The game follows a formula that Hopper and other Disney executives want to serve as a blueprint for future titles. Designers at Avalanche worked with the film's producers and animators to get scenes that were created entirely for the game.

"That lets us tell a story in the same universe and time frame as the movie," said John Blackburn, Avalanche Software's general manager. "But we can expand the universe in a way that makes better sense for a video game."

Collaboration between designers and animators has grown, Blackburn said. Designers get early access to footage, gaining more time to build a game and make it closer to the movie.

"Before we were with Disney, we wouldn't always get access to the movie team, and because of the lack of trust, they wouldn't let us do things with the character," Blackburn said.

Disney views Nintendo as a natural partner since its users tend to be younger. While Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. compete for ardent video game fans with high-end graphics and complex games, Nintendo has made the Wii simple and easy to use with a controller sensitive to motion.

Novis said kids find Xbox and PlayStation games technical and difficult to learn, while they typically can pick up a Nintendo game and start playing quickly. At $250, Nintendo's Wii costs less than the Xbox and PlayStation 3.

"It seems like with our brand, the Nintendo platform is a really good place to put our development effort and focus," Novis said.