Disney’s ‘Brave’ storybook, comic apps loaded with cool features

Two new apps from Disney Publishing have a lot of fun to offer kids who enjoyed seeing the new Disney-Pixar animated movie “Brave.” They allow readers of all ages to relive the story and to become part of the experience with interactive features.

“Brave: Storybook Deluxe” stays true to the story of Merida, a Scottish lass who is determined to choose her life’s journey, rather than accept her fate as a traditional princess. On this app, even the narrator has a Scottish accent, which was a great touch. And as a parent, I appreciated that each word is highlighted in red as he reads, mimicking the finger-tracking strategy taught to young readers. My almost-8-year-old daughter really liked the feature that allowed her to record her own voice reading the story and then play it back.

The story is chock-full of interactive icons, such as a bear claw that scratches the page with sound when it is clicked, a needle and thread that sew a tear on the page describing mending the tapestry, and even a Will-o’-the-Wisp floats at the bottom of one page.

In addition, the story links to the six coloring pages and puzzles when they relate to particular scenes. These extra features allow users to tap colors and then apply them to outlines of characters, in the same way the coloring pages operate on the Tangled app with Rapunzel. Users also can break a page into a puzzle and put it back together again.

Kids can choose from two games on this “Brave” app. In Merida’s Challenge, they help the spirited princess shoot her bow and arrow while she is riding Angus, her horse. My daughter liked this game, which seemed easy enough for even the youngest reader. In Archer’s Quest, readers go on a scavenger hunt through the story, searching for three separate bundles of arrows.

“Brave: Storybook Deluxe” is $6.99 and is available on iTunes for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

“Brave Interactive Comic” is a more advanced interactive graphic novel for kids ages 7 to 12. In the comic, each cell has some animation, plus music and sound. In addition, there are links to the concept art that inspired the movie. There is no narration option, however, which is a sure sign this is for older kids.

Probably the coolest feature on this app is the How-to-draw feature. There is a step-by-step course for users to actually draw Merida, Elinor, the triplets and Mor’Du on the screen. A line or two will appear and then the user copies it. The original (in blue) disappears and another guide appears. Young artists can use the magnifying glass to focus in on details of the drawing, and at the end, they can take a photo and save it.

I was surprised that my almost-10-year-old son who loves the Walt Disney World learn-to-draw books was not as fond of the same activity on his iPod. He said he found it difficult to maneuver, and he was frustrated when it didn’t cooperate. Perhaps, he just needs more practice.

“Brave Interactive Comic” is $1.99 and available on iTunes for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Can’t get enough of “Brave”? I’ve written about the Merida play-and-greet at Magic Kingdom and Brave: The Highland Games Tournament at Epcot. Deb reviews the movie, too.