Roast chicken sandwiches, hot chocolate and A Charlie Brown Christmas
Last updated: 19/12/2012 14:45
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I make no secret of the fact that we at Madden Mansions got off quite lightly during the snow and ice last winter. Friends and family made it home for Christmas, we didn't slip and break anything, we only missed one day of work and crèche due to weather (and that was while staying with Mrs. M's parents) and were only snow-bound at home once. Even then, it was a really nice day – we had roast chicken sandwiches and hot chocolate, and we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas.
It's probably a little too late to get the DVDs this side of Christmas (although they're well worth having), but if you have an iPad or an Android based tablet, you can now enjoy Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and of course Snoopy as well as all their friends in the form of a new app.
A Charlie Brown Christmas takes the form of a digital pop-up book and is, quite honestly, gorgeous. The creators have done their best to pump up the nostalgia factor as much as possible – the opening screen is of an old-fashioned record player and a hardback book, the music and voices throughout have that slight crackle of an old recording to them, and the paper textures and cut-out shapes of all the illustrations make it as close to looking and feeling like a book as an iPad app can. All the voices are from the original cartoons, and the story itself is read by a more grown up Peter Robbins, who was the original voice of Charlie Brown.
I had – and still have - a lot of fun with the app, too. You can interact with almost everything in the app, getting little extra snippets of dialogue and music, or funny little animations and even mini-games where you can practice your snowball throwing or play Vince Guaraldi's classic piece of music from the cartoons, Linus and Lucy. Along the way you can finger-paint, have Lucy in her famous psychiatrist's booth diagnose Charlie Brown, catch snowflakes and collect everything you need to decorate your own little Christmas tree.
Now – if you're not familiar with the original A Charlie Brown Christmas animated special, or if it's been a while since you've seen it, you might find yourself surprised by how slowly paced the story, and by association the app actually is. Personally, I like that – it's a busy time of year and taking a few minutes with something sweet and a little less hectic is a welcome break. But when I first got the app, it was trying to compete with the trailer for Happy Feet Two with penguin chicks dancing to LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out and Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back as well as a pile of Pixar stuff. It's worth remembering that this is based on a cartoon from 1965, though, and you may want to adjust your expectations, and those of your kids, accordingly.
The story itself revolves around the staging of a Nativity play and the search for the perfect Christmas tree. Charlie Brown, fearful of letting the season pass him by, learns about the true meaning of Christmas, both from his friend Linus reciting a passage from St. Luke's Gospel, and from his friends gathering around to decorate the tree. I don't think they can get this any more Christmassy unless the next iPad can recreate the smell of pine needles and my Mum's Christmas pudding. It's really, really beautiful.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is available to download now from iTunes, priced at €5.49 and is compatible with your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, so long as it’s running iOS 3.2.2 or later. For a limited time the app is on sale at €2.39, and it well worth it at that price.
If you're running an Android-based phone or tablet, you can get it here for €5.19. You'll need Android version 2.2 or greater.
It's probably a little too late to get the DVDs this side of Christmas (although they're well worth having), but if you have an iPad or an Android based tablet, you can now enjoy Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and of course Snoopy as well as all their friends in the form of a new app.
A Charlie Brown Christmas takes the form of a digital pop-up book and is, quite honestly, gorgeous. The creators have done their best to pump up the nostalgia factor as much as possible – the opening screen is of an old-fashioned record player and a hardback book, the music and voices throughout have that slight crackle of an old recording to them, and the paper textures and cut-out shapes of all the illustrations make it as close to looking and feeling like a book as an iPad app can. All the voices are from the original cartoons, and the story itself is read by a more grown up Peter Robbins, who was the original voice of Charlie Brown.
I had – and still have - a lot of fun with the app, too. You can interact with almost everything in the app, getting little extra snippets of dialogue and music, or funny little animations and even mini-games where you can practice your snowball throwing or play Vince Guaraldi's classic piece of music from the cartoons, Linus and Lucy. Along the way you can finger-paint, have Lucy in her famous psychiatrist's booth diagnose Charlie Brown, catch snowflakes and collect everything you need to decorate your own little Christmas tree.
Now – if you're not familiar with the original A Charlie Brown Christmas animated special, or if it's been a while since you've seen it, you might find yourself surprised by how slowly paced the story, and by association the app actually is. Personally, I like that – it's a busy time of year and taking a few minutes with something sweet and a little less hectic is a welcome break. But when I first got the app, it was trying to compete with the trailer for Happy Feet Two with penguin chicks dancing to LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out and Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back as well as a pile of Pixar stuff. It's worth remembering that this is based on a cartoon from 1965, though, and you may want to adjust your expectations, and those of your kids, accordingly.
The story itself revolves around the staging of a Nativity play and the search for the perfect Christmas tree. Charlie Brown, fearful of letting the season pass him by, learns about the true meaning of Christmas, both from his friend Linus reciting a passage from St. Luke's Gospel, and from his friends gathering around to decorate the tree. I don't think they can get this any more Christmassy unless the next iPad can recreate the smell of pine needles and my Mum's Christmas pudding. It's really, really beautiful.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is available to download now from iTunes, priced at €5.49 and is compatible with your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, so long as it’s running iOS 3.2.2 or later. For a limited time the app is on sale at €2.39, and it well worth it at that price.
If you're running an Android-based phone or tablet, you can get it here for €5.19. You'll need Android version 2.2 or greater.
