Just over a month before Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Hexed hits theater, Disney is sharing details about the film’s creation.

The Development of Hexed

Disney describes the film as an “unexpected journey to world of witches sparks a connection between a mother and daughter.” The movie stars Hailee Steinfeld as the voice of 16-year-old Billie Doe, who is “impulsive, misunderstood, and unconventional.” Billie has never been able to fully understand why her mother, Alice (voiced by Rashida Jones), is so overprotective or why there are so many rules around her life.

One day, Billie discovers she has secret magical abilities. Before long, she is transported from the mundane suburbs to the magical realm of Hexe. As if that weren’t enough of a surprise, Alice — who had suppressed Billie’s abilities since childhood — follows her there. As Billie and Alice’s wild journey through Hexe unfolds, they uncover long-buried family mysteries that threaten to upend the world of witches. And what begins as a disconnected relationship evolves into something neither expected: a magical opportunity to see each other, clearly, for the first time.

Hexed is directed by Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand; co-directed by Josie Trinidad; produced by Academy Award winners Roy Conli and Yvett Merino; and written by Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Oscar-winning Chief Creative Officer Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller.

When Disney first announced Hexed, it was about a boy and his mom, but Bush said the filmmakers came to understand the film “wanted to be a mother-daughter story.” The goal was “making sure that their relationship was actually the star of the film.”

Bush hopes both kids and parents will relate to the story: “We hope parents watch this and say, ‘Oh, man! This feels like me and my child.’ Maybe they’ll feel like, ‘When I grew up, I felt like Billie did, but now that I’m a parent, I’m understanding what my parents were going through.’”

The characters kept the story locked into place. “Once we really dug in on why [Billie and Alice[ had their issues and where their communication lines were not as clear as they could be, that became fun for us as we were trying to figure out their dynamic,” Bush said.

The film balances comedy and fantasy with genuine emotion. Miller said, ” “We’re here to create Disney magic, where people are going to laugh and they’re going to feel something. As long as we’re tracking that, then that’s our North Star. We’re having fun together, and that’s where the great writing comes in.”

“Billie is the type of character that keeps pushing against the limitation,” said Veerasunthorn. “We want to present that as aspirational. We wish we could be her.”

But in the early days, the filmmakers found themselves rooting for Alice. They drew on their own experiences os parents and found themselves wondering if it was Alice’s story, not Billie’s.

Ultimately, they decided to tell the story from Billie’s perspective, which meant looking back at their teenage years so audiences would be able to “understand Billie deeply.”

“As you grow up, the experiences you have in your own life influence the way that you teach your children,” said Hand. “There are reasons. For Billie to discover what those reasons are, why Alice chose the things she chose, is really fascinating. It’s something we can all relate to in our own lives — finding out something about your parents you maybe didn’t know, like what they wanted to do but never chase. And that makes this a very human story in a very fantastical world.”

Rashida Jones was the first person cast, followed by Steinfeld. “Their performances are so beautiful, and there’s such a symbiosis between them,” Conli said. “It really has been a joy working with them.”

Because Disney has been transporting fans to magical worlds for over a century, the setting of Hexe needed to feel unique emotionally and visually. Artists from nearly every department took extra care and time to develop a system of tactile magic largely influenced by nature, set within a vast, colorful realm.

Audiences will discover Hexe’s idiosyncrasies through Billie’s eyes. “We’re unfolding the understanding of magic in real time with our character, Billie,” Veerasunthorn explained. “She knows all about witches and magic from our human, contemporary world. So, we decided, ‘Let’s lean into that — and then let’s twist her expectations.’”

Hand said they pushed to “really heighten the tactile nature” of Billie’s magic. “When she’s got her hands up on the desk, the little pop sparks — which is her innate magic bursting out of her — land on the top of the desk and they fizzle out.”

Magic in Hexe originates from within. Once the filmmakers established that, they were able to give each character “an individuality to their magic, from the color to how it’s represented, and that’s because just like every one of us, they have a personality.”

They had to identify what magic looks like for Billie, Alice, and Queen Celeste (voiced by Jodie Foster). Merino credited the “amazing artists and our effects team, who were able to make it unique to this film.”

Nods to past Disney Animation movies include the enchanted feather quill pen Quill (voiced by Tracey Ullman) and the magical journal Quire (voiced by Stephen Fry). Conli described their inclusion as “like being in Beauty and the Beast again.”

The real magic of the film, Veerasunthorn said, “is your potential. It’s up to you how you manifest it, what you choose to do with it, whether it’s for good or evil.”

“It’s a nice metaphor,” Hand added. “We all hope that we have this incredible thing about ourselves we can make the most out of.” And Billie is “going to follow that journey all the way through and see where it takes her.”

Other characters include Beef Roger Crummchuk, voiced by Walton Goggins. This reclusive, three-eyed cat forges an uneasy alliance with the mother-daughter duo. Hand said Goggins’ performance makes clear “that this cat has lived a life — a lot of life.”

Billie also gains a loyal companion in Bucket, an enchanted cauldron who does not speak. Pat McAfee will voice Rat McAfee. And Queen Celeste anchors the realm’s darker edges.

“She’s the only other flying witch in this world,” Hand teased. “That creates a real competition and a real target on Billie’s back.”

Hexed will be in theaters on November 25, 2026. Watch the official trailer:

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