Disney Live! but not On Ice

I took my daughter to see Disney Live (Cuentos Clasicos de la Princesas - as it was called here) and she was not disappointed.

But I was, somewhat.

Oh sure, the costumes were great, the songs (on the pre-recorded soundtrack) were fun to hear again. Who can keep from clapping, "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work We Go."

But, it didn't have the same appeal as the ice show, because the characters just stood there ... with the exception of the opening scene, in which Goofy comes gliding out, holding on to a costumed mannequin on coasters - a la the traditional pair skating hold, if you will.

To me that was symbolic ... it told me that the folks doing this show, wish they had more to work with than those silly princess pantomimes and a few waltz turns. It's not that those princesses couldn't dance (from past experience I know that the dancers at Tokyo Disneyland are some of the best dancers in the world ... why? ... because they are some of the best paid dancers in the world) but the choreographers, or producers, or some stuffed-shirt calling all the shots didn't let them dance.

Why? That one I don't know. Maybe too much dialogue.

That's one great thing about Disney On Ice ... at a certain point, the skaters get to skate. They stop those same silly princess pantomimes and go out and give us the best four-minute long program they can pull off wearing a waist-length, one-pound red wig attached to their head. Hello, Ariel?

Indeed, I was disappointed when I saw Monsters, Inc. On Ice because cute little Boo, who made an excellent Boo btw, didn't do a single jump or spin in the entire show! (By jump, I mean anything more than a little kid-looking waltz jump and by spin, I mean at least six full revolutions in each position.)

But, I must say, Disney On Ice, or Disney Live for that matter, probably doesn't care what I think. They're zeroing in on my five-year old daughter and all the other little pre-pubescent, soon-to-become the High School Musical/Hannah Montana devotees out in the audience.

And I tell you what, Disney, not to worry, she loved it!