Ani-Mate - At a glance

• Stop motion movie maker kit for children.
• Contains different backdrops, props, instruction and modelling clay characters.
• For use with freely available smartphone apps.
• A creative toy with endless possibilities.

More about the product

"Ani-Mate" is a complete kit for creating stop motion movies. A stop motion movie is a short film shot frame by frame and the most famous one is probably Wallace and Gromit.

The kit includes all material that is required to get started such as interchangeable backdrops, modelling clay characters, props, a scene, smartphone stand and complete instructions. All that is needed is a smartphone (stop motion apps are freely available) and a lot of imagination.

Simply mount the scenery and setup the props and characters that will participate. Place the smartphone in the supplied stand and try to not budge it when moving the characters. Then start animating the characters while using the stop motion app to grab the film frame by frame. When you are happy with the scene, the stop motion app will combine the individual frames into your own short movie.

Why we like it

It's not as easy as buying a PS4 or Nintendo since it requires a little bit of effort getting started. However once the kids gets the idea, the possibilities are endless. The nice thing is that this is a creative toy that combines technology using the smartphone or tablet with manual crafts building the scene and characters. A great combination of traditional and modern ways to play.

It is also good to know that...

• The stop motion set comes in a colourful gift box, perfect as a birthday or christmas gift
• Stop motion apps are freely available at least for Android and iOS based smartphones, instructions can be found on the box. For other platforms such as Windows Phone and Blackberry please consult the relevant app store.
• Recommended for children 8 years and older.