Disney's Hexed character designs sparked controversy when they were revealed back in April. The main character was changed from a boy to a girl, and the usual 3D CG style didn't seem to resemble early concept art.
Disney's now dropped a teaser trailer for the upcoming animated movie, and, yes, there's another controversy, although this time of a more technical kind. Was every scene in the movie framed with TikTok in mind? And does it matter?
To be fair, the Hexed trailer is attracting plenty of positive comments., and the art style turns out to be more interesting than what some had feared. That''s particularly true in the vibrant backgrounds for Hexe, the magical world of witches that awaits awkward teen Billie Doe (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld from the Spider-Verse animated movies).
But is there something strangely unmagical about this Disney movie's framing? The Odyssey trailer recently sparked a big debate about the best aspect ratio for films due to Christopher Nolan's use of IMAX film. The Greek epic is shot with the assumption that it's going to be watched at cinemas with various screen shapes. Nothing of importance can be placed at the extreme top or bottom in the original frame since it will be cropped off when the movie's shown in standard widescreen.
With the Hexed trailer, the assumption that many people are making is that the framing hasn't been dictated by cinema screens but by a different type of display altogether. Some have noticed that the action appears to be largely centred in the middle of the frame. Their suspicion is that this is so it can be easily cropped for social media platforms that are primarily viewed on phones.
Vertical video and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. (You can tell the bizarrely center-focused trailer was made with the assumption people would crop in on the middle of the video, in order to make it vertical) https://t.co/nRxL0kYpzeJune 18, 2026
We can't speak for the entire Hexed movie, but the trailer does appear to mainly place everything of importance in the centre of the frame. Some suggest the decision is pandering to trend of watching streaming content while doing other things – it's easy to view when the frame can be absorbed in a single glance looking straight ahead. Others suggest TikTok and Instagram are to blame.
In both cases, there are those who argue that the choice is so un-enchanting that it makes the movie feel generic, contradicting its message that it's OK to be unique.
"The bad framing for the sake of TikTok/YouTube shorts sharing is part of what makes movies look amateur, since good framing and blocking are a skill," one person argues on X.
"TikTok formats have way too much influence these days. It's a shame because it kills creativity and everything you see around is empty," someone else thinks. "For a work that claims to be an 'ode to the imagination,' showing so little trust in its audience... that hurts," another person writes.
i put hexed trailer on 9:16 ratio and let's see if it's really made for tiktok. https://t.co/7vy2EZJmco pic.twitter.com/Qa3KItci0NJune 17, 2026
Inevitably, given the proximity between the two movies' release dates and their magical realm settings, the Hexed trailer is also being widely compared to the trailer for DreamWorks' Forgotten Island. Just as people complain about the Disneyfication of Shrek, many feel that Forgotten Island looks like the more creative of these two films.
"Hexed is a movie that feels soft and generic because it doesn't take risks or does so halfway, It doesn't push its colors, it doesn't play with its angles, there's no creativity in the design of its characters," one person writes. "The Forgotten island trailer sets up a story. The Hexed trailer is just things happening," another animation fan argues.
Something I like about Fantasy Island compared to Hexed is that Fantasy Island feels like it's constantly taking advantage of the entire frame where as Hexed feels like it was made in a way where it could be turned into a TikTok without losing any important details https://t.co/BOqX5aUwRcJune 17, 2026
Did Disney really frame Hexed so it can be cropped for social media? It seems unlikely. It wouldn't be difficult for the studio to make different teasers for different platforms, reframing the original horizontal shots as needed.
The trailer doesn't really feature any slower beats with conversations between characters in which it would make more sense to use wide reverse shots with each character at one side of the image. It's also been pointed out that favouring symmetry and centred framing is an aesthetic choice that long predates social media and has been used by filmmakers as varied as Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson.
Tudo na filmografia do Kubrick é centralizado para facilitar o recorte no TikTok. O cinema está verdadeiramente morto.pic.twitter.com/i7shGY77zkJune 19, 2026
Beyond the framing, it seems some people have it in for Hexed for other reasons.
"Everyone else has already commented on how generic this movie looks, but y'know what else I'm sick of from Disney? One word titles," one person writes.
Forgotten Island will be released on 25 September. Hexed will be released on 25 November.
