Hexed directors Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand say Walt Disney Animation Studios gave the team room to push the movie’s darker comedy when those choices served the story and its characters.
In an interview conducted at Disney’s Burbank studio, Hand told TheWrap that the filmmakers were encouraged to explore territory the studio had previously avoided. Veerasunthorn said the team would test the most extreme version of a joke and often found it could go further than expected.
Producer Roy Conli said the creative center remained the relationship between teenager Billie Doe and her mother, Alice. That gave the filmmakers a line to follow while building the comedy, magic and conflict around them.
Veerasunthorn and Hand directed Hexed, with Josie Trinidad as co-director. Walt Disney Animation Studios will release the film exclusively in theaters November 25, 2026.
Sources: TheWrap’s interview with the Hexed filmmakers and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ official trailer and description.