Frozen Turns Your iPad Upside Down

Disney’s Frozen will be released later this month, but thanks to the charming new interactive storybook app released today, you and your kids can get to know Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff before settling into the theater seats. The Frozen: Storybook Deluxe app not only tells the tale of their icy adventures, but includes a novel feature: Turning your iPad or iPhone upside down during the story switches between Anna’s point of view and Elsa’s. With inviting original music, clips from the film, puzzles and activities, and, of course, the story, Frozen: Storybook Deluxe is a fantastic companion to Disney’s next enchanting adventure.

Like most book adaptations of films, it goes without saying that if you don’t want to be spoiled on the story, you should avoid downloading Frozen from the App Store until you’ve seen the movie. This is the third tie-in app Disney has released prior to the film’s theatrical debut, and while I needlessly worried about my four-year-old being somehow upset about “spoilers,” I appreciated knowing what potentially scary moments we can expect during the film. It also gave my daughter the chance to be acquainted with Anna, Elsa, and the other characters at her own pace.

The tale of Anna and Elsa is told by both sisters in the interactive story with the unique feature of turning the iPad upside down when prompted. While it did take a few attempts before my four-year-old got the hang of it to keep the story flowing, the novelty of turning the iPad kept her engaged in the full-length story.

There are also hidden animations on the pages and some clips from the movie interspersed throughout the tale. The activities, however, kept my daughter engrossed the longest. Not only are there opportunities to flex your own icy powers with drawing activities, the puzzles are not the mindless piecing together of a picture that you normally find in kids’ apps. The ice puzzles are more challenging and forced my daughter to actually stop and think before continuing with the story.

Disney’s Frozen app includes word-by-word highlighting with top-notch, clear narration, which is a feature I always appreciate in storybook apps for my budding reader. The app also includes the option to record your own narration; I’ll have to resist the urge to record myself belting out “Let It Go” when I think no one is around.

Frozen: Storybook Deluxe is available today for the iPhone and iPad in the App Store for $6.99. The film comes to U.S. theaters on November 27, 2013.

GeekMom received a promotional copy for review purposes.