Disney Animated
Walt Disney Animation Studios Animated Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Studio Board
- Deadline Token
- First Player Token
- 5 Action Tiles
- 40 Animation Cards
- 5 Background Boards & 45 Background Tiles (remove tiles from boards)
- 5 Action Boards
- 5 Villain Tiles
- 25 Calamity Cards
- 3 Reminder Cards
- 7 Seven Dwarfs Tokens
- Genie Token
- Cheshire Cat Token
- 5 Music Tokens
- 6 Kanine Krunchies Tokens
- 15 Character Cel Cards
- 4 Reference Cards
- 16 Paint Tokens
- 12 Magic Tokens
Cover Photo: Minnie Mouse Boulevard, Disney Studios, Burbank, California, 1943
Game Overview
Work together like the famous team at the Walt Disney Animation Studios to produce classic Disney films before the deadline. But the infamous Villains of the stories don't want you to finish—because they know how the stories end. The calamity they cause will slow down the production and move you closer to your looming deadline.
To animate your film, you must complete your background, place your three characters, and finally, end the Villains' evil ways by putting them into the movie. If all the players finish animating their films before the deadline, you all win!
The game is played in rounds. Each round has two phases:
Player Phase
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player takes a turn. NOTE: The First Player token does not move during the game.
Villain Phase
After each player has taken a turn, advance the Deadline and suffer Calamity Effects according to the Villain tile on top of the stack.
On Your Turn
Do the following, in order:
- Select an Action Tile
- Do the Tile's Action
- Slide Action Tiles
- Place or Use Characters & Remove Calamity
Player Setup
-
Each player chooses a film and takes the following:
- Background Board
- 9 Background Tiles
- Action Board
- 3 Character Cel Cards
- Wood Token(s)
- Villain Tile
- 5 Calamity Cards
For your first game, remove the Background tiles from the boards and separate all the components by film. Each film has a tuck box for storing the Background tiles, cards, and tokens.
-
Place the Background board face up in front of you. Place the Background tiles to the left with the image face up, and the Action board to the right with the actions (striped) side face up.
-
Place the Character Cel cards below the Background board, under their powers. Place the wood token(s) below the Action board, under their label.
-
Hold onto the Villain tile and Calamity cards until Studio Setup, as explained on the next page. Return the unchosen films to the box, including their Villain tiles and Calamity cards—they won't be used this game.
-
Each player takes a Magic token and places it above their Action board. The player whose film has the earliest release year takes the First Player token.
Studio Setup
-
Place the Studio board in the middle of the play area and place the remaining Magic tokens nearby to form a supply.
-
Shuffle the Animation cards to form a face-down deck and place it on its space of the board.
-
Each player draws a starting hand of three cards from the Animation deck—you may look at your cards.
-
Mix up the 16 Paint tokens and randomly place one face up on each Ink & Paint space of the board.
-
Make a stack of the players' Villain tiles with their Calamity Effects face up. (Don't include tiles from the unchosen films.) Stack them in the order of the film's release year, with the earliest on top. Place the stack on its space of the board.
-
Stand the Deadline token on the Start space of the Deadline track.
-
Mix up the five Action tiles and randomly place one face up on each of the Action spaces of the board, from 1 to 5.
-
Shuffle all the players' Calamity cards together to form a face-down deck and place it above the board. (Don't include cards from the unchosen films.)
-
Based on the number of players and how difficult you want the game to be, place the matching Reminder card next to the Calamity deck. Then reveal that many cards from the deck, placing them in a face-up row along the right side of the board.
| 2 Players | 3 Players | 4 Players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novice | 1 Calamity Card | 3 Calamity Cards | 4 Calamity Cards |
| Standard | 2 Calamity Cards | 4 Calamity Cards | 6 Calamity Cards |
| Expert | 3 Calamity Cards | 6 Calamity Cards | 8 Calamity Cards |
1. Select an Action Tile
Each Action tile has a value from 1 to 5, as shown to the right of the tile. The higher the value, the stronger the action. Choose what action you want to do and shift the Action tile off the Studio board to show you've selected it.
As tiles are selected, the values of the actions change. Selecting an action will reduce its value to 1 for the next player, and increase the value of the actions below it, as explained on page 10. Talk with the other players to help each other do actions when they are the most useful and make the other players' actions stronger.
The five actions are summarized below, and are explained in detail on the following pages. Refer to your Action board as you learn how each action works!
- Animation — Draw Animation cards.
- Background — Place Background tiles.
- Ink & Paint — Take Paint tokens.
- Sound — Use your film's tokens.
- Magic — Discard a Magic token to do any action!
Magic Tokens: Magic is helpful to finish your film. Magic tokens are required to use the Magic Action tile and characters' special powers. You'll learn more about how to get and use Magic tokens as you continue reading these instructions.
2. Do the Tile's Action
NOTE: Instead of doing the tile's action, you may take one Magic token.
Animation
Draw cards from the Animation deck according to the value of the Animation Action tile:
- 1 or 2 — Draw one Animation card
- 3 or 4 — Draw two Animation cards
- 5 — Draw three Animation cards
You'll use Animation cards to power characters and remove Calamity, as explained on page 11. If you ever need to draw or discard a card from the deck when it is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck. At the start of the Villain Phase, if you have more than seven cards in your hand, you must discard down to seven.
Background
Place any number of Background tiles up to the value of the Background Action tile. Each Background tile's value is equal to the number of squares it covers, as shown on the back of the tile. You must place each tile in its proper position, aligning to the image, but you can place the tiles in any order.
Bonus Magic Tokens: If you place a Background tile that covers a Magic symbol, choose any one player (including yourself) to immediately take a Magic token.
Bonus Actions: If you place a Background tile that covers an Animation, Ink & Paint, or Sound Action symbol, choose any one player (including yourself) to immediately do that action at the current value of its Action tile (not the Background Action tile). Do not move that Action tile.
Background Sections: Each Background board has three sections where Character Cel cards can be placed, as explained on page 11. You cannot place a character until their section of the background—the six squares above their power—has been completely covered by Background tiles.
EXAMPLE: The player could place the Snow White Character Cel card because all six squares in the rightmost section, above her power, are covered. They could not place The Prince or Forest Friends.
Ink & Paint
Take any number of Paint tokens up to the value of the Ink & Paint Action tile. Each Paint token's value is equal to its row, as shown to its left.
Place the tokens above your Action board. You'll use them to place characters and remove Calamity, as explained on page 11. After taking all Paint tokens for your action, slide the remaining tokens down so there are no empty spaces below them.
EXAMPLE: The player selects the Ink & Paint Action tile at a value of 3. They take the White Paint token for 2 and the Purple Paint token for 1. Then they slide the other tokens down.
Sound
Give or place your film's unique token(s) according to the value of the Sound Action tile, as explained on your Action board. You may give a token to yourself. The tokens below your Action board can't be used until you take a Sound action to give or place them. Whenever a token is "returned," place it back below your board.
NOTE: Whenever you take or are given a token, place it above your Action board.
Magic
If you discard a Magic token when selecting the Magic Action tile, do any action (Animation, Background, Ink & Paint, or Sound) at the value of the Magic Action tile.
EXAMPLE: The player discards a Magic token and selects the Magic Action tile at a value of 5. They choose to do the Animation action and draw three Animation cards. If they had selected the Animation Action tile, they would have drawn only one card.
3. Slide Action Tiles
After completing the action, remove the selected Action tile. Slide the Action tiles over so there are no empty spaces to the right of them. Then place the selected Action tile on the 1 space.
EXAMPLE: The player removes the Ink & Paint Action tile they selected, slides the Background and Animation Action tiles to the right, then replaces the Ink & Paint Action tile on the 1 space.
4. Place or Use Characters & Remove Calamity
If you have the cards and tokens you need, you may place or use characters and remove Calamity, as explained on the next page. You can do these in any order and as many times as you want, as long as you can discard the required card(s) or token(s). If you can't or don't want to do any of them, skip this step and end your turn.
You can discard three matching Animation cards to count as any other Animation card. Wild Paint tokens count as any color.
When you discard a token, return it to the board or supply it came from. Return Paint tokens to the Studio board by filling empty spaces from bottom to top. If there are multiple empty spaces in the same row, you choose where to place them.
At the end of your turn, you may discard any tokens you want. Tokens are limited, so another player may need them more than you.
Placing Characters
If you've completed a character's background section, as explained on page 9, you may discard the Paint tokens shown next to that character to place their Character Cel card on your Background board.
Placing a character allows you to immediately use their power for free, and also unlocks their power for the rest of the game.
Using Character Powers
After you've placed a character, you can use their character power by discarding a Magic token or the Animation card shown next to their power.
IMPORTANT: Each character power can be used only once per turn. The free power when you place a character counts as the one use that turn.
Removing Calamity
Removing Calamity weakens the Villain by reducing their Calamity Effects in the Villain Phase. When you remove a Calamity, place the card into a face-up discard pile. There are four kinds of Calamity cards:
- Paint: Discard the Paint token shown to remove that Calamity.
- Animation: Discard the Animation card shown to remove that Calamity.
- Number: Select the Action tile of the value shown to remove that Calamity. (Remove it immediately—you don't have to wait for the last step of your turn.)
- Cannot Remove: The players cannot discard that Calamity until the Villain Phase.
Each token, card, or action removes only one Calamity. If there are multiple cards showing the same requirement, you must remove them separately.
Villain Phase
After all players have taken a turn, complete the Villain Phase according to the Villain tile on top of the stack. The steps listed on the Villain tile are explained in more detail below.
Advance Deadline & Check Hand Limit
Advance the Deadline marker one space up the Deadline track. Then all players check their hand of cards. If you have more than seven Animation cards in your hand, discard down to seven.
Calamity Effect
Complete the Villain's Calamity Effect one time for each Calamity card next to the board. If they were all removed during the Player Phase, skip the Calamity Effect.
IMPORTANT: Each time you cannot complete the Calamity Effect, advance the Deadline token one space.
Each time you complete the effect, or advance the Deadline for an incomplete effect, discard one Calamity card. You must complete the effect if at all possible—you cannot choose to advance the Deadline if you could complete the effect.
If the Calamity Effect says to "collectively" discard cards or tokens, the number listed is the total from among all the players. Decide together which player(s) will discard. You can choose different player(s) each time.
EXAMPLE: At the start of the Villain Phase, the players advance the Deadline one space. Then they must complete the Calamity Effect two times because there are two Calamity cards remaining.
Two of the players each choose to discard one card from their hands at random. The cards don't match, so they don't advance the Deadline. Then they discard one Calamity card.
Now the players collectively have only one card in their hands. Because they cannot complete the Calamity Effect, they advance the Deadline one space and discard the second Calamity card.
Move Villain & Refresh Calamity
When all the Calamity cards have been discarded, move the Villain tile to the bottom of the stack, revealing the Villain for the next round. If there is only one Villain in the stack, leave the tile where it is.
Lastly, refresh the Calamity cards with new ones from the deck. Reveal the number of cards shown on the Reminder card, and place them in a face-up row along the board. If you need to reveal a card from the deck when it is empty, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.
Completing Your Film
To complete your film, you need to finish placing your background, characters, and finally, the Villain. As soon as you've placed all nine Background tiles and all three Character Cel cards on your Background board, flip your Action board to the Villain side. (You may look at the back of your Action board at any time to prepare for placing the Villain.)
Placing the Villain
To place the Villain, you must meet the condition written on the Villain side of your Action board, and then discard the Paint tokens and Animation cards shown. You can do this at any time during the last step of your turn, after sliding Action tiles.
When you do, take the Villain tile for your film, no matter where it is in the stack, and place it on your Action board face down. Now your film is complete! After completing your film, you continue taking turns and doing actions to remove Calamity and help the other players complete their films.
End of the Game
When the Deadline token advances to the 13 space on the Deadline track, finish the Villain Phase, as normal. Then the players have one final Player Phase to complete their films. At the end of the last player's turn, the game ends. If any film isn't completed by the end of the game, the players lose.
If all the players complete their films before the end of the game, the players win!
Strategy Tips
Start by animating the background and composing the music!
- In the first few turns of the game, focus on placing Background tiles to get Magic tokens and bonus actions. Remember that you can use the Magic Action tile as a Background action by discarding a Magic token.
- Try out your unique Sound action! They can help you take the Background action at a higher value and maximize your actions in the early rounds, before you can access your character powers.
Dig up stronger actions with the Seven Dwarfs! (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
- Heigh-Ho is a powerful Sound action that gives out Seven Dwarfs tokens. Use it often! Players can return any number of Seven Dwarfs tokens on any action to increase the action's value, even above 5. This includes bonus actions from Background tiles or character powers.
- Snow White and The Prince are great early in the game to keep players away from Calamity. Forest Friends can give players the extra actions they need to complete their films as the Deadline approaches, and can also be increased with Seven Dwarfs tokens.
Get Magic tokens with Sorcerer Mickey and use Music tokens for an encore action! (Fantasia)
- Don't be afraid to use Magic tokens, especially to give each other bonus actions or use character powers. Sorcerer Mickey can help the players get more!
- Early in the game, focus on placing Music tokens on the Background and Ink & Paint Action tiles to help more players take those actions at high values. Later in the game, placing Music tokens on the Animation and Magic Action tiles can help everyone remove Calamity and place their Villains.
Wonderland is full of cards, and the Cheshire Cat makes actions reappear! (Alice in Wonderland)
- Don't hesitate to do the 'Twas Brillig Sound action when it's on a lower value. It always lets you draw two Animation cards, and will let two players do an action later, which can help them finish Background sections or get the last Paint tokens they need.
- It's a good idea to place Alice early in the game, since her character power helps you draw lots of Animation cards. Mad Hatter and March Hare are useful later in the game, but require more communication with the other players to determine when and how to best use their powers.
Kanine Krunchies can't be beat—players can use them as Paint tokens or Magic tokens! (101 Dalmatians)
- The Kanine Krunchies Sound action can get you the Paint tokens you need while also giving other players Kanine Krunchies tokens.
- Pongo & Perdita can help you find the cards you need to power your other characters, deal with Calamity cards, or finish your film. Roger and Anita can both help other players get the Paint tokens they need to fast-track placing their own characters.
The Genie will grant you one of three wishes, and Abu & Magic Carpet fly across the board! (Aladdin)
- Friend Like Me provides a powerful bonus, no matter the value of the Sound action when you do it. It gives two players one of three extra actions, which can offset when a player needs to select a weaker action.
- Aladdin is great at helping other players get the Animation card they need. Abu & Magic Carpet can make actions stronger before other players need to take them.
FAQ
Q: Can the value of an action go higher than 5 when using Seven Dwarfs tokens? A: Yes. If the action uses an X on the Action board, there's no limit to the action's value. The Animation action cannot go higher than 5.
Q: Can The Prince's character power remove a "Cannot Remove" Calamity card? A: No.
Q: If I place a Music token on the Action tile I selected, can I return it on the same turn? A: Yes. The Action tile you selected would stay where it was.
Q: Can Kanine Krunchies remove Calamity cards? Can they complete Jafar's Calamity Effect? A: You can choose to use a Kanine Krunchies token as any Paint token or a Magic token, including to remove Calamity or to complete a Calamity Effect. However, they are not considered those tokens, so you are not required to discard them for Jafar's Calamity Effect if you don't want to.
Q: Can the card that was discarded to use Aladdin's power be taken by another player? A: Yes. The card goes to the discard pile, then the player can choose any card from the discard pile.
Q: Can I look at the Villain tiles in the stack? A: Yes, at any time.
Q: Can I place the Villain if its tile is on the bottom of the stack? A: Yes.
Q: Can players share tokens or cards? A: No. But players can share information and can even play with their cards face up in front of them.
Q: How do I put the game away? A: The game comes with six tuck boxes for storing components. Each film's box can hold the Background tiles, Character Cel cards, Calamity cards, and wood token(s) for that film. The Studio box can hold the Action tiles and Animation cards.
Game by Prospero Hall. This game was designed by the animated team at Prospero Hall. TM & © 2023 Funko, LLC. FUNKO GAMES™ is a registered trademark of Funko Games. © Disney.