Book-and-record sets are a form of entertainment for children, consisting of a picture storybook (often in comic book format, with drawings or photos) and an accompanying recording (originally in the form of a vinyl record, later in cassette tape and compact disc formats) to be played while following along with the book. The record and book complement one another, with the record usually a radio theater-style version of the story or a soundtrack recording, and the book providing visuals and text to the story. Often a tone or other kind of cue in the recording will prompt the reader to turn pages.
Book-and-record sets are popular as teaching tools and aids to reading, and as a simple form of multimedia entertainment. Cartoon characters are common subjects (or stars) of the stories, as are comic book superheroes and other media franchises, characters and personalities. Occasionally popular children's or family movies are adapted for book and record; the stories may either be re-presented by a new cast of performers, members of the movie cast, or the audio taken directly from the film, with narration added.
Disneyland Records and related companies produced several such works, as did Peter Pan Records (and its offshoot Power Records) and others, from well before the dawn of long-playing records and the 45rpm single until the digital age. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Capitol Records produced many book-and-record sets for children, ranging from everything from Bozo the Clown to the classical music fantasy Sparky's Magic Piano originally produced on 10-inch and 12-inch 78 RPM records. A "picture storybook" of the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial narrated by Michael Jackson became a highly prized collectible, after it went out of print. Newer sets may still be found among recordings for children.
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, usually, dialogue contained in word balloons emblematic of the comics art form.
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals.
A soundtrack is recorded sound accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film, video, or television presentation; or the physical area of a film that contains the synchronised recorded sound.
Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products. The company had editorial offices in New York City and Los Angeles, California. Western Publishing became Golden Books Family Entertainment in 1996. Little Golden Books remains as an imprint of Penguin Random House. Golden Guides and Golden Field Guides are published by St. Martin's Press.
An extended play (EP) is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes. An "EP" is usually less cohesive than an album and more "non-committal".
A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper. As of 2014, the three longest-running comics of all time were all British.
Masters of the Universe is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man and Skeletor on the planet Eternia, with a vast lineup of supporting characters in a hybrid setting of medieval sword and sorcery, and sci-fi technology. A follow-up series, She-Ra: Princess of Power revolves around He-Man's sister She-Ra and her rebellion against The Horde on the planet Etheria. Since its initial launch, the franchise has spawned a variety of products, including multiple lines of action figures, six animated television series, several comic series, video games, books and magazines, a daily newspaper comic strip, and two feature films.
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwriting, casting, pre-production, shooting, sound recording, post-production, and screening the finished product before an audience, which may result in a film release and exhibition. The process is nonlinear, as the director typically shoots the script out of sequence, repeats shots as needed, and puts them together through editing later. Filmmaking occurs in a variety of economic, social, and political contexts around the world, and uses a variety of technologies and cinematic techniques to make theatrical films, episodic films for television and streaming platforms, music videos, and promotional and educational films.
"Spidey Super Stories" is a live-action, recurring skit on the original version of the Children's Television Workshop series The Electric Company.
Lianhuanhua is a type of palm-size picture books of sequential drawings popular in China in the 20th century. It influenced modern manhua.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to film:
Peter Pan Records is an American record label specializing in children's music. The label was introduced to the public in March 1948. The label was owned by the Synthetic Plastics Company of Newark, New Jersey until the 1970s.
Golden Book Video was a line of children/family animated and live-action videos marketed by Western Publishing, which began during the holiday season of 1985. They featured characters and stories from Western's print publications, such as Little Golden Books, and were originally released on VHS video cassette for under $10.
Where's Wally? is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens or more people doing a variety of amusing things at a given location. Readers are challenged to find a character named Wally and his friends hidden throughout the pages.
The Moomins are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, picture books, and a comic strip by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white, round fairy-tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble the hippopotamus. However, despite this resemblance, the Moomin family are trolls. The family live in their house in Moominvalley.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to books:
Disney's Animated Storybook is a point-and-click adventure interactive storybook video game series based on Walt Disney feature animations and Pixar films that were released throughout the 1990s. They were published by Disney Interactive for personal computers for children ages four to eight years old. Starting from 1994, most of the entries in the series were developed by Media Station. They have the same plots as their respective films, though abridged due to the limited medium.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a Disney media franchise, commencing in 1996 with the release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The franchise is based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo.
Snow White is a Disney media franchise that began in 1937 with the theatrical release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is based on the 1812 fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.