Disney Animated
© 2013 Touch Press
Turn your iPad into a museum of animation, complete with tutorials and examples, with this innovative non-fiction app from Touch Press (makers of War Horse, The Elements, The Orchestra and others). For this app Touch Press worked with Disney to gain a rare insider's view of often hard to find examples from the Walt Disney collection, giving you a front row seat on the emergence of the animated arts -- from the hand drawn frames in Steamboat Willy in 1928, to the latest in computer graphics (CG) driven animation in Frozen, to be released Fall 2013. Keep in mind: this app is not a collection of movies, or a set of animation tools, although there are some pretty clever hands-on simulations that let you experience how animation works. This is more like a hands-on museum of the history of animation, as told from a Disney point of view. Also note that this app is a big download (over 1.7 GB in size) and that it contains links to songs and movies that are for sale in the timeline. You start by selecting one of the 11 chapters which are presented chronologically from the first screen. Each does a nice job of mixing text, still images, video clips and tutorials based on examples from 53 Disney films. Other content includes six interactive activities and a chapter from the book by former Disney animators called "The Illusion of Life" that illustrates the 12 Principles of Animation. Unlike in the print edition, many of the principles are shown using animated frames. You can also pull up different quotes from various Disney designers. There's also a timeline that tracks Disney's history, with background and previews of each movie; plus links to Disney songs for sale in iTunes. Despite this cataloging feature, it is clear that the motive of this app is to educate and not sell or overtly promote Disney products. Noteworthy features include the ability to rotate artifacts, and four animation simulations that let you: (1) animate a character in 3D; (2) play with the emotions shown on a horse; (3) make a ball appear to bounce; and (4) trace a path for magic sparkles to appear in a night scene. All are based on real animation tools. Other "don't miss" features include footage of Walt Disney voicing Mickey Mouse, and a Color Map -- a graphic that compresses all the Disney animated features into one screen in order to show how colors have changed over the years. While Disney productions are famously mass market, this app is not for everyone. If you are interested in animation or are a Walt Disney History aficionado, this app is a must download.
$9.99, iPad, (1.7 GB)
Teaches: animation, creativity, visual arts, Disney history, computer graphics
CTR Rating: 97.5%