When artist and creator Dana Terrace decided to branch out from storyboarding for shows like DuckTales and Gravity Falls in the mid-2010’s, she charted new territory by pitching her own idea to Disney — the story of Luz Noceda, a human girl who finds herself in a fantasy world, and her journey to become a witch in spite of her innate lack of magical ability. In 2018, The Owl House, Disney’s first horror fantasy 2D-animated show, was officially greenlit. The first episode came out in January of 2020, and over the next few years, grew a large and passionate audience, particularly with those that felt underrepresented in other media. 

Despite this, The Owl House was cut short after its first two full-length seasons; reducing the third season to a three-episode special. The show was cancelled because it “didn’t fit Disney’s brand.” Many fans were outraged, and rightfully so . A significant factor in the show was its unabashed queerness, with Luz Noceda as the bisexual leading role and a majority LGBTQ+ ensemble behind her. 

Although the inclusion of LGBTQ+ content was not the explicit reason for the show’s cancellation (the darker themes and concepts of the show did not appeal as much to Disney’s younger audience), the vague concept of being “too different” for the large corporation’s liking seemed to come from the need for network television be enjoyed by the largest possible audience in the least controversial way possible. Consumability is something that has plagued the film and animation industry for as long as it has been around, especially for production companies with a certain “reputation” to uphold. In their desire to become the most palatable to the mainstream, Disney circled right back around to dissapointing their viewers that fell in love with The Owl House for its uniquely charming world and characters. 

Since the three-part finale of The Owl House in 2022, Terrace has been working on a new project. This time, it isn’t going to be censored by Disney. 

Knights of Guinevere is a psychological thriller 2D-animated pilot co-created by Dana Terrace, Zach Marcus, and John Bailey Owen; produced by indie studio Glitch Productions. It is the story of two young women, Andi and Frankie, and their lives in a world overrun by a Disney World-esque planet-wide theme park that looms in the sky above them. Most, if not all, of the jobs of the townsfolk below work for the park in some way. In the pilot, Frankie manufactures Princess merchandise, sends it out to delivery, and picks up the mountains of trash left behind from the gargantuan theme park’s path. The park is central to people’s entire livelihoods, although the employees themselves are cast aside. Just another cog in the manufacturing wheel that keeps the park afloat. Starting to sound familiar? 

The Knights of Guinevere pilot premiered on September 19, 2025, on YouTube, where it currently has over 15 million views. In addition to this pilot, studio Glitch Productions has put out a number of popular animated shows, including titles such as Murder Drones and The Amazing Digital Circus. They also recently picked up Lackadaisy by creator Tracy Butler.  

While it is good to be wary of such a fast-growing production company, especially one teaming up with large corporations like Netflix as a secondary host for its shows, at the current moment Glitch Productions genuinely seems to have the artists and creators at the forefront of their operation, unlike the other animation giants. 

Knights of Guinevere is certainly a product of its time; an anti-Disney, anti-capitalist critique of a real world that grows more hostile toward artists each passing day. 

Recently, corporate overlord and Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney Plus will attempt to roll out “user-generated” content, otherwise known as AI generated slop. The company figures that in order to defeat the plethora of new AI methods of plagiarizing Disney’s copyrighted content, they would hop on the bandwagon themselves, so that users can plagiarize directly from the source material! 

Dana Terrace had this to say about Disney’s new idea in her tweet on November 13th, 2025: “Unsubscribe from Disney+. Pirate Owl House. I don’t care. Fuck gen AI.” Wise words. 

On December 5th, Warner Brothers Discovery (and by extension, HBO Max) announced a several billion-dollar merger with Netflix. Countless creatives are rightfully worried about what this might mean for the future of the entertainment industry, as more and more giant companies merge together into near-monopolies in order to maximize their profits. 

Many CU Denver students, especially those looking to go into the world of art and entertainment, may find themselves stepping into an era where the very concept of art is at stake. In this time of “user-generated” AI slop, the entertainment oligarchy, and the prioritization of profit over creativity, it has never been more important to support independent creators and their projects. Art should speak with the voice of the people, not through the loudspeaker of the giant amusement park in the sky. 

The Knights of Guinevere pilot (and many other amazing independent projects) are available on YouTube for free. No subscription service required.