Tiana (Disney+ Series)

[Sotiris]

Q: Do you know when we can expect the Tiana series?

Jared Bush: Can’t comment on specific schedules - but I can’t wait for people to see it!

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867980178099765696

Q: Can you please give us some more details on the fate of "Tiana"?

Jared Bush: Yup, currently full steam ahead.

Source: https://x.com/thejaredbush/status/1867964735729332303

I quietly returned to Disney Animation about a month and a half ago and I've been storyboarding on an upcoming Tiana series for Disney+. It's been fun, so far.

Source: https://boardwalktimes.net/the-zach-per ... a619ca8eef

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

I think him saying it’s “full steam ahead,” but didn’t say in what form, plus him not being able to give a schedule for release could mean they’re having conversations right now on if Tiana should become a theatrical Princess and the Frog sequel or not.

[The Disneynerd]

my condolences to Musker ans Clements having to witness that they take your Passion Projects and expand them wirhout your involvement and stretch something out that is empty, this doesnt only give a bad look at the sequels, but the original ones at well as they are undeniably from the same studio and will still get compared.

First Moana, then Tiana,..whats next? WDAS Aladdin sequel with Aladdins tough life as a Sultan?

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

my condolences to Musker ans Clements having to witness that they take your Passion Projects and expand them wirhout your involvement and stretch something out that is empty, this doesnt only give a bad look at the sequels, but the original ones at well as they are undeniably from the same studio and will still get compared.

First Moana, then Tiana,..whats next? WDAS Aladdin sequel with Aladdins tough life as a Sultan?

That could change if they turn Tiana into “Tiana: Princess of Maldonia and the Frogs” for movie theaters and delay it to Thanksgiving 2029.

Doing that would give them time to bring back Musker and Clements in the director’s chair but not fire Joyce Sherri and instead keep her on as a third director, kind of like what we got with films like Meet the Robinsons and what we will get with Pixar’s Elio.

[The Disneynerd]

That could change if they turn Tiana into “Tiana: Princess of Maldonia and the Frogs” for movie theaters and delay it to Thanksgiving 2029.

First of all they probably retired
Second of all, even if they returned, i doubt they will be happy to be included in the mid process where story and elements are already strictly set and they couldnt develop it from the start

Im kinda open to the idea of a Princess and the Frog continuation, especially with the Princess of Maldonia aspect of maybe having to maybe give up her dream as a Chef for royal duties. Tho it would kinda speak against Naveens parents morals to get rid of him to become more grounded and not too depending on royal wealth. Idk maybe they changed their views after seeing what a better person he became at the end or they just need an heir as theyre too old now

But thanks atleast i can mention Sabrina Carpenter next time again

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

That could change if they turn Tiana into “Tiana: Princess of Maldonia and the Frogs” for movie theaters and delay it to Thanksgiving 2029.

First of all they probably retired
Second of all, even if they returned, i doubt they will be happy to be included in the mid process where story and elements are already strictly set and they couldnt develop it from the start

Im kinda open to the idea of a Princess and the Frog continuation, especially with the Princess of Maldonia aspect of maybe having to maybe give up her dream as a Chef for royal duties. Tho it would kinda speak against Naveens parents morals to get rid of him to become more grounded and not too depending on royal wealth. Idk maybe they changed their views after seeing what a better person he became at the end or they just need an heir as theyre too old now

But thanks atleast i can mention Sabrina Carpenter next time again

First of all, the possibility could be open for them to return and I don’t think they’d retire forever.

Second, it’s not middle in the process yet, it’s still early that they may be able to change things before they decide to push back Tiana/Princess and the Frog 2 to 2029 and have time to rework some things and change the series to a movie without doing it to the detriment of its quality.

[Sotiris]

Disney filed a new trademark application for the name "Tiana" on December 10, 2024. This means the project is coming along and we are close to an announcement.

https://uspto.report/TM/98894905

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Disney filed a new trademark application for the name "Tiana" on December 10, 2024. This means the project is coming along and we are close to an announcement.

https://uspto.report/TM/98894905

Oh boy…

[Disney's Divinity]

Yay. Hopefully it's okay. Unlike others, I only ever expected TV quality animation at best. It's too bad the whole show couldn't have had the whole aesthetic of "Almost There" the way the Tangled series looked more like Claire Keane's artwork (Rapunzel's paintings).

I feel like it would've been easy to have a story arc with this one as with Zhan Tiri in that show. Perhaps have various shadow villains before Facilier is eventually sent back (only to turn out to be secondary to another antagonist, the shadow or entity that brought him back in the first place or something). But where there's so few episodes and likely no future seasons, I expect complete fluff sort of like the episodes of the abandoned TV series that were stitched into Belle's Magical World.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Disney filed a new trademark application for the name "Tiana" on December 10, 2024. This means the project is coming along and we are close to an announcement.

https://uspto.report/TM/98894905

You know they file trademarks like these all the time and not all of them come to fruition.

Maybe it might be announced as a theatrical 2029 release instead of a Disney+ series once Moana 2 hits a billion and proves a successful experiment after turning a planned Disney+ series into a movie.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Well, I just got off an Instagram live with Joyce Sherri where a lot of users also chimed in and holy smokes did I get a lot of information about Tiana from her…

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Ok, so here’s everything I learned from Joyce Sherri about Tiana on her Instagram, along with some other interesting details and opinions, if I remember everything she said correctly:

1. While the trades revealed her working on the show in 2023, she was involved with the series way in the beginning as one of its writers since 2021 and joined as early as 2022 when the show’s original director Stella Meghie stepped down to do Wonder Man for Disney+ over at Marvel Studios, before the strike changed a lot of things and had the Wonder Man series be put under the Marvel Television banner with Andrew Guest being the show’s showrunner when the strikes changed things around for everything in the industry.

2. Jennifer Lewis will be back to voice Mama Odie and Odie’s pet snake Juju will return as well. And she re-affirmed Anika Noni Rose is returning to voice Tiana.

3. She wouldn’t reveal who’s doing the new songs and music for Tiana, but she said it wouldn’t be Randy Newman, which, to be honest, I kinda figured wouldn’t happen since he may still be recovering from his injuries that made him cancel his tour and because he may be focused on scoring the music for Toy Story 5 and writing new songs for that movie too. She also teased some of the new songs like the opening number of the series that really starts it off with a bang and a duet between Tiana and Naveen, but that their duet wouldn’t necessarily be a love song.

4. She also mentioned how a lot of research was put in for making sure they got down the look of the world of Maldonia right for this series.

5. I was a bit scared to ask this question, but when I asked her what the animation style for Tiana would be and if it would be either hand-drawn animated or in the animation style of Paperman, she said “Paperman is the reference for the animation style of the Tiana series,” and she said that while they’re not trying to disrespect what has come before and honor the work that came in the original hand-drawn animated Princess and the Frog, because not a lot of 2D animators remain at Disney, they had to find a way to honor that film’s animation style while also being in tune with the new technology of today’s age, if I remember all of what she said correctly. However, she did confirm that she did go to Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn (before he retired) to make sure she got the looks of characters like Louis the Alligator and Tiana as close to how they look in the original animated film when translating them into a Paperman-style of animation for Tiana’s series. This detail is a detail I’m so glad was confirmed as I felt like the veterans and old guard of Disney Animation would have some involvement on Tiana before certain members retired.

6. When I threw out the possibility of how Moana 2 making a billion would mark a sort of successful experiment in turning a Disney+ series into a movie that Tiana could follow suit, she said “that could happen,” but not with Tiana in its current state as a series right now and that it might be for another story. It kinda makes sense, since Tiana is said to be an episodic story.

7. She said she understood the importance of wanting to keep the legacy and memory of the medium of hand-drawn animation at Disney alive and says she did the best she could to honor that medium’s memory and legacy as much as possible, hence why she more or less said the reference for Tiana’s animation style would be Disney’s short Paperman, which she gave a lot of strong praise to in the Instagram Live she hosted. And she also said animation deserves a lot more respect and credit in Hollywood these days compared to the live-action remakes we see now a days from studios like Disney and she said she doesn’t understand why a few people want to see The Princess and the Frog be done in live-action. But she said if it was a live-action sequel to an animated film like Christopher Robin or something more along the lines of Mufasa: The Lion King, she would be okay with that. Me personally, I would prefer a sequel be animated only (hand-drawn animated or Paperman-style), but I wouldn’t immediately shrug off that suggestion either.

8. She also agreed with me on how original films at Disney need to be more focused on, which led me to comment to her and say, for that reason alone, that Pixar’s Elio was my most anticipated movie of 2025 (especially in light of Pixar’s current struggles right now). She also agreed with me there and was about to say something about Elio but couldn’t reveal anything out of fear of getting in trouble. She also said she recently saw a version of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 2026 original movie and that’s all she would say, along with saying and also re-iterating what Lee and Bush said that more original stories at Walt Disney Animation Studios are being worked on right now as we speak.

9. There is a clue about the Tiana series at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Disney World and Disneyland, a detail many have pointed out in the past. And that’s all she’d say.

10. She really couldn’t reveal much about when the series is coming but teased that what she showed of the series to Anika Noni Rose made her and Joyce agree that they have something special coming when it releases on Disney+. And she said all of the series is her favorite episode.

Well, that’s about everything I could remember. Hearing everything Joyce said, which I made sure to include here made me more hopeful and excited for this show again. I would’ve really liked to see it fully hand-drawn animated, a sentiment she also shares, but havin’ heard what she said, I feel a bit better about this series and believe it’s in good hands, now more than I did in the past.

[Farerb]

a duet between Tiana and Naveen, but that their duet wouldn’t necessarily be a love song.

Of course it wouldn't be. Tiana is not a lion, she's a human and part of the Princess franchise.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

a duet between Tiana and Naveen, but that their duet wouldn’t necessarily be a love song.

Of course it wouldn't be. Tiana is not a lion, she's a human and part of the Princess franchise.

I don’t think I quite understand what you are trying to say.

[Sotiris]

Disappointing, but unsurprising news. Like many predicted, the animation will be in crude, cel-shaded/non-photoreal CG, with poorly-translated, off-model character designs, no love songs, no Randy Newman because he isn't Black, with Tiana being the Girlboss of Maldonia and fighting racism or whatever. Hard pass.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Disappointing, but unsurprising news. Like many predicted, the animation will be in crude, cel-shaded/non-photoreal CG, with poorly-translated, off-model character designs, no love songs, no Randy Newman because he isn't Black, with Tiana being the Girlboss of Maldonia and fighting racism or whatever. Hard pass.

You don’t have to be such a stubborn dick about it even before you even see anything from it, asshole. Especially when Paperman, the Disney story being used as reference for Tiana’s series, is far less cel-shaded than you make it look to be, even less cel-shaded than something like Wish, Feast, or Far From The Tree. And also when Joyce herself said that she went to Goldberg, Henn (before he retired) and maybe even Randy Hancock (Naveen’s animator) to make them translated as best as they could from a hand-drawn animated setting into a hybridized animation style like Paperman. It seems she’s doing her best to not erase the past. But it seems you’ll never be happy, no matter how hard she tries to not let you down.

You know what? You’re a fuckin’ joke of a so-called Disney purist.

No wonder Disney didn’t make hand-drawn animated movies anymore or stop with their live-action remakes either, even if that may inevitably happen once Snow White (and maybe Moana) bombs. But that’s besides the point.

I mean, really, I want Disney to go back to doing hand-drawn animated long-form projects as much as the next person. And I mean they’ll fuckin listen to anyone when they ask them for something, most of the time.

But it shouldn’t have to be forced to happen by way of acting a like a pedantic jerk-off like u do, Sotiris.

I mean you are a judge-mental, snobby, old, miserable, immature, half wit moron. I have never met a sadder, disillusioned, so-called adult Disney purist in my entire life before I came to this group. And that says a lot because I’ve been alive enjoying what I could see of Disney’s century-long stories for more than 25 fuckin’ years.

And I’ll tell you what, the people in this group who either fear you and choose to not speak out against you were right about one thing, you will NEVER save Disney in a way to make them go back to making stories your way. YOU couldn’t even get your way in making that happen during the GODDAMN CHAPEK ERA.

Mother fucker, I wish I could say miserable people like yourself would be better off to be left ripped and behind to die alone. But it’s one of GOD’S IRONIC JOKES THAT MISERABLE PEOPLE LIKE YOU CAN’T SHUT UP, GET LOST OR DIE, EXCEPT THAT’S ON ALL OF US!

[nachonaco]

Disappointing, but unsurprising news. Like many predicted, the animation will be in crude, cel-shaded/non-photoreal CG, with poorly-translated, off-model character designs, no love songs, no Randy Newman because he isn't Black, with Tiana being the Girlboss of Maldonia and fighting racism or whatever. Hard pass.

You don’t have to be such a stubborn dick about it even before you even see anything from it, asshole. Especially when Paperman, the Disney story being used as reference for Tiana’s series, is far less cel-shaded than you make it look to be, even less cel-shaded than something like Wish, Feast, or Far From The Tree. And also when Joyce herself said that she went to Goldberg, Henn (before he retired) and maybe even Randy Hancock (Naveen’s animator) to make them translated as best as they could from a hand-drawn animated setting into a hybridized animation style like Paperman. It seems she’s doing her best to not erase the past. But it seems you’ll never be happy, no matter how hard she tries to not let you down.

You know what? You’re a fuckin’ joke of a so-called Disney purist.

No wonder Disney didn’t make hand-drawn animated movies anymore or stop with their live-action remakes either, even if that may inevitably happen once Snow White (and maybe Moana) bombs. But that’s besides the point.

I mean, really, I want Disney to go back to doing hand-drawn animated long-form projects as much as the next person. And I mean they’ll fuckin listen to anyone when they ask them for something, most of the time.

But it shouldn’t have to be forced to happen by way of acting a like a pedantic jerk-off like u do, Sotiris.

I mean you are a judge-mental, snobby, old, miserable, immature, half wit moron. I have never met a sadder, disillusioned, so-called adult Disney purist in my entire life before I came to this group. And that says a lot because I’ve been alive enjoying what I could see of Disney’s century-long stories for more than 25 fuckin’ years.

And I’ll tell you what, the people in this group who either fear you and choose to not speak out against you were right about one thing, you will NEVER save Disney in a way to make them go back to making stories your way. YOU couldn’t even get your way in making that happen during the GODDAMN CHAPEK ERA.

Mother fucker, I wish I could say miserable people like yourself would be better off to be left ripped and behind to die alone. But it’s one of GOD’S IRONIC JOKES THAT MISERABLE PEOPLE LIKE YOU CAN’T SHUT UP, GET LOST OR DIE, EXCEPT THAT’S ON ALL OF US!

Good God, man. It's not that serious.

[Vlad]

Disappointing, but unsurprising news. Like many predicted, the animation will be in crude, cel-shaded/non-photoreal CG, with poorly-translated, off-model character designs, no love songs, no Randy Newman because he isn't Black, with Tiana being the Girlboss of Maldonia and fighting racism or whatever. Hard pass.

You don’t have to be such a stubborn dick about it even before you even see anything from it, asshole. Especially when Paperman, the Disney story being used as reference for Tiana’s series, is far less cel-shaded than you make it look to be, even less cel-shaded than something like Wish, Feast, or Far From The Tree. And also when Joyce herself said that she went to Goldberg, Henn (before he retired) and maybe even Randy Hancock (Naveen’s animator) to make them translated as best as they could from a hand-drawn animated setting into a hybridized animation style like Paperman. It seems she’s doing her best to not erase the past. But it seems you’ll never be happy, no matter how hard she tries to not let you down.

You know what? You’re a fuckin’ joke of a so-called Disney purist.

No wonder Disney didn’t make hand-drawn animated movies anymore or stop with their live-action remakes either, even if that may inevitably happen once Snow White (and maybe Moana) bombs. But that’s besides the point.

I mean, really, I want Disney to go back to doing hand-drawn animated long-form projects as much as the next person. And I mean they’ll fuckin listen to anyone when they ask them for something, most of the time.

But it shouldn’t have to be forced to happen by way of acting a like a pedantic jerk-off like u do, Sotiris.

I mean you are a judge-mental, snobby, old, miserable, immature, half wit moron. I have never met a sadder, disillusioned, so-called adult Disney purist in my entire life before I came to this group. And that says a lot because I’ve been alive enjoying what I could see of Disney’s century-long stories for more than 25 fuckin’ years.

And I’ll tell you what, the people in this group who either fear you and choose to not speak out against you were right about one thing, you will NEVER save Disney in a way to make them go back to making stories your way. YOU couldn’t even get your way in making that happen during the GODDAMN CHAPEK ERA.

Mother fucker, I wish I could say miserable people like yourself would be better off to be left ripped and behind to die alone. But it’s one of GOD’S IRONIC JOKES THAT MISERABLE PEOPLE LIKE YOU CAN’T SHUT UP, GET LOST OR DIE, EXCEPT THAT’S ON ALL OF US!

He said his opinion in a respectful manner, meanwhile, here you are, cussing him out and calling him names.

[Kyle]

D23ExpoVisitor, we get it, you're on the spectrum, but do you have to come in like a tornado with it wrecking everything in your path? Jebus man.

[JTurner]

On-topic: I have mixed feelings about the interview. It's unfortunate that there isn't a lot of 2D animators left at Disney, but on the other hand, if they really do wanna start it up again (like Goldberg said they wanted to back in 2022), then of course it's going to take time. It takes years to build up a 2D animation pipeline, and the fact that there are still some people who care about that is good to know. I do not agree with the choices they have made lately, though. But that doesn't mean that things can't change.

I can't say I know when it'll happen, but 2D animation can make a comeback. Disney may be the slowest to get on the train, but it already is leaving the station as of now, with The Day The Earth Blew Up, Light of the World, and Aang: The Last Airbender on the way. Again, the return of 2D animation at this point hinges on the success of these movies. Did I say it will be easy? No. But giving up is not something I believe in. Things can change. Disney won't be able to keep on doing these live-action remakes forever. Eventually some shaking up will have to occur. And I don't believe in this 2D animation is dead stuff. It isn't. Japan is still alive and kicking at it, and so is Europe. It's America that needs work. But it's not hopeless.

I still reserve judgment until I see Tiana. But Paperman was exceptionally well done, and it holds up much better than Wish. But it's not the end all be all. There will be other contenders for bringing 2D animation back.