A FISH OUT OF WATER DISNEY'S 'FINDING NEMO' COMES TO AN ICE RINK NEAR YOU.Byline: Allessandra Djurklou Staff Writer PUT THOSE FISH on ice! No, that is not a recommendation from your local board of health. Rather, it may be what Disney on Ice executives cried out before they decided to turn the hit Pixar film ``Finding Nemo'' into a live skating show last year. Disney on Ice's ``Finding Nemo'' swims into the Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. tonight, then moves to the Arrowhead Pond and the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Sports Arena before ending up at the Long Beach Arena. ``Finding Nemo,'' for those who missed it in theaters, is the computer-animated tale of a clown fish clown fish n. See anemone fish. named Marlin and his son Nemo. They live on the Great Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef, largest complex of coral reef in the world, c.1,250 mi (2,000 km) long, in the Coral Sea, forming a natural breakwater for the coast of Queensland, NE Australia. , and Marlin is the epitome of the overprotective o·ver·pro·tect tr.v. o·ver·pro·tect·ed, o·ver·pro·tect·ing, o·ver·pro·tects To protect too much; coddle: overprotected their children. father. He has reason, of course. His wife and all their spawn, except for Nemo, were dispatched by a predator. And no matter how much Nemo wants independence, he has a problem with one fin that makes him even more vulnerable to predators. Marlin's worst fears come true when a scuba-diving dentist takes Nemo back to Sydney to live in his aquarium. Marlin, determined to get his son back, joins forces with a memory-challenged fish named Dory, and the two make their way to land. On the way, they meet a number of friends and foes, and Nemo discovers his disability is not as disabling as he thought. ``Finding Nemo'' joins a long roster of Disney classics that have gotten iced, including ``Tarzan'' and ``Monsters, Inc.'' But unlike the others, which feature a number of human characters, putting fish on skates in a frozen environment posed its own challenges, particularly for the costume designer. ``Fish are very difficult,'' said Scott Lane, who designed all the costumes in the show. A Covina native, he has also designed costumes for a number of other ice shows and the Ringling Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . and Barnum & Bailey Circus. ``They have no legs. I really wanted to let the skaters have the movement they needed.'' Movement has long been an issue in skating shows that feature 3-D versions of cartoon characters, Lane said. Often, the skater would be encased en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case  ment n. in a huge foam structure that ensured all he or she could do was glide carefully back and forth on the ice. But then Julie Taymor came along with her stage version (no ice here) of ``The Lion King,'' which featured highly stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. costumes that had little to do with the cartoon and everything to do with movement. ``We took her cue, and we went with it,'' Lane said. ``There's still some foam, but a lot of stretch fabric and some stainless steel stainless steel: see steel. stainless steel Any of a family of alloy steels usually containing 10–30% chromium. The presence of chromium, together with low carbon content, gives remarkable resistance to corrosion and heat. .'' Unlike Taymor's lions, Lane's fishy fish·y adj. fish·i·er, fish·i·est 1. Resembling or suggestive of fish, as in taste or odor. 2. Cold or expressionless: a fishy stare. 3. creations do have some resemblance to the ones in the film. The colors are the same, and the main actors and a few supporting ones sport a chest plate or headdress headdress, head covering or decoration, protective or ceremonial, which has been an important part of costume since ancient times. Its style is governed in general by climate, available materials, religion or superstition, and the dictates of fashion. with the face of the cartoon character. In the back, they sport a tail, and their arms have become fins. It's only the legs that give these ichthyoids a definite Darwinian flair. The skaters in the cast appreciate the fact that they are not encased in a fishy foam blob, but even Lane's lighter creations took some getting used to. ``It took a little practice at first,'' said Rebecca Hovda, who plays the forgetful Dory. The native of Canada has worked with Disney on Ice for a decade. Before that, she was a competitive skater and briefly toyed with the idea of being a police officer. ``Having big fish on your stomach is challenging,'' agreed Tamarah Hooper, another Canadian, who plays Nemo. This is Hooper's first leading role in an ice show. Also a competitive skater, she became drawn to ice shows and decided to audition. ``The costumes definitely have their constraints,'' added the show's Marlin, Joey Doud of Denver - a place with plenty of ice but few oceans. This is also Doud's first leading role. A competitive skater, Doud gave up on dreams On Dreams (or "De Insomniis") is a text by Aristotle. External links
Once the cast got their costumes, they practiced in them for six weeks, until they were able to move as swiftly as they needed. And that movement, by necessity, had to be fishy. Show choreographer Cindy Stuart spent hours at Long Beach's Aquarium of the Pacific The Aquarium of the Pacific is located in the city of Long Beach, California at the mouth of the Los Angeles River. The aquarium features a collection of over 12,500 animals representing almost 1,000 different species. studying fish (they have a number of clown fish, sharks, jellyfish jellyfish, common name for the free-swimming stage (see polyp and medusa), of certain invertebrate animals of the phylum Cnidaria (the coelenterates). The body of a jellyfish is shaped like a bell or umbrella, with a clear, jellylike material filling most of the and royal blue tangs). She also encouraged her skaters to do the same. Skaters said they were surprised by how authentic Stuart's dance moves seemed when compared to the movements of aquarium denizens. ``It's so funny when I see it, it's exactly how they move,'' Hovda said. ``It's amazing that you can move your body that way,'' said Hooper. Fish have the benefit of existing in a liquid environment, which means they don't just move back and forth but also up and down. Still, that doesn't stop cast members from making a few gravity-defying leaps of their own. ``It's an extremely demanding show,'' said Doud, who does his share of leaps with Hovda. Altitude makes it even harder. Though Doud comes from the Mile-High City, and is used to thin air, he had to work extra hard when ``Nemo'' went to Mexico. ``Mexico City Mexico City Spanish Ciudad de México City (pop., 2000: city, 8,605,239; 2003 metro. area est., 18,660,000), capital of Mexico. Located at an elevation of 7,350 ft (2,240 m), it is officially coterminous with the Federal District, which occupies 571 sq mi has really thin air - and smog,'' he said, adding that the cast got nowhere near the 10 days usually needed to acclimate to such an environment. ``We had to have oxygen tanks for the skaters.'' Coming to sea-level Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, is a relief, Doud added. With all their hard work on the ice, the skaters are at least relieved of also memorizing a long script. The same voices from the movie, in this case Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born July 22, 1947) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, writer, comedian and director. Biography Early life Brooks was born Albert Lawrence Einstein as Marlin and Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and currently the Emmy Award-winning host of the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. as Dory, can be heard in the show. To date, Hovda has been the only cast member who got to meet the woman behind her voice. ``We went to the 'Ellen' show and met her,'' said Hovda. In fact, the show put down a floor of slippery stuff called ``glice,'' and the cast got a chance to do some of the show. Hovda, however, felt a connection to her character long before she met the voice behind it. And as woman and fish continue to bond, Hovda may have to worry about becoming too Dory-ish. ``Sometimes, I don't have as great a memory as I could,'' Hovda said. Or maybe it's the chill. Unlike fish, humans may be better staying off ice. FINDING NEMO What: Disney on Ice production of popular tale. Where: Staples Center, Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Los Angeles Sports Arena, Long Beach Arena. When: Staples Center: 7:30 tonight; 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 11:30 a.m., 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday; 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Arrowhead Pond: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 28; 1 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 and 30; noon and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 31; noon, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 1. L.A. Sports Arena: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 and 5; 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6; noon, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7 and 8. Long Beach Arena: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 and 12; 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13; noon, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14; noon and 3:30 p.m. Jan. 15; 1 p.m. Jan. 16. Tickets: $15 to $60. Information: (213) 480-3232, (714) 740-2000, www.disneyonice.com. CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) FISHING FOR ENTERTAINMENT (2 -- color) MARLIN AND DORY IN ACTION (3 -- color) NEMO AND THE TANK GANG |
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