Hexed

[The Disneynerd]

Next fall, Disney Animation will release “Hexed,” an original film about an awkward teenager who discovers that he’s a wizard. “He’s pulled into a world of magic and realizes, oh, these are his people,” Mr. Bush said. “Spoiler,” he added. “Mom, who’s also trying to figure herself out, is tied to him. So it’s a mother-son buddy comedy.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/busi ... -bush.html

Im expecting this to do Strange World & Wish numbers. There doesnt seem to be some sort of charm or striking uniqueness to both the visual world and the overall synopsis. Its just a mix of modern IPs and most strikingly The Owl House.

What i was thinking lately is that the filmmakers at WDAS are constantly looking back at its legacy, desperately trying to make movies that are not too bold or different from their catalogue. Parallels to the little mermaid documentary i rewatched recently where Jeffrey Katzenberg was critizising the crew worrying "what would Walt Disney do and how would Ariel compare to Cinderella and Aurora?" and him telling them "We're not Walt, we have to be US and find our own way" and push forward. I mean imagine Mermaid not having thst bold Broadway Pop Soundtrack or Ariel having a more classic and conservative personality like Aurora yikes. Seems like nowadays the studio completely abondened that mindset and only wants to capture the essence of the past. Just throwing a boy as a protagonist to a mediocre setting and repetitive arc and storyline wont make them win their male audiences. If theyre so desperate with their legacy and a potential male audience, why cant they use their brains and draw Inspiration to Aladdin or their other successful male led successful musicals?! I guess the company forgot atp that Aladdin was the lead in his self titled movie with only Jasmine "Disney princessifying" the brand with her leading the Marketing the last few decades.

If Gigantic would have been released in 2018 (and untoubtfully been a success), they would have been reminded that male Fairytales exists and work too... RIP Gigantic