Hexed gives Disney Animation an original between the sequels

Disney put out a new trailer for Hexed on Monday morning, and it is the clearest look yet at Walt Disney Animation Studios' Thanksgiving movie. Hailee Steinfeld voices Billie, a teenager whose magic has been held down her whole life by a purple gem her mother fastened to her wrist. When she accidentally opens a portal, she lands in Hexe, a realm of witches where the queen wants her caught. /Film has the trailer and notes it runs on Paramore's "Ain't It Fun," which is either perfect or a little on the nose depending on how old you are. The film opens in theaters on November 25, 2026.

The official Disney page fills in the cast. Rashida Jones is Billie's cautious mother, Alice. Jodie Foster is Queen Celeste. Walton Goggins voices Beef Roger Crummchuk, a three eyed green cat who becomes Billie's reluctant teacher, and he narrates the trailer's prophecy line about an ordinary girl becoming an extraordinary witch. Tracey Ullman plays an enchanted quill pen, Ms. Quill, and Stephen Fry plays a magical journal, Elias Quire. Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand direct, with Josie Trinidad as co-director.

Goggins as a cranky cat is the best casting news Disney Animation has had in years, and I will not be taking questions.

This movie changed shape on the way here

Here is the detail I find most interesting, and it is not in the trailer. According to the film's production record, when Hexed was first announced at Destination D23 in August 2025, it was described as the story of an awkward teenage boy and his Type A mother finding out his odd traits might be magic. Trinidad and Hand were named as directors. By CinemaCon in April 2026, the lead was Billie, the mother was Alice, Veerasunthorn and Hand were the directors, and Trinidad was co-director. The original idea is credited to Trinidad, and the screenplay credits include Jared Bush, Dana Ledoux Miller, and Jon Robin Baitz.

Disney Animation reworking a movie this deep into production is not new, and it is not automatically bad news. Frozen famously went through big changes. But it does mean the trailer is doing real work here. This is the first time most people are seeing what the finished version is about, and what it is about is a mother and daughter, which is a very different movie from a mother and son.

The Thanksgiving slot, and why Hexed stands out in it

Disney Animation has treated the week before Thanksgiving as home turf for a long time. Here is what it has put there since Moana, using U.S. dates from the studio's film list. The "original or sequel" column is my own sorting.

Lay it out like that and the pattern is plain. Hexed is the only new story Disney Animation is putting in its holiday slot between Wish in 2023 and Clay in 2028. It sits between Moana 2, Zootopia 2, and Frozen 3. That is a lot of pressure for a movie about a teenage witch and a rude cat.

The director credits make the table even more interesting. Veerasunthorn co-directed Wish, the last original in the slot, and the list has her directing Clay too. Hand co-directed Moana 2 and was a story credit on Encanto. So the studio is handing its one original of the mid decade to people who just worked on both sides of the original versus sequel line. I like that. It suggests Disney is treating Hexed as a real priority and not a placeholder between franchise dates.

What to know before November

• It is theatrical first. Disney lists November 25, 2026 in theaters. No streaming date has been announced.
• There is a short attached. The production record says Hexed will play with a Lilo and Stitch short called Lilo & Scratch, which is a strong reason to get there before the trailers end.
• Not yet rated. Disney's page lists it as not yet rated. Expect PG, but wait for the real rating if you have very young kids.
• Spoiler level of this trailer: light. It sets up the gem, the portal, the queen, and the cat. Fine to watch.

Witches are having a season. AMC is putting Baba Yaga on a streaming schedule, and on the darker end of the dial, The Exorcist: Martyrs just showed its first footage. Hexed is the one I would take a ten year old to. It is also the one where I am most curious whether the finished movie can carry the weight of being the only new idea in the room.

How we made this: researched and drafted with AI assistance. Sources are linked in the piece.