I’ve been a Michelle Trachtenberg fan since I was a little girl, so learning of her premature 2025 death devastated me as much as it did the rest of her millions of fans.
Trachtenberg was a gem of the ’90s, a spunky, charming star who dazzled audiences across dozens of releases between 1991 and 2024. She was also only 39 when she died, leaving the world — and her many fans — far too soon.
While most people know Trachtenberg best as Georgina Sparks or Dawn Summers, a rare few of we millennials grew up on a very different version of the star. We know her as Casey Carlyle, thanks to constant — and I mean constant — reruns of her 2005 teen sports dramedy, Ice Princess.
No, it’s not her best movie, and no, I’m not even saying its a good movie, but will I be watching it this week to celebrate the Trachtenberg movie that helped raise me? Why yes, yes I will. And I assume at least a few other people will be joining me, as they look to relive a moment of their lost youth, and mourn a star who once represented it.
Where to stream Ice Princess
It doesn’t have shining reviews or a stellar Rotten Tomatoes score, but Ice Princess will always hold a place in my heart. This isn’t even a movie I chose to watch on repeat — that honor goes to both Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and, for some reason, The Day After Tomorrow — but watch on repeat I did, simply because it was on. All. The. Time.
Which made me, and a few hundred other Disney Channel frequents, inadvertent but still avid fans of Trachtenberg. I haven’t seen the movie in years, and to be perfectly honest I expect it to be sub-par, at best, but I also know it will make me feel warm and fuzzy inside as only certain films can do.
If you’re looking to join me in a rewatch of Trachtenberg’s charming 2005 release — which, by the way, also stars Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, and Hayden Panettiere — it’s thankfully nice and available on streaming. So long as you’ve got a Disney Plus subscription, that is. The film that used to drench Disney Channel re-runs is now settled nice and cozy on the streaming app, where nostalgic fans can go to enjoy it.
The 2005 release follows Trachtenberg’s Casey Carlyle, an academically-minded teen who tosses out her college career for a shot at being a figure skater. She uses her smarts to develop her skills, and ultimately tests her growing talent in a major competition. Its not the most original idea, and its delivery is shaky at points, but its our unoriginal, shaky final product.
There’s just so much to love in the silly, utterly 2000s release. Trachtenberg is surprisingly good on those skates, despite never having skated before joining the film, and various cheeky references to everyone from Tonya Harding to Remember The Titans make it a time capsule of sorts. It won’t change your life, but it might make Trachtenberg’s passing a little less heartbreaking, and in these awful times we could all use a boost.
Published: Feb 26, 2025 02:52 pm