As a kid one of my very favorite movies was The Jungle Book. I loved Baloo and Mowgli but for some reason my favorite character was Bagheera the Black Panther. I can’t quite remember why that is but Bagheera was my favorite character. Maybe because I’m just not as free wheeling as Baloo or fearless as Mowgli. I’m happy that Disney has release a Jungle Book app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad. Now I can share this story with my kids starting with Eva.

Eva and I sat down to read this story together and I was blown away by the look of the app. Instead of looking like a cartoon the app looks more like a painting come to life. I love that style that is being done with all of these classic movie apps. In addition to the app being a story it also includes a bunch of fun activities like playing bongos, doing puzzles, painting pictures, a coconut game and the Bear necessities song in a video sing along. You can also personalize the app with your child’s name and photo.

As with each book you can have the book narrated or you can record your own voice or read it by yourself without narration. There are also sound effects and music that plays as you read the story. All of it very well done.

Reading the story there is the beautiful painting look but also several pages have animation elements to them. It isn’t full video like a movie but more so like only specific characters have movement within a scene.

While I like the app overall there is something that bugs me about it and it is something that bugs me about all the Disney classic storybook apps and that is pages that have multiple frames of text. It bugs me because the transition between the lines of the story is slow and I tend to tap the arrows to early and miss parts of the story. Not every page has multiple lines of story so you have to wait to find out if the story is going to continue or not. Also, the app did crash a few times on us but will most likely be fixed with future updates.

Here is the official description of the app.

The classic tale of The Jungle Book gets a modern twist with Disney Publishing’s newest Disney Classics app – “The Jungle Book”! A new generation of Disney fans, along with parents, can experience the story of the 1967 animated film in this fresh new app combining engaging storytelling with unique interactive elements, rich illustrations, music, and other surprises. Would you be interested in testing the app first-hand?

“The Jungle Book” app, available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, tells the story of a boy named Mowgli and his jungle friends as they face the dangerous tiger Shere Khan and the unknown world of the humans. Features include: reading modes for all ages, coloring pages and interactive puzzles, memory games, “The Bare Necessities” sing-along, and much more!

Geared towards kids ages 3-7, “The Jungle Book” is available for $3.99 on the App Store.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this app to demo and review. Opinions are 100% my own.