Between today's Shrek 5 trailer release, the announcement of a live-action Kiki's Delivery Service TV series, and both Pixar's Toy Story 5 and Marve
Between today’s Shrek 5 trailer release, the announcement of a live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service TV series, and both Pixar’s Toy Story 5 and Marvel’s X-Men ’97 Season 2 coming in for early rave reviews, it’s already been a hell of a week to be an animation head — and it’s only Tuesday. Never knowingly outdone, though, Walt Disney Animation Studios has taken the flurry of toon-based goings-on to quietly drop the first trailer for its 65th canonical classic, Hailee Steinfeld and Rashida Jones led magical coming of age movie Hexed. Check it out below;
Okay, so ‘misfit youth with unexplained magical abilities goes through a magical wall into a colourful realm of witches and wizards where they uncover the true extent of their powers’ may sound a diminutive bit familiar to anyone with even a passing knowledge of a certain boy wizard (or, come to think of it, Disney’s own The Owl House animated series.) But don’t let the wrapper fool you, friends, because Fawn Veerasunthorn (head of story on Raya And The Last Dragon) and Moana 2 director Jason Hand’s movie — which introduces us to impulsive teen Billie (Steinfeld) and her overly fretful mum Alice (Jones) — looks like it could be spellbinding in its own right. Especially when it comes to the lovely, self-evidently Mary Blair inspired realm of Hexe, where our heroine’s journey begins.
The official synopsis for Hexed reads as follows: “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 (Tracey Ullman) and Elias Quire (Stephen Fry). As Billie’s spectacle-filled journey unfolds, she discovers family mysteries that could change the magical world of witches forever.”
Talking about the film and its headstrong lead in a statement accompanying today’s trailer drop, director Veerasunthorn said: “A wonderfully strange phenomenon is happening all around Billie, something she can’t explain. She’s someone who has felt miscast in her own life, and it takes leaving her normal world behind and entering a hidden world of wild, unhinged magic to begin to understand herself.” Adds fellow director Hand: “Hexe is a place where Billie begins to feel seen for the first time in her life,” director Jason Hand said. “She embarks on a journey of self-discovery that reveals a powerful connection to magic, and in the process uncovers long-held secrets about her family.”
So it’s a little bit Harry Potter, a little bit The Owl House, a smidge Encanto, but also thrumming with an energy that even just on the strength of this trailer feels emphatically its own. And it’s got a great voice cast, a great art style, and a magic book and quill. We’ll tread carefully, but roll on 25 November and the release of Hexed, when we’ll see if the Hexed girls are gonna put a spell on you. (And yes, that is an off-the-cuff Scooby-Doo And The Witch’s Ghost reference. No apologies.)
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