Conrad and Sally's house serves as a hub world whose stages are household objects or rooms which have been corrupted by magic.[4][b] The Cat explores worlds and chases Quinn out of them while gathering the scattered magic.[4] In the game's boss fights, the Cat fights Quinn's machine[c] and fires projectiles into its exhaust pipe to damage it and obtain a portion of the Crablock.[4] There are ten levels, a bonus level, and three boss fights.[d]
To traverse levels, the Cat can jump, glide and slam the ground with his umbrella, and collect enemies and explosive goo in bubbles for use as projectiles, among other maneuvers.[4] The Cat has five hit points and takes damage by colliding with enemies, projectiles, and hazards.[4] Losing all five hit points or falling into a bottomless pit causes the Cat to lose a life and be placed at the most recent checkpoint. Losing all lives results in a game over, sending the Cat to the beginning of the level. Collecting cupcake slices and hearts, respectively, restores hit points and lives.[4]
The game's primary collectible is small clusters of magic whose value varies by color.[4] Entering each stage requires a certain amount of magic, and collecting every cluster in a stage returns its appearance in the hub world to normal.[4] Each stage contains four keys – stolen by Thing One and Thing Two – which unlock a bonus door.[4][e] Bonus doors contain a short segment of gameplay with additional magic and a gem.[4] The game's secret level, Mystical Mirror, is unlocked by collecting every gem.[4] Finally, clapperboards can be found which unlock clips from the movie for viewing in the menu.[4]