My oldest daughter started drawing Mickey Mouse at around the age of 3. She’s now an art major in college and Disney Animated was a game that I immediately wanted to play with her. This cooperative game for up to 4 players has players working on a scene from a classic Disney movie. Players have to work together because villains from each of these films are working to advance the deadline and ruin your progress.
Art Degree Not Required
When you begin the game, players select from Disney classics Fantasia, 101 Dalmations, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and Aladdin. Players get a player board and unique box of items related to their movie. Each movie also comes with a villain that gets added to the central board along with the other villains associated with the other players movies.
Disney Animated uses an action selection mechanic where players are given 5 different actions on their turn. The number associated with the action at that moment is how many time you can take the action. For instance, the Ink & Paint action taken when it’s in slot 4 will let you collect up to 4 points of paint from the central board.
Once an action is taken, it moves back down the line to slot 1 and every other action moves up in value. Using these actions, players collect animation cards, complete background scenes on their player board, paint animation cells or do a unique action that will assist the other players at the table.
Each player works toward completing their animation before the deadline arrives in 13 turns. Did I mention that you also have to defeat your unique villain by the end of the game too? And it’s not easy.
Teaming Up
Disney Animated is a truly cooperative experience. At the start of each round the new villain is revealed along with calamity cards that need to be tackled before the end of the round. This aspect of the game can be tweaked to be easier or more difficult depending on the players at the table.
Players have to communicate how they can contribute to holding back the villain during a round. Also communicating what you need is a huge deal. Your team accomplishes the most when you work together to help players complete their player board.
The Sound action is unique for every player and is the action that helps the other players the most. Funko Games did a great job with creating components for this action that connects to your specific movie. After playing through the game a couple times, you’ll start to see how effective these unique actions are. Ignoring this action makes the game so much more difficult for your team.
Meeting the Deadline
A game of Disney Animated ends when the round marker hits the deadline at the top of the board. Not only do all players need to complete their boards but they must defeat their unique villain before the deadline.
Defeating the villain requires some very specific requirements. We’ve found, that without the help of your teammates, it’s incredibly difficult to end the game with a win. The mark of a great co-op game is that players have to depend on their team to walk away with a win. Disney Animated does this so well.
Fans of these classic Disney films will really connect with the theme and attention to detail as their favorite films come to life throughout a game. With the adjustable difficulty, the game can easily be played with kids or gamers who are looking for a challenge.
Disney Animated is an excellent game for the Disney fans. For gamers looking for a solid co-op experience that truly feels like a team effort, this is a game you need to check out.
You can purchase Disney Animated at your local game store or online through Amazon today.
This game was provided to us by the publisher for review. Read more about our review policies at One Board Family.
Highs
- Action selection mechanic encourages cooperation
- Disney fans will enjoy the attention to detail
- Asymmetric player abilities are all thematic
- Adjustable difficulty is excellent
Lows
- Communication is a must, players should know that
Complexity
Time Commitment
Replayability
