Almost a century of Disney magic recreated in one night seems like a fantasy, even for college students, but Disney on Ice’s “100 Years of Magic” tour transformed these animated stories into real life at the US Airways Center this past weekend.
Although Disney is known to be most engaging among younger generations, the ice show with twinkling lights to match the music and all its familiar characters appealed to audiences of all ages. Selected characters from Disney movies made appearances and received roaring applause as they glided along the edge of the arena mouthing the words to melodic Disney songs.
“100 Years of Magic,” the longest-running Disney on Ice show, is currently in its 12th year. The tour takes adults down memory lane, bringing alive all of the memories from their childhood rooted in imagination.
The two-hour performance of pure delight and excitement began with the trio of hosts, Mickey, Minnie Mouse and Goofy, welcoming the audience, followed by the entrance of the rest of the crew, Donald Duck and the beloved Chip ‘n’ Dale.
The thrill of seeing childhood idols was just as exhilarating as the phenomenal figure skating. Stepping upon the ice seems challenging enough, but the professional skaters tossed each other over their shoulders and easily landed backflips, all while maintaining the persona of their individual Disney character.
Aladdin and the Genie gave the first performance and perhaps the most entertaining. The scene started with Aladdin’s curiosity of the magic lamp and the explosion of Genie out of the mechanical prop singing “Friend Like Me.” Similar to the movie, dozens of other genies filled the arena doing the can-can all in perfect sync with each other.
Their act finished with two backflips and a back-to-back pose, summing up the candid and humorous relationship between Aladdin and his treasured genie.
It’s fairly common for the opening and closing acts to be the most anticipated. “100 Years of Magic” lived up to that assumption by closing with a charming classic from “The Lion King.” As the baboon Rafiki lifted his staff and chanted the opening to “Circle of Life,” kids and parents alike shouted with praise.
The elaborate costumes for Timon and Pumba seemed almost impossible to walk in, let alone figure skate in. Midway through the scene, the entire troupe appeared to harmonize to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” while waving to the crowd and delivering their farewells to the Phoenix audience.
In 120 minutes, did the show really cover every animated Disney movie within the last 100 years? No, but it came close. Surprisingly, the common tales of “Hercules,” “Tarzan” and “Sleeping Beauty” were not included in the setlist.
Villains would also have made an interesting story for the “ice-cold” show. However, kid-friendly performances from the characters of “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo” made up for Ursula and Jafar’s absence.
“100 Years of Magic” felt like a more contained version of Disneyland without lengthy lines and obnoxious tourists. The experience showed that the world for once can be in perfect harmony, as the songs from “The Lion King” would suggest.
The sparkling lights and timeless Disney songs were a reminder that there will always be a special place for Disney magic in the hearts of people of all ages, hopefully for the next 100 years.
Reach the reporter at mkthomp5@asu.edu
Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press email newsletter
