The upcoming Kingdom Hearts 4 will presumably feature new worlds from across the Disney canon, just as its predecessors have. However, there's one recent Disney film that could use a new lease on life. Disney's new film Wish would do well with a role in Kingdom Hearts 4.

Wish just released for Disney's centennial celebration to less than applause. The new animated film has been slammed for having a weak plot and weaker songs. Moreover, the film's style — CGI animation with a 2D hand-drawn aesthetic, representing Disney's history — has proven divisive. Whilst some audiences enjoy the unique look, many critics find it disarming or a lackluster attempt to mimic the stylistic innovations of the Spider-Verse films or Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Though many audiences have been endeared to characters such as protagonist Asha (played by Ariana DeBose) and villain King Magnifico (played by Chris Pine), the overall reaction has veered toward the negative.

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Wish Could Make A Great Kingdom Hearts World

Despite the issues many have with the film, it has a great deal of untapped potential. It brings Disney back to its roots of vibrant fantasy and maniacal villains, something that's been against the trend of the studio's modern output. Just as Kingdom Hearts 4 could uplift unappreciated films, it could give a second wind to a film like Wish. If the dazzling world of light and arcana Wish presents can become a vessel for exploration, the film might see a new wave of fans.

The art style for Wish is controversial, but its effort to separate itself from the rest of Disney's output wasn't all for naught. Its watercolor-adjacent backdrops, minimal character texturing, and vibrant lighting give the movie an aesthetic edge. It's a level of high fantasy that has been far rarer among Disney's modern animated catalogue (a mix of sci-fi and slice-of-life adventures). This fantastical angle, one that blends well with Disney's golden age or renaissance era, would be a perfect fit for the adventures had throughout the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Throwing the series into a world that is unlike either modern or classic Disney in its design while retaining a classic sense of fantasy would do wonders for the next game.

Another benefit to roping Wish into Kingdom Hearts 4 would be involving more modern Disney flicks into Kingdom Hearts. The franchise has yet to really tap into the post-2010 era of Disney films. This is, of course, to do with the timeline related to making the games, but it's also related to the types of films that Disney has produced in recent years. Only three films from 2010 and onwards have made it to Kingdom Hearts:

• Tangled (2010), the first CGI rendition of a classic Disney princess narrative.
• Frozen (2013), another CGI Disney princess film and one of the highest-grossing of all time
• Big Hero 6 (2014), an outlier in terms of fantasy, but still an adventure-focused film rather than a more down-to-earth piece.

Except for Big Hero 6, the films that have made their way into Kingdom Hearts have been pretty reminiscent of classic, hand-drawn Disney movies. Since Kingdom Hearts 4 will have the ability to draw from a newly widened set of IPs (including live action renditions of Disney movies), a film that serves as a throwback to an older era would perfectly usher modern Disney pictures into the game series.

Wish didn't quite stick the landing with critics and audiences, but that doesn't mean its ideas are without merit. Since many Disney characters are already confirmed to return in Kingdom Hearts 4, it's also important for newer animated entries to get a chance in the game series. With a fantastical world that went underused in its own feature, Wish might become beloved after all with a solid video game portrayal.

Kingdom Hearts 4

Franchise

Kingdom Hearts

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox Series X|S

Developer(s)

Square Enix

Publisher(s)

Square Enix

Genre(s)

RPG , Action