"Hexed" (2026) News and Discussion Thread

[19MagiswordLane]

We have our next animated feature coming November 2026, as revealed at Destination D23.

Directed by Josie Trinidad (Zootopia+) and Jason Hand (Moana 2), and produced by Roy Conli and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones, Hexed centers on an awkward teenage boy whose unusual traits turn out to be something far more powerful: real magical abilities. When his Type-A mom becomes entangled in the discovery, their lives and a hidden world of magic are flipped upside down.

Disney Sets 'Hexed' For 2026, Plus 'Toy Story' Theatrical Return

At Destination D23, Pixar previewed 'Toy Story 5' and 'Hoppers' and announced a 'Toy Story' re-release and Disney shared 'Zootopia 2' casting updates.

www.cartoonbrew.com

 

[TsWade2]

Interesting! This better not flop this time!

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

At least we are getting an original movie this time.

 

[wonderfly]

From the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Disney Reveals New Film ‘Hexed’ Slated For Fall 2026"​

"Until now, Disney had a hole in its schedule: an unannounced movie in the November 2026 slot. As of this morning, and the D23 event at Coronado Springs Resort, we now know its name and a bit about it: it’s called Hexed, and it’s a magical allegory about growing up.

Hexed focuses on an awkward teenage boy and his overprotective mother — hmm, this is sounding familiar already. But this next part doesn’t: the mother discovers her kid’s weirdness is actually magical powers manifesting themselves, and they’re transported to another world of fantasy and fancifulness, where they spend much of the film. That’s all we know at this time, beyond this piece of concept art:"

Read the full article here.

 

[SweetShop209]

https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/04/disney-unveils-new-toy-story-5-trailer-hexed-cast-mandalorian-and-grogu-opener-at-cinemacon/

The movie stars Hailee Steinfeld as Billie Doe and Rashida Jones as her mother. The character is a girl now.

 

[zoombie]

https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/04/disney-unveils-new-toy-story-5-trailer-hexed-cast-mandalorian-and-grogu-opener-at-cinemacon/

The movie stars Hailee Steinfeld as Billie Doe and Rashida Jones as her mother. The character is a girl now.

What? a girl, there goes my Ichi The Witch comparison.

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

I’m still excited for it but I’m a little disappointed that they changed the main character to a girl. Seriously when was the last time we had a Disney movie about a boy?

 

[awinger24]

Fawn Veerasunthorn is now one of the main directors of Hexed alongside Jason Hand. Josie Trinidad got demoted to co-director.

With the gender swap confirmed, it is probably another troubled production last minute like with Wish and Raya and the Last Dragon. Fawn worked on both as director and head of story respectively.

I'll stay cautious but with Fawn now having major influence, I just hope things go well for WDAS and their Story Trust.

 

[Golden Geek]

Nah, that's a cowardly move. We have a million girl witch movies. "Girl witch discovers her weirdness is great despite her overprotective mother" is literally just The Owl House. Let it flop. Hopefully we'll hear more about Netflix's The Witch Boy soon enough.

 

[awinger24]

Disney Spotlights 'Toy Story 5,' 'Hexed,' 'Ice Age' At CinemaCon

Josie Trinidad got demoted to co-director. I like to stay cautiously optimistic but I honestly was not a fan of how Fawn Veerasunthorn handled Wish.

 

[DeanBurrito25]

https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/04/disney-unveils-new-toy-story-5-trailer-hexed-cast-mandalorian-and-grogu-opener-at-cinemacon/

The movie stars Hailee Steinfeld as Billie Doe and Rashida Jones as her mother. The character is a girl now.

The concept art for this movie looked so cool, which is why it's a tad disappointing that the character designs look so samey (at least so far.) I'm all for Hailee Steinfeld headlining a Disney movie, though.

I’m still excited for it but I’m a little disappointed that they changed the main character to a girl. Seriously when was the last time we had a Disney movie about a boy?

Pretty sure it was "Strange World", if we have to be specific.

 

[glennbyrnes]

And Strange

The concept art for this movie looked so cool, which is why it's a tad disappointing that the character designs look so samey (at least so far.) I'm all for Hailee Steinfeld headlining a Disney movie, though.

Pretty sure it was "Strange World", if we have to be specific.

And that flopped in both the box office and with the critics.

 

[glennbyrnes]

Nah, that's a cowardly move. We have a million girl witch movies. "Girl witch discovers her weirdness is great despite her overprotective mother" is literally just The Owl House. Let it flop. Hopefully we'll hear more about Netflix's The Witch Boy soon enough.

Then it would be just a Harry Potter clone.

 

[RoyalRubble]

The movie will be featured in the Disney Animation panel at Annecy.

06/16:
Teaser released-

 

[wonderfly]

From the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Disney’s ‘Hexed’ Reveals Its Powers With First Teaser"​

"Many are the teenage protagonists who discover, one fateful day, that they are actually a witch. This moment of discovery rarely ever goes smoothly, and Billie, the central character of Disney’s next animated movie Hexed, gets one of the worst “magical pupation days” we’ve seen in a while.

It happens in the school bathroom. Billie is sitting on the toilet moping about her outcast status when her hands start crackling and sparking. Then anything in the area that isn’t bolted down begins rising into the air. Billie starts panicking and attempting her first efforts at spellcasting, which makes it all worse. The mess only stops when the principal enters the room and gets a faceful of glop. One jump cut later, Billie is expelled.

A rough first day, but once that’s over, it’s time to move onto Step Two: discovering where you really came from. A portal opens in Billie’s room that takes her to the enchanted land of Hexe, where she meets Elias Quire, a talking book, and Ms. Quill, a sentient pen. They agree to show her the ins and outs of witchhood and uncover the mysteries of her origin…though Billie is still having some troubles, as evidenced by the fact that she’s flying sideways and crashing into houses. For pity’s sake, someone give her a broom."

Read the full article here.

 

[Sparklefan1234]

I think "Hexed" looks like a lot of fun from the teaser trailer.

It's been a long time since I've been left curious and excited by a movie trailer.

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

This movie looks awesome!

 

[ElSquibbonator]

All right, as someone who’s been looking forward to this movie for a while, here’s my honest thoughts.

The good:

—The magical world looks really fun and creative, and I especially dig the creature designs.

— I like the spooky/Halloween atmosphere they’re going for.

— It honestly grabbed my attention more than the last few Disney originals (Raya, Strange World, Wish) did.

The bad:

—The protagonist sounds exactly like every other Disney heroine for the past 15 years.

— I know the accusations of this being an Owl House ripoff/replacement are overdone, but the trailer opens with a school with an owl mascot. There is NO way that’s a coincidence.

— I have a feeling I can already tell what the plot’s going to be.

I'll probably watch this movie, and I'll probably like it, but there's this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that it's just, as one commenter on Reddit said, "The Owl House for straight people". I'm also not entirely thrilled about the decision to change the protagonist to a girl; apparently the original director has a son, which suggests to me that this movie started out as a personal story about a mother-son relationship before Disney said they were done making those.

 

[awinger24]

All right, as someone who’s been looking forward to this movie for a while, here’s my honest thoughts.

The good:

—The magical world looks really fun and creative, and I especially dig the creature designs.

— I like the spooky/Halloween atmosphere they’re going for.

— It honestly grabbed my attention more than the last few Disney originals (Raya, Strange World, Wish) did.

The bad:

—The protagonist sounds exactly like every other Disney heroine for the past 15 years.

— I know the accusations of this being an Owl House ripoff/replacement are overdone, but the trailer opens with a school with an owl mascot. There is NO way that’s a coincidence.

— I have a feeling I can already tell what the plot’s going to be.

I'll probably watch this movie, and I'll probably like it, but there's this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that it's just, as one commenter on Reddit said, "The Owl House for straight people". I'm also not entirely thrilled about the decision to change the protagonist to a girl; apparently the original director has a son, which suggests to me that this movie started out as a personal story about a mother-son relationship before Disney said they were done making those.

All right, as someone who’s been looking forward to this movie for a while, here’s my honest thoughts.

The good:

—The magical world looks really fun and creative, and I especially dig the creature designs.

— I like the spooky/Halloween atmosphere they’re going for.

— It honestly grabbed my attention more than the last few Disney originals (Raya, Strange World, Wish) did.

The bad:

—The protagonist sounds exactly like every other Disney heroine for the past 15 years.

— I know the accusations of this being an Owl House ripoff/replacement are overdone, but the trailer opens with a school with an owl mascot. There is NO way that’s a coincidence.

— I have a feeling I can already tell what the plot’s going to be.

I'll probably watch this movie, and I'll probably like it, but there's this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that it's just, as one commenter on Reddit said, "The Owl House for straight people". I'm also not entirely thrilled about the decision to change the protagonist to a girl; apparently the original director has a son, which suggests to me that this movie started out as a personal story about a mother-son relationship before Disney said they were done making those.

That is probably more on Iger and his brass. The last minute change culture under Jennifer Lee is still apparent. I hope things are different under Jared Bush and Josh D’Amaro but I feel these tight-lock release are really hampering the creative process. Pixar is already doing something completely different with Gatto. I just hope WDAS finds its footing again even after the Zootopia sequel did well. As soon as the Frozen franchise ends and all of the Iger greenlit projects finish, I want to see some major change at WDAS by finally implanting more 2D animation and new plots/formulas we have not seen in years. The Tangled-Frozen style is not cutting out for me.

 

[ElSquibbonator]

As soon as the Frozen franchise ends

Like that'll ever happen. If they can do five Toy Story movies after giving us a perfectly good conclusion in the third, you can bet your ass they'll find a way to keep doing Frozen.