6 Neglected Disney Licenses That Should So be in Kingdom Hearts III

Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet is an often overlooked Disney movie, becoming something of a cult hit over the years. The film had an enormous budget of $140 million, which it just couldn’t live up to after drawing in roughly $110 million in its box office run. Treasure Planet is actually a pretty straight adaptation of Treasure Island, putting a spin on the classic story by making it an intergalactic tale with aliens, fantastic planets, and more.

The film follows a young Jim Hawkins who’s enamored with stories of the famed pirate Captain Nathaniel Flint, who can appear out of nowhere to raid ships and disappear just as quickly. Treasure Planet’s imaginative universe and gorgeous animation made for some truly breathtaking scenes, and considering the planet-based structure of Kingdom Hearts, it’d fit right in.

There doesn’t even need to be a Treasure Planet world, per say, but it could function much like Monstro did in the first game, as something you run into during your journey aboard the Gummi Ship. Maybe Sora and the gang happen upon a battle between two ships, having to assist Jim Hawkins and crew. This isn’t to say that a Treasure Planet world wouldn’t be good, but there’s a ton of options for how you can introduce the film into Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts will always, of course, be focused on the big Disney properties but it’s always nice to see a few nods to smaller, fan favorite properties as well.

Oswald the Rabbit

Oswald the Rabbit isn’t a newcomer to Disney video games, as he was actually one of the major characters in Disney’s Epic Mickey 2. Before that, however, he may have just been one of the most neglected Disney properties out there, as virtually no one knew who he was, a theme that played into Epic Mickey 2.

Oswald actually appeared in 1927, one year before Mickey Mouse, and was created by Walt Disney for Universal Pictures. When Disney broke away from Universal, Universal kept the rights to Oswald, but nearly 80 years later in 2006, Disney reacquired the rabbit. Oswald’s role in Epic Mickey dealt directly with his feelings of abandonment by Disney, and it’s an interesting theme that could also play into Kingdom Hearts.

Considering Mickey’s huge role, Oswald could easily play another Disney villain the style of Pete, trying to get in Mickey’s way and stop him. Sadly, since Oswald’s reappearance, he hasn’t really been in anything but Epic Mickey. And that’s something that sorely needs to be fixed.

The Emperor’s New Groove

The Emperor’s New Groove was ridiculously popular after its release in 2000, but over the years has faded away into memory. It’s just the right kind of feel-good property that’d be right at home in Kingdom Hearts, and it even has a message to deliver about acceptance. The film focuses on an arrogant Incan emperor named Kuzco who’s turned into a Llama and has to work together with a peasant named Pacha to return and take back his throne.

The ancient Incan setting is a bit different from anything else we’ve seen in Kingdom Hearts, and the colorful world would certainly fit right into the series’ style. Now that Kingdom Hearts III lets you have five party members at a time, Kuzco and Pacha would be great fun to bring along, especially if they get some ridiculous combo attacks to use. The Emperor’s New Groove is seen as a Disney classic, and even received a direct to DVD sequel and TV series. However, it’s been 10 years since the TV series ended, and we haven’t seen anything from the series since. It may not be as neglected as other Disney properties, but boy would it be the perfect fit for Kingdom Hearts.

Atlantis

Another fairly overlooked Disney series, Atlantis stars a young cartographer named Milo Thatch as he joins an expedition to find the mythical city of Atlantis. Despite having a decent box office gain of $186 million, Atlantis is more of a cult favorite Disney movie, growing in popularity over the years.

The characters of Atlantis are what make the film great, and the interactions between Milo, Kida, and the members of the expedition team are what really give the film heart. The fun fantasy setting is a great fit for Kingdom Hearts, and the unique design of Atlantis and the creatures in the ocean would make for great Heartless designs, not to mention how great a boss battle with The Leviathan would be.

Atlantis would just be such a unique setting for a Kingdom Hearts world, and quite different from everything else. Considering past worlds like Atlantica, you could even do underwater segments too. Atlantis is well known enough that there’s broad appeal to everyone, but the cult classic would be sure to please quite a few bigger fans of Kingdom Hearts and Disney.

Darkwing Duck

You’ve heard of DuckTales, yeah? Well have you heard of the semi-spinoff Darkwing Duck, about a crimefighting vigilante duck? Yeah it’s great, in case you were wondering. Darkwing Duck ran for three seasons from 1991-1995, and featured Launchpad McQuack from DuckTales as a sidekick to Darkwing Duck. The show was the first Disney Afternoon series to emphasize action, and seeing Darkwing Duck use a variety of ridiculous gadgets to fight equally ridiculous villains was great fun.

With the series’ tenuous link to DuckTales, and Scrooge and others being featured in Kingdom Hearts, it wouldn’t be impossible to see Darkwing Duck making a cameo. Yes, it’d be obscure, but boy would it be fun to see. Maybe Darkwing Duck could be a summon for Sora to use, or maybe he’d simply make an appearance in Hollow Bastion alongside other Disney characters. The eccentric personality of the crimefighter would be hilarious to see play off against the goofiness with Sora, and you can only imagine how Donald would respond to the dramatic duck. There are so many opportunities for Disney cameos in a Kingdom Hearts game, and again Darkwing Duck would be the perfect lesser known property to thrust into the limelight.

Gargoyles

Is there any Disney property that would be a better fit for Kingdom Hearts than Gargoyles? The animated series was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and hit huge popularity in the ’90s, with a story about a group of nocturnal creatures awoken when a billionaire purchases the castle they were cursed to sleep in. The gargoyles, led by Goliath, awaken in New York City and end up becoming a group of vigilantes working to preserve peace in the city against criminals, and other supernatural forces.

Just imagine Sora and crew going to a Gargoyles world, turning into gargoyles themselves, and fighting alongside Goliath. The television show had a fantastic cast of characters, complex storylines, mature themes, and its heavy focus on action makes it a perfect fit for Kingdom Hearts. On top of that, the gargoyle theme could lead to some really fantastic Heartless and enemy designs. A total of 78 episodes were made along with a feature-length film, video game adaption, and comic book continuation from 2006-2009.

Gargoyles is absolutely one of the most unique properties Disney has ever had, and it’d be great to see the series come back period, but even more so in Kingdom Hearts. Apparently earlier this year Jordan Peele pitched a live-action Gargoyles movie idea to Disney, but who knows if anything will come of it. We can dream, can’t we?