Disney returns to Everett ice this week

Disney on Ice returns to the Everett Events Center this week, this time with its production of “Finding Nemo.”

A production of Disney on Ice at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, with additional performances at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4; 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5; and 1 and 5 p.m. Nov. 6, at Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett. Tickets $15 to $60 at the box office or by calling 866-EEC-TIXX or online at www.everetteventscenter.com.

The show opens Wednesday, with nine performances running through Nov. 6.

The story, as fans of the movie know, involves curious clownfish Nemo, his overprotective father, Marlin, and their absent-minded yet lovable pal Dory.

Audiences will be submerged underwater on a comical adventure as Marlin and Dory mount a daring search of the big blue to find Nemo.

The animated world down under comes to life for audiences in a brilliant rainbow of color, set to an energetic musical score. Gliding smoothly across the ice, skaters costumed in many forms of ocean life emulate the natural flow of fish through water. A digital projection screen combines with aquatic lighting to create the depth and vastness of the ocean.

“In this show, we create a living sea on the ice in such a way that audiences will feel as if they are actually underwater,” producer Ken Feld said. “We combine digital projection, choreography and the most unbelievable costumes ever seen, and the result is a visual masterpiece that will truly transform the ice surface and take audiences through the ocean and into the aquarium.”

Under the direction of Emmy and Tony Award-winning talent, the lighting, digital projection and set design for “Finding Nemo” fuse to transform the ice arena to the amazing depths of the underwater world. During Marlin and Dory’s search, a large rear digital projection screen displays actual three-dimensional stills from the movie, such as swaying plants and coral, to extend the ocean far beyond what’s on the ice.

In the aquarium, the screen is used to offer the perspective of the captive fish, the Tank Gang. The dentist and his niece Darla appear larger than life on the screen as if they are looking into the aquarium.

Costume design for the show was a challenge. But incorporating “just about every bright color in the rainbow,” costume designer Scott Lane immerses the audience underneath the Great Barrier Reef. Integrating the human skater into the costume, Lane developed a way to portray each character while also incorporating the skater’s face to allow for more physical flexibility and range of emotion.