Arabian Nights

When a friend told me about a light display featuring the music from Disney's Aladdin, I knew I had to check it out.

The film has always held a special place in my heart as a beloved childhood movie.  I remember when my mom brought home the VHS tape as a special gift.  My siblings and I quickly settled in to watch it.  We were entranced by the story, music, and animation.  My mom was not as entranced.  As a very hard working single mom, she rarely took the time to relax with a movie.  After getting comfortable on the floor, she was lulled to sleep by the warm, dark room.  Part way through the movie, mom suddenly woke up and started shrieking in horror.  It wasn't the movie or a bad dream that woke her from her comfy nap.  Instead it was my hamster.  It had escaped its cage earlier in the day.  I didn't report the missing rodent in the excitement of getting to watch the movie (and because she told me that she was going to give the hamster away if it kept escaping).  She learned about the little guy's escape when it ran down her arm.

While the thought of watching anything Aladdin related might not appeal to my mom as much as it does me (it took her a really long time before she could watch the movie without shuttering), I thought a light show featuring the music would be super fun.

Just a 1 minute walk from Shiodome Station, the plaza outside the Caretta Shiodome Mall is completely decked out in lights.  A crowd had gathered and we joined everyone appreciating the scene.

Unbeknownst to me, we arrived just in time for one of their shows.  While the lights are gorgeous by themselves, the show made them come to life with twinkling and changing colors to the music.  After letting some of the bystanders into the center of the lights, the music came on and the lights danced along with it.  We were there for a special show that also had a couple Lion King songs in addition to the music from Aladdin.  Since my son is still obsessed with Lion King after seeing the Broadway version back in October, it was a welcome addition.

I'm sure the people in the center of the lights had a better view of the details, like the genie lamp, but we were more than happy to stand on the perimeter.  Since there are light towers and lights strung overhead, everyone can see the show.

For the next 15 minutes, we were entertained and entranced, much like I was by the original movie.  I want to watch it again and again.