Hexed premieres in Hollywood with its voice cast

Disney's animated film Hexed had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday, Nov. 12, with much of its voice cast in the room. Hailee Steinfeld, Rashida Jones and Jodie Foster were among the stars, according to Disney's publicity release, and ABC7 Los Angeles reported the event. The film opens exclusively in theaters on Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.

Hexed is an original Walt Disney Animation Studios film rated PG. Steinfeld voices Billie, an impulsive teenager who discovers secret magical abilities that hurl her out of suburbia and into a witch realm called Hexe. She is forced to team up with her cautious mother, Alice, voiced by Jones. Together they uncover family mysteries that could change the world of witches, Disney's movie site says.

Walton Goggins voices Beef Roger Crummchuk, a reclusive three-eyed cat who forges an uneasy alliance with Billie and Alice. Foster voices Queen Celeste, a sinister figure who will stop at nothing to keep her power over Hexe. Henry Winkler, Dan Stevens, Tracey Ullman and Stephen Fry round out the voice cast.

Behind the camera, Jason Hand and Fawn Veerasunthorn directed, Josie Trinidad co-directed, and Roy Conli and Yvett Merino produced. Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller wrote the screenplay, and Kris Bowers composed the original score, according to Disney's release.

The premiere was a Hollywood night. Laughing Place describes El Capitan as Hollywood's historic El Capitan Theatre. Disney's release lists the attendees, including Stephen Fry, Cheri Oteri, Wayne Knight, Yvette Nicole Brown, Josh Dallas and Peter Sohn, along with the filmmakers.

At the premiere, Steinfeld described Billie this way: "She knows there's this world out there that is so much greater and that's where she belongs." Jones said: "It's so nice to see that in animation to have mother-daughter relationships be highlighted like this." Foster said: "This felt like a challenge I hadn't done before." Co-director Jason Hand said Foster brought "so much incredible evilness" to the role, ABC7 reports.

The premiere gave fans their first public look at a film that took years to finish. ABC7 reports that the writers described it as a step into new territory for Disney animation, and the mother-daughter story is the center of that pitch. Billie's trip into Hexe pulls her away from the suburbs she knows, and Disney's description says she and her mother must uncover family mysteries that could change the world of witches forever.

That mix of magic, family history and a villain with a stake in the outcome gives the film its shape. Foster, who voices Queen Celeste, is a two-time Academy Award winner, according to Disney's release. Her character is the sinister force that the mother and daughter must face.

The film is rated PG, and ABC7 and Disney both confirm the Nov. 25 release. That timing puts it in the Thanksgiving movie window, when many families choose a film together.

What to know

• The film opens exclusively in theaters on Nov. 25, and it is rated PG, according to Disney and ABC7.
• Jared Bush, a Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer and screenwriter, pointed to a detail in Billie's eyes: "every single shot she has crescent highlights in her eyes." ABC7 reports the detail.
• Screenwriter Dana Ledoux Miller said: "There's a lot of things we're doing in this movie that we really haven't done in a Disney animated film before, and I think we're going to surprise people."
• ABC7 reports that the movie took years to complete.
• Yvette Nicole Brown, who voices Scared Tea Cup, said: "I don't care if I got one line or 500, I'm going to do the press tour."
• Foster explained her approach to the villain: "I loved her diabolic quality and that she was kind of snooty and that she's a big liar and hypocrite."

Disney's release lists a long roster of people who attended, including Ron Funches, Drew Galloway, Jaxson Tagami, Sarah-Nicole Robles, Jodi Benson, Kellie Gerardi, Josh Dallas and Peter Sohn. That list shows how many voices and filmmakers stand behind one animated feature, even when the headlines name only a few stars.

The sources also point to a few details fans may want to watch for. Bush said Billie's eyes carry the reflection detail in every shot. Miller said the film does things Disney animation has not done before. The release also names Yvette Nicole Brown as a voice in the film, and she said she would do the press tour whatever her part size.

What is still unknown: the sources do not include reviews or box office projections, so the film's reception is still to come.

Steinfeld's description of Billie anchors the premiere remarks. She said Billie is a teenager who "stops at nothing" to find her place, and she tied that drive to the film's larger idea about belonging. Disney's release describes Billie as an impulsive and unconventional teenager, and Steinfeld gives that restless energy its voice.

Jones's comment about mother-daughter stories matters because the film's whole engine is the pairing of a cautious mother and an unconventional daughter. Disney's release says the two are forced to team up, and that pressure drives the family mystery at the film's core.

Our take

Family animation often lives or dies on its parent-child story, and Hexed puts a mother and daughter at the center. Steinfeld and Jones both pointed to that relationship at the premiere, and the film's plot is built around a teenager who must learn who her mother really is. For LA readers, the event was a Hollywood night at a historic theatre, the kind of premiere people plan around. Are you taking the family to see it on opening weekend, or waiting for the holiday?

Where this comes from

This comes from ABC7 Los Angeles' Nov. 13 report on the Thursday premiere, which carries the quotes and the production details. Disney's Business Wire release, dated Nov. 12, supplies the attendee list, the Nov. 25 release date, the director and writer credits and the voice cast. Laughing Place's Nov. 12 report describes the El Capitan Theatre, and Disney's movie site gives the plot summary.

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LA This Weekend Team