Walt Disney Animation Studios has released a new trailer for its upcoming original animated fantasy, Hexed, about a teenage girl who discovers she has magical powers. The studio has also announced Henry Winkler and Dan Stevens as part of the voice cast, alongside Hailee Steinfeld.
Other members of the voice cast include Rashida Jones, Jodie Foster, Walton Goggins, Tracey Ullman, and Stephen Fry. Hexed premieres in theaters on November 25, the day before Thanksgiving, making it the studio’s 65th animated film.
Henry Winkler, an Emmy winner famous for playing the Fonz in the hit show Happy Days, voices Nigel, a jittery potoo bird who seems to know everything and guards many secrets about Hexe, the magical world where much of the plot takes place. Potoo is a nocturnal bird of the American tropics with big eyes that pretends to be a broken tree branch.
Dan Stevens, the actor who voiced the Beast in Disney’s 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast, voices Hieronymous, a blustering and pompous Grand Councilor to Queen Celeste – the main villain in the movie.
In Hexed, Hailee Steinfeld voices Billie Doe, an impulsive and unusual teenage girl living an ordinary suburban life. After the hidden magical powers of the girl emerge, it takes her to Hexe – an enormous world of witches full of spectacle.
Billie has to work with her cautious mother, Alice, voiced by Rashida Jones. Together, they uncover family secrets that could change the world of witches forever.
The first trailer, released in June to the music of Stevie Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen,” shows how the powers of Billie bring chaos in the classroom and result in her expulsion. According to the directors, Billie is a girl “who has felt miscast in her own life.” Meanwhile, Jason Hand, one of the directors, says Hexe is the first place Billie feels herself.
Walton Goggins voices Beef Roger Crummchuk, an isolated, three-eyed magical cat who forms a dangerous partnership with Billie and Alice. The studio teased the cat’s ability to take his head off and spin it around.
Two-time Academy Awards winner Jodie Foster voices Queen Celeste, a wicked ruler who will do anything to hold her power in Hexe. Disney announced Jodie Foster and Walton Goggins during its D23 fan event in Anaheim, California, in August.
Hexed is the first movie where Foster does voice acting. Her career began with Disney movies she starred in as a child, like Napoleon and Samantha (1972) and the original Freaky Friday (1976). At the D23 event, Foster said that it was nice to return to the studio because this is where her career started.
Tracey Ullman, a seven-time Emmy winner, voices Ms. Quill – an enchanted feather quill pen. Stephen Fry voices Elias Quire – an enchanted journal. The pair meets Billie when she gets to Hexe.
The supporting cast includes Brett Gelman, Samson Kayo, Jimmy O. Yang, Ron Funches, Cheri Oteri, Kathy Najimy, Wayne Knight, Randall Park, Chris Parnell, Sarah-Nicole Robles, Rachel Dratch, Yvette Nicole Brown, Abraham Benrubi, and Josh Dallas.
Some of the cast members are famous outside of acting. They include WWE wrestler Drew McIntyre (credited as Drew Galloway), sports broadcaster Pat McAfee, reality TV star Ariana Madix, and commercial astronaut Kellie Gerardi.
Bill Farmer, Goofy’s voice since 1987, and Alan Tudyk, another veteran of Disney animated films, complete the ensemble.
Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand directed the film, with Josie Trinidad as co-director. Veerasunthorn directed the 2023 film Wish, Hand directed Moana 2, and Trinidad wrote and directed the Disney+ series Zootopia+.
Roy Conli and Yvett Merino produced the film. Conli won the Oscar for Big Hero 6 and Merino for Encanto. Jared Bush, Disney’s Chief Creative Officer, and Dana Ledoux Miller, who worked together on Moana 2, wrote the screenplay.
It is the studio’s first original film since Wish, after a series of sequels. Bush announced the film at Destination D23 in August 2025, with the plot centered on an awkward teenage boy and his mother. Later, the lead character was changed to a girl, making Hexed a mother-daughter movie.
Some fans see a connection between the movie and the Disney Channel series The Owl House, which is also about a teenager discovering the world of witches. Bush denied any relation between the movie and The Owl House at D23.
Its Thanksgiving premiere puts Hexed in the same release window as Disney’s Zootopia 2 last year. Bush and Byron Howard directed the film, which became the box office record holder for a Hollywood animated movie release, earning approximately $1.7 billion worldwide.
Hexed is scheduled to open in theaters on November 25th.
