#disney worlds in kingdom hearts

[hollowwhisperings]

KH4 Spec: Disney Worlds & Emotional Vulnerability (for boys)

A key part of any Kingdom Hearts game is the use of Disney (& Pixar!) films as Microcosms to the greater Macrocosm of said game (& often the Series as a whole). The Disney Worlds act as easily recognisable Settings, toyboxes if you will, to convey concepts otherwise difficult to "fit" within the limitations of the JRPG genre.

(even then, KH does tend to rely on Monologue Heavy Cutscenes & Collectible Texts to direct players toward All Those Emotions & Reactions That Are Happening)

Societal Preconceptions of what stories can be told with a Young Male Protagonist actively sabotage the KH series in its efforts to show the emotional experiences of its young male characters: Sora needs the Framework of a Disney Princess in order to express and recognise concepts traditionally Denied to his gender. Players need Very Explicit Parallels and Dialogue, often repeated & rephrased across several Worlds, just to prevent their Dismissing Emotional Text (let alone Subtext) out of hand because "JRPGs/Action Heroes/Boys don't feel Scared/Sad/Insecure".

Emotional Depth is not "masculine", especially for Male Protagonists and Male Antagonists because "Feelings" are "feminine".

KH actively subverts this false perception of [How Brains Work] by very pointedly removing its "Token Girl" from the most Emotional & Introspective moments in the series.

Kairi's whole PURPOSE, in the greater scope of the KH series narrative, is to "Not Be There" when she "should" be: when Sora feels overwhelmed by the enormity of his quests or feels scared of Failure, it is never Kairi who magically pops by to do the Emotional Heavylifting in Sora's Stead. Sometimes Sora is able to articulate his feelings by recognising them in the Stories of the Disney characters (most of them Female) but as "Story" characters, the emotions and memories that are being Expressed are, by default, those of our Male Protagonists (Sora & Riku). The Disney Worlds act as framing devices for a Young person struggling to articulate whst they Feel & for a Male Protagonist to Recognise his own emotions even as his "own" World (the society he grew up in, the societies of We Players) has preconditioned Sora to "grow out" of Feeling emotions, let alone Expressing them.

Kairi the UnCharacter

Kairi's function within the greater narrative of KH ("the Coming of Age of a young boy named Sora") is to Be Female and to Not Be Where She Is "Supposed" To Be.

In most works with Male Protagonists, especially those of the Shōnen or action genres and ESPECIALLY in the videogame medium, a "Token Girl" functions as an Emotional Outlet for the Male Characters.

Has the (male) Protagonist just experienced something Frightening, suffered Loss or become Lost after the Peacefup Setting of the game's Tutorial?

The Token Girl will be there to Recognise and Express feelings of "something sad and scary" having happened to the Protagonist, of how "shaken and out of sorts" the Protagonist must be. The Token Girl will then act as an Outlet for these emotions, a Comfortable Vehicle to Focus on (to "redirect" the negative emotions to masculine "action") via becoming Someone To Protect or Someone To Impress. Or, if the Token Female is Dead By Tutorial, grief for "Her" is an Acceptable Emotion... to then be directed to the "more acceptable" method for dealing with Males Having Emotions via Monologues To The Setting ("talking at the scenery") or Promises To The Dead.

These emotions are, subsequently, Never Brought Up Again except as Character Motives or within the "acceptable" outlet of a Romantic Sideplot or an Epilogue Montage/Cutscenes. Sometimes games will use character commentaries in item descriptions or story logs to Remember The Plot Device but since these Expressions of Emotion are hidden within optional reading, players & the game's cast can Dodge any further acknowledgement of Having Feelings or anything resembling [Emotional Labour].

Kairi, the "Token Girl" of KH1, exists to "not exist": as the Designated Female in the lives of Sora and Riku, Kairi's absence is Glaring and, for some, Uncomfortable.

When Sora is at his lowest, when he feels scared and overwhelmed... Kairi is Not There to do his [Emotional Labour] for him. When Sora feels insecure or has a sudden understanding about himself or his relatio ships with others... Kairi is Not There to be Sora's ("Acceptably Female") Emotional Outlet. When Sora feels inspired or moved by his experiences... Kairi is Not There to say Sora's emotions for him, she is Not There for him to confide in, Not There to serve as a "purpose" for Sora "Having An Emotion".

Sora is a Very Emotional character: he is in a Coming of Age Journey, he is constantly put into the emotional stories of Disney films, and emotional introspection is a fundamental component of his setting's [combat mechanics]. Sora spends most of his games with Disney characters as his companions, his mentors, his confidants: when each KH game has its Emotional Climax, removed from the Disney settings & characters who had subconsciously prepared Sora (& players)... Kairi is Not There.

The emotions in Sora's Story are HIS emotions: his to experience, his to recognise in Others, his to express and articulate.

And, when removed from the comforting framework of Disney, who does Sora share his emotions be they positive or negative?

Riku, the OTHER Male Protagonist.

Kairi is Not There for Riku's emotional experiences either. Kairi, whose "purpose" in most works is to be Designated & Acceptably Female Emotional Outlet, is Not There. When Kairi is conveniently nearby either boy when they have an Emotional Revelation... Kairi is left in the background. The KH games COULD include Kairi, the Designated Female most "convenient" for its Male Protagonists to Emote At... yet, at every opportunity, Kairi is Not There. Kairi Not Being There is Deliberate, it is Pointed: it is the KH series saying "here is where you expect Emotions to come from & go to" and "we will not be doing that".

Kairi is Conveniently Female so that the KH series can Actively NOT USE THAT CONVENIENCE: Sora's Coming of Age Journey is emotional, as all such stories are, and it is SORA'S. Sora's to feel, Sora's to act upon, Sora's to recognise through Disney Parallels, Sora's to come to terms with, Sora's to express to whomever Sora most wants to express them to.

Now that the KH series has "retired" Kairi from her Role as "Convenient Female We Actively Never Use For Convenience", she might be allowed to have an opinion and perhaps even Have A Personality! I fear, however, that Players will need even more very pointed instances of Kairi Being There & Female and how Pointedly Unused she is when Sora needs to do something "feminine"!

Because KH is about deconstructing the "gender" of emotions: it is about exploring how feelings affect and influence our memories, our behaviour. How our identities, our relationships, require us to engage with our emotions. How refusing or ignoring what we feel leads to pain, isolation and sometimes tragedy. How each generation's relationships with emotional expression affects the generations that follow them, shaped by beliefs of predetermined suffering: how younger generations, if given the tools and context for such trauma-shaped beliefs, can show us all that these cycles of suffering are not inevitable or destined. That it takes all of us engaging with our emotions honestly, respecting each other's emotions as being as important to them as yours are to yourself... and, together, we can share our emotions (our Hearts) and find grounds for reconciliation (Connection). How we can only become stronger by embracing our ability to "feel" and by respecting how important and natural emotions are to us all. Emotions ("hearts") and the tools we use to understand them (stories, friendship, introspection) are not solely "allowed" to "children", to females or within the bounds of romance. Emotions are human and limiting who is "allowed" to express them or how they "should" be expressed? That harms us all. So open your hearts, connect with the hearts of others, and heal the hurts we have done unto ourselves & each other.

[gummi-ships]

Worlds of Kingdom Hearts 2

[goldensunset]

when people refer to canon story-relevant kingdom hearts games as ‘spinoffs’ it makes me sad not only for the obvious reasons i always say but also bc like man i WISH this series had spinoffs. imagine what they could do if they had permission from nomura to truly go off the rails and ignore the greater canon for a second and just do some fun whimsical plotless thing in an alternate universe. imagine a fishing/boating game on destiny islands. kh fighting game. it is an injustice that we have been deprived of kingdom karts. can anyone hear me

[frie-ice]

After seeing everyone else's works during the countdown to Valentine's day, I thought that I would pitch in by making a ship collage on one of my favourite Disney couples. Belle and Beast (aka Prince Adam). Instead of focusing on the original 1991 Beauty and the Beast film, I decided to include the other films and Disney related franchises they have appeared in.

Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Belle's Magical World, Kingdom Hearts II, Beauty and the Beast (2017), Descendants, Dreamlight Valley and Chibi Tiny Tales.

[the-seraphim-weep]

[ashlaf99]

A Princess with a Heart of Pure Light

Pics taken by my friend!

I give these updated photos of my Kairi cosplay from KH3 that we got at Animal Kingdom on Pandora! I fully believe that Kairi would go to different worlds and universes to find Sora 🫶🏻

Please tell me what you think!

[zikadraws]

Out of daydreaming madness I drew Chara Dreemurr in Kingdom Hearts instead of Sora (for... reasons) bowing down to Hades when meeting him in the Arena, because it's the first god they meet (*cough*that is not their brother*cough*) and they just assumed it was a respectful thing to do.

Hades is pleasantly surprised.

Donald and Goofy, not so much.

[theblueprincess590]

Anger The Second Stage of Grief-An Analysis of Kingdom Hearts 3

The Caribbean in Kingdom Hearts 3 is my favorite Disney world in the whole series. Not just because of its open world level design and exploration but because of its story. Now The Plot of the Caribbean is for the most part a retelling of At World’s End with Sora going through his own journey to become a true Pirate. However this is one significant change the game makes to the plot of the film, one that not only allows this world’s story to stand toe to toe with the film’s BUT makes it the best of all the Disney worlds. And that is Sora’s reaction to Will Turner’s death.

In The original film Davy Jones killed Will primarily to screw with Jack but in Kingdom Hearts 3 the motivation and context behind this act are changed. In the game Davy Jones claims that love is a bond that can be easily severed, ultimately projecting his failed romance on others and believing his own understanding of the heart to be absolute. And he is challenged for this by Sora. Though Sora is young and inexperienced in the ways of love he understands the heart and the chains that bind them more than anything else. He knows the truth, that as long as you keep the ones you love close to your heart, the connection you share with them will be unbreakable. And Davy Jones can’t stand this. Not only is his very understanding of the heart being undermined by a mere child, but said child is right. Love is not a bond so cheap and shallow that it can be easily broken. To share your heart with another is one of the most beautiful and significant things a person is capable of. It is an act that can change the world itself. And that is exactly why Davy Jones rejects the Heart and Sora’s words, because if what Sora said is true then the reason Davy Jones romances failed is completely on him. Love is not weak Davy Jones is weak. And this truth makes Sora’s words more painful than any Keyblade strike.

So in retaliation Davy Jones kills Will for no other reason than to spite Sora. It is perhaps one of the most vile and heartless acts Sora has ever witnessed, and it changes him. For the first time in the series Sora experiences not only true death But murder. Now the concept of death isn't completely foreign to Sora after all he gave his life in Kh1, witnessed Axel’s own sacrifice in KH2, saw Eugene pass away in Rapunzel’s arms, and Anna turn to ice. And yet in each of these examples not only was the death undone but said death was on the individual's own terms. They chose to give their life for their loved ones, dying with nobility and with dignity. That same luxury was not afforded to Will whose life was coldly snuffed by a hateful and bitter man for no reason other than to spite a child.

Sora in turn responds with rage. For the first time in all Kingdom hearts Sora  experiences the second stage of Grief, Anger. He attacks Davy Jones not like that of a fairy tale knight but rather like a thug, using his bare fists to beat on the man. Sora is no longer fighting for the sake of others, no longer saving the day. Right now all Sora is doing is fighting out of sheer hatred as he seeks nothing more than to hurt someone. Sora saw both a good man and friend die before his very eyes as his life was coldly and pointlessly snuffed out, and it brought out the worst in Sora.    

The Caribbean is my favorite Disney world in all of KH because in just one moment it shows us the darkest corner of Sora’s Heart. 

[manuelgaviro]

Some quick fanart that my free time during the holidays gave inspiration to : What if Figment was a KH party Member? I made three UI Icon fanart : Non-Combat, Battling, and the classic low-healthed "Somebody come quick!!"

[loveasachoice]

I loved these ears so much that I immediately wanted to draw Sora in them >♡< I wish I could go to this event 🍬🍭

[hollowwhisperings]

How Unreality Could Expand the KH Multiverse: KH4

I've seen a lot of fans talk about Quadratum as a FF-inspired setting, as a tool for narrative existentialism, as a "pitstop" before returning to Disney Crossovers & the Foretellers Plotline.

But... KH4 isn't "just" set in Quadratum. It will feature "layers of reality", likelythrough dreams and datascapes, but the setting of KH4 is not just Quadratum: it's a Second Reality, a [universe] of "Fiction".

The KH series has ALWAYS used its ability to include & reference the settings it can "crossover" with: while I don't think 'Unreality' will have Disney Worlds for Sora (or Riku) to literally travel to via Gummi Ship... I DO think that Unreality or 'Quadratum' will have Other Worlds within it, Worlds that our protagonists can travel to & learn from.

They just won't be Disney ones: they'll be Square Enix ones.

But, uh, Disney Worlds will feature in KH4 too. Not only through the universe traversed by the "Guardians of Light" (King Mickey might finally be playable outside Dying!) but hrough books, dreams, datascapea and "near-death experiences" in Unreality/Quadratum.

Square Enix's Final Fantasy series is referenced throughout the KH series, largely through game mechanics and the odd character cameo but a "Final Fantasy" or "Square Enix" World has not yet appeared. Until Quadratum.

Now, forgive my limited knowledge of Square Enix titles outside KH but I do recall that the FF games have crossed over with each other before, for the purposes of a cosmic conflict between the forces of "Good"[/Light/order?] and "Evil"[/Darkness/chaos]: while some characters from the Dissidia FF games have already been "established" as living in the "Disney" side of Reality, is it not Plausible that their "fictional" counterparts could reappeat, now in their "original" settings?

Will KH4 allow its players to meet "Squall" as the Unreality Counterpart to Radiant Garden's "Leon"? What FF games could act as Worlds for Sora to learn from, with themes that share or expand on those of the Disney Worlds? I genuinely do not know and I am very interested to find out.

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts 3 - The Caribbean

[mzminola]

Keyblade wielders Dick Grayson & Cassandra Cain.

Princess of Heart Tim Drake.

[robotsafari]

“I’ve been alone so long that having someone else around is a little… overwhelming.”

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO MY FAVORITE INVERSE DUO MOMENT

[writebackatya]

I have a small pin collection, but I just HAD to get these

[glitteringstardust]

♡ Mickey's Boo To You Halloween Parade at the Magic Kingdom (2023)