Summary
Worlds from several classic Disney films have been featured inKingdom Heartsacross its 22-year-long history, and even more are expected to be included inKingdom Hearts 4. Most of these were classic hand-drawn, 2D animated films such asAlice in Wonderland, with later exceptions of 3D animated and even live-action films such asThe Nightmare Before ChristmasandPirates of the Caribbean.
It wasn’t until 2019’sKingdom Hearts 3that Sora, Donald, and Goofy were finally able to venture into the computer-animated films of Pixar with theToy Storyworld Toy Box and theMonsters Inc.world Monstropolis.Kingdom Hearts 4will likely continue to explore more modern Disney films. One highly successful Pixar duology will likely have a world featured inKingdom Hearts4: the critically acclaimedInside OutandInside Out 2.
The Emotional World of Inside Out Would be Perfect for Kingdom Hearts 4
Inside Outis one of Pixar’s more popular franchises in the past decade.First released in 2015,Inside Outfocuses on the story of a young girl, Riley, as her emotions struggle to cooperate together while Riley grows up and encounters emotionally difficult events such as moving. Riley’s mind acted essentially as a world within itself, with the emotions Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust operating as Riley’s command crew. Meanwhile, other mind workers helped maintain Riley’s memories, imagination, and Islands of Personality. By the end ofInside Out 1, the emotions learned to accept one another and work well together to help Riley navigate the frustrations of growing up.
Despite widespread critical and financial success,Inside Outdidn’t receive a sequel for nine years until 2024’sInside Out 2.Set two years afterInside Out 1,Inside Out 2has the core emotion struggle with Riley going through puberty and having four new emotions appear including Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Envy. Anxiety leads the other emotions to suppress the core emotions to better prepare Riley for the future. Along the way, other future emotions are released and teased with the early appearance of the Nostalgia emotion.
WhileInside Out 2has only been out for just over a week currently, it has already become the highest-grossing movie of 2024, earning over $728 million globally.
An Inside Out World in Kingdom Hearts 4 Seems Likely
While no Disney worlds or characters have been confirmed forKingdom Hearts 4, beyond Donald and Goofy,Inside Outhas a lot of potential to appear in the next mainlineKingdom Heartsgame. Little is known about which characters from priorKingdom Heartsgames will appear inKingdom Hearts 4, but Square Enix could use the mind world concept to possibly travel into Riku or Kairi’s mind if they become knocked out or have their minds invaded by Heartless. Sora could potentially use the same technology used to freeze himin betweenKingdom Hearts 1andKingdom Hearts 2to access these characters’ minds.
Square Enix could also simply have Sora’s mind appear as a complete entity in his own mind. There could beKingdom Heartsversions ofInside Outemotions that could act as optional companions. Some of these emotions could even appear as previous, beloved companions, with Goofy being Fear and Donald being Anger. Together, they could travel throughout Sora or other characters’ minds and battle tiny, emotion-esque Heartless or Nobodies. This world’s traversal could act similarly tothe whale Monstro world inKingdom Hearts 1, while accessing theInside Outworld could function similarly to how theTronworld Space Paranoids is accessed inKingdom Hearts 2.
A Mini Emotional Hub World
One unique aspect Square Enix could utilize inKingdom Hearts 4fromInside Outis the Islands of Personality. Since the Islands are based on core memories and only five are able to appear in a person’s mind, these islands could each serve as mini-worlds with Sora or other characters’ minds acting as hub worlds. If this world is set in Sora’s mind, each Island could be based on one important or fan-favorite world from prior games. These could be based onDestiny Islands, Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, Olympus, or Dive To The Heart. These could be structured more closely to theirKingdom Hearts 1or2appearances to go all in on fans’ nostalgia and their own core memories.
Kingdom Hearts 4
Kingdom Hearts 4 is an action RPG developed by Square Enix and represents the fifteenth installment in the franchise. Players once again are put in the shoes of Sora who is suddenly trapped in a more realistic world called Quadratum, with companions like Donald and Goofy attempting to rescue him. Kingdom Hearts 4 is a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts 3 and Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory.
