In a slew of movie and TV announcements, Disney shared that four of its beloved animated films will receive sequel shows in 2022 and 2023 on Disney+. December 10, 2020, marked Disney’s Investor Day, an event in which the company promised to reveal news on its future offerings. With Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and classic Disney content all under the company’s wings, Investor Day spoke to many fandoms. Previously, Disney had plans to release various Marvel TV shows on Disney+ but kept quiet on its Walt Disney Animation Studios stories' future.
The company is well known for princess flicks and damsels in distress. In more recent years, however, Disney has released a handful of more modern and diverse movies. Frozen was revolutionary in featuring a strong sister relationship as the main storyline and putting the love story as a subplot. Additionally, Disney attempted to portray more cultures and ethnicities authentically, as it did with Moana, released in 2016, and The Princess and the Frog, released in 2009.
Disney is building upon its recent successes by giving four animated movies the sequel TV show treatment. As part of Investor Day, Disney tweeted the news, sharing that Moana, Big Hero 6, The Princess and the Frog, and Zootopia are all being turned into TV shows. The Moana show will be released in 2023, while the other three are set to premiere in 2022. Each will be released on Disney+.
Big Hero 6, released in 2014, already has a spinoff show titled Big Hero 6: The Series, but this new show, titled Baymax!, will continue the entire story. Based on the name, the series will likely follow the character Baymax—the adorable inflatable robot from the movie. Zootopia, released in 2016 and received an Oscar for Best Animated Film, will have a sequel show titled Zootopia+. The show follows an anthology format, exploring the wider world established in the movie. Tiana, the series from The Princess and the Frog, and Moana: The Series both focus on the main characters from the films.
So far, there’s relatively little information on each show's storylines, as well as which characters and voice actors might return. There’s also no news on whether the shows will include musical numbers like many Disney films do. Disney is moving to portray more and more diverse stories. Moana and Tiana are both women of color, while Hiro, the protagonist of Big Hero 6, is of Japanese descent. This move follows closely to the next Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film, Raya and the Last Dragon, which will feature Southeast Asian culture. If the quality of these Disney movies and Disney+ original content is any measure, Tiana, Moana: The Series, Baymax!, and Zootopia+ are sure to be successful.
Source: Disney