MirrorWorld IPAD APP review

New York Times Bestselling Author Cornelia Funke

Teams with Mirada Studios

Creates Groundbreaking Literary iPad App for MirrorWorld Book Series

MirrorWorld IPAD APP LAUNCHES ON ITUNES STORE APRIL 17, 2013

LOS ANGELES: April 17, 2013 – Renowned fantasy author Cornelia Funke and Mirada Studios are unveiling a new form of storytelling with MirrorWorld, a first-of-its-kind interactive “living storybook,” which releases April 17, 2013 as a standalone iPad app exclusively at the iTunes App Store ($5.99).  Download the MirrorWorld App at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mirrorworld-by-cornelia-funke/id599748726

A free preview story, “One for the Other,” is also available at: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/one-for-other/id602837110?mt=8

The internationally acclaimed author has traditionally used words on the page to create the elaborate worlds in her more than 20 fantasy and adventure books, but in 2012 Cornelia Funke tapped into a new dimension with Mirada Studios, bringing the fairytale-inspired world of her Reckless and Fearless novels to life, visually and experientially, through an iPad app.

Audiences can now immerse themselves in Funke’s otherworldly settings – accessing alternate realities with the touch of their fingers, traversing rolling storyscapes via scrolling, exploring environments with gyroscope-rooted POVs, and studying her fantastical, intricately rendered creatures up close, in 2D, 3D, and breathtaking animated illustrations. This is the first time the exquisite aesthetic and textural details and beings from Funke’s books have been manifested and portrayed exactly as the author envisioned them.

“As I am also an illustrator, I see my story worlds quite clearly,” says Cornelia Funke, “but book illustration is not a visual tool that’s used nowadays as extensively as it was in the 19th century. When I met director Mathew Cullen and was introduced to the magic of Mirada, I saw the opportunity to fill that void – to bring my stories to life, visually, and to show my readers these worlds as I see them in my head. The wizards at Mirada create by bringing old crafts and very modern technology together. Working with them opened new horizons for my storytelling.”

To produce the MirrorWorld app, Mirada Studios (a multi-platform storytelling company formed in December 2010 by directors Guillermo del Toro and Mathew Cullen, cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, and executive producer Javier Jimenez) drew inspiration from countless story and art forms – including cinema, graphic novels, shadow play, sculpture, oral tradition, tapestry, songbooks, and dreams – to craft numerous original state-of-the-art techniques that play out in live-action, animation, illustrations, parallax, and organic interactivity – never skimping on story, always elevating the narrative and lyrical aspects of the experiences.

The studio’s visual artists and storytellers worked one-on-one with Funke over the past year to provide both her devotees and new audiences a rich and rewarding journey through the realms she created in Reckless and Fearless– expanding on these worlds and characters without ever being redundant to these previous works. All of the stories created for MirrorWorld are new.  There are hours of original narrative, archival, atmospheric, and ephemeral content – scored by the consummate Icelandic film composer Atli Örvarsson – in 16 short stories and experiences, all navigable at the reader’s own pace and in whichever order he or she wishes to explore them. There is also the option to experience the tales in visual/interactive form, read them as illustrated ebooks, and/or listen to them with audio narration.

“This is exhilarating territory, partnering with Cornelia,” says Mirada’s Mathew Cullen. “Working with authors, helping them to add new dimensions to their stories, and to reach broader audiences – it goes beyond conventional digital publishing. We’re extrapolating with Cornelia, building out the vision she has in her mind. MirrorWorld is the first release on a new Mirada-Funke label that will usher Cornelia's literature into a digital realm - a lot of great things to come.”

MirrorWorld (iPad app)

Author: Cornelia Funke

Director: Mathew Cullen

Creative Director: David Fowler

Digital Creative Supervisor: Andrew Cochrane

Music Composed by: Atli Örvarsson

Art Director: Mark S. Brinn

Producers: Andrew Merkin, Andrin Mele-Shadwick

Price: $5.99

Release Date: April 17, 2013

FEARLESS: MirrorWorld Novel #2 (hardcover book)

By Cornelia Funke

Publisher: Little, Brown

Price: $19.99

Available Now

RECKLESS: MirrorWorld Novel #1 (paperback book)

By Cornelia Funke

Publisher: Little, Brown

Price: $8.99

Available now

I think this is a good idea.  It is different . Well I think it is because I have never seen an app like this before.  It took me a bit to get used to the app  but I enjoyed it and really liked the stories.  This app will keep you entertained for a few hours.

I highly recommend this.

I give this 5 out of 5


*The product(s) featured in this review were provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.*