If you thought the box office failures of Disney’s Snow White and Moana would grind live-action remakes to a halt, think again. Not only was the stalled Tangled remake given a jumpstart recently, but now Disney has a new original film about Princess Tiana from 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. Not only that, but two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo will be writing it.
Deadline reports Domingo is in talks to write the Tiana movie, because it seems they don’t want to call it The Princess and the Frog, alongside Tony-nominated Slave Play director Robert O’Hara. Their take is being described as a “spinoff” and not a full adaptation, which is pretty much what Disney is also doing with Gaston, the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie that is in the works.
The Princess and the Frog was Disney’s last hand-drawn animated feature, released in 2009 and led by the voices of Anika Noni Rose and Bruno Campos. The film was notable for introducing a Black princess into the Disney lineage and for utilizing Black culture as key to the New Orleans-set fairy tale. Taking place in New Orleans, the story follows Tiana, a waitress who wishes to turn a frog prince, Naveen, back into human form after he’s struck by a witch doctor’s voodoo curse. Tiana, however, becomes a frog, too, and the duo must find a way to become human together.
The film is known for its lively, soulful score composed by Randy Newman. It underperformed by Disney standards, only earning $271M globally, but it did receive three Oscar nominations and is well-regarded to this day, especially among the Black community.
