Disney is best-known for their extensive library of animated films, and right now, it looks like Hexed will be the latest addition to that library. Featuring the work of directors Prasansook “Fawn” Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand, with Josie Trinidad as co-director, this will be a fantasy coming-of-age animated film about a teenaged girl named Billie, and her newfound magical powers. It’s apparently also a story about her mother Alice and her new magical adventures with her daughter, which makes it stand out from other such films where the parent(s) typically play little to no part in such stories. It’s these combination of features that makes this animated film stand out quite a bit from the crowd, and it’s also why Disney are so eager to announce it.
Disney is proud to announce their upcoming animated film Hexed with some cast additions, brand new teaser trailer, and even a new teaser trailer. With the new cast being seven-time Emmy Award® winner Tracey Ullman (The Tracey Ullman Show, Tracey Takes On…, Bullets Over Broadway, Robin Hood: Men in Tights) as the enchanted feather quill pen Ms. Quill, and Stephen Fry (The Interrogator, The Hobbit trilogy, Gosford Park, Jeeves and Wooster, V for Vendetta) as the magical journal Elias Quire. Both of who will join the existing voice cast consisting of Hailee Steinfeld as Billie Doe and Rashida Jones as Alice Doe.
As for that trailer? Well, first off, that trailer reveals that Hexed will make its theatrical debut on November 25, 2026. In fact, you can see for yourself eithe on YouTube, or just look below for that and the teaser visual:
Teaser Trailer and Description
The new trailer introduces the impulsive and unconventional teenage girl Billie (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) and her cautious mother, Alice (voiced by Rashida Jones). When Billie accidentally unleashes secret magical abilities, she’s hurtled out of suburbia and into a magical realm called Hexe, where she’s greeted by Ms. Quill (voiced by Tracey Ullman) and Elias Quire (voiced by Stephen Fry). As Billie’s spectacle-filled journey unfolds, she uncovers family mysteries that could change the magical world of witches forever.
Hexed Heading to U.S. Theaters on November 25…But It Looks an Awful Lot Like a Certain The Owl House…
To be honest, I’m on the fence about Hexed. On the other hand, it does genuinely look like an interesting premise for an animated film. It’s about a distinctly non-white girl who develops magical powers and is then sent into a magical world, with her mother getting to experience that with her. Combine that with some inexperience hijinks on Billie’s part and some pretty good animation quality, and this seems like it could be a success story.
On the other hand, the basic premise of Hexed looks awfully familiar to fans of Dana Terrace. Anyone recall The Owl House, where a non-white girl gets sent to a magical world and learns to wield magical powers? It makes Hexed look an awful lot like Disney is trying to make their own legally distinct The Owl House…and after they’d just relatively recently cancelled The Owl House in April 2023. Disney never explicitly stated why they cancelled The Owl House in spite of its success and popularity, but the implicit understanding by its fans and even the creator is that Disney cancelled the show because it was getting too “woke”. The main character Luz Noceda is openly bisexual and dates another girl in The Owl House, which makes Hexed look like Disney trying to make their own non-“woke” version of The Owl House in order to…gain back an audience minus the “wokeness”?
In conclusion, Hexed looks like a good movie if it exists in a vacuum…but it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists in the wake of Disney’s cancellation of The Owl House, and the fact that they have near-identical premises should make clear why there’s so much scrutiny here.
What do you all think? Do you think Hexed looks like a good movie, or do you think it looks just a bit too much like The Owl House? Tell us your magical thoughts in the comments section below.
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