Ah, so you're complaining that he was actively interacting with his target program (painting) instead of passively interacting with it (watching and 'consuming' a film, whatever 'consuming' means in that context).
Depending on which way you want to spin it, you could claim the ipad is better (omg! kid does less work and gets to sit back entertained!) or worse (omg! kid has lost the ability to actively create something, become a passive consumer instead!).
No I wasn't diminishing anything i was just saying the context of interaction and media consumption changes dramatically and what is normal for a two year old to figure out on their own will likewise change dependent on the affordances of the tools.
Context is one thing (i.e., mouse, keyboard, MacPaint) and I agree that two year olds adapt to context amazingly.
Media is another thing entirely though. Context and media in intuitive ways will have far reaching ramifications.