Mickey's Magical Arts World
Immersive and fun art world is pay as you go.
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Mickey's Magical Arts World
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Mickey's Magical Arts World is part of the Imagicademy, which offers parents and young kids a suite of products, tips, and ideas for encouraging imagination and learning. Parents can create accounts for themselves and their kids to receive Pinterest-style daily inspirational thoughts, on and offline activity ideas, and updates on kids' accomplishments. They also can set controls such as time limits for individual kids and more. In the app, kids interact with classic Disney characters as they experiment with a variety of artistic techniques including visual arts and music. Both kids and parents can use the app and many of the Imagicademy resources without signing up or purchasing anything. However, the free trial options within the app are limited. Parents can add options one by one or in bundles, but because the sheer volume of content might be overwhelming for some kids, it might be best to buy one at a time. Sometimes relatively long load times and occasional issues with the audio track may frustrate some kids.
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What’s It About?
Kids explore aspects of visual art, theater, music, and design/materials as they build their own virtual worlds with classic Disney characters in MICKEY'S MAGICAL ARTS WORLD. Five areas target different artistic genres: music; textures and materials; sketching and drawing; architectural design; and theater production. There are multiple ways to explore each area, such as costume design and storytelling in theater or rhythm, tempo, pattern, and melody in music. Each area has a limited number of free trial options; the rest can be unlocked through in-app purchases.
Is It Any Good?
Mickey's Magical Arts World has a wonderful variety of creative outlets, such as the ability to record music with varying tempos, to free-sketch, to learn how to make simple line drawings, and to experiment (virtually) with textures and materials. The costume play stands out in particular. Kids choose a character, dress it, give it a silly hairstyle, set it on a stage, and watch it perform in a short animation. Creations continue to wander around the art world with the other Disney icons, empowering kids to take an active role in creating this magical virtual world. Take advantage of the great inspirational ideas for both on- and offscreen activities and experiments. Watch out, though, for pretty consistent pushes to purchase more art options; parents can easily get roped in to spending $20 or more on what originally was a free app. Whether or not you love Disney characters, this app offers a lot of artistic opportunities.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what kids make. A parent can say, "Tell me about what you're making" so the kid doesn't feel the need to make a recognizable object.
Read the inspirational posts and activity ideas. Try the suggested activities.
Have kids experiment with real-life versions of their digital explorations: Bring out musical instruments, dress-up clothes, and art supplies. Ask them how digital experiences are different from real-life ones.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Subjects: Arts: drawing, music, painting, rhythm
- Skills: Creativity: imagination, making new creations, Tech Skills: digital creation
- Pricing structure: Free to try (The app itself is free and includes limited access. Additional options are available as in-app purchases.)
- Release date: March 2, 2015
- Category: Education
- Topics: Arts and Dance, Music and Sing-Along
- Publisher: Disney
- Version: 1.0.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.0 or later
- Last updated: July 29, 2016
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