Peanuts To Debut Interactive Book Apps

Peanuts Worldwide and Loud Crow Interactive announced a multi-year partnership to produce a series of interactive digital book apps based on the popular PEANUTS animated television specials. The first title launching today is “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” In this re-telling of the iconic Christmas classic, the book features original animations, voices, and musical scores from the 1965 television special. The narrator is Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown. Other digital books such as “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” will follow in 2012 and beyond.

Unlike traditional e-books, the PEANUTS interactive book apps will immerse users in a rich, multimedia environment within which they will be able to interact with individual elements. Characters and objects respond to touch and tilt gestures similar to an actual movable book. The digital book also features an innovative dialog system that allows users to move through the story at their own pace and hear actual character voices as each scene unfolds. The app features both “read to me” and “read it myself” modes and provides educational value by allowing any word in the book to be read aloud simply by tapping it.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” will take readers through Charlie Brown’s quest to find the true meaning of Christmas. In addition to the classic tale, readers will have the ability to customize their own Christmas tree and have it integrated into the story itself. Certain tree decorations can also be unlocked by solving a number of clues within the app. Additional content including a “12 Days of Christmas” promotional update will be offered in December.

The PEANUTS interactive books from Loud Crow will be available across several digital channels. The company plans to make these book apps available on a number of mobile devices, including Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android smartphones and tablets, Amazon Kindle Fire, and Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Color. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is now available for download for $6.99 from various app markets including iTunes App Store and Android Market.

“Partnering with Loud Crow, is another key step in our long term strategy for PEANUTS,” said Neil Cole, President and CEO of Iconix Brand Group, which owns Peanuts Worldwide. “Everyone loves to watch the popular PEANUTS specials that air each year to stellar ratings, and bringing them into a quality interactive format, keeps them even more relevant and entertaining for future generations of fans.”

“Loud Crow is extremely delighted to be part of bringing PEANUTS to the digital medium,” says Calvin Wang, Founder and President of Loud Crow Interactive. “PEANUTS fans everywhere will be in for a real treat when they experience the unique approach we’ve taken in transforming these timeless classics into digital books. People will be able to engage with the familiar Peanuts gang in a wonderfully modern, yet nostalgic setting.”