Disney Animation Scraps “Tiana” Series & More

Walt Disney Animation Studios has cancelled its “The Princess and the Frog” spin-off TV series “Tiana” – effectively ending any long-form animation content in the works at the studio according to THR.

“Tiana” was first announced back in late 2020 as a musical series featuring Anika Noni Rose reprising her role from the 2009 film. The creative team underwent multiple changes. However, despite all their efforts, the project “could not get to where it needed to be given production costs”.

Instead, the animation studio is said to be developing a separate shortform special inspired by the movie with that project currently in early development. Joyce Sherri is attached as director and writer, and Steve Anderson co-directing.

In addition to the “Tiana” series, the studio is also reportedly scrapping an unannounced feature-length project that was set to go straight to Disney+.

Disney Animation follows in the footsteps of Pixar who previously indicated they would also no longer be developing longform episodic content following their recent “Dream Productions” and “Win or Lose” series on the Disney+ service.

“Moana 2” was also originally conceived as an animated series at Walt Disney Animation Studios before being reimagined as a theatrical release – resulting in a $1 billion-plus run at the global box office.

Walt Disney Animation remains committed to releasing one theatrical film per year in addition to other shorts and special projects. This year’s title will be the “Zootopia” sequel, 2026’s is unannounced, and 2027’s is “Frozen 3”.

Disney has had wild success with shortform animated content, most notably its license on the Australian animated hit series “Bluey” which was the most-watched show in the U.S. last year.

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