Disney’s Hexed Reveals How Its Witches Make Magic

Disney’s Hexed gives each witch a distinct kind of magic, with colors and physical effects shaped by the character’s personality. The Walt Disney Animation Studios film follows a teenager and her mother into a magical realm and opens exclusively in theaters Wednesday, November 25, 2026.

Hailee Steinfeld voices 16-year-old Billie Doe, while Rashida Jones voices her overprotective mother, Alice. Their adventure takes them from the suburbs to Hexe, where hidden powers and long-buried family mysteries put their relationship at the center of the story.

Magic from within

Hexe’s magic originates within the witch or wizard casting a spell. Artists across nearly every department developed a tactile system influenced largely by nature, with each character’s abilities expressed through different colors and effects.

For Billie, that includes little sparks that burst from her hands, land on a desk and fizzle out. Directors Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand built the world around her discoveries, so audiences learn how its magic works alongside her.

Billie already has ideas about witches from the contemporary human world. Hexe twists those expectations rather than following everything she thinks she knows.

Producer Yvett Merino described the need to identify what magic looks like for Billie, Alice and Queen Celeste individually. For Veerasunthorn, those abilities also represent personal potential and the choices a person makes about using it.

Billie and Alice

Billie is impulsive, misunderstood and unconventional. Billie has never fully understood why Alice is so overprotective or why there are so many rules. Alice has suppressed those powers since Billie’s childhood and follows her daughter into Hexe.

As their journey unfolds, the pair uncover family mysteries that threaten the world of witches. Their disconnected relationship becomes an opportunity to understand each other more clearly.

The filmmakers initially found themselves siding with Alice because they were parents. They considered telling her story instead, but ultimately chose Billie’s perspective and revisited their own teenage feelings to understand her.

Writer Jared Bush described the goal as “making sure that their relationship was actually the star of the film.” Bush and fellow writer Dana Ledoux Miller kept testing whether the emotional moments felt believable, not just whether the story worked structurally.

Producer Roy Conli said Jones was the first performer cast, with Steinfeld joining later. He praised the connection between their performances.

The characters of Hexe

Jodie Foster voices Queen Celeste, who recognizes that Billie could help her retain power over Hexe. Celeste is the only other flying witch in the world, making Billie both competition and a target.

Walton Goggins voices Beef Roger Crummchuk, a reclusive, three-eyed cat who reluctantly agrees to help Billie and Alice. Billie also finds a loyal companion in Bucket, an enchanted cauldron who doesn’t speak.

Two enchanted objects greet Billie at Hexe’s entrance: Quill, a feather quill pen voiced by Tracey Ullman, and Quire, a magical journal voiced by Stephen Fry. Conli connected those touches to Beauty and the Beast, describing the references as brief moments of fun before the story moves on.

Source: The Walt Disney Company