‘Tiana’ was unfairly cancelled, and the internet agrees
Lovers of the first Black Disney princess, Tiana, were annoyed last week when it transpired the Tiana Disney+ series had been cancelled.
I was one of them, as I always loved The Princess and the Frog. Its beautiful animation and strong storyline have granted it a place in my Disney-loving heart since the moment it came out. But as much as I love Disney (as a concept, not a company), I think they made a huge mistake cancelling Tiana, even if a Tiana-themed special is still supposed to be coming.
Anika Noni Rose, the woman who gave Tiana her voice, agrees. Today, she released a statement on Instagram stating her disappointment about the shelved project. “Last week an announcement was made regarding the cancellation of the series Tiana. I’ve been getting loads of messages expressing kindness, support, and overwhelming disappointment. I’ve also been asked by different outlets to make a statement, but I’d rather talk to you directly,” she began.
“I too am deeply disappointed that the continuation of Tiana’s journey in series form has been cut short,” she wrote. “The series was a long time coming, and a lot of beautiful work was put into it by all of the creatives involved, including but not limited to long time champion Jenn Lee, our wonderful writer/director Joyce Sherri, some fabulous animators and an amazing music team.”
She went on, “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 encouraged people to get their “friends, family, coworkers, babysitters” to watch the special in the hopes that they could “show your love and your desire in the numbers.” But will it be enough to convince Disney that Tiana does have a fandom out there?
Tiana is a very underrated Disney princess
Tiana got very little love from the Disney corporation until recently when Splash Mountain at Disney World was retooled as “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.” People screamed “woke” when that development happened, and now people are hoping anti-DEI policies under the Trump administration aren’t the reason why Disney’s first Black princess isn’t being highlighted.
“This makes me think that Disney was worried about the numbers and Tiana not pulling in the audience….as if she isn’t one of the more popular princesses…” said one user on Bluesky about the cancellation. “I was looking forward to this series and I hate that this is the result. She deserves better,” said another user of Tiana.
“You can feel the heartbreak in how Anika wrote this statement. Like, she clearly LOVES being Tiana and Disney cannot stop fumbling every step of the way,” said an X user.
It’s safe to say there are a lot of disappointed Princess and the Frog fans right now. At least we’ll still have the special event… assuming that actually goes ahead in the end, of course.
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