The Disney empire is huge: they not only earn their money with animated films and theme parks, but also with Argentinian youth telenovelas. The latest one, "Soy Luna", is now on a major tour. event. editor Michel Imhof went to see the show in Rome.
My Instagram is running hot, over a hundred new people have subscribed to my profile, I get messages with content like "Where are Karol and Ruggero? In which hotel? Please tell me!" and "Do you have any more pictures?". Strange users post the pictures I've just uploaded on their own profile and write: "How beautiful they are!!!" What had happened? After meeting the main actors of the Argentinian Disney telenovela "Soy Luna" for an interview, I uploaded two pictures with the interviewees to my Instagram profile. After that, I realized how much hype there is around "Soy Luna".
After all, once you pass the age limit of 20, you hardly come into contact with the Disney success unless you have children yourself or are otherwise surrounded by children. "Soy Luna" got off to the most successful start ever for a Disney Channel series, and the main characters have several million subscribers and fans on social media.
and fans. If you don't know it, it's hard to believe.
In the series, the actors' roles seem much younger and the make-up is much more discreet.
Huge hype from South America
The series is about a girl called Luna who moves from Mexico to Argentina and tries to make friends there. But there, the adopted girl comes into contact with her past, and she also finds herself in a clinch between her best friends from Mexico and Argentina. Luna can switch off on her roller skates: Luna feels at home in the roller skating club and always receives compliments for her performances.
The hype is huge: "In South America, we can't move around as freely as we can here in Europe," 18-year-old Karol Sevilla, who plays the lead role of Luna, tells me in an interview. "Here, fans politely ask if they can take a selfie, in South America it can even happen that the whole crowd pushes us over." Crazy!
The actors have been training their roller skating talent for months
But the main actors were not thrown in at the deep end. Karol was already on stage at the age of six and took part in various musicals. His colleague and Matteo actor Ruggero Pasquarelli (24) was a contestant on the Italian casting show "X-Factor", was discovered by Disney and initially appeared in the successful Argentinian telenovela "Violetta". Nevertheless, the fame of the all-round talents is blatant: "We need security staff," they say. They already brought their acting and singing skills to the shoot, but first they all had to hone their roller-skating skills. "That was really hard. We trained five days a week for up to six hours a week for six months," says Karol. "We fell over again and again."
Now the series is on tour with a show. But what does it look like? In Rome, I found myself between child seats and confetti. Admittedly: As a 26-year-old man, I don't really belong in the target group for "Soy Luna"; without children in tow, you stand out in the crowd. The children happily wave their "Soy Luna" flags and scream at the slightest hint of the concert starting.
The show can keep up with concerts by American pop stars
Like a modern pop concert on roller skates: "Soy Luna" is a sight to behold.
I was surprised: the stage show of "Soy Luna" has almost nothing to do with the telenovela and can easily keep up with the tour shows of many pop stars. Pop music, lots of dancing, lots of glitter, pretty people, boy band sequences, girl band sequences and a few ballads round off the program. Although a few parents were spotted reading books and wearing headphones, most of the mothers knew the lyrics by heart and got carried away. Not without reason: after the ninety-minute spectacle, I was amazed at the level of the young performers on stage. Sure, it's not a singer-songwriter concert, but a well-paced show that relies on playback singing for the demanding dance scenes. You have to like that. Nevertheless, this is good entertainment, even for adults.
Soy Luna" will also be coming to Zurich in mid-March. And who knows: maybe someone will take a photo with the main actors and experience a blue wonder.
These productions came before Soy Luna
"Soy Luna" is not the first major success from Disney. Predecessors such as "High School Musical" and "Hannah Montana" produced stars who still enjoy worldwide fame today. An overview.
High School Musical (2006): The hit Disney film starring Zac Efron received two sequels and several adaptations in other countries.
Hannah Montana (2006-2011): Miley Cyrus celebrated great success with Hannah Montana. She played a girl who leads a double life and is not just a normal schoolgirl, but also a singer.
Camp Rock (2008): This movie starring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato is about a girl trying to connect with others at a summer camp. There was also a sequel here.
Violetta (2012-2015): The first Disney telenovela and therefore predecessor series to "Soy Luna" revolves around a girl who moves back to Argentina from Spain and wants to make it as a singer.
