Who would have thought thatKingdom Heartswould take off the way it did? Disney and anime are not something you would think would click, yet it surprisingly does. It gives classic Disney characters and villains an update while also having original characters such as Sora and Roxas venturing through iconic worlds.
While the games may be considered lengthy, not everything that was originally pitched made it in, and some worlds had to be removed entirely despite being worked on and having playable areas. So which Disney Worlds were scrapped from the games? Here are eight that didn’t make the cutting room floor.
The original Kingdom Hearts has plenty of fantastic worlds, ranging from Halloween Town to the 100-acre Woods. However, the world of Toy Story, one of the most iconic films, wouldn’t appear until much later in the series. While many of thePixar Worlds didn’t show up until Kingdom Hearts 3, the idea of adding these levels has always been part of the plan.
Some locations that might have been included would have been Andy’s House, Pizza Planet, and Al’s Toy Barn. These are all iconic from the first and second films; unfortunately, due to ownership issues, this world had to be cut until much later, after Disney fully acquired Pixar.
7Kingdom Hearts Disney Castle
A World Reserved For Cutscenes
One ofthe most iconic worlds in Kingdom Heartsis the Disney Castle. This location appears in cutscenes in the original Kingdom Hearts, and it’s where Donald and Goofy first set off on their adventure. However, it originally served a greater role in earlier builds of the game.
One early trailer for the first game includes gameplay of Sora running through the Disney Castle. This, however, does not happen in the finished product, and Disney Castle would later return in sequels as a playable area, but not this first time. Like many attractions and set pieces from a real Disney park, it is a pretty place that you can admire from a distance.
Some of the more popular worlds tend to carry over to the next game. Chain of Memories was released for the Game Boy Advanced and contained many familiar entries. However, there is one world from the first game that is notably absent, which is the Tarzan world, Deep Jungle.
What makes this lost world so interesting is that there is evidence that it existed within the game at some point within the coding for the card system. There is old concept art for the game featuring the Deep Jungle layout and even a card in the game’s code that seems to come from that world.
Kingdom Hearts 2 had the opportunity to introduce brand-new worlds to the franchise. Players can finally explore the Pride Lands, Beast’s Caste, and even the world of Pirates of the Caribbean. This opportunity also led to both Toy Story and Monsters Inc. being pitched.
Unfortunately, neither of these worlds made the cutting room floor. However, they didn’t get turned away without leaving some form of evidence of their presence. Text files exist within the game’s code hinting at a Monsters Inc. world. Later, Tetsuya Nomura confirmed the existence of models created for both worlds that were used for the pitch, and these two worlds would later become a top priority for Kingdom Hearts 3.
Pinnochio is an interesting property in the Kingdom Hearts games. Technically, Pinocchio had a world though in the first game but it wasn’t Pleasure Island or even the circus. This was in the form of Monstro’s big stomach. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
This world would also have interesting story development, seeing as the plotline followed Roxas grappling with his existence. Meeting Pinocchio on his home turf would also offer parallels to his character arc, as the puppet himself also struggles with his identity as a real boy. Unfortunately, this world never came to pass in 358/2 Days but later did make an appearance as Prankster’s Paradise.
If there is any Disney world that got done dirty it’s Jungle Book. There’s no Baloo or Bagheera, not even a single bear necessity in sight. Despite being a classic film, Kingdom Hearts has never ventured into Mowglii’s part of the Jungle.
This does not mean that Jungle Book isn’t on the minds of developers; Jungle Book has plenty of finished in-game assets that give players a glimpse at a world that never was. This includes a semi-playable area that you can access through hacks. This world would have been playable in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep if it weren’t cut from the final product.
Perhaps another franchise that got done even dirtier is Treasure Planet. The film came out duringa rocky period in the Disney lineup. Despite being considered a cult classic and even getting the recognition it deserves years later, Treasure Planet almost made it into Dream Drop Distance.
Unlike other cut worlds that have somewhat realized remnants left in the game’s coding, Treasure Planet has an untextured ship as its one memorial. This ship was discovered when hacking the 3DS version of the game. Perhaps one day players will finally see the RSL Legacy take flight through the vastness of space in the search for treasure. Keep dreaming, Jim Hawkins; your time will come eventually.
After finally getting Monsters Inc. and Toy Story into Kingdom Hearts 3, two of Kingdom Hearts’s lost worlds got their time in the spotlight. Of course, now that the doors are open, what other Pixar worlds are now possible? Some of these possibilities include Coco, Luca, Turning Red, and so many more.
One world that appeared in early promo material but never made it into the game is Cards. If you can imagine what it would look like if Sora, Donald, and Goofy suddenly transformed into cars, then you at least have some vision as to what the world would have looked like. As for Lightning Mqueen fans, they will have to wait a bit longer.
