Disney's Hexed's Second Trailer Appears As If By Magic

 

It's become something of a tradition that the latest Disney film is released in time for Thanksgiving in the US. This year that new film is Hexed, the first film from Walt Disney Animation Studios since last year's Zootopia 2. With that release just over a month away, Disney have released the newest trailer

Described as a magical coming-of-age story, it features the voices of Hailee Steinfeld, Rashida Jones, Jodie Foster, Walton Goggins, Tracey Ullman and Sir Stephen Fry. Newly announced to be joining the cast are Henry Winkler the all-knowing potoo bird Nigel, Dan Stevens as Hieronymous, Queen Celeste's blustering and self-important Grand Councillor of the Throne.

The cast will also includes Brett Gelman, Samson Kayo, Jimmy O. Yang, Ron Funches, Drew (McIntyre) Galloway, Cheri Oteri, Kathy Najimy, Wayne Knight, Alan Tudyk, Randall Park, Bill Farmer, Pat McAfee, Chris Parnell, Sarah-Nicole Robles, Rachel Dratch, Ariana Madix, Kellie Gerardi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Abraham Benrubi and Josh Dallas.

In Hexed, the unconventional teenage girl Billie Doe (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) discovers she has previously unknown witchy powers. Magically transported from her suburban home to the magical realm of Hexe, she is forced to team up with her overly cautious mother, Alice (Rashida Jones).

Joining them is a reclusive three-eyed cat Beef Roger Crummchuk, voiced by Walton Goggins. Double Oscar-winner Jodie Foster lends her voice to Queen Celeste, a sinister figure who wants to maintain her grip on power over Hexe.

Hexed is directed by Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand; Josie Trinidad is co-director. Veerasunthorn is getting a second go at directing a Disney feature following on from Wish. It's good that the realtive failure of that film hasn't stopped her from directing again. It's notoriously difficult for female directors to get a second chance. Hand made his directorial debut on Moana 2.

The script is penned by Jared Bush, the veteran writer of both Zootopia movies, Moana and its sequel and Encanto. Bush is co-writing with Dana Ledoux Miller, who previously wrote on Moana 2, Moana (live-action), Kevin Can F*ck Himself and The Newsroom.

Hexed's first teaser trailer was well enough recieved by some but also had quite a negative reaction in other areas. Social media users and YouTubers whinged about recycled tropes, "same face syndrome" and speculated about the use of AI. The online "controversy" seemed largely overblown and manufactured and largely reflected the complaints people have about all Disney movies. There was also some complaints that the first trailer didn't reveal much about the film. But surely that's the point of a teaser.

Will this new trailer win them over? Who knows, but this longer trailer puts much more context to Billie's discovery of her powers, and shows much more of both before and after she travels to Hexe. It looks like an exciting adventure and Goggins and Foster seem to be having a whale of a time in their roles.

Hexed will be released in cinemas in the US and Canada on November 25. It will be released in the UK and Ireland on November 27.