The Princess and the Frog actor Anika Noni Rose has responded after Disney cancelled the planned spinoff series Tiana.
Rose played the House of Mouse's first African American Princess in the 2009 film, and she was set to reprise the role in the Disney+ animated musical show, which had been announced in December 2020.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the show had been cancelled. After taking some time to process her thoughts, Rose issued a statement about it on her Instagram account.
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"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," she wrote. "I've been asked by different outlets to make a statement, but I'd rather talk to you directly.
"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 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."
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She continued: "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 your beautiful, loving, loyal fans who've been championing not just the series, but a Princess And The Frog sequel, tune in.
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"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.
"Until then, we will be continuing to work hard to bring you the most beautiful content we can."
The cancellation of Tiana is reported to be part of Disney+'s move away from long-form episodic content. Moana 2 was retooled from a Disney+ series into a (hugely successful) movie, while The Mandalorian is getting a film rather than a season 4.
As mentioned in Rose's post, some form of one-off special is on the way, although details are thin on the ground. Disney has been pushing the Princess and the Frog brand in recent years through theme park attractions.
The Princess and the Frog is available to stream on Disney+.
Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
