Disney's new animated film looks like it's perfect for fans of "The Owl House." The Disney Channel series ran for three seasons, and in the five years since its cancellation, fans have been searching for something to fill the void. Now, Disney Animation has unveiled the trailer for its next major animated film, "Enchanted," and it certainly looks a lot like "The Owl House.".
Plot details for Bewitched have been widely known, except that it will tell the story of a mother and daughter and be set in a magical world of witches. The first trailer for Bewitched fills in some of the blanks. It introduces Billie Doe (Hailee Steinfeld), a bullied school outcast who unwittingly discovers she has magical powers. After accidentally activating these powers, Billie is expelled from school, causing great concern for her mother, Alice (Rashida Jones).
Billie's powers lead her to the hidden world of Hexe, a land of witches, where she meets Elias Quire (Stephen Fry), a magical diary, and Miss Quill (Tracey Ullman), an enchanted quill. Billie immerses herself in this new land, uncovering its charms and horrors, and delving into the depths of her own magic.
While Hexed is an original idea and not based on any existing Disney intellectual property, fans were quick to point out some similarities to The Owl House.
In response to the trailer, one user on X stated that Hexed «"definitely copies «The Owl's House »». Another user on X tempered expectations, saying it was a similarity «"it's like saying that [ «The Owl's House »] copied «Halloweentown, Winx Club» or «Harry Potter »», adding that «"a magical protagonist who opens up a new world"» , is a cliche that is several decades old.
The full trailer for "Hexed" can be seen below:
«"Hexed" is Disney's next major animated feature film following "Toy Story 5." Directed by Fawn Weerasoonthorn and Jason Hand, it opens in theaters on November 25th, making it the studio's biggest Thanksgiving blockbuster.
Are "Enchanted" and "The Owl House" really that similar?
As mentioned, The Owl House and Enchanted share very similar plot lines: the protagonist, an extraordinary teenage girl, discovers a hidden magical land and, in the process, her own abilities. However, this is also a very common trope in pop culture, with Harry Potter, Shadowhunters, and numerous other young adult fantasy works employing the same concept.
The magical worlds explored in "The Grudge" and "The Owl House" are each unique in their own way. "The Owl House" takes place in the Demon Realm, and the protagonist, Luz, lives on the Boiling Isles as an apprentice to the witch Eda Clawthorne and her demon neighbor, King. Little is known about Hex, the magical land Billy finds himself in "The Grudge," but the trailer so far hints at a vibrant fantasy world full of witches and monsters.
While Luz and Billie share some similarities as protagonists, they also feel fundamentally different. In "Hexed," Billie begins to understand her newfound magical abilities, while in "The Owl House," Luz becomes a witch's apprentice despite lacking magical abilities of her own.
However, family seems to be a central motif in both projects: The Owl House focuses on Luz's newfound family in the Demon Realm, while Bewitched explores the relationship between Billie and her mother, Alice.
While more about the plot of Enchanted and how similar or different it is to The Owl House remains to be seen, based on the first trailer, Disney's new animated fantasy film could certainly fill the void left by The Owl House.