Frozen in app land
Are Disney’s branded apps appropriate for your kids?
In conjunction with the release of their blockbuster film, Frozen, Disney released two branded apps: the Frozen storybook deluxe and Free Fall. The deluxe storybook app brings the movie to life as a book in which the story is told from the two perspectives of Elsa and Anna. It also features puzzles and drawing games. Sorry, no music. Free Fall is Disney’s Candy Crush clone, and as such is an addictive matching game that increases in difficulty as you move through levels.
When thinking about which would be appropriate for your children, first consider the purpose of each. Free Fall is a game. Players slide colored gems to line up sequences in columns or rows, and gain points and/or power ups for the characters. The storybook is a book with games. Users can read or listen to the story, which is interspersed with interactive animations and sequences from the movie, and follow portals to the puzzles and games. This basic difference should enable you to begin the decision-making process depending upon how old your kids are, and your personal child-raising philosophy.
Beyond the main purposes of the apps, here are some other things to think about…
The Frozen story has a wonderful message that true love doesn’t have to be the story tale version of a man saving a woman, true love can come from anywhere at all, and it is healing. This is fully promoted within the storybook, since it stays so true to the movie from which it is derived. However, the Free Fall app doesn’t promote this at all. It is just a game.
Additionally, Free Fall contains social media links, in-app purchases that cost from $0.99-2.99, push notifications, and advertising. These are not found within the storybook. So, for those of you concerned about privacy and controlling what your kids are exposed to, Free Fall would definitely pose more of a problem in that regard.
Potential benefits from playing Free Fall on cognitive development are the promotion of matching, pattern recognition, and quick eye-hand responses. However, the random delivery of gems to the game and increasing difficulty make Free Fall a game that will be prone to addictive behavior, which is not recommended for a small child.
Storybook is fairly expensive, and will probably only be interesting to an older child for a short time due to the limited scope of game play and interaction. Also, it is HUGE! At 800 MB it takes up quite a bit of room on a drive, so you might find yourself choosing between movies and apps just to put it on your device. On the positive side, Storybook may help your child develop cognitive skills related to matching, creativity, reading, and emotional intelligence.
Both apps easily allow adult interaction, but parents might find themselves playing Free Fall without their kids.
Watch this video to find out what grade Smart App Moms gave the apps:
