Kingdom Hearts TV show pilot from early 2000s has been unearthed

An old Kingdom Hearts animated TV pilot from the early 2000s has resurfaced, detailing the script, cast and plot for the cancelled series. 

Despite the success of the Kingdom Hearts gaming series, the franchise is yet to make the jump to TV or film. However, an animated series – first developed back in 2003 – was originally set to release previously after the first game was developed. 

Well-known animator Seth Kearsley was originally set to lead production for the Kingdom Hearts TV Series. Kearsley is a successful animator best known for his work with the Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, and Phineas and Ferb franchises.

In a series of tweets, Kearsley revealed some of the unearthed scripts, information, and tapes he has from the Kingdom Hearts TV series. The first image included a VHS copy of the pilot episode of Kingdom Hearts, with Kearsley captioning the post, “who knows an easy way to import VHS to digital?”

The Script for the canceled show revealed by Kearsley is dated almost a decade ago from 2003. It includes references to Destiny Island and appears to take place well before any of the characters were aware of what a Keyblade was, an indication that the show was likely to follow the same story and events of the game. 

The image of the script also included a section up the top that referred to the length as being 11-minutes long. However, it is unclear if this means that the episodes were planned to be that length of time or if that was simply the amount of time that particular script was set to go for.

Kearsley also included an image for the planned cast for the animated series, with many of the names on the list also the voice actors who take on the roles in the video game franchise. The likes of Hayden Panettiere, Jonathan Freeman, and many others are attached to the project. 

Kingdom Hearts is one of the most successful franchises of the past 20 years. Since the first game released in 2002, the franchise has spawned multiple games and spin-offs. It blends an original set of characters and narrative with some of Disney’s most well-known and beloved figures. The likes of Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Daffy Duck are all long-standing figures of the franchise.

Now that the VHS of the pilot episode has been found, fans are calling on the episode to be released to the public.