Disney On Ice
I had a lot of trouble remembering my early childhood memories. They all seem to blur together in various creative, but ultimately uninformative ways. My fantasies mix with my real memories, and those mixed with my memories of being told stories about when I was young so that what I ultimately have is a bunch of creative, but inaccurate images. I’ve always wished to be one of those people with photographic memories who can recall any event that happened to them in their life with great detail, but I just am not like that.
That is why it is little wonder that I have trouble remembering the first time I saw Disney On Ice. I remember the excitement. I had been watching Disney animations all week in preparation for the show, and I even dressed up for it. My mom helped me make a Disney costume – I think I was the Beast from Beauty and the Beast – and I was so proud to be able to go to that show in such an attractive looking outfit. Still, I can’t remember exactly what happened. I remember some of the music, remember seeing the elaborate acrobatics and the funny characters skate across the floor, and I remember how I felt, but the precise events escape me.
Whatever I saw, it seems to have made quite an impression on me. This is before the specialized Disney on Ice shows. They didn’t have Princesses on the Ice or Finding Nemo back then. Rather, it was a Disney show showcasing all of the classic animated characters that I had been watching over and over again my whole life. I got to see Mickey, Goofy, and all the rest, as well as special appearances by several of the better known Disney movie characters.
That was the moment I first decided I wanted to be an animator. The funny thing is that, later in my life, I would grow away from Disney’s animation style, but I would still keep my passion for animation. Even as I got more into animae and stopped watching the old Disney classics as much, I stay true to that revelation I had while watching Disney on Ice. I often wonder about that show and what I saw that impressed me so. Whatever it was, it must have been such a quite a spectacle. Apparently, in one evening the course of my whole future was decided.