Game:

Kingdom Hearts (2002)

Duration: 11:19

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6

Storyboarded and edited by Seth Kearsly, this is one of the original pitches for a Disney Channel Kingdom Hearts TV show. While just storyboards, this is fully voice-acted, with (of the KH original characters), only Sora's VA not reprising his role, due to other engagements. Standouts include Goofy and Riku, particularly the latter, who possible manages to show more personality in this animatic, than in the game proper.

In terms of historical value in terms of Kingdom Hearts, it is easily 5 stars. The character art is rough, particularly the original characters, but considering the purpose of the pilot, it is more than serviceable. It even manages to add humor, with how expressive the characters can be.

Besides that, it is a very high quality animatic, more than would be usual. The backgrounds are often sourced directly from the movie, leading it to look surprisingly nice. As for the plot, while notably different from the game, it hits many important beats. It manages to implement the world it is covering, with the plot. It truly feels like a pilot that emphasizes the Kingdom Hearts characters, while managing to keep the Saturday morning Disney cartoon feeling. Of course, there may be some who take issue with the changes, though once again, considering it is a pilot that was never meant for the public eye, it is more than serviceable.

I won't go too in-depth about the plot and character interactions, I believe they speak better for themselves. I will emphasize that this is an amazing find, and if you consider yourself a Kingdom Hearts fan, it is worth watching at least once. And even if you are not, it may be worth watching for the nostalgic value of Saturday morning cartoons.

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