Timeline

Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime corporate icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company and a figurehead of American animation, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves. He is often depicted with a cast of characters including his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, his best friends Donald Duck and Goofy, and his nemesis Pete. Mickey was created as a replacement for a prior character created by Disney, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Tron is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story he co-wrote with Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer and video game developer who is transported inside the software world of a mainframe computer where he interacts with anthropomorphic programs in his attempt to escape. It also stars Bruce Boxleitner (in the eponymous role), David Warner, Cindy Morgan, and Barnard Hughes. Tron was one of cinema's earliest films to use extensive computer-generated imagery (CGI).

Hikaru Utada (宇多田ヒカル, Utada Hikaru; born January 19, 1983), also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese-American singer, songwriter, and record producer. They are considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. They are perhaps best known by international audiences for writing and performing four theme-songs to Square Enix and Disney's Kingdom Hearts video game series: "Simple and Clean", "Sanctuary", "Don't Think Twice", and "Face My Fears" (with Skrillex). Utada was born in New York City to Japanese parents, record producer Teruzane Utada and enka singer Keiko Fuji.

Haley Joel Osment (born April 10, 1988) is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Osment's role in the comedy-drama film Forrest Gump (1994) won him a Young Artist Award. His breakthrough came with the psychological thriller film The Sixth Sense (1999), for which he won a Saturn Award and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Osment achieved further success with the drama film Pay It Forward (2000), the science fiction film A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), which won him a second Saturn Award, the comedy film Secondhand Lions (2003), which won him a Critics Choice Award, and the animated film The Jungle Book 2 (2003).

The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the film's songs with composer Alan Menken. Loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen, it was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation in association with Silver Screen Partners IV and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film features the voices of René Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Paddi Edwards, Buddy Hackett, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Ben Wright, and Samuel E. Wright. The story follows a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel (Benson) who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric (Barnes), which leads her to forge an agreement with the sea witch Ursula (Carroll) to be with him.

Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy film directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and written by Linda Woolverton, based on the French fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast". Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, the film stars Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury, Rex Everhart, Jesse Corti, and Jo Anne Worley. Set in 18th-century France, an enchantress transforms a selfish prince into a monstrous beast as punishment for his cruelty. Years later, a young woman named Belle offers the Beast her own freedom in exchange for her father's.

Tetsuya Nomura is a Japanese video game artist, designer, producer, and director working for Square Enix. He was hired by Square initially as a monster designer for Final Fantasy V (1992), before being shifted towards secondary character designer alongside Yoshitaka Amano for Final Fantasy VI (1994). Final Fantasy VII (1997) had him working in the original story alongside Hironobu Sakaguchi, and marked his debut as the lead character designer, a capacity he would retain for several future installments of the series, as well as other Square Enix titles such as The Bouncer and The World Ends with You. He also created the characters Cactuar, Gilgamesh, and Tonberry.

Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy film based on the Middle Eastern folk tale "Aladdin" from One Thousand and One Nights and produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, both of whom co-wrote the screenplay with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Featuring the voices of Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, and Douglas Seale, the film follows an Arabian street urchin named Aladdin, who discovers a magic lamp containing a genie, with whose help he disguises himself as a wealthy Prince and tries to impress the Sultan of Agrabah to win the heart of his free-spirited daughter, Princess Jasmine, as the Sultan's evil vizier, Jafar, plots to steal the magic lamp. Lyricist Howard Ashman pitched the film's idea to Disney president Jeffrey Katzenberg and the screenplay went through three drafts before Katzenberg agreed to its production.

Hercules is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy comedy film loosely based on the legendary hero Heracles (known in the film by his Roman name, Hercules), a son of Zeus in Greek mythology. Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, the film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, both of whom co-wrote the screenplay with Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Mecchi. Featuring the voices of Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods, and Susan Egan, the film follows the titular Hercules, a demigod with super-strength raised among mortals, who must learn to become a true hero to earn back his godhood and place in Mount Olympus, while his evil uncle Hades plots his downfall. Development of Hercules began in 1992 following a pitch adaptation of the Heracles mythological stories by animator Joe Haidar.

Toy Story is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film directed by John Lasseter, and written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow. The first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, it stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, and Jim Varney. In a world where toys come to life, Toy Story follows an old-fashioned cowboy doll named Woody (Hanks), who becomes jealous that a space cadet action figure, Buzz Lightyear (Allen) is replacing him as the favorite toy of their owner Andy. Following the success of the 1988 short film Tin Toy, Pixar was approached by Disney to produce a computer-animated feature film that was told from a small toy's perspective.

Cloud Strife is a character and the protagonist of the 1997 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII by Square . He is also the protagonist of its remakes Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024), as well as its animated film sequel Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005), with appearances in several other installments in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and the wider Final Fantasy series. He has also appeared in other media, including the Kingdom Hearts series by Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and the Super Smash Bros. series by Nintendo.

Sephiroth is a character and the main antagonist of Square's 1997 role-playing video game Final Fantasy VII. A former soldier of the megacorporation Shinra and the coworker of Zack Fair and superior of Cloud Strife, he possesses superhuman physiology as a result of an experiment in which Shinra injected him with cells from the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova when he was still a fetus. Upon discovering this, Sephiroth becomes consumed by rage and vengeance, decides to take control of the Planet by harnessing its life force and annihilating all life on it to become a god amidst the destruction. Sephiroth's background and role in the story are expanded upon in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Additionally, he appears as a guest character in other video games and media, such as a recurring boss in the Kingdom Hearts series and as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Kingdom Hearts is a 2002 action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation 2. It is the first game in the Kingdom Hearts series and is the result of a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company. An expanded re-release of the game featuring new and additional content, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, was released exclusively in Japan in December 2002. The Final Mix version of the game was later remastered in high definition and released globally as part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix collection for the PlayStation 3. The game was later ported and released as part of the bundled Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix collection for PlayStation 4 in March 2017, Xbox One in February 2020, Windows in March 2021 and Nintendo Switch in February 2022.

Sora is a character and the main protagonist of Disney and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts video game series. Introduced in the first Kingdom Hearts game in 2002, Sora is portrayed as a cheerful teenager who lives on the Destiny Islands and has been best friends with Riku and Kairi since childhood. While planning to leave on a journey to see other worlds, they are separated after creatures known as the Heartless destroy the Islands, with Sora obtaining a weapon called the Keyblade. Donald Duck and Goofy recruit him in their journey across various worlds in search of their king, Mickey Mouse, while Sora searches for his friends; along the way, the trio protects the worlds they visit from the Heartless and other villains.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 American fantasy swashbuckler film directed by Gore Verbinski. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures via the Walt Disney Pictures label, the film is based on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disney theme parks and is the first film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley, it follows pirate Jack Sparrow (Depp) and blacksmith Will Turner (Bloom), as they attempt to rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Knightley). The trio encounters Captain Hector Barbossa (Rush) and the Black Pearl crew who are afflicted by a supernatural curse.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is a 2004 action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Jupiter and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). The second game in the Kingdom Hearts series, it is a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts whose ending is set about a year before the events of Kingdom Hearts II. Chain of Memories follows Sora and his friends as they explore Castle Oblivion while battling Organization XIII, a new group of antagonists. The game uses a new card-based battle system rather than its predecessor's real-time combat system, and it was one of the first GBA games to incorporate full-motion video (FMV).

Kingdom Hearts II is a 2005 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Buena Vista Games for the PlayStation 2. The game is a sequel to Kingdom Hearts, and like the original game, combines characters and settings from Disney films with those of Square Enix's Final Fantasy series. An expanded re-release of the game featuring new and additional content, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, was released exclusively in Japan in March 2007. The Final Mix version of the game was later remastered in high definition and released globally as part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix collection for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a 2009 action role-playing game developed by h.a.n.d. and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios for the Nintendo DS. It is the fifth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, and takes place near the end of the first game in parallel to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, leading directly into the events of Kingdom Hearts II. The game was released worldwide in 2009. The story is told from the perspective of Roxas, and follows his daily life within Organization XIII and his relationship with fellow Organization member Axel; it also introduces a fourteenth member, Xion, who befriends them.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is a 2012 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo 3DS. The seventh installment in Disney's Kingdom Hearts series, it was released in Japan on March 29, 2012, Europe on July 20, 2012, Australasia on July 26, 2012, and in North America on July 31, 2012.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is a 2010 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive Studios for the PlayStation Portable, serving as the sixth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series. The game was released on UMD worldwide in 2010. An international version of the game titled Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix was released in Japan in January 2011, featuring the changes made in the non-Japanese versions. A direct sequel, Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage, was released in January 2017 as a part of a bundle of games called Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a 2018 crossover fighting game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the Super Smash Bros.

Kingdom Hearts III is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is the third main installment in the Kingdom Hearts series and the twelfth game overall, and serves as a conclusion of the "Dark Seeker Saga" story arc that began with the original game. Set after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, returning protagonist Sora is joined by Donald Duck, Goofy, King Mickey, and Riku in their search for seven guardians of light as they attempt to thwart Xehanort's plan to bring about a second Keyblade War. Their journey has them cross paths with characters and visit worlds based on different Disney intellectual properties, being also the first game in the series to include content based on Pixar productions.