When Disney first introduced Imagicademy, I was a little sad. Having an 8 year old, I felt the products and games were geared towards preschool children. The games, mostly apps in the beginning, were so adorable! One day while shopping at Target, I noticed products from Imagicademy. Some of these appeared to also be geared towards the preschool-kindergarten age range, so I did not pay too much attention. When I was asked to review the Disney Imagicademy Storymation Studio Stop Motion Movie Kit by Wonder Forge, I was excited for the concept, but thrown off by the age range suggested (3 and up). How could a kit that was suggested for a 3 year old entertain my 8 year old? NDK thought it looked like fun, and since we homeschool, I was happy to introduce a new experience.
Let me tell you, I am SO glad we reviewed this product.
When it arrived, we immediately opened it to see what was inside. I could not believe the amount of props that were included. There were so many characters – and from all sorts of movies. It wasn’t just the new, “hot” characters. (Peter Pan characters were included!) The variety was wonderful. The backdrops and stage areas are very colorful and can enable many different playtime scenarios. Six tubs of clay are included, as well as a tray full of molds so your child can make even more props. Imagination has no limits with this kit.
I was even more impressed that NDK took the kit and figured it all out all by herself. She was so excited to make her own movie. She played around with the characters, making up her own stories. She loved this so much that she got herself a notebook so she can keep track of other story ideas and make more movies. She is also looking to use other small Disney toys as props for more movies.
The Disney Imagicademy Storymation Studio Stop Motion Movie Kit is definitely age appropriate for 3 and up, although I am not sure how well it would hold the attention of a 3 year old. I think any school age child would enjoy this kit. It is a great quiet activity that will hold a child’s interest that is completely powered on imagination. The best part of this kit is there are no batteries required.
NDK was so happy with this kit that she could not stop telling me about it. This is, by far, the longest review she has ever written! By the way, be sure to watch her movie at the end, Mouse Ballet Trouble.
The Disney Imagicademy Storymation Studio Stop Motion Movie Kit can be found at Target for $29.99! (not an affiliate link) This would make a great holiday gift for any child!
The NDK Review:
I thought this was really cool. You can figure out how to make movies with pictures. You can’t use voices, but there is music that you can add in. You can also add weather effects and bubbles!
The storage case is also your studio. The case comes apart in two pieces. The red cover is molds for the clay and the white piece of the case is the studio! There is a stand for your device, you can use an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. I used an iPad. There is a stand that you can build to hold your device to shoot your movie. It was easy to build. You can adjust it to whatever height you want.
There are figures that are made of cardboard along with bendable Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse! The are figures from LOTS of Disney movies! Some of them are from Peter Pan, Frozen, Monsters Inc., Little Mermaid, Big Hero 6 and Toy Story. There are so many! To be exact, there are 36 paperboard characters, 2 posable Disney characters, 18 molds, 8 backdrops and stages and 6 tubs of clay!
The stages and the backgrounds are great. When you look at them through your device, it really looks like your characters are on a real scene in a Disney studio. I like that they used both sides of the paper. They didn’t waste paper and different stages and backdrops are right there. I do think you can use more than one background in a movie, but I haven’t done that yet.
The directions to make a movie are really easy. There is a help button on the screen if you need it. There is a movie that you can watch that will show you how to make a movie. They also show you how to use all of the pieces. A neat trick is when you are ready to take a picture, all you have to do is clap your hands! It’s faster and keeps the camera from moving.
This is really easy to do by yourself. You can also make a movie with friends and family. I had a great time doing it by myself and then showing it to my mom. I felt proud because I made my own fun movie all by myself!
I am looking forward to making a movie with more than one background and using the clay props. I have Disney princess figures that I think I can use along with this set. I think that they made this to show kids how they make stop motion movies and to show how fun their job is and to inspire kids. Did you know that The Nightmare Before Christmas was a stop motion movie?
I think that everyone will enjoy this. It was a lot of fun to do and I really liked the fact I could do this all by myself. I hope you like my movie!
Disclosure: We received the Disney Imagicademy Storymation Studio Stop Motion Movie Kit from Wonder Forge in exchange for a review. All opinions are our own. There are no affiliate links posted here. Links are provided completely out of convenience.
A Disney blooded, crafty, fun-lovin’ wife/mom/organizer/planner, etc who is obsessed with all things Disney 🙂 Maria grew up with the Magic Kingdom and has loved watching WDW evolve into what it is today. A firm believer in the Power of Pixie Dust, she is the owner of The Disney Driven Life – A Community for Neurotic Disney People & a d.i.y. crafty blog, Carousel of Projects – create~inspire~share.
