The Princess and the Frog is the latest film from the studios of animated wizards Disney, and, surprisingly, it is the first full length feature to be made in classic 2D in over 5 years instead of the eye popping graphics that we are used to in such flicks as Finding Nemo and Toy Story. The story is a simple one and one of fairytale legend. In 1920s New Orleans, a frog prince who has been transformed by an evil voodoo doctor, seeks out a princess to kiss him so that he can become human once more, instead he finds young waitress Tiana, who he mistakes for a real princess thanks to the finery she is dressed in for a ball. He persuades her to kiss him and instead of turning him human again, the spell reverses and turns Tiana into a frog as well. The two must then travel through the swamps of the Bayou in order to find the good voodoo queen; Mama Odie, who may or may not be able to return both of them to their human state. Along the way the two frogs make friends with Louis, a trumpet playing alligator who is desperate to be human and Ray, a Cajun firefly.

Enough about the storyline of the film, and onto the game and this one, like many based on popular Disney cartoons, is a series of mini games based around the adventures of the characters in the film. This is great for the target audience, 4-8 year old children (mostly girls), and the ease of use and the easy to learn games will keep them entertained for a good while. The game is set after the events that take place in the film and there is a new storyline to go along with the game play.

You begin the game playing as Tiana who, after being returned to human form and finding her prince in Naveen is trying to convert the old sugar mill into her dream restaurant. As she goes about this massive task, she begins to reminisce about her adventures from before she got all she desired in life, covering everything from becoming a frog, her adventures in the Bayou to returning to human form. In the old mill, things look rough; there is dust everywhere you touch, rotting wood and makeshift tables and chairs throughout. All you need to do is walk up to a character in order to activate a new world area where you are able to search out items such as ingredients for recipes, songs and beads for Mardi Gras. If you talk to the character you have walked up to, you can then zip off to a series of mini games associated with that character and his/her memories, for example getting away from a frog at the ball in order to avoid being turned into a frog or releasing captured frogs from a hunter’s boat. Once all of the mini games are completed in that set, you will be transported back to the old mill with one more addition to the new restaurant which brings you that essential one step closer to your grand opening.

As well as mini games there are other activities to find in the game, and it is these that make one think that the game is aimed at young girls rather than boys as you can pick and choose outfits for Tiana to wear whilst she is playing as a human in the mini games or in the old mill, you can play a cooking mini game where you prepare different Cajun dishes to serve up to your paying public and you can unlock songs from the film to sing along to karaoke style.

The majority of game play is available for up to four players with exception to the aforementioned extra areas where you can dress Tiana and cook etc. One quibble however, the Wii’s AI which fills in for any missing players if you have less than four taking part is amazingly good at the game and almost impossible to beat, so for younger players, the multiplayer is best avoided if they are only starting out or very young, at least until three extra players can be found to join in. Also, speaking of player abilities, the controls are extremely simple to grasp and use. The nunchuck is not a necessity but can be used to walk around the different worlds while the rest of the controls are activated with the Wii remote. Most of the game involve some button pressing as well as flicking and aiming motions and are easy to execute and control.

Onto the most positive aspect of the game, sound and vision, and graphically the game is great to look at with animation very similar to that of the original film. The colours are bright and backgrounds are vivid enough for a Wii game, characters models are also nicely drawn and animated too. As for the audio, it is perfect. All of the voice actors from the film return here to voice their characters which will please fans of the film to no end, the music fills your room with classic New Orleans jazz at every turn and I defy you to not tap your feet and move around to the music as you play, in fact, I was tempted to put the game on just to listen to the music more than once. Fantastic stuff.

Verdict:

The long and short of is it this, if your child (more so daughter) loves the Princess and the Frog film and is the proud owner or part owner of a Wii console then this is a must have game, the mini games are fun to play if played alone or even more so if played with three others, the production value of the game is top notch and this game essentially does exactly what it says on the tin. A great buy.

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