Walt Disney Animation Studios is hard at work on multiple projects both for the big screen and Disney+. While fans are excited for the studio’s next big screen feature Wish, others are anticipating their Disney+ projects the Moana and Tiana series’.
Both projects were announced during the Disney+ day presentation in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, but since then there hasn’t been much revealed. With Disney scrapping their programming on Disney+ recently, fans have wondered if both Moana and Tiana were quietly scrapped, after all, Disney’s live-action team is working on a Moana live-action remake and is in early development on a Princess and the Frog remake as well.
While speaking with E-Cartelera before the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Walt Disney Animation Studios CCO Jennifer Lee, the Disney Animation boss not only confirmed that both series are still in the works but described how fun the series’ are and how Disney+ allows them to expand the stories we know and love.
I love that Disney+ is allowing us to introduce freshness and experimentation at the same time we explore our legacy. To combine celebration with creative innovation. In that sense we can play more with the Disney+ shows. We are making a ‘Moana’ series and it’s been really fun, I love it. ‘Tiana’ is a whole new world for her, a new direction. I think it’s a really good platform to start playing with things that have meant a lot for all of us. For me, it’s also about recognizing that there’s no looking back and it’s about moving forward. As technology has allowed us to keep the importance of the traditional animation through our artists is what excites me the most.
Lee
While we don’t know much about the Moana series, what we do know is that it picks up where the 2016 film left off and is described as a “musical adventure.” Auli’i Cravalho will reprise her role as Moana and is executive producing the upcoming live-action remake, which was supposed to start production this Fall, prior to the strikes, so expect that to be pushed off a bit.
As for Tiana, in the series, Tiana sets off for a grand new adventure as the newly crowned Princess of Maldonia, but a calling to her New Orleans past isn’t far behind. Anika Noni Rose will reprise her role as Tiana, which she is also doing for Disney Park’s Splash Mountain retheme Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Tiana is written and directed by Stella Meghie.
Both series are expected to debut on Disney+ sometime in 2024.
