Disney's Lorcana from publisher Ravensberger has given fans the chance to wield their favorite animated characters in what feels both familiar and entirely new to longtime trading card game players. While some Lorcana cards feature never before seen versions of familiar characters, even more of them are taken directly from the silver screen.
For a game with only a single set of 204 cards currently available, there are plenty of Disney properties that have yet to find a home in Lorcana. Even though there is no doubt that many of them will make their way into the game sooner rather than later, there are also numerous Disney properties that Lorcana would do best to completely ignore, even if some are among the biggest names in pop culture.
10 Encanto (Introduce)
2021's Encanto introduced audiences to the Family Madrigal, whose enchanted home Casita was the perfect setting for them to lead their superpowered lives. At least, that was true for all but Mirabel, who never received a magical gift in the same vein as the rest of her family.
Upon its release, Encanto took the world by storm, earning a worldwide box office gross of over $250 million and largely rave reviews from critics. As of now, Encanto is one of if not the most notably absent Disney property in Lorcana. While it is highly likely that the Family Madrigal will be introduced to the game, this does not make up for their absence in The First Chapter.
9 Anastasia (Ignore)
Premiering in 1997, Anastasia was produced by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman through Fox Family Films and Fox Animation Studios. Even though the character is not a Disney Princess, nor the film a Disney production, the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney in 2019 has landed Anastasia firmly within the company's library, with its titular character even making an appearance in the game Disney Emoji Blitz.
Whether Anastasia is technically owned by Disney isn't actually an issue when it comes to whether the film should be adapted for Lorcana. Rather, it is the film's source material that provides a serious problem in bringing it into a TCG setting. Anastasia is based on the legend of Grand Duchess Anastasia, a very real woman who was the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II, who was killed along with the rest of his family in 1918 in an act of violent revolution. Despite rumors that Anastasia herself escaped her would be murderers, the tragedy that the animated film is grounded in would make adapting it for Lorcana a highly questionable move at best.
8 The Nightmare Before Christmas (Introduce)
Directed by Henry Selick and adapted from a story by Tim Burton, 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas spawned a completely new subgenre of pop culture. The story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town being enamored by the idea of Christmas and fusing two holidays into one near catastrophic night is instantly iconic, as are the songs laced throughout the feature film.
The Nightmare Before Christmas certainly doesn't share any of the usual trappings of Disney animated musicals, but that is not a bad thing. Not only does The Nightmare Before Christmas offer Lorcana a wealth of characters and songs to adapt, it would instantly draw an entirely different fan base into the game. Beyond that, there is the fact that The Nightmare Before Christmas would be the perfect property for Ravensberger to introduce for a fourth-quarter release, especially if it landed sometime in November alongside Rise of the Floodborn.
7 Gargoyles (Ignore)
Created by Greg Weisman, Gargoyles ran for three seasons from 1994 to 1997, and in that short time it garnered one of the most fervent fan bases of all time. Gargoyles told the story of the Manhattan Clan, an ancient group of gargoyles tasked with overseeing the Scottish Castle Wyvern who were displaced along with their home to New York City in the modern day. After waking from a thousand-year slumber, Goliath and his fellow gargoyles continued in their fight against evil, most often ushered in at the behest of the villainous billionaire David Xanatos.
Despite having so many iconic characters to pull from and such a vast breadth of lore to its name, Gargoyles bears none of the trademarks of a typical Disney production. It also has none of the obvious aspects that would make it a fit for Lorcana, other than already being licensed by Ravensberger for another game they produce. While this doesn't immediately exclude Gargoyles from finding a home in Lorcana, adding it to the game could easily be read as disingenuous to the spirit of both properties. On the other hand, Gargoyles would absolutely be right at home in Wizards of the Coast's Magic:The Gathering, where Universes Beyond have already brought a plethora of outside properties to the card table.
6 Pixar (Introduce)
Although Pixar was only acquired by Disney in 2006, the 3D animation studios' classic works are still well within the fantastical bounds that give Lorcana its unique tone. Fans of Pixar and Disney have already seen how well their characters can play off of one another in a third party setting thanks to Square Enix's blockbuster Kingdom Hearts video game franchise, and there is no reason to think things would be any different in the world of Lorcana.
Even without that many musicals under its umbrella, several of the Pixar productions have produced iconic songs such as Toy Story's "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman that would fit right in with Lorcana's Song mechanic. On top of that, Pixar has its own Disney Princess to offer in the form of Merida from 2012's Brave. Between the aesthetics of most Pixar films and the obvious ties it has developed to the wider Disney brand, it is likely only a matter of time before these properties start making waves in upcoming Lorcana sets.
5 The Marvel Cinematic Universe (Ignore)
Like 20th Century Fox, the Marvel brand is one that was acquired by Disney well after it had been established as a tent pole of pop culture entirely on its own merits. The first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2008's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr., even premiered a full year before Disney purchased Marvel as an entity. That said, it has been under Disney's watch that the MCU was cultivated and flourished, although that doesn't mean it or the comics it is based on have a place in Lorcana.
This comes down almost purely to aesthetics and tone. The MCU is simply nothing like the other Disney properties that form the basis for Lorcana, and the gamehas not embraced any of the themes or elements prevalent in the MCU. Marvel Comics could potentially offer more fitting additions to Lorcana (such as Princess Petra, aka Spinstress), but those offerings are slim at best.
4 The Black Cauldron (Introduce)
The Black Cauldron is not what most fans would think of when considering the Disney brand as a whole, yet it holds an indelible place in its history nonetheless. Loosely based on Lloyd Alexander's first two entries in The Chronicles of Prydain series of novels, 1985's The Black Cauldron takes audiences on an adventure through a fantasy landscape that is far darker than nearly every other mainstream Disney production.
While The Black Cauldron has achieved cult status today, it was a box office bomb upon release. This coupled with its overall tone hasn't helped it garner much in the way of widespread popularity, but it does have a special place in the hearts of those lucky enough to have grown up with it. The Black Cauldron is also rife with fantasy tropes, colorful characters, and explosive set pieces that would have no problem slotting into any Lorcana set.
3 Star Wars (Ignore)
There is no questioning the mark that Star Wars has made on pop culture, nor that it is one of the most prominent properties Disney has ever acquired. However, the Star Wars franchise falls into almost the exact same territory as the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it comes to the possibility of adapting it for Lorcana.
Simply put, Star Wars has little to lend to Lorcana in terms of its overall tone. The franchisehas animated productions, but they aren't as family-friendly as Mickey Mouse & Friends. Therefore, while Star Wars has made a name for itself across numerous board and card games, there is no reason for it to be added to Lorcana.
2 A Goofy Movie (Introduce)
Goofy may already be a part of Lorcana, but 1995's A Goofy Movie is not. Starring the titular Disney fan-favorite and his son Max in a road trip comedy, A Goofy Movie is a favorite among Millennial audiences, and is one of the few productions of its era that still holds up.
A Goofy Movie doesn't have any inherently fantastical elements of its own beyond the usual trappings of an animated Disney comedy, but it does feature an iconic cast of characters, memorable set pieces, and an array of classic scenes that would translate well into the framework of Lorcana. A Goofy Movie is also replete with songs such as "I 2 I," "Stand Out," and "Nobody Else but You" that are prime for becoming a part of Lorcana's selection of Songs.
1 Song of the South (Ignore)
Song of the South premiered in 1946, and it is a product of its era in the worst ways possible. Based on Joel Chandler Harris' collection of Uncle Remus stories, Song of the South has been widely derided as little more than a series of loosely connected vignettes dripping in racist caricatures and Southern stereotypes.
No matter how viewers interpret characters such as Br'er Rabbit or Uncle Remus or how catchy songs like "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" may be, neither it nor any other aspect of Song of the South has a place in any modern productions. As such, Song of the South certainly doesn't have a place in any games that could make their way into the hands of children, let alone one as immediately popular as Lorcana.