PlayTime Theater

Review

Common Sense Media says

Puppet show app inspires creativity, storytelling skills.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Kids say

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that PlayTime Theater is a virtual puppet theater with a lot of bell-and-whistle special effects -- and a little iffy content for younger kids, including weapon props and kissing scenes. The app allows kids to create, record, and save their own cartoon shows, similar to the Toontastic app. Kids can choose their cast of characters, then move them around and speak their dialogue while the iPad records it all. Then they can watch the playback of the show they just created, and save up to 12 shows to view later.

  • Ease of use3
    Everything here is made pretty easy to use. The instructions don't explain all possible features, though, so it helps to watch the instructional YouTube video.
  • Violence2
    Kids can put weapons, like swords, clubs, or magic staffs, into the hands of the characters and then tap those characters to have them swing their weapons or blast magic from their staffs. There are dragons that can be made to breathe fire, as well as a bow that shoots arrows and a catapult that launches rocks at the castle. All of these actions are accompanied by appropriate sound effects.
  • Sex2
    Mini-scenes hide behind certain doors and windows, including one of a man and woman kissing (with sound), a man chasing a woman, and a man on a toilet pulling a flush chain.
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
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Is it any good?

 

PLAYTIME THEATER offers some fantastic innovations in creative play on the iPad. By swapping head, hats, clothes, etc., kids can customize the casts of their puppet shows, then they can go even further, by adding selected sound effects, music cues, and prop changes while the show records. It's a whole lot of fun to tap a character and see how he uses the prop in his hand. It's also amazing to slide a character toward a doorway, and watch her pop up elsewhere on the set (with her size changed for proper perspective). And all the hidden elements are fun to find (tap a waterfall and see it open to reveal a monster, witch, or fairy -- your choice; tap the sun to change day to night; tap a flagpole to have the flag raised, etc.), even if some of them are questionable for little kids.

There are a huge number of features that kids can add to their shows, including hidden scenes behind windows and doors, sound effects, changing facial expressions, and so on. The ability to use photos and place yourself into the action is an absolute winner for kids, and if the developers hold to their promise of more scenes "coming soon," the app will be even better.

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This review was written by Christopher Healy
Kid, 11 years old
May 15, 2011
AGE
2
 
hjvhjvhjb
ummm i dnt know
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Helped me decide (2) | Had useful details (5) | Read my mind (2)
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This review was written by Christopher Healy
Category:Entertainment
Platforms:iPad
Price:$2.99
Size:45.10 MB
Publisher:Make Believe Worlds, LLC.
Version:1.2
Release date:August 11, 2011
Minimum software requirements:iOS 4.2 or later
This review was written by Christopher Healy

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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