System and method for substituting an animated character when a remote control physical character is unavailable

A computer system for displaying an animated character in the place of a physical character, comprising:

• a physical character;
• a processing unit;
• a wireless modem connecting the physical character to the processing unit;
• a display device connected to the processing unit for displaying images;
• memory connected to the processing unit and containing a program module;
• a storage medium connected to the processing unit for storing content to be displayed on the display device, physical character data, and animated character data;
• the processing unit, responsive to instructions from the program module, being operative to:
• acquire a physical character;
• display the content on the display device;
• retrieve the physical character data from the storage medium;
• transmit the physical character data to the physical character;
• receive an indication that the physical character is not available;
• and
• in response to the indication that the physical character is not available, retrieve animated character data from the storage medium and display the animated character on the display device,
• wherein the retrieved portions of the physical character data and the animated character data are coordinated with a portion of the content being displayed on the display device.

A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:

• retrieving content to be displayed on a display device;
• determining whether a physical character is available;
• and
• in response to the physical character not being available, retrieving animated character data and displaying an animated character on the display device,
• wherein the animated character data is coordinated with the retrieved content.