The Kingdom Hearts series has lived and died for the last 20 years on the strengths of its narrative focus. This has often led to a fair amount of criticism, due in large part to how long and spread out the ongoing story has gotten. However, a recently uncovered animatic has given fans a look at how Square Enix’s incredible world-building could have been more easily explored all the way back in 2003.
This new look comes in the form of a previously unreleased pilot of a Kingdom Hearts animated series that appears to have been in development by Disney. The short animatic showcases the way that the animated series might recap the events of the original game with some key differences that might have tied the whole narrative together.
How The Kingdom Hearts Show Would Have Deviated from the Games
Digging into this newly released animatic, the most obvious difference between this pilot comes from the first appearance of the Keyblade. Not only does Sora start the show practicing with it against Riku’s wooden sword, he appears to already have the iconic Kingdom Hearts weapon before the Heartless ever arrive. Beyond these smaller changes, these opening scenes also show that while Sora will still be traveling with Donald and Goofy, he would have had more interactions with his friends from Destiny Islands.
The tone also takes a shift, with the climax of the pilot episode following the original Kingdom Hearts in pitting Riku and Sora against each other as rivals. However, there is an extra level of deceit being used in this scene, where Riku tries to lure Sora to join him with the Darkness, but falls back on a shallow lie to save face when this tactic fails. In this case, it can be seen that the relationships between these characters was intended to be much more strained throughout the animated series. Specifically, it puts more of an active role on Riku's actions as a villain.
This Darker Kingdom Hearts Tone Could Help Establish Character Relationships
One of the main criticisms that can be found among those who love or hate Kingdom Hearts comes from the way that the narrative of the series has become bloated, while individual interactions can be thin. This is often best shown in how the Disney and Pixar worlds rarely have a large amount of impact on the overall narrative that only progresses in the original lands. Generally, Sora will show up to a new Disney world, fight some heartless and maybe the movie villain of the locale, then leave without much change besides a higher level and a new Keyblade.
An animated series could have a unique experience outside the game series to give a stronger focus on the relationships between characters like Sora and Riku. On the other hand of addressing this criticism, the time available across a season of animation could also be used to flesh out the flatter characters like Kingdom Hearts' main female protagonist Kairi. More importantly, though, the need to fill an episode with meaningful interactions instead of just combat and puzzles could strengthen the bonds between Sora and Disney characters like Aladdin, Peter Pan, or Jack Skellington.
Disney and Square Enix Could Expand Perspectives Beyond Sora
The Kingdom Hearts series isn't exactly afraid to pull the camera off Sora's back, with even the first game dedicating considerable time to a council of Villains throughout its runtime. An animated series could take this pulling back of the perspective a step further, by dedicating B-plots or entire episodes to Riku or Kairi, all while Sora is off with Donald and Goofy. Additionally, this could be a second chance for Square Enix to solidify parts of the narrative that would eventually be made more important as the franchise continued.
Considering the ways that the pilot has already put its own twist on the canon, anything could also be up for grabs as Disney moves to adapt the games into animation. As long as the series winds its path towards the ultimate conflict with series antagonist Xehanort from Kingdom Hearts 3, it hardly matters exactly how the show gets there. This new, refreshed look at the now 20-year-old narrative could still be a success among fans today.
Disney Plus Needs New Exclusives like Kingdom Hearts
With the series is in a slump before Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link beta and Kingdom Hearts 4's release, now is the perfect time for Disney and Square Enix to take a new look at animation. Not only does Disney need more variety in the original content from familiar IPs to keep Disney Plus new and relevant, but the games could use a new jumping off point. With a target demographic of fans in their teens, the 20-year-old Kingdom Hearts franchise needs a way to get younger players through the early games and ready for the next main title. Additionally, considering that Square Enix knows where the story is going now, season one can properly set up reveals down to season eight.
On the other side of this is the state of animation today, namely the quality of animations that companies like Disney are premiering to television and streaming services. This means that while it might have been nice to have a Kingdom Hearts animated series in 2003, the tools and talents working on popular Disney shows like The Owl House could make it look even better now. That being said, the animation industry is also on unstable ground at the moment, which could easily be solved by massive corporations like Disney funding projects like Kingdom Hearts to support the company's most popular medium.
Finally, looking at a large amount of media being made for the target demographic of the Kingdom Hearts series right now, this could also be a chance for the franchise to reach out to a major part of its fan base. This would specifically be fans looking for more LGBTQA+ content in Kingdom Hearts, many of which already identify with the characters and their relationships. With Disney already airing shows like The Owl House with prominent representation, allowing Kingdom Hearts characters to honestly explore orientation or identity could be possible.