Fans of Princess Tiana, the star of The Princess and the Frog, were left disappointed when Disney+ announced they had scrapped the highly anticipated planned animated series recently.
The voice of Princess Tiana, actor Anika Noni Rose, was clear in her disappointment in the change when she posted her reaction to the decision online.
“I too am deeply disappointed that the continuation of Tiana’s journey in series form has been cut short. The series was a long time coming, and a lot of beautiful work was put into it by all the creatives involved."
The 2009 movie followed the plot of Tiana, who is turned into a frog along side a cursed Prince Naveen against the background of 1920s New Orleans. The two frogs race time in order to be turned back into humans, meanwhile falling in love.
Noni Rose went on in her statement, indicating possible hope for the future fate of the work already put in, and encouraging fans of Tiana to show their interest and appreciation in hopes that Disney would maybe choose to turn the project into a sequel film instead.
She wrote:
“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."
"And when I say tune in, I mean, tell your friends, family, coworkers, babysitters, tell all the people you know who have loved Princess Tiana, Naveen, Louis, Charlotte, Mama Odie, and the magic they’ve created over the years and make sure you are watching."
"Show your love and desire in the numbers. Make that desire an undeniable and real thing.”
Many fans of Tiana were shocked and appalled by Disney's decision.
Others were perplexed more than anything else.
Some pointed out that the setting is unique within Disney and could make for compelling television.
A few folks remained optimistic.
Tiana is the only princess to not have an entire cinematic universe built around her.
To add insult to injury, someone pointed out, Tiana didn't even get to spend most of her own movie as a human.
The Princess and the Frog grossed around $271 million USD worldwide in 2009.
