Dancing With The Stars Recap: Disney Night/Week 5

DWTSDisneyNightWell, It was Disney Night this week on Dancing with the Stars and after the most incredible opening credit sequence ever (when you add a mirror ball to Cinderella Castle, the sparkle ratio increases exponentially), the pros and stars came out to dance to a rousing Disney medley that included “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” and “Step In Time.” Cody fell during his entrance (foreshadowing?), Peta’s hair is Elsa-rific…but, most importantly, NENE LEAKES’ HAIR LOOKS LIKE NANCY GRACE! Donny Osmond was the guest judge and started by discussing his Disney connections and how he was the voice of Shang in Mulan. Um, you were only the SINGING voice. Excuse you. Then you made this happen, so…Let’s get to the dances! BA BA DA BA BA BA BA BA BA DA BA BA!

Drew and Cheryl performed first with an Aladdin inspired quickstep to “Friend Like Me.” Cheryl called out Drew in rehearsals and that was pretty funny (and slightly awkward, but we can look past that). Cheryl did say, however, she would bring in some Witney technique, which included the fantastic phrase “Punch, Punch, Sit, Sit” which I want on DWTS merchandise immediately. Their dance was eh. They had to dance alongside the animated Genie, which was cool, but since they were off, it looked bad. All the judges enjoyed it, but Len called out the “doo da technique” which I agree with…if I interpreted the “doo da” correctly. Carrie Ann mentioned Drew’s incredibly awkward open mouth face during his dances and it totally ruined the dance for me. The whole time I was going “Isn’t his throat dry? Why doesn’t he close his mouth? Is he a mouth breather?” 4 SEHVENs from the panel.

Charlie and Sharna were the next two announced as safe and danced a rousing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” inspired jazz routine. The best part was the theming. The costumes were spot-on and they took the scene from the film and translated it to the ballroom, which was magnificent. You know what else was magnificent? THIS DANCE! My favorite from Charlie as you could really see the happiness he evoked throughout the number, even if he did drop a cane. In the words of Joy Behar, “So what, who cares?!” Len revealed 3 rhymes/puns that he had to have thought about for weeks. 3 Nines and a 10 from the ‘ole whipper snapper Len. An extra SEHVEN from me for Charlie dancing with the penguins from the film later in the show.

Amy and Danica were the next two to be called safe, while Nene and Cody were both announced as in jeopardy.

Danica and Val danced a quickstep to “Be Our Guest” that was, hands down, her best dance yet. The technique was impeccable and she was so in sync with Val throughout. However, they opened with the animated Lumiere on stage, but they allowed one of the singers to give him his voice. SACRELIGE! Also, she wore the wrong Belle dress, so -2 points for DWTS. Anyway, she got a hug from Carrie Ann and while Len commented on a partner posture separation at one point, Tom was quick to call him Gaston. That’s why we love ya, Tom! 3 Tens and a Nine from Len.

Amy and Derek performed a waltz to “So This Is Love” (which is the natural fit), but Amy had some struggles since the waltz is such a foot placement dance, her prosthetics weren’t cooperating as much as she’d like them to. So what did Derek do? Express her struggles for her. I’m getting sick of this. But, they both delivered with a beautiful dance that the judges, SHOCKER, called inspirational (which I agree with, but someone get them a thesaurus). Bring out the meme, ‘cause Carrie Ann…

CarrieAnnLift

Yet, she said she wouldn’t deduct points due to the nature of the circumstances surrounding the prosthetics. She did say, however, she wants Disney to make a princess like her…Frozen 2? 3 Nines and a Ten from Donny.

When they came back from commercial break, they had the troupe dancing to the band performing “That’s How You Know” from Enchanted and the singer did NOT hit that high note and it was super embarrassing and my gallbladder burst from the pain it caused me.

Witney and Cody danced a samba to “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”. He sang a song he wrote for Witney. He said that he decided to be Simba. He wore drop-crotch pants during his dance. I loathe him. Donny said he didn’t look happy and in that moment, Donny Osmond became my favorite human being of all-time. 2 Nines and 2 Eights from Len and Donny.

Nene and Tony danced a foxtrot to “Cruella de Vil,” but tensions were high in rehearsals. Tony didn’t like Nene bringing up any mention of Derek, which made Tony get an attitude, then Nene got an attitude. Nene went all Real Housewives (fitting) and left the rehearsal. It might have been bad in rehearsal, but she KILLED it in the ballroom. She totally dove into the Cruella character (accompanied by the animated puppies) and, as I mentioned in our LIIIIIVE tweet, isn’t Cruella just a Real Housewife of London? Tony didn’t take any criticism well, becoming the Maks of this season. Really though, he talked back to Carrie Ann and Erin. TONE IT DOWN, DUDE! While the pair needed an overall attitude check (some call Edna Mode), she received 4 Nines.

Then Jordin Sparks and Jason Derulo were introduced for no reason. Moving on.

Peta and James danced a contemporary routine to “Let It Go,” which is a really random song choice. It isn’t well known amongst non-Disney fans, so I was curious why they went with it (SARCASM ALERT!). It was majestic. It was fluid. It was gorgeous. And I was just talking about the effects! The dance was also all of those things, showcasing the best of Peta’s choreography and the best of James’ dancing abilities. A+ for both of them. My only issue…Peta looked like Elsa and James wore…a green long sleeve shirt. Really? Either way, they made history with the FIRST PERFECT SCORE OF THE SEASON! WAHOO! *Insert “For the First Time in Forever” joke here*

Meryl and Maks followed close behind with the most fun samba I’ve ever seen. Dancing to “I Wanna Be Like You,” they moved as one, solidifying their ridiculously strong partnership. I’ve never seen Maks so enthralled with a partner in all of his seasons on this show. They also danced alongside animated characters, but it totally worked this time as their timing was on point. Maks was worried about creating a comedic samba, but he forgot about his worries and his strife and delivered another fantastic dance from Meryl. 4 Nines from the judges. Erin questioned why the pairing was working so well and Maks blamed abuse. I’m going to leave that there.

Candace and Mark ended the night by going “Under the Sea” with their samba. She was really distraught by her low scores, but it put her into a better mindset, as she really wants to stay on the show. I WANT YOU TO STAY TOO! She was stiff at the beginning (maybe because her Ariel wig was super ridiculous?), but it turned into a wonderful routine by the end. This cannot be said for the Little Mermaid attraction…as their endings stink. But, I digress, as she wasn’t the worst this week…WAHOO! An Eight from Carrie Ann and 3 Nines from the rest of the judges.

They reveal that Candace was also in jeopardy, joining Nene and Cody. Nene was revealed as safe and the person going home was Cand—Cody. WAIT, WHAT?! This is the happiest moment of my life! Candace’s face was even surprised, but I am so happy. Mr. Cocky himself is gone, and while I’ll miss Witney, I never have to deal with Cody again! PRAISE!

It really was a great night in the ballroom. Tinkerbell would appear on various screens and all the stars just seemed so happy to be dancing to Disney classics. I hope this becomes a reoccurring theme among upcoming seasons.

Next week a member from LMFAO will be a guest judge. Yeah, that is a real sentence. Let me know your thoughts from Disney week below or on the discussion boards! Now, to find a way to get a tour of the ballroom this summer…Happy Dancing!

Marshal Knight
Marshal Knight is a pop culture writer based in Orlando, FL. For some inexplicable reason, his most recent birthday party was themed to daytime television. He’d like to thank Sandra Oh.