Why Is Disney Dropping Long-Form Animation Content?
By Movieguide® Contributor
The anticipated series follow-up to Disney’s THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, TIANA, is a no-go.
Costs are to blame for TIANA being abandoned, according to a source per The Hollywood Reporter.
This follows a bigger trend by Disney+ as it announced a cancellation of another unnamed feature-length movie formerly set to premier on the streaming service.
“Though I’m personally sad to see the TIANA project scrapped as I’m a huge fan of PRINCESS AND THE FROG (especially as a hand-drawn animation enthusiast), this move away from content created specifically for Disney+ does make sense,” Amanda Kondolojy wrote in Pocket-lint.
She cites the success of the 2024 hit MOANA 2, which was originally planned as a series created for streaming but became a full-length theatrical release, earning over a billion dollars globally.
“Hopefully, something similar happens with TIANA, as I’d love to see what this project could have been, either as a theatrically released film, a series of shorts, or something else,” she added.
Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Tiana, Disney’s first African American princess, in the original 2009 THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, shared that she was “deeply disappointed” over the news as well.
“I too am deeply disappointed that the continuation of Tiana’s journey in series form has been cut short,” Rose posted on Instagram.
“As hurtful as it is for anything you’ve put your heart and soul in to be prematurely ended, my hope is that when what is now to be a TIANA SPECIAL EVENT airs, that all of you beautiful, loving, loyal fans who’ve been championing not just the series, but a PRINCESS AND THE FROG sequel, tune in,” she went on to say.
The streaming giant is planning a short-form special based off of the 2009 THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. While there are no details yet on the project, Joyce Sherri will direct and write, with Steve Anderson set to co-direct.
Walt Disney Animation Studios plans to release one animated feature length movie for theaters a year.
One of those Disney’s theatrical releases is ZOOTOPIA 2 set to come out November this year, and FROZEN 3 is slated for release in 2027.
Meanwhile DISNEY+ will focus on short form projects like the hit show BLUEY, BAYMAX! and ZOOTOPIA+. BLUEY was the most watched show in 2024, according to Nieslen.
The Australian animated series, with each episode running about eight minutes, and their minisodes running one to three minutes, was watched for about as many hours as the legal drama SUITS in 2023, IndieWire reported.
“Why develop 6-8 episodes of a kids show 22-30 minutes in length when an 8-minute show with a lot more episodes will keep them just as engaged?” Brian Welk of IndieWire explaining the logic behind the push behind short form animation as far as streaming content goes.
READ MORE: EVERYONE’S FAVORITE KIDS SHOW IS GETTING NEW MINISODES
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