Walt Disney Animation Studios released the very first feature-length animated movie in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Since that time, they have released 60 additional animated movies. Many of them are classics and remain popular decades after their original release. Now you have a chance to produce one of five classic Disney movies. You will need to create the background, paint and animate the characters, and add sound. However, the villains know how the movies will end: with their defeat. Therefore they will cause calamities to occur to try to make you miss your deadline. Can you and your fellow producers work together to get your movies finished before the deadline?
What Is Disney Animated?
Disney Animated is a cooperative game for 2-4 players, ages 10 and up, and takes about 20 minutes per player to play. Players take on the role of producers who are each assigned a classic Disney movie. They must each finish their movies before the deadline while preventing the villains from delaying their production. The game is currently available at your FLGS as well as at the Funko Store on Amazon. The list price is $35 for a copy of the game. Disney Animated was designed by Prospero Hall and published by Funko Games.
Disney Animated Components
Here is what you get in the box:
- 1 Studio Board
- 5 Background Boards
- 5 Action Boards
- 5 Villain Tiles
- 5 Action Tiles
- 45 Background Tiles
- 21 Wood Tokens
- 15 Character Cel Cards
- 25 Calamity Cards
- 40 Animation Cards
- 29 Game Tokens
- 6 Tuck Boxes
- 4 Reference Cards
- 3 Reminder Cards
- Game Manual
The Studio board is used by all of the players. It has spaces for holding animation cards, paint tokens, villain tiles, and action tiles. It also has the deadline track which keeps track of the number of turns in the game.
Each player gets a background board and tiles based on the movie they are producing. Players can choose from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Fantasia, 101 Dalmatians, Alice in Wonderland, and Aladdin. Players will place the background tiles into the matching spots on the background board during the game.
After sections of the background are completed, players can then spend paint tokens to place the transparent character cel cards on top of the background.
Players each get an action board that matches their background board. It contains a list and description of the various actions players may take during their turn as well as specific abilities unique to their movie.
There are five villain tiles and each is related to one of the movies. The villains for the current movies are placed on the studio board where they use calamities to try to make the players miss their deadline. Players will need to eventually add their villain to their action board to win the game.
There are five unique calamity cards for each of the movies. This provides additional requirements that the players must complete each turn or risk advancing the deadline token faster along the track. The reminder cards are used to let players know how many calamity cards are played each turn.
The five action tiles are used by players to choose the action they will perform during their turn. They are positioned along the bottom of the studio board to show the value of the action for that turn.
Animation cards are collected by the players and used to complete movies as well as to get rid of calamities. There are five different types of animation cards:
Every movie comes with 1 to 7 wood tokens. They are played during sound actions and each has a different purpose depending on their movie.
The game uses tokens to represent various colors of paint as well as magic. There is also a first player token that goes to the player with the movie that was released in theaters the earliest.
There is a reference card for each player that reminds them of the turn order and how to play the game.
How to Play Disney Animated
The Goal
The goal of the game is for all players to fully complete their movies by adding their villain to the action card before the end of the turn where the marker is on the 13 spot of the deadline track.
Setup
When setting up a game, each player chooses one of the movies and gathers the components for their movie including the background board, the background tiles, the action board the 3 character cel cards, the wooden tokens, their villain tile, and the 5 calamity cards. Place the background tiles face up near the background board and the action board to the right with the actions side face-up. Place the cel cards below the background board and the wooden tokens below the action board. Each player also takes a magic token and places it above their action board. The player with the movie which released first gets the first player token.
Now the studio must be set up. Place the studio board in the middle of the play area. Shuffle the animation deck and place it in its space on the board. Deal 3 animation cards to each player to form their starting hand. Next, mix up the 16 paint tokens and randomly place them face-up on the paint spaces on the studio board. Collect the villain tiles from each player and stack them with the calamity side face up in the order their movies were released and place the stack on the studio board. Place the wooden deadline token in the start space of the deadline track. Now mix up the five action tiles and randomly place them on the action spaces at the bottom of the studio board. Gather all of the players’ calamity cards and shuffle them together before placing them face down in a deck above and to the right of the studio board. Following directions from the game manual, determine the number of calamity cards played each turn based on the number of players and difficulty level you want to play and turn over that many calamity cards and place them to the right of the studio board. Place a reminder card with that number on it next to the calamity deck to remind you how many cards to play each turn. You are now ready to play.
Gameplay
Disney Animated is played in rounds with two phases for each round. The first phase is the Player Phase which is then followed by the Villain Phase. Let’s take a look at each phase in turn.
Player Phase
Starting with the first player, each player takes a turn. During a turn, a player first selects an action tile and then does the tile’s action. The numbered location of the chosen action tile on the studio board, from 1 to 5, determines the value of the action. For the Animation action, the player draws 1, 2, or 3 action cards depending on the value of the tile. The Background action lets the player place background tiles up to the value of the action. For the Ink and Paint action, the player can take paint tokens up to the value of the action. The cost for each paint token depends on its location on the studio board. The bottom row cost one while each higher row has increased costs. The Sound action lets the player play their film’s unique wooden tokens as described on their action board. This is different for each film. Finally, if the player chooses the Magic action, they spend a magic token and then can take any of the other four actions for the value of the space where the Magic action tile is located.
Once the player has taken an action, they then remove the action tile they played, slide the other tiles to the right to take its place, and then place their action tile in the 1 space. So as players play actions, the value of that action is decreased for the next player. However, the other actions may move up to a higher value. Now players can place their character cel cards on their background boards if the background tiles are complete for their section and they can pay the price. If they do this, they can take the character power listed on the background board for free. They can also use those character powers on subsequent turns but must pay the cost. Finally, a player may remove a calamity card by paying the price on the card. Some require paying a paint token or an animation card. Some have a number on them. In order to remove those cards, a player must play the action tile at that numbered value. After the first player has completed their turn, the next player going clockwise around the table takes their turn, and so forth until all players have taken a turn. Then it is the Villain Phase.
Villain Phase
During this phase, the players advance the deadline marker one space and then check their hand limits. If a player has more than 7 cards in their hand, they must discard down to seven. Next, look at the calamity effect listed on the villain tile. You must attempt to complete this effect for each calamity card next to the board. As you complete an effect, discard that calamity card and continue until all have been removed. If the players removed all of the calamity cards during the Player Phase, then you skip this part. Next, move the villain tile to the bottom of the stack and reveal the villain for the next turn. Finally, refresh the calamity cards by drawing more from the calamity deck and placing them next to the studio board. Now continue to the next round by starting the Player Phase again.
Game End
When the deadline token reaches the 13 space, finish the Villain Phase, and then the players have one more Player Phase to complete their films. If all of the films are completed, the players win. Otherwise, the players lose. To complete a film, players must place all of their background tiles and character cels, then flip over their action board. They must then meet the conditions on the villain side of the action board and discard the listed paint tokens and animation cards in order to place their villain tile on their action board.
Why You Should Play Disney Animated
Disney Animated is a very fun game to play with friends or family. I like that it is completely cooperative. Players win or lose together. There are no individual wins and losses. The components for each of the five different movies have the look and style of the original movie. Plus the game includes six tuck boxes to keep the pieces organized for quick setup. While most of the gameplay is similar for all of the movies, each also has its differences in the case of using the wooden tokens for sound actions. This makes playing the different films a unique experience each time. In addition, since the tokens usually affect other players, the combination of which films are in play provides different strategies players can use to win.
The components are of good quality and really add to the game. I like the way the game provides players with an experience of how animated films are made. They start off with doing the background and then adding the character cels, which are on transparent plastic cards. While the components are cool, the gameplay really keeps players engaged. Since everyone has to work together, even when it is not your turn, you are talking and watching with the other players and strategizing. The calamity cards require cooperation to discard them all before the end of the Player Phase since they can advance the deadline token faster and reduce the amount of time the players have to finish their films. In fact, the tension of the deadline increases as the game progresses as players realize they have a limited amount of time to get their films completed.
I enjoy cooperative games and my family are big Disney fans. Therefore I was excited to play Disney Animated. I was not disappointed. This game is incredibly fun to play and the theme does a great job of complimenting the gameplay. The game plays quickly and there never seems to be a dull moment or downtime. Not only are you trying to get your film finished, but also avoiding calamity at the same time. Sometimes you need to take an action in order to discard a calamity card rather than progress your film along. That is why it is so important for players to work together. That also applies to the actions players take since players will often need the same actions, but once one player takes that action, it slides down to the 1 spot and is less effective. In addition, I really liked that each film plays a bit differently so players get a new experience each time they play. If you are a fan of Disney and cooperative games, then I recommend Disney Animated as a game to add to your collection for game nights with either family or friends.
For more information, visit the Disney Animated page!
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
