Kingdom Hearts Heading To Disney+ As New Streaming Anime Series [D23]

At Disney’s D23 event, the studio spotlighted the upcoming “Kingdom Hearts 4” video game (first announced in 2022), the latest entry in the beloved series. But that’s not at all; it was also confirmed at D23 that “Kingdom Hearts” will be making its way to television as an anime series on Disney+. See the poster below:

Ahead of this announcement, Disney had been touting “Kingdom Hearts” as a “billion-dollar franchise” so it’s not surprising to hear they want to take it into a new medium

“Kingdom Hearts” is a co-production between Disney and the Japanese media company Square Enix, famous as the publisher of the long-running “Final Fantasy” RPG series and many more.

The plot of “Kingdom Hearts” is quite complicated, but at its core it’s a way to blend an RPG world in the vein of “Final Fantasy” with classic Disney characters – a unique cross-promotion for both companies. (The “Kingdom Hearts” series director, Tetsuya Nomura, has worked on several “Final Fantasy” games and also directed the 2005 animated film “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children”).

Across the “Kingdom Hearts” games you see protagonist Sora (Haley Joel Osment), a spiky-haired anime boy, traveling alongside Donald Duck and Goofy into the worlds of popular Disney films.

Kingdom Hearts is a natural fit for anime

Part of the oddball charm of “Kingdom Hearts” is seeing different art styles mixed together. Again, Sora looks like the lead of a shonen anime but he’s paired up with Donald and Goofy in their classic designs, with no attempts at an anime makeover. When this heroic trio enters the settings of different Disney movies, that only sharpens those contrasts. That makes anime, which can explore different art styles the same way the video games can, the right choice for this series. Not for nothing, a “Kingdom Hearts” animated series has long been a wishlist item for fans.

In a press release, Disney Kids & Family President Ayo Davis confirmed that is working alongside Tetsuya Nomura and the Square Enix team to ensure fidelity to the games. Davis’ comments in full read as follows:

“‘Kingdom Hearts’ has captivated gamers everywhere with its unique blend of adventure and imagination. There’s something really exciting about taking a world fans have spent years exploring through the games and bringing it to life in a completely new way. And with a creative team that is working closely with the legendary Tetsuya Nomura, our new series will be unmistakably ‘Kingdom Hearts,’ while giving fans a whole new way to experience the world they love.”

“Kingdom Hearts” is in production.

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Read the original article on SlashFilm.