Princess And The Frog’s Tiana Lands Her Own Series
If you don’t count 2011’s Winnie The Pooh — and most people don’t remember it anyway — The Princess And The Frog was the last time Disney got serious about 2D theatrical animation. CG had completely taken over the box office by 2009, but given that 2D animation was the foundation the entire Disney Empire was built upon, they felt they should give it one last try. They knocked it out of the park and made another classic, and proved hand-drawn movies still had worth…and then they retired the medium for good, to the annoyance of a lot of people.
Most of today’s best 2D animators are working for television, where flat animation never died. It’s here that Tiana is returning at last, in her own self-titled Disney+ musical series. Disney made the announcement today at their Disney+ conference, along with a billion others (more on those later).
When we last left Tiana, she had achieved the mission of most Disney heroines, that of marrying into royalty. This gal, though, hadn’t really planned on living that kind of life or even sang about it even once — a restaurant was what she wanted. Being the new Princess of Madonia is going to take some adjustment. This is all leading to “a new adventure,” according to the one-sentence series description, “but her New Orleans past isn’t far behind.” There is no confirmation of any of the other characters from the film yet (we NEED Charlotte, come on).
Tiana will be written and directed by Stella Meghie, who has previously directed live-action indie films like “The Photograph,” “The Weekend” and “Jean of the Joneses.” Anika Noni Rose will be returning to supply Tiana’s voice. The first season of Tiana is targeted for a 2023 release date on Disney+.