When I was a kid, the most interactive a Disney storybook could be was if it was a read-along book. Whether it was on record, cassette tape, or CD, the extent of your experience was the artwork on the page and whoever was narrating the story. Music was often used to enhance the experience, both as score and as songs from the film, or as a cue that it was time to turn the page. If you also wanted games, you had to purchase a separate activity book, board game, or console game based on the film… if they existed.
Enter the 21st century, where children’s books are frequently released as interactive apps. Disney started making interactive storybook apps in 2012. Disney’s latest effort, Frozen: Storybook Deluxe, debuted on January 13th, 2014. Opening the app shows a snowflake version of the Disney Story Book logo followed by a moving image of Anna and Elsa in the snowy woods. You are presented with two options – Read or Play.
Selecting “Read” starts the story, which is automatically narrated by a pleasant sounding woman. Text highlights as each word is spoken to help kids follow along, also serving as a learn-to-read aid. Several times throughout the story, artwork is replaced by a video from the film. The story is told from Anna’s side, but several times you have the option of flipping over your iPhone or iPad to see Elsa’s side.
Games within the story include creating snowflakes, ice blasts, ice palaces, solving ice puzzles, and a virtual snow globe. The painting features are actually quite addicting. Here is my ice palace. Does it bear any resemblance to a castle you may have seen before?
Like any app, I did encounter a few glitches during my experience. One time after a video finished and I swiped the page, the narration didn’t start. Pressing play didn’t make anything happen. I had to flip to the next page and flip back to resume the audio. One video also stopped playing mid-through. While this is forgivable for adults who know how to navigate around these issues, kids might not understand why their “magic book” isn’t working right.
Frozen: Storybook Deluxe is a fun update to the read-along books I grew up with. I loved the creative choice to tell the story from the point of view of both Anna and Elsa. Flipping your device over to switch characters is brilliant. It’s a shame it doesn’t include any of the songs from the film, but I’m assuming the audience this was intended for would also own the soundtrack, probably loaded onto the same device, so the exclusion of songs may not add much value to consumers. The creative painting apps are similar to a component of the Disney Animated app, where you can make Elsa’s ice blasts with your fingertips. While the core market is kids, there’s enough in this app to at least provide some fun for adults too.
The Frozen: Storybook Deluxe app is now available in the app store.