Kingdom Hearts 4 is currently in development, and the Disney worlds are confirmed to have been selected by the development team. So far, the revelation of a more realistic design for Sora indicates a willingness to be more visually heterogeneous. A memorable aspect of Kingdom Hearts is how Sora’s appearance might be affected by the worlds he travels to. This normally does not happen in worlds based on the Walt Disney Animated Canon. Instead, they tend to happen in worlds that do not hail from “traditional” Disney movies. This includes The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of the Caribbean, the black and white shorts that started it all, and of course, Pixar’s filmography.
Kingdom Hearts 4’s plans for its worlds, other than the fact the developers have made the roster, are unknown. Despite this, it is safe to say that it will focus more on other film branches owned by Disney in terms of representation. The series debuted when Pixar was at its peak, and the studio’s movies were part of the plan for a long time. Kingdom Hearts 3 finally included Pixar-themed worlds, and its successor is expected to do the same. If Kingdom Hearts 4 continues representing Pixar, its approach should be similar to the older games in the series and which Disney movies were picked.
Focusing on the Classics While Making Room for Modernity
The original Kingdom Hearts came out before Disney’s infamous acquisitions began; the company did not even own Pixar at the same time. Therefore, the game picked what people expect to see when they hear the word Disney: the animated movies that generations have grown up with. The princess movies, The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan are all among the iconic works to have been featured in the series’ mainline installments. That being said, not everything in the franchise, even in the first game, was from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The Nightmare Before Christmas, for example, has been part of the series since the beginning.
Pixar’s path to success mirrors Walt Disney Animation Studios. Just like Snow White, Pixar’s first feature, Toy Story, innovated filmmaking as a whole and changed the animation landscape forever. Unsurprisingly, Toy Story is Pixar’s most successful, expansive, and culturally significant work. It goes without saying that the film series is the obvious choice for a Pixar world, something that came into fruition in Kingdom Hearts 3, which also introduced a Monsters, Inc. world and a minigame starring Remy from Ratatouille.
Pixar’s filmography from 1995 to 2010 is considered to be a set of modern classics. Each movie from that era, even the “less successful” ones like A Bug’s Life and Cars, has either ingrained itself into pop culture or captivated both regular audiences and professional critics. All of them are worthy of being represented in Kingdom Hearts. Some movies that could be represented while feeling fresh are WALL-E, which boats are space setting and the more unique post-apocalyptic future Earth, and The Incredibles, with the potential of delivering some of the most engaging action sequences in the series despite potentially being similar to Kingdom Hearts 3’s Big Hero 6 world.
Cars is not as popular with older audiences, but a world based on the franchise has the potential of being memetic and ridiculous. There is also the idea of representing Finding Nemo, one of the most popular Pixar movies. Despite this prestigious status, the film’s underwater setting is unlikely to sit well with a series whose own underwater levels are among its most controversial.
That does not mean that newer Pixar works should be avoided, especially since the series is starting to include modern Disney movies. Luca could include a water level that uses the film's titular hero's adaptability to its advantage, allowing Sora to actually walk and jump around instead of being forced to swim all the time. Coco, Inside Out, and Soul have their own spiritual inner worlds with dreamlike aesthetics that could make for fascinating and gorgeous levels. Turning Red’s setting is more mundane, but has magical and action components that could be integrated into a potential Kingdom Hearts 4 interpretation of the film’s world.
A lot can still be done with Pixar in this series. Kingdom Hearts 4 should prioritize the older movies due to their historical impact and a growing audience with nostalgic ties to them. However, there should be some balance in the representation, with Square Enix giving some modern works a shot too. After all, they are impacting people in the same way the classics did.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is currently in development.