Disney LIVE! Three Classic Fairy Tales

It was fitting that to celebrate the 80th birthday of Mickey Mouse we went to watch Disney LIVE! Three Classic Fairy Tales on 18 November. To help us review, we brought our two boys aged two and four. I thought the girly princess theme might make them bored and miserable, but on the contrary, from the moment the lights came on, the curtain was raised and Goofy appeared, they were enraptured. Goofy was quickly joined by Donald Duck, Minnie and Mickey Mouse who introduced the storybook from which the fairy-tale action unfolded.



First up was Snow White, as dewy and angelic as ever. She immediately drew in the audience, which loudly warned her not to eat the poisonous apple. This quickly led to Cinderella, who definitely has the most glamorous dress of all of Walt Disney’s heroines. There was a ten-minute intermission as Prince Charming wondered how he would ever find his missing match-made-in-heaven. By the time everyone returned from intermission, he’d hatched his plan to find the girl whose foot fitted the glass slipper. This story was then followed by the dramatic Beauty and the Beast.

Disney really knows how to put on a great show, and from the lights, music, songs, gorgeous costumes – faithfully re-creating those first featured in his classic animated films – to the talented and enthusiastic cast, everything was first class. Each story was whittled down to its core with the essential songs edited for brevity, ensuring everything moved along at a brisk pace. The Indoor Stadium was reduced to 50% capacity so the young audience was close enough to be scared silly by the villains of each story. By the time the Beast had been bludgeoned to death in a dramatic act of violence, our two-year-old had jumped to his feet in wide-eyed excitement. Thank goodness Disney always has a happy ending so everyone leaves smiling.