Disney+ has been a great place for many of the studio’s top franchises to grow, as has been the case with both Marvel and Star Wars. However, what has worked for live-action projects hasn’t been quite as successful in animation. Pixar just released the long-gestatingWin or Lose, which as been well received. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ two biggest attempts to turn its successful animated films into long-form series have now both ended without the series coming out. A planned Moana series became a theatrical sequel. And, now, the Tiana show that would have followed up The Princess and the Frog will not be so lucky.
Tiana, an animated series centered around the Disney Princess from The Princess and the Frog, was originally announced more than four years ago, Now, THR confirms that the show has officially been canceled. In addition to the project being scrapped, layoffs in the Vancouver Disney studio are expected due to what is actually a wholesale shift away from long-form content for WDAS. Collectively, this is an unfortunate development, but it's not surprising.
It Was Clear Tiana Was Having Problems
Animated projects of any kind always take years to develop, in all fairness. But the fact that so much time had passed without many updates regarding the Tiana series was a strong indication that the project was having some difficulties.
This notion of that is somewhat surprising, considering The Princess and the Frog as a franchise is arguably more popular now than it has ever been. The original movie wasn’t the massive hit that other Disney Princess movies of its era, like Tangled and Frozen, were. But Disney saw fit to open Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at both WDW and Disneyland, a move that will make Tiana part of Disney for decades to come.
I attended a media preview for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure last summer before the ride opened at Magic Kingdom, and the Tiana series was actually brought up during the presentation. It was indicated that the story of the ride itself would factor into the new series, which seemed to suggest that the show was still moving forward. Having said that, there was still no indication as to when fans might see the show.
Tiana Was A Show I Was Looking Forward To
Despite the fact that Tiana was clearly in development hell, I was hopeful that it would eventually find its way out. The Princess and the Frog is a great film, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure made me fall in love with it all over again.
There is some good news, however as, apparently, Tiana's demise doesn't mean the end of the character herself. While no series is on the way, there is a “short-form special” inspired by the film that's currently in early development. It’s being called “all-new storytelling”, so it doesn’t appear that it is a project born from the failed series. Whatever it is, let's hope it actually ends up seeing the light of day. In the meantime, stream The Princess and the Frog with a Disney+ subscription.
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