Having fun at "Finding Nemo" on Ice

When Disney comes to town to put on an ice show, you know as a parent there will be plenty of visual stimulation, and not just on stage.

Disney On Ice presents Disney/Pixar's "Finding Nemo" offered a few fireworks, colorful smoke and lots of amazing fish costumes. My 7-year-old daughter sat with her mouth agape the first 10 minutes of the show. The costumes were just so “fabulous,” she said.

I was most impressed by the skaters, who seemed incredibly graceful despite wearing some bulky costumes. Bruce – the vegetarian shark that meets up with Nemo’s dad, Marlin, and absent-minded Dory – is manned by two skaters who have to work closely together so they don’t topple over. Then there’s Squirt, the young octopus that inks on himself in class. Check out a slideshow of the performance and fans here.

The show opened with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy having some water fun. Then Nemo takes over after Goofy dives down into the watery looking ice, falling deep into the sea.

The story line followed the popular movie fairly closely. A few scenes were slightly altered, but the audio comes straight from the movie. You’ll quickly recognize Ellen DeGeneres as Dory and Mel Brooks as Marlin. There’s also Willem Dafoe as fish tank leader Gill, Brad Garrett as Bloat (also from the tank), and John Ratzenberger as the fish school leader who gives directions to Sydney.

The most notable change - and your kids will point it out - is at the end of the performance. In the movie, Marlin and Dory make it to the dentist's office and there's plenty of havoc. In the ice version, they do get to Sydney, but not the office. But going off script is worth the time savings, especially when you have tired kiddies. The show, including intermission, lasts two hours.

The lighting set the mood in each scene. And there were plenty of ice skating numbers to keep you from totally feeling like you were just watching the movie on ice.

Kids came to see Nemo, cheering wildly when he was on stage and when father and son reunited. Dory had her fans, too.

Boys especially loved that Nemo was the star. The last Disney ice show featured princesses. And while there were sword fights (Prince Phillip with Maleficent's dragon alter ego) and chase scenes (Aladdin in the market), the main draw were the "girlie" princesses.

Samantha Kauakahi came with her 5-year-old son, Danny, who raved about the fire spurting up from the volcano in the fish tank. They were picking up some souvenirs during the intermission.

George Wilkinson, 9, of Gilbert said he really liked this show much better than the princess show, noting his family made him go to that one. His dad, Larry, was impressed with how colorful the costumes were. It was also nice that everyone in his family, including daughters Sarah, 2, and Katie, 7, seemed mesmerized by the show.

And many kiddies will be mesmerized by all the toys and treats for sale. So be prepared to say no or bring some cash.

The show takes place at US Airways Center, 201 E. Jefferson Street, and runs through Sunday, April 13. Tickets are $13-$50.

My rating: 3 ½ stars

Julia’s rating: 4 ½ stars (but she would have given a 5 if the show’s producers could have figured out how to make Marlin and Dory fly out of the top of the whale instead of skate out of the whale’s mouth.)

Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.