Kids audio company Yoto has inked a licensing deal to offer Disney and Pixar stories on its Yoto Player smart speaker. The partners will also create new exclusive content for the Yoto device, though few details on this plan were available at press time.

On May 20, Yoto will start releasing five-minute stories based on Frozen, Mickey Mouse and Moana, with plans to add 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Finding Nemo, Cars, Onward and Soul audio shorts to its lineup later in the year.

To use the Yoto Player for audiobooks, kids simply load story cards into the smart speaker. The techco, which got its start through a Kickstarter campaign in 2017, also offers original IPs and blank cards that kids and parents can record their own stories on. The Yoto Player costs US$99.

There has been a general boom in audio-only content in the past year as families have sought out screen-free alternatives, and usage for kid-friendly smart speakers is also on the rise. Last week, a similar audio entertainment system called tonies, which uses figurines instead of cards to play content, partnered with GoNoodle and Licensing Link to add new stories and music to its platform.