Mattel Minecraft Stop-Motion Animation Studio

This set has a stage and several backdrops, as well as movable scenery, unique minifigs, and accessories. The app is free to download. My 7 year old has made several (very short) stop motion videos both using the set and also just using the app and various toys he has. He also plays with the set, and the pieces, without filming anything. My only issue is that I wish there was a way to buy more of the grass, stone, etc blocks and the accessories. We've bought the element pack so he has a a gold ore block, a diamond ore block, a bedrock block, etc but I'd love to have multiple grass, stone, gravel, etc blocks. The accessories are tiny and easy to lose (we keep ours in a bag when not played with) but also really cute. It'd be nice to have more to play with. We've gotten a lot of use out of this set and have found it to be sturdy and well worth the money.

Hey this thing is pretty cool! You have to download the app to make the stop-motion film but it's super easy. You can actually just use the app and don't need this kit - but the kit does come with backgrounds, blocks, a few mini figures, and a stand to hold your phone.You can use other mini figures you have to compliment this set.My son is autistic and he figured it out pretty quick and thought it was amazing that he could make a movie.My only suggestion would be to take several pics of the same exact scene to slow it down a bit - we didn't do that on our first movie and even though it was about 25 pictures the movie was like 3 seconds when played and the figures ran by so fast it was hard to make out what was happening. So slow it down by having several frames of the same before you move anything.

This was purchased for my 6 year old boy. The idea behind this is really cool. And I even have fun setting up some scenes with it. It did take a little bit of searching around the app to find where all the different controls and options were. But once you do that it is pretty simple to work. Has a lot of built in sounds that you can add to your movie and plenty of other customization options. You can even add your sounds or music. I think the biggest downfalls about this product are: 1 - The backdrop images that come with it need to be longer so they stick out of the sides farther than the base. If you want to capture scenes of the entire board you will see whatever is in the room around it. If you are only doing close up shots of small portions of the set then this isn't a concern.2 - I am not saying that it is a waist of money. However I believe that they could have added some more people and props for this set for the price of it.But other than those couple things it really is a neat set to play with for kids and adults.

The price is a bit high I think for what you get. But, I got this for my 9 year old son's birthday and he really likes it. In the box you get a large green "grass" stage, 2 dual sided cardboard background pieces, a phone/tablet stand, various blocks and several figures. My son is using this with a Fire HD 7" and the stand will hold it, but it does slide a bit since he has a bulky silicone case on it and the ridges aren't quite large enough. I think the other reviewer is not using the stand correctly. You place the stand with the post in front and the ridges behind. Turn your phone/tablet around so the screen is facing you and the camera is facing forward. Place your device BEHIND the post, lean it against the post and the ridges hold it from sliding backward. Though if your device is very large or bulky like my sons Fire HD 7" silicone case makes it, the ridges might not be deep enough to hold it very well. I suppose you can always modify it if it's a problem. Getting the correct angle to get the set in the camera frame is probably the hardest part - it would be nice if the background was slightly larger because if you zoom out to get more of the stage in the frame, the background isn't large enough.I bought my son extra figures to go with this, they are easily found in physical stores and on Amazon. The only problem is you cannot buy any extra "set" pieces. You can't get any extra fences or TNT blocks or any of the other fun pieces my son would like to have. Hopefully in the future they will? My son has plenty of the other Minecraft figures and blocks that have been out for a while, but those are a larger scale so they do not work with the animation studio.I was a little worried about the app working on my sons Kindle, but since he has the newest model the app works just fine. Overall my son is happy with it having fun making his little videos.

All three of my kids ages 5,8,12 have enjoyed playing with this. They already had a few mini figures from the blind boxes we buy. While they did have a lot of fun making the stop motion videos. My younger two really just liked playing with their figures on this as a back drop scene and just using their imagination. The app works great for making videos so that they can do it all on their own. Definitely recommend to any Minecraft fan. Also just a warning the stickers will not come off of the blocks so make sure you're applying them correctly! I accidentally placed one upside down and tried to peel it back up and I could tell it was just going to tear apart but luckily the kids don't mind and still make it work.

Got this for my 6 year son for Christmas. He is a huge Minecraft fan and I got it to go along with the Minecraft Periodic Table of Elements so he would have more "props" when making his own mini Minecraft movies on his ipad. Best purchase of the holiday season! He loves it and plays with it almost daily making lots of movies! It's nice seeing him use his imagination and creating the most hilarious stories. It entertains daddy and I as well...we even get guest roles in his movies sometimes haha Excellent quality and none have broke. Great purchase for any Minecraft fan! Though I'd absolutely consider getting TONS more memory for your phone or tablet to accommodate for all the movies :)