There are dozens of apps out there for making everything from simple cartoons to professional animation, with price tags ranging from free to, well, not, ahem, free. In this post, I'm going to focus on free apps that are easy enough for children ages 6 and up to use, but offer enough of a fun factor for older kids (and parents) to enjoy and that require little or no drawing skill.
Toontastic by Launchpad Toys. FREE app. Additional character sets $0.99 to $1.99.
All Access for $9.99.
This was my first find, and it remains my favorite. Toontastic works like a puppet show. Pick your background and characters, place them in the scene and record. You can move the puppets around and record your voice. The app lets you resize the individual characters, change their colors and move specific limbs, if you like. You can even draw your own backgrounds and characters if you prefer, using the simple paint program provided. Once you've recorded a scene you can add background music as well. String together as many 1-minute scenes as you like to create your movie.
The app comes with a several backgrounds, characters and props from several different themes that you can mix and match. You can add additional sets for between $0.99 and $1.99. There are presently over 30 sets, each with a background and selection of 2-3 characters and assorted props. Themes include fairy tales, pirates, historical figures, space and rock and roll. For $9.99 you get complete access to all current and future sets.
So why is this app my favorite? It hits a nice balance between being simple enough for my 8-year-old to use it completely independently, while offering enough customization for older users. I also LOVE that when you go to create your video, it explains the basic parts of a story and helps the user lay out a story arc. This is great for children as an educational tool. (Toontastic has a free guide for parents and educators interested in use the app for lesson planning.) Lastly, as a parent, I get notification when my child wants to publish a video to the product's ToonTube, and let's me approve it. Since my kids are still young, I appreciate knowing what they're creating and sharing. That said, uploading to the website was very easy to do, and the notification email provides a simple link to share with family and friends.
On the downside, I will say that sometimes the movement of characters "jams" while recording, and it can be difficult to move arms and legs. I also had trouble orienting the characters to match the backgrounds, and getting the characters to turn as I wanted. There is certainly a learning curve to get the best out of the product, but my kids didn't seem to mind that their cartoons weren't "perfect." And, honestly, neither did I. Toontastic was a win for function and price.
Puppet Pals HD by Polished Play, LLC.
FREE app. Additional character packs $0.99, or Director's Pass for $2.99.
Puppet pals is similar to the above Toontastic, but is definitely meant for an older audience, as it includes political characters and talk show hosts as characters, and the graphics are more gritty and mature. Like Tonntastic, you pick your background (all photographic), add your characters and then record to animate and add voiceovers. Rather than recording short scenes and putting them together, Puppet Pals allows for one long shoot. The app exports to the Camera Roll on the iPad, and from there you can upload it to various online locations, like YouTube.
I did like that it was easier to flip the characters in Puppet Pals, using a simple double tap. And the motion was smoother than in Toontastic. You could also resize characters, and even leave them off the background, pulling them in and taking them off at will. But you couldn't move the limbs or the characters, or change them in any way. You can't add music later within the app, which is a bit of a bummer. You also only have access to one pack of characters, the Fairy Tale pack, with the free app, so there isn't much variety.
Puppet Pals does have one advantage over Toontastic: you can take your own pictures, using the iPad camera, to use as backgrounds. You can even take pictures of people, pets, etc. and use them as characters. (The app allows you to cut our character out from the background.) However, you can only use those features if you pay $2.99 for the Director's Pass version of the program. I could see that as being a really fun feature, and the price point isn't very high.
The pass also gives you access to all the additional character packs, both present and future. Packs, individually available for $0.99 each, include 5 to 7 characters and a background. Themes include monsters, pirates, political and pop-culture, zombie and wild west. Though Puppet Pals is available for free, the Director's Pass holds the majority of the fun.
FREE app. Additional content from $0.99 to $4.99.
This app is the simplest of the bunch. With Sock Puppet, you set up your background, pick you puppets, pick your props and scenery, then hit record. You tap on the puppet you want to speak for and when you talk, the app automatically lip-syncs the puppet to your words. Very cool! You can record up to 30 seconds, then the app "scrubs" your voice to make it more cartoon-like. Both photorealistic and animated elements are included, though only some props can be moved during recording. You can resize your puppets too.
The app comes with 6 puppets and 7 backgrounds. In the store, you can buy additional puppets for $1.99. You can also buy upgrades like additional recording time ($0.99 for 90 seconds) or the ability to import your own background ($0.99). Halloween and Alien packs with additional characters, backgrounds, props and scenery are $0.99 each. A VIP Content Pass is $4.99 and inludes all available content and provides as new releases for free.
Of those I cover, this app would be the easiest and most amusing for a younger child. All you need to do is make sure you're speaking into the mic. It also disguises your voice very well, so you don't need to worry about sounding too different for each character. The app takes care of that. It's pretty easy to upload online as well, directly to YouTube or Facebook. Sock Puppets is the quickest to learn and provides immediate gratification.
I may be no artist, but even I had a lot of fun making my own short cartoons. With these free apps you can let your child's imagine fly. And all of them would be excellent for teaching basic storytelling as well. Have fun!
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