Kingdom Hearts animated series released after 19 years

It’s been a while since we spoke about Kingdom Hearts around these parts. Back in April, Kingdom Hearts IV was officially announced by Square Enix as a part of the franchise’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The trailer didn’t give much away, but we did see Sora waking up in a mysterious new metropolis called Quadratum.

Developers teased an “epic” new storyline titled the ‘Lost Master Arc,’ plus a brand new character Strelitzia but all has been quiet on the Kingdom Hearts front since then. The game still doesn’t have a release date, nor a release window for that matter but to quell any hunger you may have, the Kingdom Hearts animated series has now been released after 19 years.

Check out the trailer for Kingdom Hearts IV below.

Director Seth Kearsley recently revealed that he worked with Disney on a Kingdom Hearts animated series back in 2003. Kearsley has since worked on a wide array of animated projects including The Secret Life of Pets and Sing. Disney ended up passing on the Kingdom Hearts series but an unfinished animatic was produced. What's an animatic I hear ye ask? It’s essentially an animated storyboard as opposed to the fully-animated final product.

Kearsley has been holding onto the animatic for 19 years now and, as reported by Comic Book, has decided to post the project online. The animatic lasts for just over 11 minutes and features Sora, Riku, Kairi and plenty of fun Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Goofy. There’s also a lengthy sequence set in Aladdin’s Cave of Wonders. Take a look below.

Hayden Panettiere and David Gallagher reprised their roles as Kairi and Riku, although Bobby Edner was cast as Sora as video game voice actor Haley Joel Osment had a scheduling conflict. Just think, some of us could’ve tuned into Kingdom Hearts every week after school. Sigh, some things just aren’t meant to be.