Frozen: Storybook Deluxe App Review – Ice Is Nice

Aside from throwing out big box office numbers, Disney’s newest animated feature film ‘Frozen’ has also been hailed as a step in the right direction for Disney. Past portrayals of their female characters has left critics with a lot to say about gender roles in children’s animated films.   As parents, though, we know that what’s more important to our kiddos than actually seeing a new Disney movie is getting the “stuff”.

We’ve reviewed several Disney Storybook Deluxe apps (aka “stuff”) with the release of recent movies.  Frozen: Storybook Deluxe is the newest addition to the lineup and follows the same general format as the others.  There are two sections, Read and Play, and each features elements from the original film.

When players choose Read, they are taken to a storybook version of the film, and the words are read aloud (either by a self-recorded voice or a narrator) while simultaneously highlighted.  Animations and video clips from the movie can be expanded, and some pages feature interactive elements.  What’s cool about the storybook is that the iPad can be flipped over to see the story from either Anna’s or Elsa’s point of view.

Choosing Play brings kiddos to puzzles, drawing pages, or lets them build their own snowglobe.  The drawing page is cool – actual designs from ice can be swirled around the page, mimicking Elsa’s frosty magic.  That said, this section is really limited to what players can created.  Yeah, it fits with the overall theme of the movie, but it gets a little monotonous without having the color palette of a traditional drawing page.

Visually, the app is stunning.  Animations and videos are straight out of the movie and evoke quite the sense of being, well, frozen.  Content-wise this deluxe app falls short, especially when you consider the download price of $6.99.  It would be, however, a great supplemental reading app for the little ones who just HAVE to have all of the “stuff” that comes with watching ‘Frozen’.

Pros: