History Main / ThreeSuccessfulGenerations

* ''Literature/TheBookOfEve'': Beatrice is young, smart, and develops the courage to seek her own fortune at the end of the book. Ortolana is mature and capable, a recent widow who has htaken control of her late husband's business and social/political duties. She is secure in her own situation but struggles to prepare her children for the future. Chiara, the oldest of the three, has lots of wisdom and experience. She has retired from her famous youth and is content simply to protect and guide her community.

* ''Literature/TheBookOfEve'': Beatrice is young, smart, and develops the courage to seek her own fortune at the end of the book. Ortolana is mature and capable, a recent widow who is secure in her own situation but struggles to prepare her children for the future. Chiara has lived a full life, gained lots of wisdom and experience, and is content to simply watch over the younger generations as they pursue their goals.

** This also doubles as TheThreeFacesOfAdam with Arnold as The Hunter, Miles as The Lord and Phil as The Prophet.

[[folder: Film- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ArthurChristmas'': Steve is the tech-savvy heir apparent to the North Pole, Grandsanta is the retired patriarch who is constantly reminding others of his accomplishments and harping on "the good old days," while the current Santa clearly had a good run, but is now struggling with the decision of whether to step down in favor of his son.
* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}''. On the surface, Alma, Julieta and Mirabel do show the strengths of their generational positions. Alma (The Elder), is the matriarch of the Madrigal family and guides the use of the family's gifts in service to the community. Julieta (The Adult) uses her healing gift to help the community, a responsibility she takes quite seriously and Mirabel (The Youth) is filled with passion and love for her family and seeks to support them however she can. Yet, as the story is about a family caught under the weight of dysfunction, we see the darker side of each generation that impacts how successful each can be. Alma has suffered greatly which has affected her ability to serve as a wise matriarch. She is motivated by fear and grief such that she imposes a "toxic perfectionism" on her family that is slowly crushing them under the weight of her expectations. Julieta is clearly an empowered adult who uses her skill to the best of her ability yet is also saddened by having a brother who "lost his way" in the family but finds that she can't even bring up his name and now fears that Mirabel may follow the same path. Finally, while there is no denying Mirabel's love and enthusiasm for her family, her song "Waiting on a Miracle" shows that after years of trying to accept that "she is just as special as the rest of her family", we see that she realizes she lives in the shadow of all that her family can do and admits that she is still waiting for her own miracle.

[[folder: Film- Live Action]]

* This is the entire plot of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE''. As said in the series' tagline: "Three destinies will make history".

[[folder: Film]]
* Of ''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace]]'', Anakin Skywalker has always dreamed of having the freedom to become a Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi is obedient to the Jedi council and makes a stable father figure to Anakin, and Qui-Gon Jinn is insistent that Anakin become a Jedi Knight and fulfill his destiny.
* ''Film/FamilyBusiness'' has Jessie, who is proud of his criminal past and lifestyle, his son Vito, who now runs a thriving wholesale Twelfth Avenue meatpacking warehouse and has left his criminal past behind him, and his grandson Adam, who is in college with a scientific scholarship and seemingly has a bright future ahead of him.

%% * ''Film/Shaft2019'' (needs expansion; has the original Shaft, his son, and now his grandson)

[[folder: Live Action Television]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby are the talented young kids with bright futures and ambitions to be great adventurers. Donald, Launchpad, and [[spoiler:[[MissingMom Della]]]] are the adults who have made something of themselves, but are still striving to achieve higher goals - they also suffer the occasional setback now and then. Scrooge and Beakley are elders who have lived their lives to the fullest and are now passing on their knowledge to the latest generation - Scrooge by taking his great-nephews on adventures, Beakley by training her granddaughter.

* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul [=:Re=]'', a darker example of this is present with the three generations of the Washuu Family. Chairman Tsuneyoshi Washuu is the ultimate authority within the [[HunterOfMonsters CCG]], having long ago established his status as the legendary "Demon Tsune". His son, Chief Yoshitoki Washuu, is the current head of daily operations for the organization and supervises many operations and projects. Throwing a wrench into things is the youngest generation, Matsuri Washuu. An [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitious]] man, he seeks to oust his own father and take over the organization. While the family has led the organization since it's conception, each member is expected to distinguish themselves in the field and uphold the honor of their BadassFamily.

* ''Film/FamilyBusiness'' has Jessie, who is proud of his criminal past and lifestyle, his son Vito, who now runs a thriving wholesale Twelfth Avenue meat packing warehouse and has left his criminal past behind him, and his grandson Adam, who is in college with a scientific scholarship and seemingly has a bright future ahead of him.

*** [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Or]], The [[RetiredBadass retired badass]] [[SergeantRock Sergeant Rock]]; The multilingual, world famous, musician/astronaut; and the pre adolescent [[TheLeader natural leader]] future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court-successful son, and the one who ultimately gets the others to see what is really important.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby are the talented young kids with bright futures and ambitions to be great adventurers. Donald, Launchpad and [[spoiler:[[MissingMom Della]]]] are the adults who have made something of themselves, but are still striving to achieve higher goals - they also suffer the occasional setback now and then. Scrooge and Beakley are elders who have lived their lives to the fullest, and are now passing on their knowledge to the latest generation - Scrooge by taking his great-nephews on adventures, Beakley by training her granddaughter.

Three successful generations is basically a PowerTrio formed by three successive generations that represent the phases of a person's life while gaining experience and maturity.

Three successful generations is basically a PowerTrio formed by three successive generations that represent the phases of a person's life as they gain experience and maturity.

* '''The Adult''': The people who have reached a more stable position in their life. They know how to focus on the present and get things done. The other generations look up to them even while they're still working things out. They are probably working hard to be [[SelfMadeMan Self Made Men.]]
* '''The Elder''': The older people who have lived a full life. They now act as head of the family, helping the middle generations guide the next ones. They want to keep their past alive through the youngest generation. They are like active retirees who are as proud as ThePatriarch.

* '''The Adult''': The people who have reached a more stable position in their life. They know how to focus on the present and get things done. The other generations look up to them even while they're still working things out. They are probably working hard to be a SelfMadeMan.

* '''The Youth''': The young person who has the confidence and intelligence to go wherever in life they want to. The older generations know that they are the future and want to help them make something of themself. They are probably a smart student who know what they want to be when they grow up.
* '''The Adult''': The person who has reached a more stable position in their life. They know how to focus on the present and get things done. The other generations look up to them even while they're still working things out. They are probably working hard to be a SelfMadeMan.
* '''The Elder''': The older person who has lived a full life. They now act as head of the family, helping the middle generation guide the next one. They want to keep their past alive through the youngest generation. They are like an active retiree who's as proud as ThePatriarch.

'''This is not LegacyCharacter''' where the younger character inherits the success of the older generation. This is where each of the three individuals work in their own way to personally earn their accomplishments. The youth is most likely to succeed, the adult is working on succeeding, and the elder has achieved success.

* The Reagan family of ''Series/BlueBloods'' features three active members of the NYPD: Jamie, a former law student who joined the force after his brother Joe's death, making him a very well-educated rookie; Danny, an experienced and driven detective whose investigations make up the A-plot of most episodes; and their father Frank, police commissioner and voice of integrity and wisdom within the family. The Reagan family also includes Frank's own father Henry, a ''retired'' former police commissioner respected by all, and Frank's grandchildren: precocious teenage Nicky, who's thinking of becoming a cop herself, and [[spoiler: Joe's illegitimate offspring Joe Hill, an up-and-coming detective with the Firearms Division who appears in "Family Secrets"]]. Thus, it's more a case of ''Five'' Successful Generations.

* The Reagan family of ''Series/BlueBloods'' features three active members of the NYPD: Jamie, a former law student who joined the force after his brother Joe's death, making him a very well-educated rookie; Danny, an experienced and driven detective whose investigations make up the A-plot of most episodes; and their father Frank, police commissioner and voice of integrity and wisdom within the family. The Reagan family also includes Frank's own father Henry, a ''retired'' former police commissioner respected by all, and precocious teenage Nicky who's thinking of becoming a cop herself; thus, it's more a case of ''Five'' Successful Generations.

Three successful generations is basically a PowerTrio formed by three successive generations that represent the phases of a man or woman's life as he or she gains experience and maturity.

* '''The Youth''': The young man/woman who has the confidence and intelligence to go wherever in life he/she wants to. The older generations know that he/she is the future and want to help him/her make something of himself/herself. He/She is probably a smart student who knows what to be when he/she grows up.
* '''The Adult''': The man/woman who has reached a more stable position in his/her life. He/She knows how to focus on the present and get things done. The other generations look up to him/her even while he/she's still working things out. He/She's like a working man/woman who's as strong as the SelfMadeMan.
* '''The Elder''': The older man/woman who has lived a full life. He/She now acts as head of the family, helping the middle generation guide the next one. He/She wants to keep his/her past alive through the youngest generation. He/She is like an active retiree who's as proud as ThePatriarch.

'''This is not LegacyCharacter''' where the younger character inherits the success of the older generation. This is where each of the three individuals work in his own way to personally earn his accomplishments. The youth is most likely to succeed, the adult is working on succeeding, and the elder has achieved success.