Following the surprising success of the first Kingdom Hearts, Disney briefly explored the development of its own crossover fighting game in the vein of Super Smash Bros., according to Ken Christiansen, a former concept artist at Disney Interactive who also worked on the original Kingdom Hearts.
In an interview with Time Extension, Christiansen explained that Kingdom Hearts' inter-universe collaborations opened Disney's eyes to the potential for such projects. He recalled that early development on Kingdom Hearts itself was challenging due to Disney's reluctance to allow characters from different franchises, like The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, to interact. This hesitation stemmed from the company's difficulty in envisioning its prominent characters appearing alongside each other.
Despite executive reservations, the original Kingdom Hearts became a bestseller on the PlayStation 2, prompting Disney to reconsider crossover game concepts. The proposed project, tentatively titled Disney's Action Figure Face Off, aimed to emulate the concept of characters fighting each other, similar to how toys come to life in Toy Story. Christiansen envisioned a roster featuring action figures of characters from franchises such as Tarzan, The Lion King, and Treasure Planet, creating a "Smash Brothers type of thing."
The project never progressed beyond prototype stages, as Disney reportedly shifted its focus to safer film tie-in games. However, the concept of merging multiple Disney franchises into single games later materialized through titles like Disney Infinity, Disney Speedstorm, and Disney Dreamlight Valley. Kingdom Hearts continues its own crossover legacy, with Kingdom Hearts 4 slated for release late next year and a Disney Plus anime series also in production.