Disney Movies Anywhere App Review

My wife messaged me earlier today and asked me a question. “Do we have a digital copy of The Incredibles?” I responded with a no, and she proceeded to tell me about a newish app from Disney that will give us a digital copy of The Incredibles just for downloading and connecting the app to my iTunes account called Disney Movies Anywhere. I got really excited because The Incredibles is one of J’s favorite movies.

I downloaded the app and tried to log into my Disney Movie Rewards account. The login failed multiple times. I tried to login in on my computer with the same username/password combo and was logged in, so I tried on the app again and the app said my account was locked because of too many login attempts. When J decided he wanted to play with me, I put the phone down for a bit and thought I would try again after J went down for a nap. About 3 hours later, J fell asleep so I grabbed my phone and tried to login to the app yet again. After yet another round of failed login attempts, I decided to use my business email to create a new account. Finally after creating a new account I was able to log in and check the app out.

Once logged in, you are taken to what is basically the Disney iTunes Store page. The menu has 5 selections that you can choose from. The first one is Featured. On this page you see the new releases, and top choices for Disney/Pixar/Marvel films. The next selection is Films. This page let’s you browse the films with more specific categories. The third selection is My Collection. This is basically iCloud for you Disney movies. On this page you can see any Disney movie that you have the digital copy of in your iTunes account or any that you have purchased via the app. The next selection is pretty cool, it is called Discover. On this page you can see exclusive clips/behind the scenes looks at some of the new releases. The last selection is … (or more). This page is where you find the settings tab, a tab to claim Disney Rewards from your Blu-ray/DVD purchases, and a tab that shows you Disney’s apps from the iTunes App Store. And there you have it, everything the Disney Movies Anywhere app has to offer in one paragraph.

In all honesty I am not super impressed with the app. After only an hour of using the app, I have already had to update the app and still got an error message that automatically shuts down the app. Everything you can do in the app you can do via iCloud or the iTunes Store. It doesn’t look like you get any kind of discount for purchasing the digital copy through the app. It does however look like you get the same special features from the Blu-ray/DVD when you purchase through the app, but to be honest J would be the only one watching movies on this app and he really doesn’t care about the special features.

I will keep this app on my phone because it looks promising and I got The Incredibles for free, but I will still be purchasing the Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy of my Disney/Pixar/Marvel films. I would suggest waiting until the bugs are worked out before downloading.

***UPDATE***
After a little over a week of use, the app has lived up to the hype. J has played at least one of our Disney/Pixar/Marvel movies once a day since the download and he loves every second of it.

J’s First Comic

On Friday J and I went to our local comic shop (for those in the SLC area it was Black Cat Comics in the Sugarhouse neighborhood). I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what kinds of comics to get J’s collection started. We’ve read the “children’s comic books” from the library but the artwork and story lines in those books are a little too advanced for him. Don’t get me wrong, he loves seeing his favorite characters fight the villains, but like I said, it’s a little advanced for him.

While at the shop, we came across the series Superman Family Adventures by Art Baltazar and Franco. The story lines and illustrations are fun and exciting yet simple enough that J can follow and enjoy. J really enjoyed the brightness and cartoony feel that Baltazar and Franco books have. The story follows the adventures of Superman and his cousins Kon-El and Kara-El, and the super pet. There are also cameos from other DC favorites, both heroes and villains. I really enjoyed reading with J and I can’t wait until our next reading time so we can see what happens next. If you are looking for a book to start your young ones off with, I would highly recommend Superman Family Adventures, or the other Baltazar/Franco series Tiny Titans.

Flappy…Bert?

In the same week that Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen yanked his highly successful smartphone game from app stores world wide, the wonderful people at Sesame Workshop have released their version of the game with their new title Flappy Bert on their Sesame Workshop site.

In this flash game you play as Bert’s pet pigeon Bernice. Your goal is to guide Bert through a maze of columns by clicking the mouse. If you run into a column you will hear Bert, in a somewhat disappointed tone, say the name of his long time friend/roommate Ernie. So I guess that means that in this game you are actually Ernie, who is controlling Bernice, who is guiding Bert through the maze.

Give the game a try and share your thoughts. You can find additional fun and educational at SesameStreet.org

LEGO Movie Review

Today we had a family outing to the movies to see The LEGO Movie. Let’s be honest here. Not a lot of people read this blog, but I am going to give you my thoughts about The LEGO Movie anyway.

First, WHY HAVEN’T YOU SEEN THIS MOVIE YET!!!!! I mean unless by chance this blog post reaches the UK, then your excuse is valid because I don’t think it opens in cinemas until February 14. The LEGO Movie has a solid cast, a funny script, and amazing animation. There is really no reason not to see this movie, I mean unless you hate LEGOs.

Second LEGO DC Heroes, and other epic LEGO cameos. What’s not to love about LEGO cameos? The only thing I was disappointed with was that there were no LEGO Marvel characters, which should’ve been expected since it’s a Warner Bros. Animation movie.

Basically this is a movie that everyone should watch (more than once) and probably purchase when it comes out. I think that this clip shows how I feel about this film.

SEE IT!!!