In case you’ve somehow missed the 8,234,798 previews on Disney Channel since late spring, there’s a new Disney Channel Original Movie in town: Descendants.
Loosely based on Melissa de la Cruz’s YA novel “Isle of the Lost,” Descendants is the story of the teenage children of Maleficent, Evil Queen, Cruella deVil, and Jafar, who are plucked from their island prison to attend school at Auradon Prep, in the practically perfect paradise ruled by King Beast (in his human form) and Queen Belle.
The four teens – Mal (“Liv & Maddie”’s Dove Cameron), Evie (Sofia Carson), Carlos (“Jessie”s Cameron Boyce), and Jay (Booboo Stewart) – are chosen specifically by Prince Ben, who is weeks away from his coronation as King of Auradon. Ben doesn’t believe that the children of villains should be penalized for their parents’ actions, so despite the objections of his parents – and just about everyone else, including the chosen ones themselves – Mal and company are collected from the Isle of the Lost.
Except Maleficent, played by the magnificent Kristin Chenoweth, is never one to let an opportunity go to waste, and thus sends her daughter and friends to Auradon with a task: Steal the fairy godmother’s (played by Melanie Paxson, better known for her work in every other commercial on TV) wand and return it to the villains, so they can break out of prison and return to power.
Descendants is being marketed as the next “High School Musical,” and judging by the reaction of my daughter and her friends, it definitely has potential to be the next big thing. Her exact words? “This is the greatest movie I have ever seen in my entire life.” And compared to some of the other recent Disney Channel offerings, (“Bad Hair Day?” No? Exactly.) “Descendants” is actually quite good, and will definitely appeal to its target audience.
However, if you are expecting a film that stays 100% true to the characters it’s based on, well, you might be disappointed. The villains here are really more caricatures of themselves than anything else. Chenoweth as Maleficent steals every scene she is in (as one might expect), and is clearly having a blast in the role of arguably the best-worst villain – and her show-stopping song, “Evil Like Me,” is a highlight of the movie, if you ignore the fact that it’s completely out of character.
Evil Queen (Kathy Najimy) is suitably arrogant and nasty, but in terms of being nothing like the originals, it’s Cruella and Jafar who fare the worst. Cruella is borderline insane, and Jafar is practically irrelevant, and comes off more like a weird and slightly creepy neighbor than the evil genius he was in “Aladdin.”
The actual villains are merely sideshow players in the story, though, which focuses on the teens and their struggles to find their own identities when everything is stacked against them. Predictably, it doesn’t take long for the villains’ kids to notice how much better life is in Auradon than it is on the dismal Isle of the Lost. Evie, who has been raised to think that beauty is everything and her own Prince Charming is the ultimate goal, discovers that looks aren’t everything – and that she’s actually much more than a pretty face. Carlos, having spent his entire life in fear of dogs, makes a four-legged friend and discovers unconditional love. And Jay puts his considerable athletic prowess to work playing Tourney, a sport that appears to be a hybrid of lacrosse and Harry Potter’s Quidditch. As someone who has been taught to think only of himself, he’s surprised to learn he actually likes being part of a team.
It’s Mal, though, who undergoes the most dramatic transformation. Initially the most committed to being evil and following her destiny to be just like her mother, magic spells and all, Mal starts to waver when she falls for Prince Ben. She starts to see the good in the world, but is afraid of her mother’s wrath should she fail in her quest to steal the Fairy Godmother’s wand. But when she is confronted by Sleeping Beauty’s mother and subsequently shunned by the other students of Auradon Prep – her resolve strengthens, even as she is faced with the real emotional impact of her mother’s actions, and her own.
The climax of the film, Prince Ben’s coronation, is somewhat predictable, but that’s to be expected. It’s dramatic, but not terribly frightening – and of course, a happy ending. And the producers clearly expect at least one sequel, as the film’s final moment asks a question that fans will no doubt want answered.
Overall, Descendants is one of the better Disney Channel Original Movies to air in recent years. The soundtrack features some decent songs, including the techno-influenced “Rotten to the Core,” the Broadway-style “Evil Like Me,” and a fun acapella update to “Be Our Guest.” It was also nice to see Disney poke a little fun at itself. Doug, a relative of the dwarfs, can’t remember Sneezy, perhaps the most forgotten dwarf, and Lonnie introduces herself as Mulan’s daughter to blank stares, in a wink to Mulan’s spot in the lower end of the princess rankings. While Disney purists might balk at the new representations of favorite characters (and as is usually the case, the book is better), the film is entertaining and fun, and appealing to the whole family.
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