Get a Look at the WildKingdom HeartsAnimated Series That Never Was

Despite Kingdom Hearts’seemingly endless capacityto continue existing , its relationship with Disney beyond theliteral games themselveshas always been a fiddling distant — at least on the Disney side of things . You ’re not going to see Sora in the theme ballpark perhaps any time soon , but once upon a metre that was n’t always decease to be the case .

Animator Seth Kearsley , who once served as executive manufacturer on a project animated adaptation of the first Kingdom Hearts game , recently revealed that he ’d founda long - sentiment - lost VHS recordingof the series ’ animatic pilot light , used to pitch executives on the idea of a Disney version of the action - RPG serial publication . Now , just weeks after finding it , Kearsly has publish the 11 - moment short online for fans to seewhat might have been .

The series was greenlit shortly after the launching of the first game , but never made it to breeze after being scrapped by Disney and Square Enix . Kearsley , who has spoken about the projection openly here and there for years , recently reflected on his design to deal more about the unseen study after being in a near - fatal auto accident . “ I almost become flat , and there ’s some shit I wanna put out in the world that almost never got to be put out in the earth , ” Kearsleysaid in a videomade after the discovery of the animatic recording . “ So I ’m gon na put it out in the creation . That ’s a lot of poppycock , I cognise — maybe that ’s a lilliputian too personal , but everything is a slight too personal for me now . ”

Screenshot: Seth Kearsley/YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Iyg6gQZFhc

The 11 - minute storyboard animatic , title “ Agrabah , ” is a quick , loose estimate of some of the former beats of the original Kingdom Hearts , first unblock in 2002 . The short afford with a brief explanation of original characters Sora , Riku , and Kairi being separated from their island home by an attack by mysterious fauna known as the Heartless , before Sora and Riku receive themselves go down different paths to deliver Kairi . Much of the game ’s cast returned to sound their roles — relieve for Haley Joel Osment as Sora , supervene upon by actor Bobby Edner due to scheduling commitment , fit in to Kearsley — and it ’s by and declamatory a surprisingly verbatim take on the series .

The unlike drift worlds based on classic Disney movies ; Sora , Donald , and Goofy ’s battle brio ; the way the heartless explode into clouds of neon , toylike star on frustration ; and even some of the game ’s eventual darkness — Riku being brought under the thrall of Maleficent , who is work on with the Heartless — are touched on . Completely out of nowhere , there ’s even a teeny bit of iconic Hikaru Utada firecracker “ Simple and fair ” in there for good measure !

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Alas , this is likely all there ever will be of a Kingdom Hearts animated version . The game themselves have long since diverged into original stories , with the Disney elements acting more as set dressing to their often - memed - upon plot . The idea of a Disney - made Kingdom Hearts show now would reckon very different to what Kearsley and his squad ever planned , but at least we now , tenner subsequently , get to see what could ’ve been .

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