Mickey Mote Offers Interactive Content to Preschoolers via Disney DVDs

The new kid-friendly Mickey Mote is designed to turn passive screen time into an opportunity to actively engage young minds while children watch their favorite Disney characters on select Disney Preschool DVDs. Mickey Mote works with any Disney Preschool DVD that includes a Discovery Mode, an interactive Watch & Play feature where children play along by answering questions throughout any Disney Preschool DVD being released after November 16.

We received the Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Numbers Roundup Play Set ($29.99) with the Mickey Mote and a copy of Handy Manny’s Big Construction Job for review from Technorati.

The Mickey Mote is shaped exactly like Mickey Mouse and fits comfortably in hands of the target age range (2-5 years). Four buttons- a yellow star, green circle, orange triangle, and blue square- make it easy to operate for a younger age range although some might argue it is a little too simple for savvy preschoolers.

I love the idea of the Mickey Mote because it makes children more actively engaged with the content they see on the screen. While some families are staunchly against character themes in their home, learning alongside with favorites like Mickey, Handy Manny, and the Little Einsteins can be a huge motivator for the most reluctant learners.

While the idea may be good, I have to say that we didn’t get to experience the quality of the learning activities. The Mickey Mote wouldn’t talk to the remotes for our DVD or Blu-Ray player (that plays DVDs) in order to get it set up to experience the Discovery Mode.

I followed the directions on the paperwork that was sent to me by Technorati and couldn’t figure out how to make the remote control work with our DVD player. I consider myself pretty tech savvy and able to figure out things without directions but not this time.

The directions I received were overly general and not helpful. They read: “All parents have to do is program the remote control to their TV and within minutes, kids can easily begin engaging and responding to questions about scenes they just watched using the Mickey Mote.” Hmmm…Definitely not my experience!

I later discovered through emailing Technorati that our DVD was missing the Mickey Mote setup instructions. They were emailed to me as a PDF as a result of our email messaging after I stated that I couldn’t find them by Googling or on MickeyMote.com.

While our regular remote would have worked just fine, our DVD bypassed the screen containing Discovery Mode as an option. Viewers are supposed to be able to be able to select Discovery Mode on one of the menu screens but it wouldn’t come up on our DVD despite repeated playings. I found that after the movie previews ended, the DVD immediately played content.

After conferring with Kim (I’m Not the Nanny) via Twitter and getting some helpful hints, I was on the hunt for the Discovery Mode. Kim said to press the menu button after the previews upon Mickey’s first appearance in order to find the Discovery Mode. Huh? Again, the lack of directions with our play set made this venture highly confusing.

We never were able to get the Mickey Mote to work and I never found the Discovery Mode on the DVD. Additional attempts to watch Handy Manny’s Big Construction Job were thwarted by a hungry crew who no longer had any interest in using the Mickey Mote that they had seen me fiddling with.

Perhaps other reviewers had more luck but my experience was frustrating due to the lack of directions and the inability to get our Mickey Mote to properly work with the Discovery Mode.

I did watch part of the DVD searching for the interactive content that I could experience with our regular remote but gave up after 10 minutes. My attention span, much like a small child, couldn’t sustain the long spans of programming in order to wait for the interactive content.

Here’s a summary of information about the Mickey Mote from Technorati Media:

What is a Mickey Mote?

• A Mickey Mote is a one-of-a-kind, child-friendly handheld remote control, shaped like Mickey ears, that provides children with an engaging interaction with their favorite Disney Preschool DVDs.

How it works:

• The Mickey Mote works with any Disney Preschool DVD that includes a “Discovery Mode™ (an interactive “Watch & Play” feature on the DVD), feature. All parents have to do is program the remote control to their TV and within minutes, kids can easily begin engaging and responding to questions about scenes they just watched using the Mickey Mote.

How do I purchase one?

• The new Mickey Mote will soon be packaged with the purchase of any new Discovery Mode enhanced Disney Preschool DVD released after November 16, 2010. The first two titles to include the new remote include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup and Handy Manny: Big Construction Job.

How much does it cost?

• The Mickey Mote is not sold individually. Beginning on November 16, 2010 consumers can own the Mickey Mote with the purchase of either the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Number Roundup and/or Handy Manny: Big Construction Job DVDs –which each retail for the suggested price of $29.99 (US)/$35.99 (Canada).

Can I use it with other DVDs?

• Mickey Mote is being packaged with the purchase of any new Discovery Mode enhanced Disney Preschool DVD released after November 16, 2010. The first two titles to include the new remote include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup and Handy Manny: Big Construction Job. The remote control is also backwards compatible to work with any previously released Disney Preschool titles that include the “Discovery Mode” interactive feature.

To date, the remote will work with any of the following titles:

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Adventures in Wonderland
• Little Einstein’s: Fire Truck Blast Off
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Choo Choo
• Handy Manny’s: Manny’s Motorcycle Adventure
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Bowtique
• Handy Manny’s: Manny’s Big Race
• My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths
• My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Bedtime with Pooh
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Road Rally
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup
• Handy Manny’s: Manny’s Construction Job

Products were provide by Technorati Media for review purposes. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are my own. Product information and images were provided courtesy of Disney.