A Fan’s Reaction to the News of Dana Terrace’s New Co-Creation with Glitch
Five years ago this month, The Owl House premiered, first on Disney’s YouTube channel, and then on Disney Channel itself. Created by Gravity Falls alumni Dana Terrace, The Owl House became a massive hit, garnering fans far beyond its intended target audience. Unfortunately, Disney didn’t understand what they had, leading them to cut the show’s final season down to three extra-long specials. As a result, Dana chose to cut ties with Disney after the show for greener pastures, with her fans waiting to see what she did next.
In January, 2025 that wait came to an end. Not only do TOH fans know what Dana’s doing next, but many agree that it’s the perfect way to get the last laugh on Disney. She’s making an Indie Animated series.
How Disney Drove Dana Terrace Away
Dana Terrace’s time with Disney started back in 2013, when she got recruited by the team behind the hit show Gravity Falls to join them. After that show ended, she served as a director for several episodes for the 2017 reboot of DuckTales. She was a rising star in the animation community, and ultimately, she got her big break when Disney greenlit her own series, The Owl House.
Debuting in January 2020, The Owl House was about Luz Noceda, a quirky teenage girl who got transported into a world full of magic, Witches, and Demons. Considering it was made by a Gravity Falls alumni, people were quick to latch onto The Owl House. People praised it for its deep storytelling, unique atmosphere, and its willingness to include LGBTQ+ individuals. It looked set to be a massive success. Behind the scenes, though, trouble was brewing.
Disney didn’t truly understand how popular The Owl House was as a show. All they could see was that the serialized episodes went against the direction that they wanted to take their shows in. In addition, despite Dana’s desire to include more horror elements, she likely had to tone it down for the show’s intended target audience. The fact that she still managed to come up with moments that could give adults nightmares is a testament to how good she and her team were. Nonetheless, it seems that when Disney went back on their word and shortened the show’s third and final season, it was the last straw for Dana. After The Owl House ended, she left the company for good.
Disney brought this upon themselves
It didn’t take long for Disney to realize how big of a mistake it had made. It had underestimated how wide-reaching The Owl House’s popularity was. Outraged over how unfairly the show got treated, fans brought its popularity to new heights. When the final specials went up on Disney’s YouTube channel, each of them ended up trending. The only panel the show had at NYCC 2022 was so packed, they had to turn people away at the door! Disney had one of the decade’s biggest hits, and they didn’t realize it. However, the damage was already done. Dana Terrace left Disney and likely hasn’t looked back.
As sad as The Owl House’s premature ending was, it still managed to finish with its head held high. As for its fans, the overwhelming majority of us (including me) agreed Dana made the right choice to leave. If Disney didn’t understand how great her creation was, then they didn’t deserve her.
Flash forward two years later, and indie animation company Glitch dropped the trailer for Knights of Guinevere, their first 2D cartoon.
As soon as people saw that it was being created by Dana and two Owl House alumni, the Internet went nuts.
Glitch leads the way in indie animation
For those who don’t know, Glitch Productions is one of the biggest names in the growing business of indie animation. They’ve already seen astronomical success with their shows Murder Drones and The Amazing Digital Circus. Digital Circus is so successful, it’s made it onto Netflix while remaining independent. The best part, though, is that both shows revel in horror elements, so Glitch is no stranger to what Dana likes to do.
What makes this last part so important is that, while The Owl House could be scary, it was held back by its target audience and Disney’s family-friendly nature TV. An online studio like Glitch, though, has no such restrictions. And they are well-versed in various forms of horror, meaning Dana Terrace will fit right in.
Overall, the news that Dana Terrace and various Owl House alumni are making an indie series is a big win for the growing indie animation industry. More and more people are getting fed up with working for the big names like Disney and Warner Bros who refuse to treat them with any respect. As a result, many talented individuals are choosing to forge their own paths in animation, something that’s possible thanks to the rise of crowdfunding. Having someone who created one of the most popular cartoons of the decade go indie isn’t just a big win for its supporters. For fans of Dana Terrace, it can be seen as payback for how Disney treated her and her show. Having covered other instances of studios doing animation dirty, I am one of those fans who thinks that way. As much as I love Disney, they brought this upon themselves.
