Shrek remains an instantly recognisable character to children around the world, so his latest mobile game Pocket Shrek is likely to spark plenty of interest.

Released by developer No Yetis Allowed and movie studio DreamWorks, it turns the big green ogre into a pocket-sized virtual pet, which children have to look after.

“Feed Shrek slimy slugs and juicy bugs when he’s hungry, put him to sleep when he’s sleepy, and make him fart out loud when he’s had too much to eat,” explains the App Store listing.

Although the obvious comparison is to the Shrek Alarm app that came out back in 2013, a more relevant one is to games like Clumsy Ninja or My Talking Tom, where children play with a character over time.

In the case of Pocket Shrek, that means playing mini-games involving dancing or inflating frogs, while casting spells on Shrek – and on his friend Donkey, once you unlock him.

Something that Pocket Shrek has in common with the games listed above is in-app purchases: while it’s free to download, the game has a pair of virtual currencies – coins and gems – with the former bought using real money from an in-app store. Any purchase also removes advertisements from the game.

Prices range from 1,500 gold coins for £0.79 to 100,000 coins for £39.99, which is not something most parents would want their children to be spending on virtual items in one go. As ever, make sure you’ve set your in-app purchase restrictions if your children are playing on your device.

Pocket Shrek is a free download for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.