New Disney Princess game is a charmer

• Available for Wii, Nintendo DS, Windows PC or Mac
• Best for ages 4 to 7
• $39.99 for Wii and Nintendo DS, $29.99 for PC/Mac

If your daughter lights up at the mention of Disney Princesses, she can explore the worlds of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle and Tiana in the new video game "Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure."

Available on the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Windows PC and Mac, "Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure" has a cute premise and excellent execution. Your daughter plays as an apprentice to the Fairy Godmother. The game begins with the apprentice dutifully practicing her magic in a garden. Then she messes up a spell and accidentally turns all of the garden sprites into imps. The magical sprites normally tend the garden, but once turned into imps, they take-off to wreak havoc.

Since the Fairy Godmother's castle has access into all of the Princesses' kingdoms, the imps have a gleeful time of causing mischief in the worlds of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle and Tiana.

Having to right the wrong she has caused, the apprentice must chase the imps into the world of the five Princesses. She must clean up their messes and use magic to turn them back into sprites. This means that little girl gamers have five different adventures to explore, and in each, they interact with a beloved Disney Princess. In addition to the Princesses, kids also have a chance to play with other characters from those worlds including Rapunzel's chameleon Pascal, Belle's friend Lumiere, Ariel's buddy Flounder, and Cinderella's adorable mouse Gus.

The game cleverly lets girls design their own apprentice character. With a simple Avatar maker, girls can choose the hair, eyes, mouth, skin color and clothing of their avatar. As they play the game, they collect gems scattered throughout, and use them to buy more options for their character. This personalization helps little girls feel as if they are part of the story.

The adventuring is also quite well done. When the player enters one of the five magical worlds, she will meet the princess (fun!), and get to help her with problems that have arisen because of the imps. For example, in Rapunzel's world, the imps have tacked up "Wanted" posters of Rapunzel's beloved Flynn. Players need to find the posters and then twirl in a glittery circle to make the posters disappear. They also need to turn pouty plants into happy plants and repair a bridge by solving a jigsaw-like puzzle.

In addition to helping the princesses and restoring order in five worlds, gamers can play minigames, care for the garden, and decorate a room in the Fairy Godmother's castle. In one of the minigames, you use a magnifying glass to find the camouflaging chameleon hiding in a big wall mural. In the garden, you can plant new flowers and care for them. Decorating your room involves using the gems you find to buy furniture and then selecting where to place it.

"Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure" is a great game for girls in preschool through early elementary. And it is a fabulous way to introduce little girls to gaming, because it teaches them how to do things normally found in video games.

The collection of gems is very typical -- you use your magic wand on things like barrels to shake loose more of the valuable sparkles, for instance. Teaching young gamers how to explore an environment is also carefully scripted. Glowing lights show you the way to new areas; and once in a kingdom where you need to collect things, arrows point you in the right direction. The game introduces newbies to platform puzzling by having the apprentice make her way to places like the top of Rapunzel's tower by having to time her jumps onto floating wooden slabs. But the game is careful to make it impossible to fall off or fail.

The minigames you find in the adventure mode unlock and can be played separately. If you are playing the Wii version, a friend or parent can join in this girly magic-fest, in a drop-in, drop-out manner.

For Disney Princesses' fans, this game delivers the magic and enchantment that is the hallmark of these fairytale characters. It is appropriately sparkling and filled with bows and tiaras; but it also involves puzzle-solving and adventure.

Score: 3.5 stars (out of 4)
Rating: E
Best for: Ages 4-7
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Platform: Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PC/Mac
Cost: $39.99 (Wii, 3DS), $29.99 (PC/Mac)

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Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids magazine. Contact her at techcomments@usatoday.com.