Walt Disney Animation Studios has dropped its Tiana series for Disney+, part of a bigger move away from long streaming projects. The Hollywood Reporter shared the news on March 3rd, noting that another Disney+ movie idea got cut too. Some jobs at the studio’s Vancouver location will be lost because of this.
The Tiana series, announced back in December 2020, was going to bring back Anika Noni Rose as the princess from 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. It was planned as a musical, but after changes in the creative team and rising costs, it didn’t work out. People close to it say it just couldn’t come together.
Tiana’s not going away, though. She’s still a big deal for Disney—think of Splash Mountain turning into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the U.S. parks. Plus, a shorter special based on The Princess and the Frog is in the early stages, with Joyce Sherri and Steve Anderson leading it. We don’t know much yet, but it’ll be a new take on her story.
This change comes after Pixar also stepped back from streaming series last year, finishing up Dream Productions and Win or Lose. Disney’s animation teams are shifting gears. A few years ago, during the pandemic, former CEO Bob Chapek wanted lots of new stuff for Disney+ to get more subscribers. Some ideas, like Moana 2, switched to theaters and made over $1 billion. Others didn’t do as well. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 also raked in $1.7 billion last year, showing movies in theaters are a huge win.
Moana 2 hits Disney+ on March 12th and should be a streaming hit, especially since the first Moana was last year’s most-watched streaming movie (according to Nielsen). Disney Animation has more coming too—Zootopia 2, with Jared Bush and Byron Howard directing, lands November 26th, then there’s another movie next November, and Frozen 3 two Novembers from now.
For streaming, Disney’s sticking to short stuff. Bluey was the most-watched show in the U.S. last year, and things like Zootopia+ and Baymax! have done great. Longer series, though, seem too expensive and tricky when theater movies are bringing in billions.
The Tiana series had fans excited, but it’s off the table now. Her park ride and that new short special are what’s left for her story. Disney’s clearly leaning hard into theater releases over long streaming projects—whether that pays off long-term is anyone’s guess.
