Video game movies are hot and that makes it the perfect time for Disney to bring a beloved game series to the big screen!
For a long time, movies based on video games didn't have the best track record. With the exception of 1995's Mortal Kombat and the Resident Evil series, the genre has been hit with multiple bombs and critically ravaged films.
Disney themselves know that. In 1993, they released Super Mario Bros under its Hollywood Studios Banner, which regularly tops the list of the worst video game movies. It was everything that fans have slammed about these movies: Terrible casting, a plot bearing almost no resemblance to the games, a lousy script, and everything coming together in the worst way.
In Disney's defense, they're not the only ones who have made this mistake with other video game movie flops. However, the last few years has seen the tide turning. While 2024's Borderlands was a disaster with critics, audiences and game fans, video games are finally getting their due in live-action.
There have been movie hits like a new animated Mario Brothers game, while TV has seen successes based on Fallout and The Last of Us. Some so-so adaptations have even worked, such as Uncharted.
Now, A Minecraft Movie is the talk of Hollywood. What sounded like an incredibly stupid idea of a movie based on the popular puzzle game has shocked insiders by opening to a much larger-than-expected $157 million. That so many flocked to a film that sounded a risk even for video game buffs proves there's money to be made off these properties.
This is a great shot in the arm for the box office and likely to inspire more video game films. After all, when a movie becomes a hit, every studio wants a piece of the action. Disney may want the same and as it happens, they already have the perfect property to use for a major box office hit.
No, it's not another Wreck-It-Ralph film although that did do a fine job mixing various real video game characters with an original storyline (and a sequel banding the Disney Princesses together). No, it's a less known property for moviegoers but a major name for video game fans that already feels like a cinematic experience... Kingdom Hearts
It's everything needed for a hit, mixing a wonderful fantasy world with Disney classics and the ingredients to work for the big screen are amazing.
What is Kingdom Hearts?
Published in 2002 originally for the Playstation 2, Kingdom Hearts marries the worlds and feel of the long-running Final Fantasy series with Disney. Square Enix put together the game and crafted an experience that continues to enthrall almost 25 years later.
The bare bones plotline is a youth named Sora living on an island who is attacked by the Heartless, strange shadowy creatures. He somehow falls into another world armed with the Keyblade, his main weapon. He runs into Donald and Goofy who are sent by King Mickey on a quest.
To sum up a rather convoluted and complex plot line as simply as possible, the trio finds that a pack of Disney villains, led by Maleficent, are trying to gather the Seven Princesses of the Heart to open a portal to the Kingdom Hearts, which they believe will give them ultimate power.
This leads Sora and his friends to explore worlds based on Disney animated hits and run into their characters. From The Little Mermaid to Lion King to Tron and others, it's a great mix of action, adventure, role-playing and comedy brought to life by stellar animated graphics.
It helps that many of the movie voice actors show up in the games: Jodi Benson as Ariel, Kathryn Beaumont as Alice in Wonderland, Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan, Jim Cummings as Pooh and Tigger, Pat Carroll as Ursula, Susan Egan as Meg and more.
The game was a massive hit that spawned numerous sequels for the PSP and PS2, with Kingdom Hearts III finally coming in 2019. It remains a PlayStation exclusive with collected editions of the games released on the PS3 and PS4. There are plans for a new one, but nothing confirmed yet, while the games do seem terrific for an adaptation.
Why Kingdom Hearts can work as a film
Again, the concept of the film is fantastic, a mix of beloved Disney animated hits with a great storyline of a hero and his epic journey. "Epic" is the keyword given the games' sprawling storyline and various turns that would be set for a multi-movie universe.
The animation styles can be well done, mixing classic 2-D animation with computer graphics for the various worlds. It's a wonderful way to bring in Ariel, Mulan, Simba and others while also giving us worlds based on Tron and others.
Obviously, the voice actors would be key to making it work and the right forms of animation. There are also the usual challenges of adapting the game action to a film, but the recent successes show it can be done.
Casting can be key. Among the many problems of Borderlands was that Cate Blanchett is about thirty years older than her character from the games while a hulking, stoic soldier was played by diminutive comedian Kevin Hart. Finding the right person for Sora and voicing the other characters will be the first step to making this film work.
As for animation vs live-action, well, why not both? A live-action Sora with the cartoon worlds would be interesting and more intriguing he enters one with human characters such as Tron. It would enhance the fantasy elements, mingling the genres together.
There can also be an opportunity to mix things up a bit in the properties with a "multiverse" approach. Imagine the original wicked version of Maleficent clashing with Angelina Jolie's take or Emma Stone's Cruella against Glenn Close's? Kingdom Hearts was doing a multiverse long before the MCU, so this is an opportunity to use more recent films that were not shown in the games.
It will be a challenge to adapt such a huge game series and do it justice. The long list of movies that fumbled adapting a game right proves that. Yet the games are already popular, and non-gamers would be intrigued to see so many Disney worlds put together and the characters mixing them up. That alone promises a boffo box office, which the company can use.
This may be a pipe dream and some fans would prefer Kingdom Hearts as just a game rather than risk it with a film. Yet with that potential to adapt a story that's a dream for Disney fans, the company may consider joining the video game movie resurgence with this classic.
Would you watch a Kingdom Hearts movie?