The former was a <a href="/facts/Science_fiction/d9hE2Lwt">science fiction</a> series, while the latter featured an explanation on the workings of the body. All feature the same <a href="/facts/Stock_character/q3RfFQSs">stock characters</a>, in similar <a href="/facts/Archetype/FsGNSHUo">archetypal</a> roles. "<i>Life</i>" is the only one to not feature the children as grown-up or adolescent archetypes of said characters, but as parts of the human organism. </p><p>Most of the series are in the <a href="/facts/Animated_documentary/v1cBuMQP">animated documentary</a> genre and teach in an <a href="/facts/Exposition_(narrative)/Umc9h06K">expository</a> style. </p>