by Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman –
Ever see the Rocky Horror Picture Show? I went once in college and the audience put on quite a performance. I remember feeling like part of a group in a very unique and interactive movie experience. Last week I had a similar feeling when I attended a screening of The Little Mermaid Second Screen Live. The screening was synched to an app and my 6.5-year-old daughter and I had so much fun watching and feeling like we were part of the movie.
The way that it works is simple: you download a free app to your iPad and when you attend the screening. You get easy instructions on how to set it up. The app syncs to the movie and once the movie begins – so does the fun. The audience is divided into two teams (Flounder and Sebastian) and throughout the movie we hear their voices, like in a commentary (with Ursula chiming in once in a while). You can play games such as mazes, answer trivia questions and sing karaoke-style to all the songs! One of the activities my daughter loved was stirring the ship using the iPad. It really made us feel like we were part of the movie. The movie even pauses at times for a minute to give the kids time to unscramble a puzzle. I liked this a lot because it really was for just a minute and the movie’s pretty short as it is, plus there was less pressure to do things very quickly.
Needless to say, my daughter was having the time of her life! By coincidence, she’s dressing up as as Arielle for Halloween, so she felt even more connected to the movie. She had a blast playing the games and sang with all her heart the songs that she already knows and loves. A lot of kids in the audience (especially little girls) were singing along. “Under the Sea” got pretty much the entire audience involved (including myself!) and it was fun to feel like we were all in this together. Plus the audience gets prompted to cheer every now and then, which is fun. I’m sure some parents might think it could be too much stimulation for young kids to handle since they have to watch the movie and do the games the entire time but the games weren’t in every single scene, so we weren’t constantly bombarded with things to do. Still, there were some games and activities I avoided simply because I wanted my daughter to just sit back and enjoy the beauty of the movie.
If your daughter is an Arielle fan – do not miss this experience. As an adult, I truly enjoyed seeing The Little Mermaid from a different perspective and I think it would be cool if they had this for movies such as Wedding Crashers or American Pie – it would be fun to go with a group of friends.
The Little Mermaid Second Screen Live is now playing at select theaters across the U.S., including in Manhattan, White Plains and Farmingdale. Click here for all locations of the screenings and to download the app. It’s compatible only with iPad and iPad mini.
I was not compensated for this post. I received complimentary tickets to the screening.
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Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman is the owner of Mama’s Bites and has also written for The Huffington Post. She has been living in New York City for thirteen years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree, but blogging is her true passion. Maytal is a stay-at-home mom to three kids (ages 6, 4 and 1) and loves finding great products that make her family’s life easier.
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