Grey’s Anatomy is gearing up for a shocking season 22 finale with one character getting fired — while another could potentially die on screen.

During the Thursday, April 30, episode of the hit ABC series, Kwan’s (Harry Shum Jr.) future at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital was called into question when Richard (James Pickens Jr.) realized Miranda (Chandra Wilson) wasn’t actually involved in secretly giving a patient an experimental treatment that was denied by the FDA. Richard then revealed to Miranda that he had fired Kwan off screen.

Teddy (Kim Raver), meanwhile, was secretly considering a job in Paris that would take her away from Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. She got in a fight with Owen (Kevin McKidd) about it, but a voicemail he left the next morning took a turn when she heard him getting into a potentially deadly car crash.

The shocking twists came after news broke in March that both McKidd, 53, and Raver, 57, were leaving the show.

Related: Why Is ‘Grey‘s Anatomy‘ Going Through So Many Cast Exits, Onscreen Deaths?

Grey’s Anatomy has been going through a surprising amount of cast exits and onscreen deaths. The medical drama, which premiered in 2005, is focused on the personal and professional lives of surgical interns, residents and attendings at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital a.k.a Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital a.k.a Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Due to […]

“Grey’s Anatomy has been a huge chapter of my life, creatively and personally, and I’m deeply grateful for everything the show has given me over the years,” McKidd said in a statement at the time. “Playing Dr. Owen Hunt and directing on the show have both shaped me enormously, and I’ve had the privilege of working with an extraordinary group of people throughout that time. I’m particularly thankful to Shonda Rhimes for creating Owen, and for the encouragement she gave me as I stepped into directing.”

He continued: “As that chapter comes to a close, I’m looking forward to what’s ahead — building new work, telling new stories and taking everything I’ve learned into the next phase of my career.”

Raver also broke her silence on the news.

“Playing Dr. Teddy Altman will always hold a dear and special place in my heart. Sixteen years ago, I had the incredible privilege of stepping into this role thanks to the vision of Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers,” she wrote in her own statement. “Since that day, it has been a true gift to bring the iconic words of Shonda and our brilliant team of writers to life. … To the fans — your unwavering devotion and support are the reason this show remains such a force. Thank you for making this set my place of magic and my home.”

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Related: Grey’s Anatomy’s Biggest Exits Over the Years

Katherine Heigl, Patrick Dempsey, Justin Chambers and more stars have left Grey’s Anatomy — for various reasons. Created by Shonda Rhimes and starring Ellen Pompeo, Grey’s Anatomy debuted on ABC in 2005. Pompeo (Meredith Grey) left the show as a series regular following season 19 but continued to provide voiceover narration and make special guest […]

Creator Shonda Rhimes, meanwhile, hinted how the season will wrap up for Teddy (Raver) and Owen (McKidd).

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“Over the years, we have had the privilege of watching Owen and Teddy’s love story evolve and deepen — two characters who always seem to find their way back to each other. It is both bittersweet and joyful to give this couple the happy ending their story deserves,” she teased in her own statement. “Kevin and Kim bring extraordinary talent, nuance and heart to their roles as Owen and Teddy. Their contributions leave an indelible mark on Grey’s Anatomy, both in front of and behind the camera. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them both and to see them shine.”

She concluded: “While we will all miss seeing them in the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial each day, I am excited to witness where Kim’s and Kevin’s journeys will take them in the future.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.

Olivia Wilde found herself back in the spotlight this week, but not entirely for the reasons she may have hoped. 

While promoting her latest directorial project, “The Invite,” at a major film festival, attention quickly shifted to her personal life as headlines about Harry Styles’ rumored engagement to Zoë Kravitz gained traction. 

The timing has reignited interest in Wilde’s past relationship with the singer, reminding fans of a romance that once dominated headlines and continues to echo years later.

Olivia Wilde became a trending topic again as news spread that Harry Styles is reportedly engaged to Zoë Kravitz after just eight months together. 

The buzz intensified after Kravitz was photographed wearing a striking diamond ring, said to be worth around $1 million, instantly sparking speculation about an engagement.

The renewed attention naturally circled back to Wilde, whose nearly two-year relationship with the One Direction veteran had once been one of Hollywood’s most talked-about romances. 

While the actress appeared composed at her April 24 film festival appearance, insiders say the timing of the news has stirred old memories.

A source revealed that although both have moved forward, the past still carries weight. 

“The breakup with Harry was very painful for Olivia too, but she’s dated other people and has moved on,” the insider told the Daily Mail.

Even so, Styles’ apparent new chapter has brought their history back into public focus in a major way.

Wilde And Styles’ Breakup Left A Deep Emotional Impact

Behind the scenes, sources say the end of Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles’ relationship was far from easy. 

According to an insider, the singer struggled significantly after the split. “When Harry and Olivia split, it was the hardest breakup he had ever gone through,” the source shared.

The emotional toll reportedly even influenced his creative process. “He recorded an entire album about what he was going through, but it never saw the light of day. He decided it was best to keep it private and move on,” the insider added.

However, a few years down the line, Styles appears to be in a very different place. 

“Now that he’s met Zoe, he is so happy and it all makes sense why he went through that,” the source revealed.

Olivia Wilde’s Appearance Sparks Debate As Defenders Speak Out

Wilde’s appearance at the San Francisco International Film Festival also sparked intense online discussion after a viral clip showed her looking noticeably slimmer. 

The footage led to mixed reactions, with some critics pointing to Hollywood’s beauty standards and others suggesting the video may have been misleading.

One source pushed back against the criticism, stating, “The wide angle lens that is circulating an unflattering photo is unfair. She’s always been skinny. She works out and eats healthy. She looks the same.”

The same insider dismissed any link between her appearance and Styles’ rumored engagement, adding, “Her movie was the highest selling film in Sundance, she has a wonderful family and is a great mom.”

Despite the support, another source acknowledged that Wilde is not immune to public opinion. 

“Olivia has always been a bit insecure and she cares what people think about her. Everyone does and just because she’s famous, she’s no different,” they said. 

Wilde And Styles’ Romance Was Marked By Intense Public Scrutiny

Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles first met while working on “Don’t Worry Darling” in 2020, shortly after the “In Time” actress ended her engagement to Jason Sudeikis. 

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The pair went public in early 2021 after being spotted holding hands at a wedding, immediately sparking intense media coverage.

Their relationship unfolded under constant attention, from living together in Los Angeles to vacationing in Italy and attending concerts. Styles was also reported to be building a connection with Wilde’s children during that time.

Rumors and criticism followed closely, including speculation about how their relationship began. 

Wilde addressed those claims directly, telling Vanity Fair in 2022, “The complete horsesh*t idea that I left Jason for Harry is completely inaccurate,” and explaining that her previous relationship had already ended.

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Following the rumors, both Wilde and Styles decided to keep their relationship private. Speaking about that decision, the “Eternals” actor told Rolling Stone, “There’s always going to be a version of a narrative and I think I just decided I wasn’t going to spend the time trying to correct it or redirect it in some way.”

Olivia Wilde Navigates Fallout From Past Drama While Moving Forward

Olivia Wilde’s personal life remained in the spotlight even after her relationship with Styles ended in 2022. 

During the promotion of “Don’t Worry Darling,” she was unexpectedly served custody papers related to her children with Jason Sudeikis in a public setting, an experience she described as deeply upsetting.

Further drama followed when a former nanny made claims about the couple’s breakup, prompting Wilde and Sudeikis to respond together. 

In a joint statement, they said, “As parents, it is incredibly upsetting to learn that a former nanny of our two young children would choose to make such false and scurrilous accusations about us publicly.” 

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They added, “Her now 18-month-long campaign of harassing us, as well as loved ones, close friends and colleagues, has reached its unfortunate apex. We will continue to focus on raising and protecting our children with the sincere hope that she will now choose to leave our family alone.”

The legal disputes were eventually settled, with both agreeing to joint custody of their children. Since then, Wilde and Sudeikis have appeared to maintain a more peaceful co-parenting relationship, recently seen sharing a friendly moment while exchanging their kids.

If you’ve heard of collagen powder, then you probably know it’s the secret to an inside-out glow. But what if it could help you feel as good as you look? Everyday Dose’s new collagen powder supports mental clarity and calmness as much as gut and skin health. It’s about time!

Everyday Dose Collagen+ is the complete formula you’ve been waiting for, combining collagen, functional mushrooms and L-theanine for total mind and body wellness. Now through May 30, shoppers can BOGO Collagen+ Powder, sold exclusively at Target!

Collagen is known to promote skin elasticity and hydration (translation: fewer visible wrinkles), but it may also strengthen the nails and keep joints in tip-top shape. Packed with 18 amino acids and 18 grams of protein, collagen powder is a powerhouse itself, but this blend doesn’t stop there.

In addition to collagen, this Collagen+ supplement contains lion’s mane for focus, chaga for immune support and cordyceps for recovery. Add in calming L-theanine, and it’s the ultimate flow-state formula. It’s no wonder this brand-new blend is already selling out at Target.

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President Donald Trump isn’t interested in wearing a bulletproof vest despite surviving multiple assassination attempts.

Trump, 79, was asked by reporters at an Oval Office event on Thursday, April 30, whether there had been any talks regarding the president taking the security precaution in future.

“I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier,” Trump responded, prompting laughs from several people in the room.

Trump was likely the intended target when a shooter reportedly opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner event, held in the Washington Hilton ballroom on April 24.

Related: Karoline Leavitt Says Nobody Has Faced ‘More Violence’ Than Donald Trump

Karoline Leavitt claimed that no one has endured “more violence” than President Donald Trump following the recent shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner. “Saturday was supposed to be a joyful evening, celebrating free speech and the first amendment with all of you members of the press,” the White House press secretary, 28, said in […]

The president and first lady Melania Trump, 56, were rushed off stage after shots reportedly broke out.

While the Trumps, Vice President J.D. Vance and others were safely evacuated, a Secret Service agent was struck during the incident. The wounded agent was wearing a protective vest.

“Frankly, the vest did an amazing job because it took a bullet close up,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday. “And he didn’t even want to go to the hospital. We sent him to the hospital.”

Trump also likened the experience of getting shot while wearing a bulletproof vest to “getting hit by Mike Tyson.”

The day after the WHCD shooting, Trump praised the bulletproof vest’s role as he briefed the media on the condition of the injured Secret Service agent.

“The vest did the job,” Trump told reporters. “I just spoke to the officer and he was doing great, he’s in great shape, in very high spirits and I told him we love him and respect him and he’s a very proud guy, he’s very proud of what he does, the Secret Service agent.”

California native Cole Tomas Allen was apprehended during the shooting and subsequently charged with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, per the Justice Department. He has not yet entered a plea.

Related: New WHCD Shooting Video Shows Moment Shots Were Fired With Trump Nearby

Shocking new video footage shows the moment shots rang out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last weekend. Jeanine Pirro, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, posted what appears to be security camera footage of the shooting incident via X on Thursday, April 30. Shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen can allegedly be […]

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Meanwhile, Trump insisted he was “honored” to be a target after the WHCD shooting incident.

“When you look at our great presidents, [this] doesn’t happen to people who don’t do anything,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday, April 25.

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Trump has also addressed his seemingly slow evacuation from the ballroom in the midst of the incident.

“What happened is, it was a little bit me. I wanted to see what was happening, and I wasn’t making it that easy for [the shooter],” Trump told 60 Minutes on Sunday, April 26.

“I wanted to see what was going on. And by that time, we started to realize maybe it was a bad problem, different kind of a problem, bad one, and different than what would be normal noise from a ballroom, which you hear all the time,” he added. “I was surrounded by great people, and I probably made them act a little bit more slowly. I said, ‘Wait a minute. Let me see.’”

The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney after Walt lost the rights to his first co-creation with animator Ub Iwerks, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to Universal. From humble beginnings making animated theater shorts, Walt’s ambition would see the company expand into animated filmmaking. While they have branched into other areas, such as live-action filmmaking and theme parks, the animated catalog is still what Disney is best known for, and the timeless appeal of animation ensures that the movies won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Fans and historians alike tend to break down the history of Disney animation into various eras. They are determined by several factors, including common themes among the films, major events in the company, and their overall impact on pop culture history. Each of these eras is an important building block in the company’s history, but a few are more highly regarded because of the masterpieces they produced.

8

The Dark Age (1970-1988)

The term Dark Age is used to describe when something, be it civilization or a long-running series, hits a point of creative and/or cultural stagnation and decline, which sums up Disney’s 4th animated era pretty well. Walt Disney died in 1966, and Roy O. Disney in 1971. Walt’s top animators, nicknamed The Nine Old Men, were also getting ready to retire, leaving the company in a period of uncertainty as to what its future would look like. As a result, films took longer to produce, and the ones that came out were made with a “What would Walt Do?” philosophy, resulting in cheap, safe movies that played to the lowest common denominator. Sure, they have their fans, and very few of these movies are objectively terrible, but when compared to the rest of Disney’s catalog, the differences are like night and day. One film, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, was an amalgamation of 3 shorts released between 1966 and 1974 with new animation to bridge them. Roy E. Disney, son of Roy O., and the only member of the Disney family still involved with the company, resigned as executive in 1977 over creative disagreements.

Meanwhile, new animators were joining from the California Institute of the Arts, and many of them were becoming frustrated that the magical films that inspired them were no longer being produced. Things reached a boiling point during the production of The Fox and the Hound, which saw Don Bluth lead a mass exodus of animators in 1979 and release his own animated movie, The Secret of NIMH, in 1982, giving Disney some competition. And things kept getting worse: by 1984, future big names in animation, like Brad Bird, Tim Burton, and John Lasseter, had either left the company or been fired for pushing back against the creative stagnation. That same year, Roy E. Disney left his seat on the Board of Directors, and a hostile takeover attempt saw Disney nearly dismantled. However, Roy E. and the Board of Directors worked together to stop the takeover and ousted Walt’s son-in-law and then CEO, Ron Miller, replacing him with Michael Eisner and Frank Wells as President. They would bring Jeffrey Katzenberg to oversee animation with Roy E. They had a rocky beginning with The Black Cauldron, but the moderate success of The Great Mouse Detective encouraged Eisner to put more faith into future movies. Thus, the Dark Age of Disney can be looked back on as the era that proved Disney could survive the death of its founder, but also shows the dangers of resting on one’s laurels and refusing new ideas.

7

The Wartime Era (1943-1949)

World War II hit Disney hard. Not only did the loss of overseas markets mean that many of their late Golden Age films bombed at the box office, but most of Walt’s best animators were drafted. Thus, the company needed to focus on conserving money until the war was over, and the global economy could recover. The first thing Walt did was partner up with the American government to produce wartime propaganda shorts like Der Fuehrer’s Face and Victory Through Air Power. The government also commissioned Disney to make films focused on Latin and South America as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s Good Neighbor Policy, resulting in Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. Meanwhile, Disney’s main animation department was full of half-finished story concepts and not enough staff to complete them. Thus, Walt decided to keep the anthology train going by releasing “package films.”

Their animation quality was a far cry from the experimental and lavish details of the Golden Age, but they were quick to produce and kept the budget small. They alternated between two structures: musical anthologies and double features. Make Mine Music and Melody Time were musical films similar to Fantasia, but focused on more contemporary music and featuring more traditional narratives in their shorts compared to Fantasia’s more abstract segments. Meanwhile, Fun and Fancy-Free and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad featured two short movies with complete three-act structures, bridged together with live-action footage. While the package movies kept Disney afloat until his animators could come home, Walt viewed them as a necessary evil, since they didn’t turn in a big enough profit or let him push the boundaries of animation like he always tried. Thus, the first change he got, he would return to making standard animated features, ending the Wartime Era. The movies are certainly fun, and thanks to concept artist Mary Blair, their visuals became more surreal. However, there really isn’t a lot of substance to them, hence why they have become forgotten by all but the most die-hard Disney fans.

6

The Post-Revival Era (2018-Present)

Determining when an era ends and a new one begins usually takes a few years, so in the past, several of these films were considered part of the Revival Era. However, it’s been long enough now that we can say that the Revival Era ended in 2018 with John Lasseter’s departure from Disney following accusations of sexual misconduct. He was replaced as Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation by Jennifer Lee, writer and co-director of Frozen, in one of many major shakeups that would take place at Disney before the 2010s were through. A year later, Disney finished their acquisition of 21st Century Fox, and they launched their own streaming service, Disney+. Bob Iger planned to step down as CEO to be replaced by Bob Chapek, but after COVID hit and Chapek made a series of unpopular opinions, Iger returned. He finally got his retirement in 2026, with Josh D’Amaro now at the helm, while Lee would step down as CCO in 2024 to focus on future Frozen films. She was succeeded by Jared Bush, who worked on several of the Revival Era’s biggest hits.

Post-Revival movies share one of two things in common: they are sequels to popular movies, or they bombed at the box office. They’re also far more divisive than previous movies. Many of the criticisms feel similar to the Dark Age, such as an over-reliance on safe, formulaic stories, especially through the sequels. Generational trauma has become somewhat of a meme, being almost as common here as twist villains were during the Revival. The movies also became more focused on spreading messages than telling good stories, as admitted by Iger himself in 2023. The most egregious example is Wish, which was supposed to mark the company’s 100th year, but it instead became a hated mess of a movie that smashed together as many references to classic Disney as it could with barely any plot connecting them. Since the Post-Revival era is still ongoing, it’s hard to truly judge what its place in Disney history will be, or its overall quality. There’s still time for it to turn itself around, but the movies we do have don’t paint the best picture.

5

The Post-Renaissance Era (1999-2008)

All things that rise must eventually fall, and such was the case for the influential Disney Renaissance. With the emergence of Pixar and DreamWorks as immediate competition for Disney, and other production companies trying to mimic Disney’s winning formula for animated musicals, the company decided to mix things up. Rather than simply adapting well-known books and fairy tales, Disney would produce more original stories in different styles, beginning with Fantasia 2000, a passion project of Roy E. Disney’s that bombed at the box office. Meanwhile, Disney’s first animated movie with CGI, Dinosaur, turned in a hefty profit, thus sending a clear message that 2D animation was out and 3D animation was in. Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear were successful, but Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet weren’t. Meanwhile, Pixar was churning out hit after hit, and DreamWorks altered the pop-culture landscape forever with Shrek.

This era also saw a shakeup of leadership that led to Eisner’s exit and the hiring of Bob Iger as new CEO. Iger patched up relationships with Pixar, leading to its acquisition in 2006. John Lasseter was made CCO of both Disney and Pixar animation, leading to major story changes to the CGI movies still in production—Meet the Robinsons and Bolt, bringing an end to the Revival Era. Overall, this era can be looked back on as one of Disney’s most experimental and ahead of its time. Many of the films have found new life as cult classics since their release, and with how formulaic and uninspired modern Disney films are, there’s something to admire about how they broke the mold of what a Disney film is. The Post-Revival Era would also be the last to have any input from the Disney family, as Roy E. would sadly die in 2009 after a long battle with stomach cancer.

4

The Silver Age (1950-1967)

The Wartime Era kept Disney alive as a company, but they were running on life support. The package films didn’t turn in enough of a profit to offset the losses from the Golden Age or cover the relocation of Disney studios to Burbank, California. Once Walt’s animators were back from the war, he proposed that they return to making animated features. In 1950, Cinderella hit theaters, becoming the company’s biggest success since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and kicked off the Silver Age, so called because it’s a successor to the Golden Age, while not quite reaching the same heights.

The Silver Age saw a bunch of major changes to Disney animation. For one, the style became more universal, thanks in large part to legendary animator and draftsman Milt Kahl. As more and more animators came to him to help finalize their character designs, Disney characters shifted to more angular designs compared to the rounded ones during the company’s early years. The Nine Old Men, who worked on each film together, also started getting split up after Peter Pan. Walt also had greatly reduced input on the animated films compared to decades earlier, as his attention was now aimed at live-action movies and theme parks. The biggest shakeups came following Sleeping Beauty, which was a massive box-office bomb. To save on production costs, Walt reluctantly agreed to shift to using xerography to copy the animator’s pencil drawings directly onto animation cells. All in all, the Silver Age truly is the end of an era, with many of its movies not receiving the recognition they deserved until decades after it ended, and the loss of Walt’s personal touch. However, its movies are also some of Disney’s most magical.

3

The Revival Era (2009-2016)

With John Lasseter and Bob Iger now seated in their roles, Disney would undergo one of its biggest and brightest eras. It began with The Princess and the Frog, Disney’s return to 2D animation, and the beginning of Lasseter’s attempt to produce 2D animation alongside 3D. Sadly, a lack of audience interest and poor box office performances compared to both Disney and rival 3D films saw the project end after its second film, Winnie the Pooh. And when you consider both Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh’s box-office numbers, to the CGI Tangled sandwiched between them, it was a no-brainer. 3D was here to stay, so Disney fully embraced it.

Disney also began an unprecedented rise beginning in 2009, when the company bought Marvel, and again in 2012 with the purchase of Lucasfilm. This further transformed Disney into the dominant media conglomerate in the world and saw the beginning of the ever-dominant Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in 2013, they would see unparalleled pop culture dominance with the release of Frozen. The film became the highest-grossing animated film until the release of the live-action The Lion King, and the first movie in the Disney animated canon to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Their next two films, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia, would also take home the award, while Moana was the first Disney movie to feature songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. In short, the Revival Era was a return to form for Disney, and the success of these movies, alongside the company’s other acquisitions, set Disney on a path of true global dominance.

2

The Golden Age (1937-1942)

The Golden Age refers to a period of the distant past where there was peace, prosperity, and tremendous cultural advancement. Disney’s Golden Age checked the last two, but it was far from peaceful. The idea for Walt’s first feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, came about as a means for Walt to both grow his company and push animation further as a medium. He spent the better part of the 1930s training his animators through his Silly Symphonies cartoons and developed the multiplane camera, all while people called the project “Disney’s Folly.” Yet, Snow White was a smash hit and the bedrock upon which the modern animation landscape is built.

Unfortunately, Snow White was the only major hit of this period. Dumbo would make a decent profit on account of Walt scaling back its budget, but Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi bombed or failed to make enough to justify their cost, largely because of World War II, which had closed off the overseas markets. Walt also faced an animator’s strike in 1941, which cost him many of his best animators at the time, like Art Babbit, Walt Kelly, Tyrus Wong, and Bill Tytla, who felt ostracized due to sympathizing with the strikers. So then, why is this era called the Golden Age if it had so much trouble?

Simply put, the movies that came out during this time were revolutionary. Pinocchio was released only 3 years after Snow White, yet its character animation is leagues better, and it still possesses some of the most realistic 2D water animation. Fantasia is an ambitious audiovisual experience that pairs beautiful animation with classical music. Bambi saw a massive jump in quality when it came to animal anatomy, and the colors and shading perfectly evoked the sensation of a deep forest. Even Dumbo saw stellar character animation through its silent main character. Even with nearly a century of technological advancements, these movies remain visual masterpieces that represent Walt’s passion and ambition, perhaps the best of any movie made during his lifetime.

1

The Renaissance Era (1989-1999)

As amazing as the Golden Age is, there’s only one era of Disney that surpasses it in terms of quality and cultural impact. That is the Renaissance, born from the shakeup of leadership at the end of the Dark Age. With new animation techniques developed through working on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and a willingness to try more bold and ambitious storytelling, Disney would become the dominant force in animation throughout the 1990s. This era made animated musicals a mainstay at Disney, thanks to musician Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman, who brought a Broadway formula that made the songs integral to the story. As a result, all but The Rescuers Down Under would earn nominations at the Academy Awards for music and songs. One film, Beauty and the Beast, would make history as the first animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture, while the success of Robin Williams‘ Genie in Aladdin would lead to the modern era of hiring celebrity voices for animated movies.

The Renaissance also saw major advancements in technology. Disney started using CGI with The Black Cauldron, but for this era, they would come up with new, revolutionary programs to make the films even more dynamic. Some of the best examples include the wildebeest stampede in The Lion King, done using a program that simulated and animated hundreds of independent models that avoided collision, and the Deep Canvas for Tarzan, which allowed artists to paint on 3D geometry, resulting in dynamic camera angles. Pixar also developed the CAPS system, allowing movies to be drawn and colored digitally.

Not all was great for Disney during this era. Ashman would tragically pass away from AIDS complications a few months shy of Beauty and the Beast’s release, and in 1994, Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash, leading to a falling out between Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Katzenberg would leave to co-found DreamWorks, which, alongside Pixar, would become a major rival for Disney. Pocahontas also did not perform nearly as well as the company had hoped, and is remembered as one of Disney’s most questionable films due to the many changes it made to real history. And while the movies released after Pocahontas made money, they never reached the heights of the ones that came before. Nevertheless, the majority of the films from the Renaissance remain not just beloved by Disney fans, but iconic pillars of pop culture that are still referenced today. Only time will tell if Disney will ever have another era that equals it.

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Prime Video is investing in love with a wide variety of steamy rom-coms, star-studded TV shows coming this year— and a fan event to celebrate the upcoming YA titles.

The streaming service announced on Thursday, April 30, that Prime Video was branching out with Obsessed Fest, which is described as “an inaugural summer tentpole event that brings the internet’s most passionate fandoms to life.” The event will take place on June 27 at nya Studios in Los Angeles with an “all-day immersive event” that “transforms online fandom into a live, participatory celebration where fans can connect, discover, and engage like never before,” according to the press release.

Obsessed Fest will celebrate highly anticipated YA titles including Every Year After, The Love Hypothesis, Elle, Off Campus, Overcompensating, Your Fault: London, Drawn Together and more. Fans who attend will get exclusive first looks, appearances from casts and creators and a range of fan-focused access to the talent and creators behind the stories they love.

The programming at Obsessed Fest will feature a central programming hub, a literary lounge, a suite of cinematic content studios and screenings, merch and concessions for attendees.

Related: TV Couples We Need Together in 2026: From ‘The Pitt’ to ‘Tracker’

Fan-favorite TV couples like 9-1-1’s Buck and Eddie, The Bear’s Sydney and Carmy and Tracker’s Colter and Reenie — or Billie — deserve to finally get together on screen in 2026. Based on Jeffery Deaver‘s novel The Never Game, Tracker has viewers tuning in each week to see their favorite fictional survivalist — a.k.a Colter […]

In addition to announcing the fan event, Prime Video offered a glimpse at what is to come with first looks at shows such as Off Campus, Every Year After, Maxton Hall and Elle and new original movies including Clashing Through the Snow.

Keep scrolling to see everything coming to Prime Video:

‘Off Campus’

Based on the Off Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show follows an elite ice hockey team — and the women in their lives — as they “grapple with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery —forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood.” (May 13)

‘Every Year After’

Based on Carley Fortune’s novel Every Summer After, Every Year After is told over the course of six years and one week in Barry’s Bay – a quintessential lake town. (June 10)

‘Elle’

A prequel to Legally Blonde, the series explores Elle Woods’ (Lexi Minetree) teenage years in the 1990s as a high school student. (July 1)

‘Sterling Point’

Created by Megan Park, the show follows a woman who’s life takes a turn when she inherits her mysterious grandfather’s island in Canada. (August 5)

‘The Last Sunrise’

The upcoming film centers on a young American woman with health issues, who follows her overprotective mother as her job takes her to Majorca.

‘The Love Hypothesis’

Ali Hazelwood‘s The Love Hypothesis was an overnight success when the book was published in 2021. According to the film synopsis, The Love Hypothesis follows Olive as she tries to convince her best friend into thinking her dating life is great. To help with the lie, she pretends to date her professor, Adam, and the twosome try to make everyone around them think they are in love. But soon, they start to forget that their feelings are supposed to be fake.

‘The Devil’s Mouth’

The survival horror film will follow a group of college friends whose Thailand adventure turns deadly when they become trapped in submerged caves.

‘Maxton Hall’

Season 3 of the hit TV series will continue to follow James (Damian Hardung) and Ruby’s (Harriet Herbig-Matten) love story.

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‘Drawn Together’

The Spanish-language thriller is based on a romantic suspense novel by Mercedes Ron about a New York heiress forced to live with a strict bodyguard after a kidnapping. (2026)

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‘Your Fault: London’

In the sequel to the hit film, Noah (Asha Banks) and Nick (Matthew Broome) will keep fighting for their forbidden love. (June 2026)

‘Perfectos Mentirosos’

The Spanish Original film is based on the Wattpad novel written by Alex Mírez.

‘Clashing Through the Snow’

Starring TSITP’s Christopher Briney and Michelle Randolph, Clashing Through the Snow follows two professional rivals stuck together on a chaotic cross-country road trip to New York, transforming from enemies to lovers.

When it comes to superhero stories, some of the best always come in the form of coming-of-age plots. To see a hero grow up as they manage being a superhero is always entertaining. People enjoy characters like Spider-Man so much because of this in particular. Coming-of-age stories have always been relatable, as everyone goes through growing pains and wish they could be a superhero.

Some of the best coming-of-age plots have been on television, because of the amount of time that audiences get to typically spend with the main characters. It gives people time to experience the issues of growing up as their life plays out, and the more time that they get to spend with a protagonist, the closer they grow to them. There have been some amazing superhero television series that perfectly adapt coming-of-age stories—animated or live-action—that make them unforgettable.

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‘Danny Phantom’ (2004–2007)

Image via Nickelodeon

Young Danny Fenton (David Kaufman) was just 14 when his parents built a very strange machine, designed to view a world unseen— you know the story. When this young man becomes a half-ghost—of which he can transform at will—he dedicates this secret side of himself to hunting down the many evil ghosts that escaped his parents’ machine when he was transformed.

Danny Phantom tells Danny’s story in such an entertaining way, with some incredibly unique powers in comparison to other heroes like Spider-Man. The hero’s middle ground existence between human and ghost acts as a perfect metaphor of the time between childhood and adulthood as a teenager. Having powers that can parallel a hero’s personal experiences always makes for good storytelling.

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‘Smallville’ (2001–2011)

Image via The WB

Everyone pretty much knows Superman as a character that is an adult, as it’s all he’s really been depicted as (for the most part). What Smallville does that makes it so special in comparison is putting Clark Kent (Tom Welling) in high school and following his life far before he officially became Superman.

Smallville has the huge advantage of following pretty much every single year of his life prior to his adult years as Superman, thanks to the fact that the show got to go on for an entire decade. This gave the writers numerous years and episodes to put Clark through significant growth, explore his many friendships and enemies, as well as show how he developed his powers.

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‘Ben 10: Alien Force’ (2008–2010)

Image via Cartoon Network

Everyone who’s anyone knows who Ben Tennyson (Tara Strong and Yuri Lowenthal) is. The young boy who discovered the Omnitrix—an alien watch that can turn him into any one of 1,000,912 alien heroes—has grown up quite a bit since he was 10 years old by the time people meet him again in Ben 10: Alien Force, the second series in the franchise. After Grandpa Max Tennyson (Paul Eiding) disappears, Ben decides to put the watch on again after taking it off many years ago, which incites an adventure with new aliens, new villains, and an all-new Ben.

Being 15 years old now, the young man has matured quite a bit, with lots of room for growth. He may have had some good evolution in the first show, Ben 10, but he gets way more opportunities to grow in Ben 10: Alien Force. With the storytelling maturing quite a bit since the first installment, the character arcs Ben gets to experience are a lot more compelling in how much growth they allow for him as he begins to go from a boy to a man.

7

‘Invincible’ (2021–Present)

Based on the hit Robert Kirkman comic book, creator of The Walking Dead, Invincible has pretty quickly become one of the most popular shows on streaming at the moment. The iconic animated show has taken over the planet, and with Season 4 having just wrapped up, the hype for the show is greater than ever. When Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) gets powers and discovers he’s half-Viltrumite—a species that is pretty much the definition of evil—he must juggle becoming a man while being the one and only— cue title card.

Invincible sometimes struggles in the animation department, which is where most complaints come from, but that doesn’t stop it from being an excellently-written coming-of-age series. Part of what makes this story so compelling is the fact that Mark is depicted as a far-from-perfect guy. He struggles with some intense things that many would genuinely struggle with, like whether killing is okay or not, if it benefits the greater good. The relatability that Invincible brings forth helps people understand the hero even more than most.

6

‘Gen V’ (2023–2025)

Image via Prime Video

One of the biggest shocks of 2026’s TV space, so far, is the cancellation of Gen V. Fans truly adored this coming-of-age show, taking place in the universe of The Boys. Gen V was so well-written that some genuinely consider it to be better than The Boys, at times. The characters in this college-based show are excellently executed, and keep audiences wishing they could see more of them. Taking place at the college, Godolkin University, it manages to relate to a demographic that often doesn’t get depicted in major superhero coming-of-age stories: the college years of one’s life.

Much like The Boys, this series is raw, real, and doesn’t hold any punches. What sets the story of this project apart, though, is that, much like Smallville, it depicts these young people attempting to learn about and master their powers as they grow into themselves, using their powers as metaphors for their journeys and character arcs.

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‘Batman Beyond’ (1999–2001)

Image via Warner Bros. Animation

Everyone loves Batman, but nobody could have expected to see the character in a coming-of-age environment. With the Caped Crusader’s story always featuring him leaving Gotham City to train himself after his parents’ deaths, it feels almost impossible to do a coming-of-age Batman story without changing the origin quite a bit. However, Batman Beyond made the smart choice of providing one that doesn’t feature Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) as the protagonist, but a newer, teen hero, Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle) taking on the mantle after Bruce decides he’s grown too old to continue his crime fighting.

With a high-tech suit and the entire futuristic Gotham City at his fingertips, Terry becomes Batman with enthusiasm and spunk. He’s headstrong and lighthearted, which makes it feel super special in comparison to all other Batman media. Watching a Dark Knight with a coming-of-age story is unlike any other media featuring the character, which makes this show more than worth a watch.

4

‘My Hero Academia’ (2016–2025)

Image via Studio Bones

In recent decades, anime has begun to truly take over the West and prove itself to even be better than Western media a lot of the time, too. Shows like My Hero Academia are proof of this. This show—based on the manga brought to life by Kohei Horikoshi—is a spectacular watch with gorgeous animation, incredible character writing, and a story that is the definition of a good coming-of-age tale as the young Izuku Midoriya (Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner) gets everything he’s wished for when the world’s greatest hero, All Might (Kenta Miyake and Christopher Sabat) passes his power down to him.

My Hero Academia may have Izuku as its primary protagonist, but it follows the entire class of young heroes, Class 1-A. So not only does his coming-of-age story get depicted, but so do the ones surrounding his awesome, diverse classmates. Most notable of the bunch is Katsuki Bakugo (Nobuhiko Okamoto and Clifford Chapin), who arguably has one of the best redemption arcs in modern television. The variety of characters in his class makes for a variety of coming-of-age arcs.

3

‘Teen Titans’ (2003–2006)

Image via Warner Bros. Animation

One of the greatest DC Comics animated series ever made is, without a doubt, Teen Titans. This group of teenagers taking on some amazing stories and villains makes for a show unlike any other. Following the likes of Robin (Scott Menville), Starfire (Hynden Walch), Cyborg (Khary Payton), Raven (Tara Strong), and Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), Teen Titans shows the Titans facing many villains like the ever-iconic Deathstroke (Ron Perlman)—known in the series as “Slade”.

What makes Teen Titans so entertaining and effective is the fact that it balances tone so dang well. It maintains a lighthearted, anime-inspired tone and art style, while still managing to jump into deep, heavy, and emotional tones and stories when it needs to. Despite being so fun, it tackles ideas like the likes of PTSD—via Robin’s issues with seeing a Slade that isn’t there after his issues facing him.

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‘Young Justice’ (2010–2022)

Image via Warner Bros. Animation

Much like Teen Titans, Young Justice follows a group of teenage sidekicks—some of DC Comics’ greatest—as they come together to form a team. Made up of the likes of Robin (Jesse McCartney), Kid Flash (Jason Spisak), Artemis (Stephanie Lemelin), Aqualad (Khary Payton), Miss Martian (Danica McKellar), and Superboy (Nolan North)—with more coming in as the series goes on—the team is absurdly well-written, with each of the team members representing a part of growing up. They take on some great foes and stories from across the DC Comics mythos, which makes this such an entertaining show.

Unlike Teen Titans, though, Young Justice takes a far more mature approach to storytelling. While it does have a lot of fun and includes lighthearted moments, Young Justice takes itself a lot more seriously than the previous sidekick-based show, and that leads to a lot of phenomenal character development as they continue to grow up out of their high school years and into their young adult years.

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‘The Spectacular Spider-Man’ (2008–2009)

Image via Sony Pictures Television

Ask any superhero fan, and they will tell you that The Spectacular Spider-Man is not only one of the greatest adaptations of the Web-Slinger, but one of the greatest superhero series ever made. Following Spider-Man (Josh Keaton) in his high school years, The Spectacular Spider-Man shows just how hard it is to be a superhero and a teenager. His two lives continuously get in the way of each other, which is part of what has made the character of Spider-Man so compelling over the years.

Spidey not only struggles with the concepts of identity, nature vs. nuture, and more, but Peter Parker also struggles with things like relationship issues, money troubles, and the all-around depression of having his two lives so contradicting of each other. The way all of these issues are handled, despite being a show meant for younger audiences, is with grace and seriousness. The showrunners don’t doubt the audience’s intelligence and that makes the stories told beyond engaging and engrossing.

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The Spectacular Spider-Man

Release Date

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2008 – 2009-00-00

Directors

Victor Cook, Jennifer Coyle, Dave Bullock, Troy Adomitis, Dan Fausett, Kevin Altieri, Michael Goguen

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Writers

Greg Weisman, Kevin Hopps, Matt Wayne, Andrew Robinson, Randy Jandt, Nicole Dubuc

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Franchise(s)

Marvel

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