Seth Kearsley is pitching a Kingdom Hearts Animated Series for the 3rd time

[Arielle Mobley 15]

Once again, the director of the canceled Kingdom Hearts series is pitching the idea for a 3rd time. Personally, I would love to see this get through this time, and what better time to pitch this idea than now, especially with Disney + being a thing and the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 on the Horizon, I can see this idea getting through this time. I always say third time's the charm, besides I think that would be the only thing that would make me actually buy Disney + if they were to release there and I think many others would agree. What do you think? Like the idea, or no? How would want the series to be made if it gets through? Here is the original tweet, I do like the fact that he isn't giving up on this idea, it's too perfect to pass on!   

 

https://twitter.com/SethKearsley/status/1068576229228404736

Edited December 1, 2018 by Arielle Mobley

[Dustin Lübbers 933]

He could not have choosen a better moment Its now or in 4-6 Years when Kingdom hearts 4 comes out

[SeishinoHi395 2]

Probably don't have the money to devote to it though? With mangeme

 

 the marekttign people from Disney tare also likelt to be agaisnt it,d ue their exhaustion form dealing with all theri other Ips and ensuring that they yield growth for the company.. Their liekly to get angry at Seth as se ehsi as almsot a cash drain.

In another universe, i'd hope it can work...

 

who knows though? Let see what happens!

[Heather Chandler 67]

It'd be nice to see it get made, but hopefully it'll be aimed at a slightly older audience, and not end up on Clubhouse Mickey, or whatever they call their toddler channel these days. 

[ienzo628 548]

4 hours ago, Heather Chandler said:

It'd be nice to see it get made, but hopefully it'll be aimed at a slightly older audience, and not end up on Clubhouse Mickey, or whatever they call their toddler channel these days. 

It could redeem Disney Channel and I really hope it's aimed at an older audience since all the good stuff used to be on Toon Disney, JetX, Disney XD, or whatever it's called now.

[Heather Chandler 67]

20 hours ago, ienzo628 said:

It could redeem Disney Channel and I really hope it's aimed at an older audience since all the good stuff used to be on Toon Disney, JetX, Disney XD, or whatever it's called now.

It really could. And with the mashup style KH already has, they could add in nods to older shows, or even cameos from classic characters. 

[ienzo628 548]

19 hours ago, Heather Chandler said:

It really could. And with the mashup style KH already has, they could add in nods to older shows, or even cameos from classic characters. 

God I hope so!  I just don't want to see them becoming a mess like a lot of other live action Disney shows are infamous for.

[Merilly 438]

I expressed my disdain toward Kearsley in the past and will do so again. He doesn't seem to care for the franchise at all apart from its popularity, considering he didn't express any desire to get into the games unless he gets to work on an animated series for it. I'm not saying that his motivations have to be like this, the interviews he's given suggest it though.

If it gets approved, count me out unless people are involved who actually know the series and won't turn it into either a ridiculous show for infants or make it laughable. Yes, it is harsh and I'm not saying every interpretation done by others needs to be bad, after all not every Disney show is terrible and some are really great, but I'd rather they leave Kingdom Hearts be and refrain from turning it into a cash cow just because they suddenly realized it has a considerably solid fanbase. 

I'm not a fan of him, his style or the works he's been associated with. KH is far from perfect and there's much they could tell but it doesn't need to be an animated series. It usually doesn't work out that well to adapt games.

[ienzo628 548]

20 hours ago, Merilly said:

I expressed my disdain toward Kearsley in the past and will do so again. He doesn't seem to care for the franchise at all apart from its popularity, considering he didn't express any desire to get into the games unless he gets to work on an animated series for it. I'm not saying that his motivations have to be like this, the interviews he's given suggest it though.

If it gets approved, count me out unless people are involved who actually know the series and won't turn it into either a ridiculous show for infants or make it laughable. Yes, it is harsh and I'm not saying every interpretation done by others needs to be bad, after all not every Disney show is terrible and some are really great, but I'd rather they leave Kingdom Hearts be and refrain from turning it into a cash cow just because they suddenly realized it has a considerably solid fanbase. 

I'm not a fan of him, his style or the works he's been associated with. KH is far from perfect and there's much they could tell but it doesn't need to be an animated series. It usually doesn't work out that well to adapt games.

Plus, we've got the manga to fall back on.

[Merilly 438]

21 minutes ago, ienzo628 said:

Plus, we've got the manga to fall back on.

Yeah. I understand the desire for an animated series, I just don't think Kearsley can deliver and medt the expectations long-time fans have. If they made such a series, I would prefer it if a group of people would be chosen who could keep a certain style and who have contact to scenario writers of the franchise. It doesn't need to be a 1:1 adaptation from the games, both the manga and the novels aren't either, but it would be good if they're familiar with the source material and have some passion to do this.

Money matters. I'm not expecting anyone to do it out of the goodness of their heart or because they love the series. But I see Disney's increased involvement critical, especially if they should decide on an animated series on their own.

The manga and the novels are a good example of valuing the source material while still providing new perspectives. They're bot the greatest works of all time but enjoyable in their own right. KH is my favorite franchise and while I didnnot like everything about the novels and the manga, there were a lot of things I also would have liked to see in the games, especially in terms of characterization since they gave more insight on motivation, habits and quirks. It was both funny and adding more to their personality without changing everything, even though they also sometimes contradict what was said in the games and aren't canon.

What we saw from the storyboards carried little value for me. What they wanted to do with it sounded generic and not like they really looked at the material. I'm not expecting anyone to become a fan of the series but if I had to work on a project I would look at the franchise as a whole to get a feel for it and not only the first game just because my plot never ventures further. 

I just have little sympathy for Kearsley ever since he gave that interview regarding the KH series he had planned and everything he did after only served to support that notion that he is the wrong person for an animated series.

[ienzo628 548]

2 hours ago, Merilly said:

Yeah. I understand the desire for an animated series, I just don't think Kearsley can deliver and met the expectations long-time fans have. If they made such a series, I would prefer it if a group of people would be chosen who could keep a certain style and who have contact to scenario writers of the franchise. It doesn't need to be a 1:1 adaptation from the games, both the manga and the novels aren't either, but it would be good if they're familiar with the source material and have some passion to do this.

Money matters. I'm not expecting anyone to do it out of the goodness of their heart or because they love the series. But I see Disney's increased involvement critical, especially if they should decide on an animated series on their own.

The manga and the novels are a good example of valuing the source material while still providing new perspectives. They're bot the greatest works of all time but enjoyable in their own right. KH is my favorite franchise and while I didn't like everything about the novels and the manga, there were a lot of things I also would have liked to see in the games, especially in terms of characterization since they gave more insight on motivation, habits and quirks. It was both funny and adding more to their personality without changing everything, even though they also sometimes contradict what was said in the games and aren't canon.

What we saw from the storyboards carried little value for me. What they wanted to do with it sounded generic and not like they really looked at the material. I'm not expecting anyone to become a fan of the series but if I had to work on a project I would look at the franchise as a whole to get a feel for it and not only the first game just because my plot never ventures further. 

I just have little sympathy for Kearsley ever since he gave that interview regarding the KH series he had planned and everything he did after only served to support that notion that he is the wrong person for an animated series.

Pretty much, we're just lucky to get any animated cartoon out on the Disney Channel or from Disney period that isn't on what used to be Clubhouse Disney (it was pretty silly that they changed the name to Disney Jr).  I mean, Disney Channel was pretty all right in the early 2000s since we got animated classics like Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, and The Proud Family and with the 1990s and slightly into the 2000s but we mostly got the animated cartoons on what was this Toon Disney.

I don't get why Disney Channel needed to have two networks just for their products: one primarily focused on live action sitcoms and the other for animated cartoons.  Plus as someone that grew up in the 2000s, my parents pretty much have to pay the cable company just to get the exclusive networks like JetX and Splat.  But since cable is dying and probably so is the Disney Channel, maybe some good can come from a Kingdom Hearts cartoon.  Hopefully it doesn't end up like Fish Hooks or Pickle and Peanut.

I guess what I am trying to say is Disney much less Kearsley seem to care about their products, Disney seems to be apathetic towards 2D cartoons.  And if we do get a Kingdom Hearts cartoon then it might only last three years like a lot of the other Disney Channel shows (Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, So Weird) to name a few.

[Merilly 438]

35 minutes ago, ienzo628 said:

Pretty much, we're just lucky to get any animated cartoon out on the Disney Channel or from Disney period that isn't on what used to be Clubhouse Disney (it was pretty silly that they changed the name to Disney Jr).  I mean, Disney Channel was pretty all right in the early 2000s since we got animated classics like Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, and The Proud Family and with the 1990s and slightly into the 2000s but we mostly got the animated cartoons on what was this Toon Disney.

I don't get why Disney Channel needed to have two networks just for their products: one primarily focused on live action sitcoms and the other for animated cartoons.  Plus as someone that grew up in the 2000s, my parents pretty much have to pay the cable company just to get the exclusive networks like JetX and Splat.  But since cable is dying and probably so is the Disney Channel, maybe some good can come from a Kingdom Hearts cartoon.  Hopefully it doesn't end up like Fish Hooks or Pickle and Peanut.

I guess what I am trying to say is Disney much less Kearsley seem to care about their products, Disney seems to be apathetic towards 2D cartoons.  And if we do get a Kingdom Hearts cartoon then it might only last three years like a lot of the other Disney Channel shows (Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, So Weird) to name a few.

It's not like everything from today is bad. It's just that Disney only cares about its own products. Yes, KH and its original characters belong to Disney but I can't help but think they care less about the original characters than their own because they weren't involved in their design or story. 

The interviews suggested that Disney isn't quite as open anymore with KH as opposed to the beginning and their involvement probably doesn't imply only improvements. Otherwise I couldn't explain why most Disney characters looked fine and the original characters still required so much more work and could even use some here and there now.

My problem is that people are all too eager to jump on the idea. But that's it. They like their own idea of how it should look like. I do too. But the reality will likely be far from it if Disney handles it. And I'm 90% sure it won't be in the pleasantly surprised way but rather the 'how could they mutilate KH?' way. Because it probably won't have the style of either the manga or classic Disney movies or even Avatar The Last Airbender. Its story won't be canon unless they work with Nomura and the storyboards looked flat. Like Disney giving licenses to to compabies who make those cheap figures. 

I've taken a look at the comments and most are down for it, but a lot also say they want an anime rather than a western cartoon. They want people like those who did Castlevania to do it because it seems like the studio cares for quality and tries to honor the source. They don't want Disney or Kearsley in particular.

I doubt Disney denied the pitch solely for popularity reasons. It could be that they're well aware that if they don't do it 'right', they will garner a lot of hate, which isn't good if you want to sell more in the future. Yes, it could attract newcomers to the series, but might also give them a completely wrong picture of the franchise and what to expect.

Disney can create series' which are great. But only when the people working on them know what they're doing. There are plenty good or at least decent series which came out in the past years. You can argue about style and story but not all were aimed at small children.

But Kearsley doesn't seem to know Kingdom Hearts all that well. There's just a different connection to a series if you've been part of the development process from the ground up rather than just being tasked of making a copy of existing material. Especially if you're not passionate about the franchise. For example, I'd be more inclined to trust someone who has at least played all the games. Not like Kearsley who claimed he would only do that if the series has a future. That tells me he couldn't care less about KH and didn't enjoy the first game all that much. And I wouldn't be angry if he doesn't like it. He hasn't been part of the development, didn't design anything or worked on anything which is part of KH. If he couldn't connct with it, then that's fine. But I also think that he might not be the best choice to lead such a project then because it's bound to fail if there's a fundamental dislike. Be it games, movies, etc.; they are all art and in order to get feeling across, people need to be passionate or at least invested in their work.

Admittedly, I'm not from the US so I don't know about the Disney Channel problems but from what you say I can tell it's not exactly what people might want...

Edited December 8, 2018 by Merilly

[ienzo628 548]

6 hours ago, Merilly said:

It's not like everything from today is bad. It's just that Disney only cares about its own products. Yes, KH and its original characters belong to Disney but I can't help but think they care less about the original characters than their own because they weren't involved in their design or story. 

The interviews suggested that Disney isn't quite as open anymore with KH as opposed to the beginning and their involvement probably doesn't imply only improvements. Otherwise I couldn't explain why most Disney characters looked fine and the original characters still required so much more work and could even use some here and there now.

My problem is that people are all too eager to jump on the idea. But that's it. They like their own idea of how it should look like. I do too. But the reality will likely be far from it if Disney handles it. And I'm 90% sure it won't be in the pleasantly surprised way but rather the 'how could they mutilate KH?' way. Because it probably won't have the style of either the manga or classic Disney movies or even Avatar The Last Airbender. Its story won't be canon unless they work with Nomura and the storyboards looked flat. Like Disney giving licenses to to compabies who make those cheap figures. 

I've taken a look at the comments and most are down for it, but a lot also say they want an anime rather than a western cartoon. They want people like those who did Castlevania to do it because it seems like the studio cares for quality and tries to honor the source. They don't want Disney or Kearsley in particular.

I doubt Disney denied the pitch solely for popularity reasons. It could be that they're well aware that if they don't do it 'right', they will garner a lot of hate, which isn't good if you want to sell more in the future. Yes, it could attract newcomers to the series, but might also give them a completely wrong picture of the franchise and what to expect.

Disney can create series' which are great. But only when the people working on them know what they're doing. There are plenty good or at least decent series which came out in the past years. You can argue about style and story but not all were aimed at small children.

But Kearsley doesn't seem to know Kingdom Hearts all that well. There's just a different connection to a series if you've been part of the development process from the ground up rather than just being tasked of making a copy of existing material. Especially if you're not passionate about the franchise. For example, I'd be more inclined to trust someone who has at least played all the games. Not like Kearsley who claimed he would only do that if the series has a future. That tells me he couldn't care less about KH and didn't enjoy the first game all that much. And I wouldn't be angry if he doesn't like it. He hasn't been part of the development, didn't design anything or worked on anything which is part of KH. If he couldn't connect with it, then that's fine. But I also think that he might not be the best choice to lead such a project then because it's bound to fail if there's a fundamental dislike. Be it games, movies, etc.; they are all art and in order to get feeling across, people need to be passionate or at least invested in their work.

Admittedly, I'm not from the US so I don't know about the Disney Channel problems but from what you say I can tell it's not exactly what people might want...

And with how Disney handled its properties like So Weird, Kingdom Hearts would likely be tuned down for younger audiences.  So Weird was a series that had a run for three seasons, the first two seasons focused on Fi or Fiona and her traveling across the country, investigating what happened to her and her brother's father (he died when she was only three years old), and going on tour with her mom, the driver, the driver's wife, the driver's son, and her brother.  She runs into a lot of supernatural beings and series three was supposed to be more grimmer but because of issues with the main lead getting too old and Disney being Disney (wanting to keep it family friendly), season three went downhill.

It's kind of silly regarding Disney, they want to play it safe but at the same time they are infamous for their occasionally grim material, no surprise since they mostly adapt from fairy tales and mythologies from all over the world.  And, what is family friendly in some countries might not be suitable in others.  If we were able to get a Kingdom Hearts cartoon then the creators would likely have to deal with the topic of censorship, which could impact the creativity of the team.

[Arielle Mobley 15]

I will admit that I wasn't a fan of the art nor the story when the storyboard was shown the first time. However he did say that when he was reflecting back on it, he would definitely make the art style more anime for the original characters and western for the Disney ones. From what I can remember he did play the games, how many I'm not sure, but that's always going to be a problem. You can adapt it as close to the games as you can, people complain that it's nothing new. Make your own story, people complain because you didn't adapt the story perfectly.  I think he could do it like the manga where it's adapted enough where iconic moments happen but also gives time to character development, world building, and  on screen interactions we've never seen previously. But, this still includes him having to play the games and displaying that, like Castlevania the series. So I'm hoping he's taking extra care to present this idea in a manner that's respectful towards its franchise, same with Disney(though they really like to crap on the franchise. Why? I'll never truly know. But this is a good opportunity if they are so focused on money and actually having an incentive to buy their streaming service because there ain't no way in heck I am if there's nothing that catches my interest.) So I'm going to root for him one last time! Besides I have to admit one of my favorite holiday movies is Eight Crazy Nights, even though I'm not Jewish. However if it can't get passed this time, Seth nor Disney is worth my time.