Kingdom Hearts 3 and Toy Story were the focus of a world collaboration at D23 this year. Kingdom Hearts Insider recently spoke to Pixar’s Tasha Sounart about her thoughts on the pairing. Sounart discussed how both character and level designs carefully showcase a blend between Japanese and American culture.
On the Japanese end, of course, are the figurine forms taken on by Sora, Donald and Goofy when they arrive in Andy’s bedroom and the new Galaxy Toys location the trio visits on their quest to snuff out the world’s darkness.
According to Sounart, culture was a huge part of the design formula in the back-and-forth discussions between the two major studios.
“When we were designing the toy store, and when Square Enix was designing the other toys that would go in the toy store, like the enemy toys or just the ones on the shelves, we definitely told them, ‘this should look like the Japanese version of retro toys.’ Because, this is a Japanese game, and Sora is a Japanese character. We wanted their Japanese flavor in the Toy Story style. So yeah, they do have toys that look like a Japanese mech. The robots that they fight with are very Japanese style. We said, ‘because this is a Japanese toy store, then it makes sense.’"
Sounart also says that retro aspect inspired the blocky protagonist designs. Sets like the ones Sora and his pals imitate were popular fixtures of Japanese culture throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, so, with Square Enix’s blessing, the movie studio readily embraced that part of the aesthetic.
Since Toy Story is also a very American franchise, Sounart was also quick to point out moments where the U.S. side of the equation were equally balanced. For example, she referenced advising SE to make sure Buzz and Woody don’t bow or use Japan-specific hand gestures. As American toys, Andy’s gang should have minor behavioral differences from Sora’s. With these minute adjustments in mind, Sounart felt Kingdom Hearts 3 “is probably the best that our characters have looked outside of our movies, because [Square Enix’s] attention to detail is really, really great.”
Shortly after the reveal of Kingdom Hearts 3’s Toy Story trailer, Director Tetsuya Nomura was quick to suggest that a Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts 3 was a dream come true for his team. It’s nice to see that intense admiration is present on the Pixar side of things as well.
Toy Story is just one small part of a full roster of Disney-themed worlds to be featured in Kingdom Hearts 3. In addition to Toy Story, there are also planned appearances from the film universes of Tangled, Hercules, Big Hero 6 and more. Recent interviews suggested Marvel would not be featured in the game.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is slated for a 2018 release on PS4 and Xbox One.
Are you intrigued by how Toy Story is being represented in Kingdom Hearts 3? What other worlds would you like to see? Tell us in the comments section!
