Adrian F.
Yelp
Cirque du Soleil: Drawn to Life is more than a show--it's Disney animation literally leaping off the sketchpad and onto the stage. It's Cirque's artistry fused with Disney's storytelling DNA, and the result is a love letter to both the art of animation and the dreamers who bring it to life.
A little history first: Cirque du Soleil and Disney have been partners at this very venue since 1998, when La Nouba opened at the custom-built white tent theater in Downtown Disney. For nearly 20 years, La Nouba was the must-see show in Orlando outside the parks--until its final bow in December 2017. After a few quiet years (and pandemic delays), the space was reborn in 2021 with Drawn to Life, a collaboration between Cirque, Disney Imagineering, and Disney Animation Studios.
The story follows a young girl named Julie who discovers an unfinished animation left behind by her late father. With the help of whimsical characters and Cirque's jaw-dropping acrobatics, she dives into her father's sketchbook, where the lines on the page explode into movement, color, and imagination.
The show is packed with Disney Easter eggs--classic characters appear in clever ways, from Mickey Mouse's iconic silhouette to hand-drawn sketches projected into larger-than-life scenes. But this isn't a "Disney on Ice" style character parade--it's Cirque at its best: aerial silks, trampolines, juggling, tumbling, and set pieces that transform the stage into an animator's desk come alive.
Highlights include:
* The pencil act, where acrobats flip and balance on giant pencils like they're writing gravity-defying stories in mid-air.
* The trampoline sequence, set inside an animator's workspace, where performers bounce off giant pages as though sketching new worlds.
* The aerial silks duet, a soaring, emotional piece that captures the spirit of creation and memory.
The score, co-composed with Disney, weaves in hints of familiar melodies without ever turning into a "greatest hits" soundtrack--it's subtle, moving, and cinematic.
What makes Drawn to Life special is that it's not just spectacle; it's heartfelt. It reminds you that every Disney story started with a single line on paper, and that behind every character there was an animator pouring heart into pencil strokes. It's about legacy, creativity, and the magic of imagination--themes both Disney and Cirque have built empires on.
For anyone who loved La Nouba, this is a worthy successor: a reinvention that honors the past while sketching something entirely new. Drawn to Life is Disney Springs' crown jewel of nighttime entertainment, and one of the few shows that will make both kids and adults sit in stunned silence before erupting into applause.
A must-see, whether you're a Cirque fan, a Disney fan, or just someone who believes in the power of stories drawn by hand and lifted by the human spirit.