How Kingdom Hearts got approved while halfway through development – former Disney rep comments 

Sega President and COO Shuji Utsumi recently featured on Yoshiki Okamoto’s official YouTube channel, where he talked about his career and the decisive behind-the-scenes work he did to get SquareSoft’s (now Square Enix’s) Kingdom Hearts greenlit by Disney. The crossover franchise now counts 13 main entries and is considered a critical and commercial success. However, it was initially in a precarious state, with development advancing without the project being officially approved. 

Shuji Utsumi joined Disney Interactive in 2000, serving as Vice President and Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region for about 4 years. Reminiscing about his days at Disney, Utsumi talks about the struggle he went through to get Kingdom Hearts approved, given how strict Disney were with the use of their properties. “The politics of getting approval (for Kingdom Hearts) was really challenging. I had to do a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiating, while figuring out who to ally with and whom to avoid.” 

However, what gave Utsumi a chance to strike was Michael Eisner’s arrival in Japan. Eisner was Disney’s CEO and most authoritative figure at the time, and his visit to Japan was prompted by the company’s favorable performance locally and the opening of Tokyo DisneySea in 2001. Utsumi thought that if he could get Eisner to agree, this would make the decision absolute, so he used a meeting attended by Eisner as an opportunity to present Kingdom Hearts. Additionally, Utsumi factored in Roy E. Disney’s absence at the meeting, as he was known to be strict about protecting Disney’s brand. 

According to Utsumi, various issues were raised during the discussion of Kingdom Hearts, one of which was the 3D depiction of Mickey Mouse. Mickey had to have round ears from each angle he was viewed from, and executives inquired about how this would be translated into 3D. However, this is where Utsumi’s lobbying leading up to the meeting bore fruit – Disney’s branding representatives encouraged the project, citing a lack of male Disney fans and the need to expand the fanbase. In the end, Eisner gave a curt, “OK, do your best,” and the project was greenlit. 

When asked how confident he was about getting Kingdom Hearts approved, Utsumi says, “I was completely desperate. I mean, the folk at Square Enix were in the middle of making it. We had told them it was official, but it was actually not fully approved. It was so scary.” Utsumi went on to become the Disney-side producer of Kingdom Hearts.