The popular children’s cartoon The Smurfs has been adapted for the big screen in the 3D flick The Smurfs Movie, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Hank Azaria. Now showing on iPhone and iPad, in advance of the film’s July 29 debut, is the companion iOS application — The Smurfs Movie Storybook.
The application, developed by mobile children’s book application publisher iStoryTime, is targeted at junior Smurfs fans and follows the storyline of the upcoming feature film.
The $2.99 storybook for iOS, released Tuesday, features images from the film and celebrity character voiceovers. It offers young readers narrated read-alongs with manual flip or auto-play options, and includes a “Spot-The-Mistakes” game.
Movie companion applications are becoming must-offer appetizers and desserts by an entertainment industry hungry to drive audiences to theaters. The Smurfs Movie already has its own Farmville-knockoff in the “The Smurfs Village” game for iOS, and app maker iStoryTime has a long-standing relationship with Sony Pictures to create storybook applications for select films.
iStoryTime is also the publishing platform behind the Kung Fu Panda 2, The Penguins of Madagascar, Shrek Forever After and Transformers Mix & Match storybook applications.
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