Summary
Kingdom Heartshas grown a lot as a series. It’s introduced numerous original characters and plotlines that expand beyond the Disney-centric affair of the first game, but Disney is still a key part of its foundations.
However, as Kingdom Hearts has evolved, some fans have called for it to leave Disney behind. With Kingdom Hearts 4 leaning further into a more mature approach, this mindset has steadily become more popular. I don’t think Kingdom Hearts should ever ditch Disney, though, and here are my reasons why.
8We Haven’t Explored All The Disney Worlds Yet
There are alotof Disney worlds across all the games -almost 50 in fact- but that’s just scratching the surface of Disney’s humongous film catalogue. Why should we stop now when we’ve not explored the worlds of movies like Robin Hood, Oliver & Company, Treasure Planet, or even The Emperor’s New Groove?
Kingdom Hearts 3 also opened a whole new universe andlet us explore Pixar worlds, which just doubled the potential of future worlds. All you anti-Disney fans, how could you turn down the opportunity for a world inspired by Coco or The Incredibles? It doesn’t make any sense.
With all the graphical leaps the series has made as well, the Disney worlds now look and feel better than ever. Gone are the days when Agrabah was just a series of rooms; now we get to explore the Kingdom of Corona in full. I’m just excited to see how the Disney worlds look in Kingdom Hearts 4’s engine.
7Disney Worlds Are The Perfect Medium For Narrative Parallels
If you think the Disney worlds are just filler and get in the way of the ‘real’ story, then I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. Take a look at the scenes set in the Disney worlds again, and you’ll noticeinteresting parallels between the original cast and the Disney characters.
Kingdom Hearts 3 uses Disney worlds to parallel and foreshadow the main story most obviously (with Disney characters sacrificing themselves for a loved one reflecting Riku’s actions in the Keyblade Graveyard), but the other games use them in a similar way too. Remember how Sora cried when seeing Mulan and Ping together in KH2, and then cried when reuniting with Riku later in the game? That’s using Disney as foreshadowing, baby.
The Disney worldsarealso about exploration and fun, I won’t deny that, but they most often serve a bigger purpose in the overall narrative. Heck,Nomura said he would refuse to make Kingdom Hearts 3 if he couldn’t have Toy Story in it, and it’s easy to see why with how it introduces Yozora and Verum Rex.
The way Woody and Buzz are separated into different versions of Toy Box even sounds eerily similar to how Sora and Riku are in Quadratum in the secret ending, but don’t seem to be able to find each other. These similarities are everywhere if you look for them.
6Disney Movies Share A Lot Of The Same Themes As Kingdom Hearts
The reason why Disney movies are so beloved the world over is because of how they connect with you. Their themes of love, growing up, and overcoming adversity are concepts we can all relate to, and these themes are also used in Kingdom Hearts’ story.
Using the characters and worlds from these movies only enhances Kingdom Hearts’ exploration of these themes. In the numbered games, Sora gets to meet characters he relates to and who push him forward in his own journey, and the same happens for the protagonists in the non-numbered titles too. By using the Disney worlds and characters to explore these themes, Kingdom Hearts gets to show, not tell.
5Using Disney Characters As Summons Is Still A Great Twist On Final Fantasy
Alongside Disney, Final Fantasy is a core part of Kingdom Hearts, even if its characters feature less. Kingdom Hearts takes a key part of Final Fantasy - using summons - and gives it a unique twist by making them Disney characters. It’s just something that makes complete sense, and it would feel like something was missing from the gameplay if you took this away.
If we removed Disney, what would the summons be replaced with? Basic Final Fantasy summons? I like Shiva as much as the next person, but it would just be a less-fun trade-off. You can’t tell me you don’t see the hilarity in summoning Chicken Little.
The Disney summons are eventied into the lore, as they’re characters whose worlds were destroyed, but their spirits are being kept safe by the Fairy Godmother.
4The Disney Characters Are Just As Important As The Original Ones
You’re telling me Kingdom Hearts would be the same without Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey? I’m sorry, but it just wouldn’t be. They’d literally have to die for it to make sense that they’re gone, and Ihighlydoubt Disney would allow that.
Even other supporting Disney characters are integral to the narrative at this point. Yen Sid is Mickey’s mentor, and by extension Sora’s, and Jiminy Cricket has always been by Sora’s side, writing down all the events in the journal. If you removed them, there would just be a gaping hole in the narrative. Sorry, but that’s not happening.
3Disney’s Fairytale And Whimsical Influence Sets Kingdom Hearts Apart From Other RPGs
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that Disney is theonlything that sets Kingdom Hearts apart from other RPGs - it has a lot of creativity in other areas that does that too - but from a casual or outsider point of view, it’s the immediate thing that’s different from the likes of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Tales of.
Disney is Kingdom Hearts’ USP. It’s what drew in so many people when it first came out in 2002, many of whom were children who hadn’t played an RPG before. The series isn’t going to rid itself of its main identifier any time soon.
2Disney Is A Foundational Part Of The Series
Taking Disney out of Kingdom Hearts would be like taking chocobos, moogles, and cactuar out of Final Fantasy. Sure, it could be done, and you’d still have a good Final Fantasy game at the end of it, but it would lose a semblance of its personality. You’d be able to tell that something was missing.
Disney’s involvement in Kingdom Hearts isn’t limited to the worlds you explore - it’s everywhere you look, and everywhere you don’t look. The Kingdom Key Keyblade has a Mickey Mouse keychain, for crying out loud. If you took Disney out, there’d be too much to fix.
1I Just Really Like The Friendship Between Riku And Mickey, Okay?
Without Disney in Kingdom Hearts, we never would have gotten the glorious friendship that blossomed between Riku and Mickey in Chain of Memories and continued throughout the rest of the series.
Riku started off as a jealous and lonely teenager, until King Mickey came along and offered him the support he needed. Mickey took Riku under his wing and helped him see his worth. Why would you ever want to remove the magic that created that?
