Sad news comes to Princess Tiana fans this week from the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Studio executives decided to shelf the Tiana series based on the New Orleans royal from the 2009 feature film The Princess and the Frog, which was coming exclusively to Disney+.
The animated series would have had Princess Tiana, her husband Prince Naveen, and the rest of the film characters in different stories. Anika Noni Rose would have reconnected with her role as Tiana, earning her the Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture at the 2010 Image Awards.
Besides, Tiana is well-loved and received, so removing the project feels betraying, especially to those who see their reflections in her.
Hollywood Reporter was the first outlet to drop the announcement on March 3, stating that Tiana's shelving was due to the upcoming layoffs at one of its branch studios in Vancouver. Additionally, the streamer is retiring its original long-form content creation.
The Tiana series has been in production since 2020. Despite the animation team's best intentions, its progress didn't meet the goal line of gaining costs for the final steps. Not all is lost though, as Disney is planning on releasing a special on The Princess and the Frog, though no other details concerning this production have been unveiled.
Aside from Tiana not moving forward, an unnamed full-length feature film for Disney+ also has been tossed. Subscribers will feel the disappointment, as what they're paying for might not be up to their expectations.
The Princess and the Frog introduced Tiana as the first Black woman in Disney's Princess franchise, and deservedly so, as several of the women are white, with the exception of Jasmine (the Middle East), Mulan (China), and its newest addition, Moana (the Polynesian Islands). Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame is not "technically" a Princess, but given her strength, determination, and views for a better France, she might as well be. Her Romani background was heavily explored in the 1995 movie and told both sides of it- the rich culture and the unfortunate racism in Medieval Europe.
Like those before her, Tiana broke boundaries, all the while remaining true to herself and discovering new reveals of Louisiana culture in the Jazz Age. It's heartbreaking, to say the least, that Tiana's story won't continue in a series, as she's a role model for young girls, and having that extracted is simply wrong. While we should teach our children that characters are just roles, they can value the good essences about them. Since Disney prided itself on these values in its very early days, the company must continue them.