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Kris Bowers to Score Disney's Animated Feature Hexed, Opening Nov. 25
The Oscar-winning composer says he built the music around breath-driven instruments for a film about a teenage girl's magical powers and a mother-daughter journey
By AXY Entertainment Desk ·
Key points
- Academy Award-winning composer Kris Bowers is set to write the original score for Disney's animated feature Hexed, according to Variety.
- The film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Rashida Jones, Jodie Foster and Walton Goggins and is set to hit theaters on Nov. 25.
- Bowers says the score uses unusual air-based instruments, including bird call whistles, kazoos and transformed bird recordings, blended with orchestra and synthesizers.
- Bowers's other projects include Netflix's animated film Steps and the Paramount and Skydance sports drama Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story, which premieres Dec. 25.
Academy Award-winning composer Kris Bowers is set to write the original score for Disney's upcoming animated feature "Hexed," according to an exclusive report from Variety published on Oct. 19. The film, which stars Hailee Steinfeld, Rashida Jones, Jodie Foster and Walton Goggins, is set to hit theaters on Nov. 25. Bowers has described the music as built around unusual sounds made with air, an approach he says grew out of the film's central character, a young woman who dreams of flying, both literally and metaphorically.
What the film is about
"Hexed" is described by Variety as a magical coming-of-age saga. It follows an unconventional teenage girl who discovers secret magical abilities which, once unleashed, send her on a spectacle-filled journey through a hidden realm of witches. The story is also framed as a deeply emotional mother-daughter journey, a detail Bowers highlighted when explaining what he wanted his music to do.
The term "coming-of-age" is a long-standing film category describing stories in which a young protagonist moves from childhood toward adulthood, usually through a series of personal challenges and discoveries. Fantasy stories often use that structure to explore identity, because a character's newfound powers can stand in for the changes that come with growing up. In this case, the source material points to both a supernatural adventure and an emotional story about the relationship between a daughter and her mother.
The cast is built around performers with long and varied careers. Hailee Steinfeld is best known to many audiences for her live-action work, including her Oscar-nominated performance in the Western "True Grit" (2010), and for voicing a lead role in the animated "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" franchise. Rashida Jones and Walton Goggins have worked across film and television, and Jodie Foster is a two-time Academy Award winner. Variety's report lists these four actors as the film's stars, and the source material does not detail the specific roles each one plays.
Animated features often rely on large ensemble casts of this kind. Studios frequently cast well-known performers in family films because recognizable names help a movie stand out in a crowded release schedule and attract both younger viewers and the adults who often accompany them.
Bowers on building the sound
In comments reported by Variety, Bowers described the creative process as one of "exploration and experimentation." He said he was inspired by the young heroine's dream of flying and began experimenting with ways to make music using air. The instruments he listed were bird call whistles, a wind wand, nose flutes, bottles, kazoos, air sirens and recordings of actual birds that he transformed into instruments. The source material does not explain how each of these instruments was used or how the wind wand works, so those details remain unclear.
Bowers also said the film's take on its magical world shaped a sound that combines several musical traditions. He described a blend of orchestra, an "effected" chamber woodwind ensemble, synthesizers and natural sound elements. In his words, the result often blurs the line between acoustic and electronic textures.
For readers less familiar with the terms, a few definitions help. A chamber ensemble is a small group of instrumentalists, as opposed to a full symphony orchestra. A woodwind ensemble is a group of instruments such as flutes, clarinets and oboes. "Effected" in music production means a sound has been altered with electronic processing, such as reverb, which adds an echo-like sense of space, or pitch shifting, which changes how high or low a note sounds. Synthesizers are electronic instruments that generate sound electronically rather than through strings, air columns or vibrating bodies. Composers combine these elements when they want a film's world to feel unfamiliar while keeping the warmth of live playing.
Bowers's description also points to a broader trend in film music. Many contemporary composers blend acoustic instruments with electronic tools and recorded field sounds, a method that can give a fantasy world its own identity without relying on familiar orchestral conventions.
Why a film score carries so much weight
A film score does more than fill silence. It signals emotion, sets the pace of a scene and helps establish the feel of an unfamiliar setting, often before dialogue or visuals make the point clear. In an animated fantasy, where audiences are asked to accept an entire invented world, the music can be the element that makes that world feel believable.
Bowers's stated goal was to capture two things at once: the intimacy of the mother-daughter relationship at the center of the story, and the sense of wonder and adventure that drives the plot. That dual aim reflects a common challenge in family animation. A film must work emotionally for adults while remaining exciting enough for children, and the score is one of the main tools for balancing those audiences.
The choice of unusual instruments also has a practical side. Recording breath-based and found sounds gives a composer a palette distinct from a standard orchestral sound, which can help a film's music stand out. For viewers, a memorable score can make a film more distinctive and may encourage discussion of the music after the credits roll, particularly when the soundtrack is built on sounds that are unexpected for a major studio release.
For general audiences, the significance is simple. Music is often the part of a film people remember after the story fades, so an unusual score can shape how a movie is talked about, shared and reviewed.
The filmmakers behind Hexed
Variety reports that Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand direct the film, with Roy Conli and Yvett Merino serving as producers. Bowers thanked Veerasunthorn, Hand, Jared and the wider Disney Animation filmmaking team for what he called an "incredibly engaging collaboration." The source material does not give Jared's full name or role, so it is not included here.
Disney's feature animation has a long history, stretching back to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937. Disney Animation is the studio division responsible for many of the company's hand-drawn and computer-animated films. Projects of this kind are typically developed over several years by large creative teams that include directors, producers, writers, animators, voice performers and composers. Bringing a composer on board is one of the final creative decisions that shapes how a film will sound, which is why composer announcements are often a signal that a project is moving toward release.
Bowers's other projects
Variety also reports that Bowers composed the music for Netflix's animated film "Steps." Netflix is a streaming service, so the film was made for a platform rather than a traditional theatrical release. He has also scored the upcoming Paramount and Skydance sports drama "Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story," which premieres on Dec. 25. Paramount Pictures and Skydance are both major film and media companies, and the sports drama is a true-story project, a different genre from the fantasy animation of "Hexed."
The range of these projects shows how a composer can move between genres within a short period. A fantasy animated feature, a streaming animated film and a sports drama each call for different musical language, from playful and experimental sounds to the emotional and sometimes grounded tone of a real-life story.
Variety further reports that Bowers will work again with filmmaker Ben Proudfoot. Proudfoot previously worked with Bowers on the score for Breakwater Studios' documentary "The Eyes of Ghana." Repeat collaborations between directors and composers are common in film. A shared creative vocabulary can speed up production and help a filmmaker's projects develop a consistent identity over time. The source material does not say what project the two will work on next, so details about that collaboration remain unconfirmed.
What to watch next
The most immediate milestone is the theatrical release of "Hexed" on Nov. 25. Disney animated films typically build attention through trailers, promotional appearances by cast and filmmakers and, in many cases, soundtrack announcements. The source material does not mention a soundtrack album, streaming date for the score or any additional promotional schedule, so those details remain unconfirmed.
Because Bowers has described the score in unusually specific terms, music fans and critics may focus on how the air-based instruments and recorded birdsong are used in the finished film. His description suggests the score will be one of the most talked-about elements of the movie, but how well those ideas translate into the actual soundtrack will only be clear once audiences hear it.
The next major date for Bowers's other work is the Dec. 25 premiere of "Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story." Together, the three announced projects, "Hexed," "Steps" and the sports drama, show a composer whose work spans a major studio, a streaming platform and a sports drama in a short period. For readers following Bowers's career, the coming weeks will show whether the experimental approach he described in the Variety report reaches audiences in the finished films.
Questions and answers
Who is composing the score for Disney's Hexed?
Academy Award-winning composer Kris Bowers is set to write the original score for the Disney animated feature Hexed, according to Variety.
When does Hexed hit theaters?
Hexed is set to hit theaters on Nov. 25, according to the Variety report published on Oct. 19.
Who stars in Hexed?
The film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Rashida Jones, Jodie Foster and Walton Goggins. It follows an unconventional teenage girl who discovers secret magical abilities.
What instruments does Kris Bowers use in the Hexed score?
Bowers described instruments including bird call whistles, a wind wand, nose flutes, bottles, kazoos, air sirens and recordings of real birds transformed into instruments, blended with orchestra, synthesizers and natural sounds.
Topics: Kris Bowers, Hexed, Disney Animation, Hailee Steinfeld, Film scores, Animated films, Ben Proudfoot
Sources: Variety