ggFTW - Disney's "Toy Box" & Square Enix's Missed Opportunity

Disney's "Toy Box" & Square Enix's Missed Opportunity - News - Kingdom Hearts Insider

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Since the very first Kingdom Hearts game was released in 2002 there have been many wishes made over what Disney characters and movies should make their appearance in each new installment. One such wish expressed by a great majority of fans through online communities and social media sites has been to feature Pixar films in the games. Even though Disney did not own Pixar, they did have the rights over distribution, stories, and characters. Pixar being in Kingdom Hearts was not an impossibility because of that fact, but it was the cause of major conflict between the two companies. Hopes were crushed in 2004 when Pixar and Disney entered a dispute over movie rights and a potential fallout seemed inevitable. Pixar wished to have full ownership of their movies, but after two years of turbulent negotiations Disney purchased Pixar for approximately $7 billion in May 2006.

This merger between Disney and Pixar rekindled the hopes of Kingdom Hearts fans, and not long after the merger it seems the series got very close to having Woody and Buzz from Pixar's Toy Story featured as summons. Models of the two iconic characters were found unfinished within the coding of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix released in 2007, which created more hype among fans than ever. If Woody and Buzz had made it in the final product of the game, that would have been the very first time Disney and Pixar characters had been featured in console game together.

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Such a historic honor has instead been claimed by Disney's new project, "Toy Box". In a recent interview with Disney Interactive co-presidents James Pitaro and John Pleasants by the New York Times, the upcoming project is described to be "a console game with extensive mobile and online applications in which various Pixar and Disney characters will interact with one another for the first time." This heavily-funded project is part of Disney Interactive's ongoing initiative to solidify their place in both the gaming and online world.

While "Toy Box" is making strides to combine the two properties together, the idea of Pixar characters ever being in Kingdom Hearts has rarely been brought up. Series director Tetsuya Nomura has been asked about the idea a few times in the last ten years, only giving vague answers about Pixar's inclusion. Recently, though, Nomura has given his honest opinion on the matter in an interview released in the Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Ultimania:

"I wish and wish, but I’ve wanted for a long time to have Pixar titles appear in the series. I’m already working on many ideas, but I can’t say whether they will become a reality or not."

So even though Square Enix will not be the first to have Pixar and Disney blend together, there is still the chance that fans might see Pixar movies featured in Kingdom Hearts yet. Fans want it, Nomura wants it.Maybe in Kingdom Hearts III?
Let's just wait and see.