Disney's New Movie Secretly Already Debuted Over 5 Years Ago

The newest animated film from Disney already secretly debuted over five years ago. Every year, Disney releases a major tent pole animated film that tends to be the talk of the Thanksgiving weekend. This year, their newest original film looks to be an exciting new addition to their filmography.

Hexed is an upcoming film from Disney directed by Josie Trinidad and Jason Hand. Hailee Steinfeld stars as Billie, a young girl who's living under a stern mother, played by Rashida Jones. When Billie discovers that she has magical powers, she's whisked away to a magical land where she can finally be herself.

Magic isn't a new concept in the Disney canon. There have been characters, both good and bad, that have had access to magical abilities for generations, going as far back as 1940's Pinocchio with the Blue Fairy. However, it's rare for a Disney film to feature a magic-wielder as the main protagonist for a story.

Everything about Hexed that has been revealed so far from Cinemacon seems to present this film as an enjoyable time for Disney fans. It has a range of phenomenal actors supplying their voices for the parts, and with Disney's trademark style, it's bound to look absolutely gorgeous.

However, when diving deeper into the premise of the story, it's hard to overlook that Hexed has some surprising similarities to an animated Disney series.

Hexed's Story Feels Similar To Dana Terrace's The Owl House

The Owl House is a series that originally premiered on Disney Channel in 2020. Created by Dana Terrace, the show follows a young girl named Luz as she's about to be sent to camp by her mother to reform her hyperactive behavior. However, when she stumbles upon a magical world called the Boiling Isles, she decides to make it her home for the summer, learning magic along the way.

The premise of The Owl House and Hexed are remarkably similar. Both Luz and Billie seem to be misunderstood characters that embrace their individuality while being at odds with their mothers, even though Luz's mother sends her daughter to camp out of concern rather than being stern. The stories even send them to magical realms to give their creativity a chance to shine while embracing magic as a core part of its story.

Some fans of the series have even called out the similarities, with some going as far to say Disney took the idea from the show. However, while the film's sound similar, this is based on the premise alone. The execution is what matters.

How Billie And Luz Use Magic Is A Key Difference Between The Stories

The main difference between The Owl House and Hexed is how magic is used in both stories. Hexed is approaching the main character's ties to magic as natural. Billie will be a character that is gifted with the ability to do magic from the start. This means that the themes surrounding her character will likely be more interior.

Meanwhile, The Owl House makes it clear that Luz isn't magically gifted. Witches and wizards in this world have a magical organ in their body at birth that allows them to perform magic, while Luz doesn't. Instead, she must learn practical magic through glyphs, which are only effective in the Boiling Isles. This makes her development far more social as she learns to communicate with others to practice her craft and form new bonds.

This is just one major difference in detail between Hexed and The Owl House. It will be interesting to see how many divergences in the story there will be when the film debuts in November. It's unlikely that the film will be a one-for-one mirror of Dana Terrace's series. However, the similarities between these Disney properties are absolutely too big to ignore.