Get a Look on the Wild Kingdom Hearts Animated Series That Never Was

Despite Kingdom Hearts’ seemingly infinite capability to proceed current, its relationship with Disney past the literal video games themselves has all the time been a bit of distant—not less than on the Disney facet of issues. You’re not going to see Sora within the theme parks maybe any time quickly, however as soon as upon a time that wasn’t all the time going to be the case.

Animator Seth Kearsley, who as soon as served as government producer on a deliberate animated adaptation of the primary Kingdom Hearts recreation, not too long ago revealed that he’d discovered a long-thought-lost VHS recording of the collection’ animatic pilot, used to pitch executives on the concept of a Disney adaptation of the action-RPG collection. Now, simply weeks after discovering it, Kearsly has launched the 11-minute quick on-line for followers to see what might need been.

The collection was greenlit shortly after the launch of the primary recreation, however by no means made it to air after being scrapped by Disney and Square Enix. Kearsley, who has spoken in regards to the venture brazenly right here and there for years, not too long ago mirrored on his intent to share extra in regards to the unseen work after being in a near-fatal automobile accident. “I almost died, and there’s some shit I wanna put out in the world that almost never got to be put out in the world,” Kearsley said in a video made after the invention of the animatic recording. “So I’m gonna put it out in the world. That’s a lot of stuff, I know—maybe that’s a little too personal, but everything is a little too personal for me now.”

The 11-minute storyboard animatic, titled “Agrabah,” is a fast, unfastened approximation of among the early beats of the unique Kingdom Hearts, first launched in 2002. The quick opens with a short rationalization of authentic characters Sora, Riku, and Kairi being separated from their island residence by an assault by mysterious creatures referred to as the Heartless, earlier than Sora and Riku discover themselves taking place completely different paths to rescue Kairi. Much of the sport’s solid returned to voice their roles—save for Haley Joel Osment as Sora, changed by actor Bobby Edner as a consequence of scheduling commitments, in accordance with Kearsley—and it’s by and enormous a surprisingly direct tackle the collection.

The completely different floating worlds based mostly on traditional Disney films; Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s combat animations; the best way the heartless explode into clouds of neon, toylike stars on defeat; and even among the recreation’s eventual darkness—Riku being introduced below the thrall of Maleficent, who’s working with the Heartless—are touched on. Completely out of nowhere, there’s even a teeny little bit of iconic Hikaru Utada banger “Simple and Clean” in there for good measure!

Alas, that is doubtless all there ever will likely be of a Kingdom Hearts animated adaptation. The video games themselves have lengthy since diverged into authentic tales, with the Disney parts performing extra as set dressing to their often-memed-upon plots. The concept of a Disney-made Kingdom Hearts present now would look very completely different to what Kearsley and his workforce ever deliberate, however not less than we now, a long time later, get to see what may’ve been.

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