Review: 'The Incredibles' is pretty good family fare
We really expected to be bored silly by yet another one of these Disney on Ice deals designed to separate parents from their money, but "The Incredibles" surprised us. While there wasn't quite the color of the "Nemo on Ice" show from last year, the overall skating talent among the 40-person troupe was put much more on display than these others. Of course, top professional skater Michael Kuluva is part of the show, playing Dash, the son of Bob and Jane Parr, and brother to Violet, who are the Incredibles family: by day, a regular All-American clan, but get their ire up and they can do some mighty incredible stuff. This, of course, is all based on the hit Pixar movie "The Incredibles," and they just strap skates on everyone, includng Mickey and Minnie, and have an icy good time.
This show also differs from "Nemo" and Monsters Inc." in that it has its own new storyline, rather than just the film story put on ice. The Parrs are taking a regular All-American family vacation to Disneyland, but it's there that, first, Dad can't seem to tell the difference between the animotronics and real danger, but then real danger shows up in the form of Mickey and Minnie being kidnapped. The children in the audience are given arm bands with buttons and a little red light on them, all which help the Incredibles save the day. Sorry if that's spoiling the outcome, but you might as well know the Incredibles do save the day eventually, but not after a lot of fun. The kiddies were all screaming and helping the Incredibles family find the evil doers, and the music was pretty good, and Frozone, another "Incredibles" character with, I guess, the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, also helps out and gets everyone excited.
This is all to say that a couple of hours at Disney on Ice, if you have kids between 1 and 7, is probably a fine way to spend a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. There is a 7 p.m. show tonight (the third of the day for the cast) and a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee, all at Alltel Arena. Good seats can be had for $16.75 or $21.75, and there are plenty of $12 snocones, $22 lighted devices, lots of dolls and other playthings to spend more money on. The program runs $15, including a mask that the barker will claim the kids will want to have. Ours didn't, if that's any help to you, so unless you really want the program, just move on into the arena and enjoy the show.
Also, keep in mind that Feld Entertainment, which puts on Disney on Ice, will be bringing Ringling Bros Barnum and Bailey Circus back to Little Rock Aug. 23-27, so you might want to hold on to some of that souvenir money for that.
