$50 iTunes card
What would you buy…?
The Jungle Book Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley $19.99
Just as Disney’s 1967 Jungle
Book was a 2D animation tour de force, this new film is a CG one, putting Mowgli (Sethi, doing an impressive job as the only real thing that appears on-screen) on the run from the menacing tiger Shere Khan (Elba), with a little help from his animal friends and adoptive family. The animals look incredible, and the fact they speak doesn’t even look that out of place. You might argue the voice actors are too recognizable, but it’s worth it for Scarlett Johansson’s brilliant Kaa and Murray’s Baloo. It’s a kinetic, lavish family adventure.
Train Kit Stripey Design $2.99
This looks like one of those games where you need to lay rails to guide trains to their destinations, but it’s actually an intentionally aimless toy box. As with a model train set, you lay tracks, add junctions, tunnels, and scenery, and then just let the trains go and admire your creation. It’s created in a cool, cartoony 3D look, and you can even view from inside the train, as if you’re the driver. It’s great for kids to just tinker around with, and watch their worlds tick along. It’s by the same developer as the lovely, clever app Sneak, where kids hide from shy monsters that appear on the screen, and try to sneak up on them.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child J.K. Rowling $14.99
It turns out the Harry Potter series wasn’t as finished as J.K. Rowling had claimed, with a new play picking up the story of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s children from the end of the seventh book. Sadly for magic fans, the play is only on in London (for a while at least), but you can get this book of the script to pick up the story. It follows Harry’s son, Albus, as he makes an awkward start at Hogwarts, befriending Scorpius Malfoy (son of Harry’s rival Draco) – and getting sucked into a plot to change time that appears innocent, but poses a much bigger risk than it seems.
Light Upon the Lake Whitney $9.99
This album is all about the warm folky rock of the ’60s and ’70s, mixing inspiration from modern indie records with an almost tangible love for the likes of The Byrds. It’s present right from the first track, which calls to mind the gentle richness of Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross. The album was even recorded on tape (rather than digitally), to really drive home that analog feeling. It’s a fun album of cheery old-school tunes.