Parents, be prepared to get a song based on three little words stuck in your head – again. Disney On Ice presents Frozen is coming to Newcastle in June.
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Let It Go is the song that, well, refuses to let go. And Frozen is well and truly on track to becoming one of the most popular and enduring Disney movies of all time.
Just ask television presenter and former Saturday Disney host Shelley Craft, co-host of reality series The Block and Reno Rumble and now official ambassador for the next ice-skating extravaganza to hit our shores, Disney On Ice presents Frozen.
Craft has two young daughters and reckons she knows every word to Let It Go – and perhaps even the movie itself, which she says she has watched too many times to count.
“There’s not that much that can get my girls excited but when you’re talking Frozen and Disney on Ice, it’s a different story altogether. Since I became the official ambassador I have become ‘cool mum’,” she tells Weekender with a laugh.
“To be back in the Disney fold after a few years away doing other grown-up things is lovely.
“A lot of people that I used to know when I was working on Saturday Disney are still involved with Disney On Ice and it’s been nice to make those connections again.
“And look, you can lose yourself in the magic of a Disney On Ice show. You’re never too old for Disney, I say.”
The internationally acclaimed show features world-class ice-skating and breathtaking special effects. Hosted by Mickey and Minnie, Disney On Ice presents Frozen will thrill audiences with the full story of Frozen, starring the beloved Anna, Elsa and Olaf as well as never-before-seen characters including the Trolls and Marshmallow.
The movie’s strong female lead characters appeal to Craft. This isn’t an old-school Disney film where the princess is just there to look pretty and be saved by a heroic prince.
“If Disney had released a movie 20 years ago about two sisters with girl power, it might not have been so well received,” Craft explains.
“But these days, it is a real coming-of-age story, I think, for all of our children but for our girls particularly. They are allowed to be the hero of the story and they don’t have to be rescued by a prince.
“The story has some lovely messages that are so relevant today.”
Craft has another busy year ahead, juggling family with ratings winner The Block, but wouldn’t have it any other way.
“In past years with The Block, after the auction we’ve rolled straight on with another production, whether it was the next series of The Block or Reno Rumble, which ran over the Christmas break, but this year we’ve had a lovely production break and now everyone is just chomping at the bit to get back into The Block,” she says.
“And you’d be aware, living in the Newcastle area, that we always have very strong contenders from that part of the world.
“Hopefully with the audition process we’re going through now we’ll have some goodies from Newcastle again.
“Kyal and Kara [Demmrich] are mates of mine, and Brad and Lara [Cranfield] are some of my best friends now. You produce some good people in Newcastle as well as good renovators.”
In fact, Craft can’t speak highly enough of Brad and Lara, who won The Block in 2012 and bought the Maryville Tavern in 2014.
“Lara just ran a 30-kilometre race in New Zealand and their little boy Harry has just turned one. I mean, come on,” she says, laughing again.
“She’s such a humble woman and a delight to be around – except when she’s in power mode and then it’s like ‘stand back, get out of the way’.”
Craft won’t be pulling on the ice skates any time soon, she says, and admits to being a “failure” when it comes to braiding her daughters’ hair to look like Anna or Elsa.
“But I did a radio interview the other day and they asked me to listen to some Frozen songs and finish the line and I am proud and a little embarrassed to say that I nailed every one.”