Review: Disney On Ice 'Princesses & Heroes' - Wembley Arena
Disney on Ice
Wembley Arena
Wednesday 7th March 2012: As a huge Disney fan, the prospect of Disney on Ice 'Princesses and Heroes' filled me with masses of childlike excitement and a tiny bit of dread. What if I hated it? Thankfully it only took a few minutes of being at Wembley Arena to discover my feelings were about as far from hate as possible.
Presented by Mickey and Minnie and with appearances from Goofy and Tinkerbell, Princesses and Heroes covered some of the best Disney films, old and new. Starting with Aladdin, the skaters were brilliant and during a fight scene at a market I was genuinely astounded by their ability to move across the ice. I have seen ice shows before but their impressive tumbles and falls looked impossible to create on skates.
The show then moved onto Snow White, with fabulous costumes for the seven dwarves and a very cheeky Dopey that the audience loved. Next up was (my favourite character) Belle, with some charming skating and a quick appearance from Lumière for 'Be Our Guest', but I must admit I was disappointed that the Beast wasn't featured.
The Little Mermaid closed the first half and opened the second, complete with Sebastian, Flounder, Ursula, Triton, the electric eels, a boat and copious amounts of bubbles under the sea. It was the longest section of the show and it was done brilliantly, with nearly the whole story condensed and a brilliant dance from Eric and Ariel during 'Kiss the Girl'.
If you are looking for the 'wow' factor, Sleeping Beauty is the story to get it from, as aside from my excitement by the featured fairies, there was also the dragon - complete with fire! The story was beautifully done and with Aurora looking to be the most popular choice of costume for the younger audience members and they seemed delighted by it.
There was a lovely dance for the Princess and the Frog but if you do not know the story of this recent addition to the princess list, Disney on Ice is not the place to learn it as there was no appearance from any form of frog - prince or not!
Cinderella was another story to thrill the audience and, complete with carriage and her sparkling shoes, the ballroom scene was replicated brilliantly on ice.
The final princess to feature was the latest addition to list, Rapunzel. Again, her story was not told but her dance with Tangled's Flynn Rider was beautiful and filled with some stunning lifts.
The whole show was glorious and both children and adults (yes, I was one of them!) came out with huge grins, humming along to the famous songs.
Review by Louise Miles
Tour Dates
London Wembley Arena
Wednesday 7th - Sunday 11th March 2012
Birmingham National Indoor Arena
Wednesday 14th – Sunday 18th March 2012
Liverpool Echo Arena
Wednesday 21st – Sunday 25th March 2012
Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
London Wembley Arena
Wednesday 7th - Sunday 11th March 2012
Birmingham National Indoor Arena
Wednesday 14th – Sunday 18th March 2012
Liverpool Echo Arena
Wednesday 21st – Sunday 25th March 2012
Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
Friday 30th March - Sunday 1st April
Tickets available now from Ticketmaster UK
