As someone born in the ‘90s, I’ve been following Walt Disney Animation since I practically entered the world. I’ll admit, however, that the company’s recent run of films hasn’t been its strongest batch. That being said, I always get excited when I learn the House of Mouse has an original story up their sleeve, and one was just announced at Destination D23 to be part of the 2026 movie release schedule. Let’s talk out the news as well as the big question I have.
Walt Disney Animation Announced Its Latest Movie, And It's Not A Sequel
This weekend, Destination D23 is taking place at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, and the event kicked off on Saturday morning with a presentation that included announcements. Among them was word that the next Disney animation fall release to come after Zootopia 2's release this year will be an original movie called Hexed. Check out the first look:
Walt Disney Animation has been a fan of one-word titles in recent years, as evidenced by the releases of Encanto, Wish and so forth. Now, we have Hexed officially set to hit theaters on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2026 a few days after the release of the new Hunger Games movie and on the same day as Focker-In-Law. As announced, it will center on a teen boy who discovers he has magical powers. It sounds like the story will squarely focus on the boy and his mom as they learn more about the world of magic.
Hexed’s release is positioned between Zootopia 2 and the release of Frozen 3, which is set for Thanksgiving 2027. As you’ll recall, Moana 2 was Walt Disney Animation's fall release in 2024 and that contributed to the best Thanksgiving weekend ever before the sequel ultimately made a massive $1.059 billion worldwide.
I'm So Curious If Hexed Will Be Another Disney Animated Musical
That brings me to my big question. I’d love to know if Hexed will be another Disney animated musical or not. It could really go either way, considering the animation company releases a combination of adventures and musicals. However, given that a musical component wasn't announced right away, I'm tempted to assume this film won't be a musical.
In the past five years, Disney Animation has had three musicals with a range of success. Encanto’s tunes went absolutely viral, while it felt like the public was mixed on Moana 2. Also, Wish felt like it just slipped under the radar. As a fan of Disney musicals, it feels like I’m going to have to wait until Frozen 3 for another one of those, with no original one seemingly on the way, which is kind of a bummer.
That aside, though, I'm eager to hear more about Hexed and hope it won't be too long before updates on the film arrive. In the meantime, you can look forward to seeing Zootopia 2 when it hits theaters on November 26 amid the 2025 movie schedule.
