The Rise of Animated Disney Stories in Simplified Chinese 

For the first time, animated stories adapted from Disney movies in Simplified Chinese will be available to Children outside of China! The Interactive ebook App Ellabook is launching 6 animated Disney books on January 18, 2021!  We have learned that, following the launch of the first 6--their most-read, and most popular Disney books in China, Ellabook will be releasing more than 60 Disney books over the next several months! 

Ellabook's Disney animated books are based on original Disney movies. Disney has much input into Ellabook's animated book reproductions of their movies. Developing one Disney animated book on Ellabook takes significant time and multiple versions of revisions with a Disney Chinese team. We were told that Ellabook is the only ebook App that is authorized to adopt Disney movies into animated e-books in simplified Chinese.  

In the future, Ellabook's newest Disney animated E-books will be released at the same time as their counterpart Disney movies are released. This is indeed very cool! 

Chinese-learning Children's Disney Dilemma  

My JoJo co-founder Caelyn and I have long had a dream: what if watching Disney movies in Chinese was as easy as turning on our TV and tablet, and as convenient as watching an English movie in an American household?

Our kids need fun, highly entertaining materials in Chinese!  We wrote to Disney several times. We met with executives of China's largest streaming service 爱奇艺 (iqiyi.com, the Chinese equivalent of YouTube+Netflix). After extensive investigation, we realized that watching the Chinese language version of Disney movies in the United States is indeed still a dream. Right now, there is no way for a parent to purchase Chinese-language Disney movie in the United States.

Some people go through the trouble to "climb over the wall" to access China's network through a VPN in order to watch Chinese movies on a Chinese streaming platform such as iqiyi.com. However, dealing with the unstable and confusing VPNs can be a huge headache-inducing and time-wasting experience. 

That said, we are delighted to finally announce that for the first time, Disney movie adapted books are available in the format of interactive ebooks with the Ellabook App. For the past year, we have been tirelessly cheering and supporting the Ellabook team's effort to make their Disney books available for young readers outside of China. After all, animated Disney stories are the next best thing to animated Disney movie in our opinion. 

We also love that animated Disney books provide perfect scaffolded reading experience for non-native Chinese learners.  Since most American kids are already quite familiar with the Disney storylines, the books are considered  "comprehensible input" and are ideal for helping learners improve listening and reading comprehension by gradually expanding their vocabulary.  

Here is a sneak peek of the first 6 animated books. Click the video to get a feel for how the animated books look!  

1. Frozen 2  冰雪奇缘 2  (bīng xuě qí yuán)

 

Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient, autumnal forest in an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa's powers in order to save their kingdom.

《冰雪奇缘2》动画书改编自迪士尼经典同名电影，故事设定在第一部三年后的秋天。为了探寻父母遇难的真相与寻找艾莎魔力的由来，艾莎与安娜、克斯托夫、驯鹿斯特与雪宝一行远走阿伦戴尔王国，去北方寻找这两个问题的答案。历经重重艰险，艾莎和安娜找到了父母去世的那条船，也找到了一张神秘的地图……最终，姐妹俩会如何面对父母遇难的真相，艾莎的魔力又能做什么呢？快去书中揭晓答案吧。

2. Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet 无敌破坏王2：大闹互联网 (wú dí pò huài wáng 2 ：dà nào hù lián wǎng)

Six years after the events of "Wreck-It Ralph," Ralph and Vanellope, now friends, discover a wi-fi router in their arcade, leading them to a new adventure.

《无敌破坏王2：大闹互联网》是迪士尼公司2018年最新出品的电影，也是动画电影《无敌破坏王》的续集。在这本动画书中，云妮洛普的游戏之家出了点状况，需要一个赛车方向盘才能存活，于是拉尔夫和云妮洛普为了赚钱购买方向盘，一起进入了奇幻的互联网世界。在这里，他们又会遇到什么困难，云妮洛普能否成功拿到方向盘拯救自己的游戏？一起去动画书中寻找答案吧！

3. Cars 赛车总动员 (sài chē zǒng dòng yuán)

A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family.

《赛车总动员》原作是皮克斯出品的一部动画片，这是一部经典的美国式故事，该片获得了64届金球奖最佳动画片奖。动画书《赛车总动员》讲述了赛车新手闪电麦坤在去参加比赛的路上 ，因为一场意外闯入了一座小镇。麦坤把小镇搅得天翻地覆，破坏了许多公物，因而他需要完成小镇法庭对他的惩罚任务。心骄气傲的麦坤能耐心完成这项工作吗？他在小镇上都经历了什么呢？我们在故事中寻找答案吧。

4. The Incredibles 超人总动员 (chāo rén zǒng dòng yuán)

While trying to live a quiet suburban life, a family of undercover superheroes are forced into action to save the world.

本册动画书改编自皮克斯2004年推出的同名动画电影，讲述了伟大的超人超能先生退休后为拯救世界而重出江湖的故事。该片一经推出便好评如潮，横扫各大奖项，包括第77届奥斯卡最佳动画长片奖、第31届土星奖最佳动画电影奖等，相信孩子们也会在这场拯救世界的战斗中领悟到成为英雄的责任与意义！

5. Toy Story 4  玩具总动员 4 (wán jù zǒng dòng yuán)

When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy.

在这个故事中，邦妮成了胡迪与巴斯光年等玩具们的新主人，不仅如此，她还为自己制作了一位新玩具——叉叉，但叉叉却在半夜逃跑了，前去追逐的胡迪与叉叉展开了一场公路之旅。旅途中，他们遇到了对手，重逢了旧友，更陷入了危险。为了邦妮，胡迪必须营救叉叉，因此众人的分歧越来越大，最终分道扬镳……胡迪究竟要作何选择，众玩具又将获得怎样的结局呢？

6. Planes: Wings Around the Globe 飞机总动员：环球飞行 (fēi jī zǒng dòng yuán ： huán qiú fēi xíng)

A cropdusting plane with a fear of heights lives his dream of competing in a famous around-the-world aerial race. 

《飞机总动员》是迪士尼2013年上映的动画电影，现由咿啦看书改编为动画书。故事讲述了一架农药喷洒机德思奇拥有一个不切实际的梦想，就是赢得环球飞行比赛冠军，所有人都不相信他能实现这个梦想，可德思奇不放弃，他不断尝试，不断努力，在经历了许多磨难和挫折后，最终在朋友们的帮助下，他的梦想成真了，成为第一个赢得环球飞行赛冠军的农药喷洒机。

We hope these wonderful Disney books make your little ones smile and giggle, and fall in love with reading in Chinese! 

Related post: Review of Ellabook-The Interactive Chinese Children's Ebook App