Recently I attended a performance of Disney on Ice’s Passport to Adventure at Oracle Arena. As a kid growing up, who did not get to go to Disney parks as much as I would have liked. Disney on Ice coming to town was a big deal. Even though I am almost always at a Disney park, I still enjoy keeping tabs on what Feld Entertainment is doing with the Disney characters.
This show features Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Daisy who were going on a tour of locales around the globe. First the gang looked like they were already displaced from Camp Minnie-Mickey as they began a safari. After a performance of Jungle Rhythm from Jungle Book 2 the show began their Lion King segment.
This was the weakest segment of the show; and Simba appeared, as a friend observed, as a cross between Jesus Christ Superstar and a performer from Cats. The highlight, of course, was Pumbaa on ice.
Next was The Little Mermaid.. This film has been repeated on ice several times. In fact, it was a part of the Rockin’ Ever After show that I saw last year. This version did not come across as any better or worse than previous iterations. The highlight…. Flounder on Ice. I would have liked a fun Les Poissons number, but they spread through the story quickly.
We then moved to the islands of Hawaii as the next segment was Lilo and Stitch. This was definitely the highlight of the first act. Featuring some characters we are not used to seeing such as the Grand Councilwoman, Pleakley, and Jumba. (The highlight was Pleakley). The set featured the mix of Hawaiian music with Elvis hits that meshed well in the movie and continues to work well in the ice show.
After the Zamboni came out, the second act was dedicated to Peter Pan. But before that tale could unfold, Mickey and the gang were treated to a Jolly Holiday number led by a British constable. After this diversion the story of Peter Pan was told. What made this edition different than other Peter Pan on Ice editions is that Tinker Bell was flesh and blood instead of a lighting effect. This follows Disney’s change of her depiction globally after the Fairies films.
One of the fun parts of seeing Peter Pan on ice is that it can borrow from the stage traditions of the story. For example, the whole arena claps to show that they believe in order to save Tinker Bell. The other great thing? Nana on Ice.
The problem of this edition of Disney on Ice was that a lot of it seemed to be retreads. I have recently seen The Lion King and The Little Mermaid on Ice and these versions didn’t do much new. This edition did have some amazing costuming. We were treated to many characters that don’t appear at the Disney parks.
I still had a good time and look forward to seeing the next edition that rolls into town. I just hope that it does something new.