Kingdom Hearts is one of the largest and most convoluted stories in videogame history. The tangled web it weaves spans a multiverse of Disney classics on the various Sony titles it has been on. Now Disney has been remaking all their old classics in a live action format so what if Sora showed up in an after credits scene? What if ladies and gentlemen Kingdom Hearts is the pivotal part that Disney needs to create a multiversal/Harry Potter style film franchise that encompasses all their best IP’s?
For those unaware of the legacy of Sora the wielder of the legendary Keyblade, I will try and give a concise and hopefully brief synopsis. The story of Kingdom Hearts follows three characters Sora, Riku, and Kairi. These three teens live in a small world and hope to strike out on their own someday and visit new places and meet new people. And one day they get the opportunity when a storm and a stranger come along. Sora is separated from his friends and mysteriously receives a weapon dubbed the Keyblade however before he can come to terms with all this he is whisked away to a new world.
This is where the story follows Sora in earnest and as he is checking out this new world known as Traverse Town he bumps into two colourful characters. What might peak many peoples interest is the identity of these two individuals and the King they are searching for. Ladies and gentlemen, they are none other than Donald Duck and Goofy! Not just that the King is the one the only Mickey Mouse who is missing as he is off on a mythical quest. When Donald and Goofy tell Sora that the blade he wields is part of this mythical prophecy he decides that if it can help him find his friends then he might as well tag along. From there Sora, Donald, and Goofy travel across a multiverse of worlds filled with many new and recognisable faces. While the original characters of the Kingdom Hearts story are an eclectic bunch of lovable weirdo’s I’d like to bring attention to the other half of the cast.
Kingdom Hearts is filled to the brim with Disney characters that go as far back as their first feature Snow White and their inclusion into the story is clever enough to get fans fawning over the idea. And the reason being is a wonderful fantasy trope centring around every Disney Princess and how Maleficent is capturing each and every one of them and trying to use the pureness of their hearts to gain access to a power above all other powers. This story on the surface is wonderfully over the top and seeing Sora, who is basically the eyes of the audience, interact with all these icons of our childhood is a film a lot of people could get onboard with. What is also a nice touch is whenever Sora, Donald, and Goofy land on a new world they take on the some of the characteristics of its inhabitants. For example, when the trio arrives at The Pride Lands they transform into animals, for Donald, and Goofy it’s not much of a change but Sora becomes a lion and he gets to interact with Simba against the machinations of Scar. This is not the only one as in the latest Kingdom Hearts we have already seen images of Sora head to the Monsters Inc. World and become a monster, land in Andy’s room in Toy Story becoming an action figure in the process, and even join Baymax in San Fransokyo clad in his own super suit. The vast changes to the heroes is another wonderful element to tap into for this possible film franchise.
The reason this would all work is that with Disney revamping and remaking their classics in a live action format (even though The Lion King is not a live-action remake it’s just returning as another form of animation) this would give them all a focus and a reason beyond money to make them. Plus with a Kingdom Hearts film encompassing all the films Disney can bring back every character they’ve recreated in this recent trend. Everyone adored Cinderella, especially the villainous turn of Cate Blanchett, so many would love Sora to interact with them. Also seeing Maleficent back as her true villainous self would be amazing meaning that Sora (whoever the actor may be) would have to face down a terrifying Angelina Jolie.
Seeing Sora face off against these iconic villains, Hades, Jafar, Sid the bully, could range from the absurd to the emotional and each film could be very different from the previous but with still having this all-encompassing theme of saving the universe. Plus there is the opportunity to see all the heroes join Sora in his journey. Imagine if you will Beast, Hercules, and Aladdin joining forces to push back the forces of evil. It could be amazing if done properly because at the end of the day this is just a dream, a fools dream.
In conclusion, I believe that Disney has an untapped vein in their gargantuan mine of IP’s and if they delve into this they could set in motion yet another franchise that could bring another generation of Disnerds as well as gamers to the cinema. So if this feature of mine interested you and you’ve got your own ideas on whether it could work or not let us know in the comments below.
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