Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman

Inspired by the titular bestselling series of children's books, this animated feature is primarily distinguished by an unprecedented degree of interactivity as it follows three adventurous siblings (voiced by Frankie Muniz, Lacey Chabert, and Daryl Sabara) who travel to the Himalayas and risk their lives to find a missing uncle. Once the story's basic premise has been established, viewers can control its direction by choosing one of two options afforded them every few minutes (for example, when the kids' plane loses altitude over Nepal, an icon "console" pops up offering two choices of action: click one and the kids parachute to safety, click the other and they ride out the crash landing). Viewers can consult an accompanying "Adventure Journal" booklet that contains maps, a glossary of terms, and descriptions of places and animals the kids are likely to encounter to help them decide. Animated in a style resembling the old cell-animation cartoons of Saturday mornings past, and featuring exceptionally good voice work, the program is intended to be educational as well as entertaining, with extras including an informative half-hour documentary entitled "In the Shadows of the Himalayas: How People Live in Nepal," as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette and a theme song music video. Recommended. Aud: P. (E. Hulse)