Many are the teenage protagonists who discover, one fateful day, that they are actually a witch. This moment of discovery rarely ever goes smoothly, and Billie, the central character of Disney’s next animated movie Hexed, gets one of the worst “magical pupation days” we’ve seen in a while.
It happens in the school bathroom. Billie is sitting on the toilet moping about her outcast status when her hands start crackling and sparking. Then anything in the area that isn’t bolted down begins rising into the air. Billie starts panicking and attempting her first efforts at spellcasting, which makes it all worse. The mess only stops when the principal enters the room and gets a faceful of glop. One jump cut later, Billie is expelled.
A rough first day, but once that’s over, it’s time to move onto Step Two: discovering where you really came from. A portal opens in Billie’s room that takes her to the enchanted land of Hexe, where she meets Elias Quire, a talking book, and Ms. Quill, a sentient pen. They agree to show her the ins and outs of witchhood and uncover the mysteries of her origin…though Billie is still having some troubles, as evidenced by the fact that she’s flying sideways and crashing into houses. For pity’s sake, someone give her a broom.
Hexed stars Hailee Steinfeld as Billie, Rashida Jones as her mother, Stephen Fry as Elias Quire and Tracey Ullman as Ms, Quill. There are probably more characters in a big world like this, but they have yet to be revealed.
“A wonderfully strange phenomenon is happening all around Billie, something she can’t explain,” said director Fawn Veerasunthorn. 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.”
Director Jason Hand added, “Hexe is a place where Billie begins to feel seen for the first time in her life. 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.”
Co-directed by Josie Trinidad and produced by Roy Conli and Yvett Merino, Hexed opens in theaters November 25.
