The Walt Disney Animation Studios are no longer cooking up longform streaming content, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The first title to be culled from the lineup is Tiana, the Disney+ series based on the 2009 movie The Princess and the Frog, which introduce the studio’s first Black Disney Princess.
A source revealed that WDAS was also shelving an unannounced feature project destined for Disney+, and confirmed that there will be layoffs at Disney’s Vancouver animation studio. This shift follows Pixar’s announcement last year that it will not be prioritizing longform episodic content after launching the Inside Out spinoff Dream Productions and recent original Win or Lose on Disney+
A short-form special set in the world of The Princess and the Frog is reportedly still in development. Tiana‘s Joyce Sherrí (staff writer on Midnight Mass) and Steven Anderson will be directing.
Tiana has had a bit of a rocky development journey (much like the animated feature it sprang from). Initially announced in 2020 with a target release in 2023, the project was then pushed to an undated 2024 release after swapping in Sherrí as lead writer-director instead of Stella Meghie (The Photograph). Meghie remained attached as an executive producer alongside former WDAS CCO Jennifer Lee. Nathan Curtis was series producer.
Per Disney’s previous announcements, the musical show would be set after the events of The Princess and the Frog, following Tiana as she “sets off for a grand new adventure as the newly crowned Princess of Maldonia, but a calling to her New Orleans past isn’t far behind.” Anika Noni Rose (Mufasa: The Lion King, Dreamgirls) was to reprise her title role.
Tiana would have been timed to the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride launches in Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland theme parks in 2024. The attraction rebranding the Splash Mountain ride, which was inspired by the studio’s controversial 1946 movie Song of the South.
[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]
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