Disney on Ice's back! This time they presented Princess Wishes, all seven princesses in seven stories.
Let me count them all:
1. Jasmine - Aladdin
2. Snow White - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. Belle - Beauty and the Beast
4. Ariel - The Little Mermaid
5. Mulan - Mulan
6. Aurora - Sleeping Beauty
7. Cinderella - Cinderella
.. and you gotta count the Princes and the Sidekicks also.
I'm not gonna tell you story about how I bought my ticket, how I fought to get it on my hand. Just this: SENTRA ENTERPRISE, may you rot in Sleeping Beauty castle, cursed asleep for thousand years, with all the fishes, monkey, crab, octopus and dragon nibbling on your face!
But I've got my tickets. And what's more on the good news, I didn't have to queue for long. Reached Istora Senayan on Saturday, 18 April 2009 at around 10am (hey, that's the earliest we could be) .. counted the time spent on security checks, browsing the stalls that sell merchandises (jeez, they sell the program book for 100k. 100k!!! That's a highway robbery. Should have been for free, you agree?) .. it took only 10 minutes netto standing on the line before the gate opened at 10.30am. And smoothly proceeded to the indoor stadium Silver A.
.. And Mathieu was frightened by the stadium's ambience. It was huge, dimmed and cold. What did we do to calm him? Andri bought him a Tinkerbell spinning light for 130k. (Expensive, you said?? Try having shaved ice with blueberry or strawberry syrup on top, in a Princess souvenir plastic cup for 100k. Now, THAT was extreme!! I might better shave ice from the ring instead and see if the vendor could give me a discount for bringing my own ice).
While Mat was busy with Tink, I solemnly noticed that Silver A immediately became crowded because its location was the nearest from outside gate. Across the stadium, at a different corner, Silver B was still empty. Learning my lesson from the last Hollywood on Ice show, I tried to approach the security .. very nicely .. and asked if we could move to the other side. I pointed at Mat, and told the security that my son was not comfortable in the crowd. Not to mention that the ice vendor was blocking our view to the ring. He said ok, though he explained that the vendor would leave soon before the show. But we still wanted to move. Move, move. Hurry. We dig our way out, "excuse us", "so sorry we stepped on your feet", into the other gate and got the privilege to choose our best seat in Silver B. Not too close, not too far .. 4th row, just nice!
Then I took time to go out hunting for snacks and drink. Went back inside and feed Mat before all went dark in the next couple of minutes.
(Note: Please click on the hyperlink to watch video)
11.30am sharp, show's started. On ice, the castle backdrop glowed. Tinkerbell opened the show. Sprinkling pixie dust from her wand, she looked cute. Then Mickey and Minnie Mouse joined her for a while. Dancers skated into the ring and did the set up with Arabian Market theme. Completed with camel. Aladdin danced through One Jump Ahead, with Abu the Monkey sitting on his shoulder. He ran, jumped, avoiding the men with daggers. Then came Princess Jasmine in disguise. Aladdin saved her from the men also. And couldn't get his mind out of her. The blue and friendly Genie showed up, granted Aladdin's wish to become Prince Ali. (I was waiting for Prince Ali, but it didn't happen. Ah!) Anyway. Then Prince Ali/Aladdin and Princess Jasmine (as sexy as always in her two-piece sky-blue outfit) did a lovely pair-skating through A Whole New World. (this moment Mat instantly recognized the song. I used to play HK Disneyland's Disney on the Stars for him, and this song was the main song for the fireworks show). The dance has lots of spins, lifts, and at the end of it, Jasmine almost slipped on the ice. Lucky she got a good grip on Aladdin. So there's their happy ending.
The dwarfs took over the ring. Doc, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful and Dopey danced and played. Very funny, they became Mat's favorite up to now (oho, tell me about it, he started to bring Dopey and Happy to bed). Then Snow White was there .. sitting around the well, waiting for her Prince. The Prince showed up and finally they danced through One Song. (Huh? What happened to Someday My Prince Will Come? This was a much better song, IMO). The dance was good. Perfectly executed, but it wasn't too special. Kinda felt a bit bored because of the song.
Belle showed up, skating down the castle and found an unusual rose. She sang a bit of Belle and thought that living in the enchanted castle might be adventurous, only if she could find .. Lumiere! That's Lumiere. I didn't see how on earth the dancer could fit into that custom and skated on ice!! He couldn't even spread and lifted up his legs while dancing the cabaret piece in Be Our Guest together with Belle and some set of "cuttleries" .. hahahahah. Poor French candle! (What, no Beauty and the Beast? It's ok, I didn't mind. I couldn't imagine Beast with his big head pairing with Belle anyway). Belle was impeccable. One cuttleries was down .. one down! .. but they did a very good job in average. I had fun watching this segment. Lively and so nicely done.
Then come my most favorite of all. Three dancers opened the sequence with this haunting introduction score of "The Little Mermaid". And Sebastian, the know-it-all-crab (and the audience loved him!), introduced the Daughters of Triton. Should be seven of them, but the youngest girl who had the most beautiful voice was missing. Where did she go? While on the sea surface, a group of sailors did some acrobatic dance through Fathoms Below, together with Prince Eric. This was awesome. The sailors could threw each other so high and did this amazing saltos in the air. (And the Prince .. o Eric .. he was so tall and handsome *sigh*). Ariel, the missing daughter, apparently was hiding beneath, accompanied by her friend Flounder. She had a dream to become part of human's world. Part of Your World was playing, and Ariel with her red-hair flared bright danced through it. God. I. Loved. This. Song. Always brought goosebumps on me.
Goofy, Mickey and Minnie came with a boat. They approached the audience sittting at Super Platinum (you know, the ones who occupying upfront seats and didn't have to spend a dime for it. Lucky b*s***ds!!) .. and invited some kids to hop on the boat *jawdrop*. And while Sebastian, Ariel and all the sea creatures danced through the Oscar winning song Under the Sea .. the boat sailed, guarded by mermaids. Could you imagine it? Sitting on a boat that sailed on ice. With bubbles all around .. among the colorful fishes, beautiful mermaids, funny crab .. all dancing in reggae tune - even Flounder had his moment - and Ariel got a chance to pose at the corner near Silver A for a while .. The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake lalala .. spotlight on you .. that was an experience of a lifetime. ("you know, I did encounter mermaids once", said the old woman to her grandchildren). SPECTACULAR!! I was green with envy! GAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!
Then came the dark side of the sea. Ursula the Octopus took over, with Flotsam and Jetsam by her side, she sang Poor Unfortunate Souls. Ariel traded her voice with a pair of legs. (I tell ya, when Ariel sang her voice out .. it sounded so real inside the stadium). And the "fins" was changed into "legs" in a blink. (Honestly, I missed to see Ariel changed the costume). Afterwards, Prince Eric and Ariel got together in a romantic mood, he had got to Kiss the Girl. (OMG, Eric's against the gravity while he spinned Ariel by her one leg .. one tiny mistake, she could fly right to the tribune seats). But as you might already knew, Sebastian failed to pursue them to kiss, it ended up with Eric saving Ariel from that big, fat and ugly octopus. He won, and again .. reprising Part of Your World with Ariel. Such a beautiful dance. The song started in a mellow tune, followed by vocal choir .. and Eric lifted Ariel high above his head, spinned her fast with only one hand supporting her body .. then dropped her in an arch-down pose till her head almost touched the ice!! Holy cow!!! Considering the length of the segment, how the story was told, most of the songs were performed .. let alone the splendid choreography .. this was absolutely a winner.
Next: "Mulan". She trained martial art to some children. Lesson Number One. Captain Shang also managed to dance with Mulan. Well. This one was quite short. Fun to see, but nothing more detailed. At first I wondered, why they didn't choose Reflection or even the "manly" I'll Make a Man out of You. On the second thought, I came to realize they took it from "Mulan II" .. so .. ok. Training lesson it was. Maybe someday Disney would present Mulan on Ice, I would love to see Mushu.
Tinkerbell tried to tell the audience about something .. someone .. but as usual, she just frantically waiving her wand .. And the Evil Witch came out from the castle with a blast. When the stage light was back on, there was Prince Phillip. Chained at the corner near Silver B (I swore, didn't see when or how he got there. Did he just pop-up from the air?) And back there in the castle, Princess Aurora layed asleep. Three fairy godmothers: Flora, Fauna and Merryweather freed the Prince. These godmothers ... wahaha .. they jumped up and down, very funny. Just like in the cartoon movie. Then as I was told before, I warned Andri to hold Mathieu tight, cause the dragon would appear soon.
.. and there's the dragon. Phew. Enormous. I tried to count the legs under the costume to see how many skaters inside. Lost it, perhaps around 4 or 6 people. I absolutely had no idea how they could find their way into the ring and moved around .. how could they see? They're all covered in the costume. The Prince fought the dragon, that was quite a riot. Loud music, sword swaying, fire shooting from the dragon's mouth .. (I was happy Mat was secured in his dad's arms. He saw the dragon alright, I knew he was scared as hell, but luckily he didn't cry). The dragon was vanished after letting out a horrible creepy scream. Then all finished. Phillip climbed out the castle, reached the Sleeping Beauty, and gave her a true love kiss. And they're both waltzing in high-speed through Once Upon a Dream. I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream .. I know you, the gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam .. Yes, I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem .. But if I know you, I know what you'll do .. You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream .. lalalalalala ..
Now it's Goofy's turn. He was dressed in royal outfit, announcing the kingdom's ball .. for the Prince Charming was looking for an eligible maiden to marry to. Some couples danced, with Anastasia and Drusilla made a fool of themselves. When the Prince entered, he did a good solo, and kept tossing the silly sisters out of his way. Then hear hear .. it was Cinderella in the carriage. The Prince asked Cinderella to dance .. and off they went dancing through A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes. In her pale-blue gown, Cinderella looked just like a babydoll. And the Prince Charming .. well, he was very charming indeed. No doubt, this was the most romantic and elegant pairing of the show. Beautiful. That's our 7th Princess. I learned that this segment was meant to show the last, to elaborate the message to us.
Right after the dance finished, Tinkerbell appeared, and again with her supercute gestures, she welcomed back all the Princesses and Princes to the ice ring. There were Jasmine and Aladdin, Snow White and Prince, Belle and Prince (a.k.a. Beast), Ariel and Eric, Mulan and Shang, Aurora and Phillip, Cinderella and Prince Charming .. all dressed in their signature costumes. They danced in groups and in pairs for finale. Each pair had a personal choreography. Lots of spins, lots of lifts .. especially Ariel and Jasmine who were lifted so high by their partners. It was magical, beyond words. But if I could have one word to describe how they danced, it was C-O-L-L-E-C-T-I-B-L-E. (You know, you imagined them as musical miniatures with this little key attached to their bodies. All seven pairs .. you bought them all, arranged them on the floor, turned the key and let them dance for you until the motor stopped. Repeat.)
In the middle of the finale, Mickey and Minnie reappeared. They welcomed back Tinkerbell into the ice ring. Tink sat in Cinderella's carriage, with Goofy stood at the back of it. The ballroom dancers joined them, and they all started to reprise that wonderful Disney Princesses' franchise song. This time, even Mat got really excited, he stood on the seat and trying to tell me that he knew those characters on ice. And show's finally over. Where's the fireworks??? Where?? There should have been fireworks at the very end, shooting off from the carriage. Did they ran out of budget? Were they afraid the fireworks would accidently causing fire in the stadium and burned Tink who's still sitting in the carriage?? Aaaaa .. I was a bit disappointed .. I should have avoided spoilers so that I wouldn't know anything about the fireworks at all.
That didn't change the show's value though. We enjoyed it very much. We got a comfortable seat with good view, not a single audience annoyed us (and I was pretty sure we didn't annoy any either), and I could record the show with my digicam without having to play cat-and-mouse game with the security. Not sure why the security was that flexible, or was it just our lucky day. We marched out of the stadium happily, humming the finale song. And until this very moment, If You Can Dream still lingers. Couldn't get it out of my head.
If you can dream, the wish we're making on a star is coming true .. the music of the wind will lead my heart right back to you .. cause if you can dream, reflections in a diamond sky come shining on through .. romance will always be so new .. and love will save the day, if you can dream ..
Disney on Ice shows were never cheap, but it always entertains. I put a mental note to await their shows in the future. I wouldn't want to miss.
