Musicals On TV - Descendants (2015)

Disney, 2015
Starring Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, and Cameron Boyce
Directed by Kenny Ortega
Music by various

With Disney Plus adding the third entry in this series this week, I thought this was the perfect time to discuss the entire trilogy. It came out amid huge fanfare during the summer of 2015, with dolls, clothes, toys, and books based around the characters...and proved to just as popular as the original High School Musical. Why was this movie such a huge hit? To find out, we begin at Auradon Prep in a divided fantasy world, where a young man is about to make a decision that will turn two worlds upside-down...

The Story: Prince Ben (Mitchell Hope), son of Belle (Keegan Connor Tracy) and the Beast (Dan Payne), declares that four children from the Isle of the Lost should be allowed to attend Auradon Prep. The Isle of the Lost is where all fairy-tale villains were banished after they were defeated; it's basically a crime-ridden slum where magic is forbidden, cut off from Auradon by a barrier.

The new students chosen are Mal (Cameron), daughter of Malificent (Kristen Chenowith), Carlos (Boyce), son of Cruella Di Ville (Wendy Raquel Robinson), Jay (Stewart), son of Jafar (Maz Jobrani), and Evie (Carson), daughter of the Evil Queen (Kathy Najimy). Malificent orders them to retrieve the wand of the Fairy Godmother (Melanie Paxson) so she can take over Auradon. The kids obey her at first, until Evie realizes she has a head for chemistry, Carlos befriends a local dog, and Jay becomes the star of the school's "tourney" (a hockey/lacrosse mix) team. Mal gives Ben a cookie laced with a love potion, then regrets it when she actually falls for him. Now the kids have to decide if they want to follow in their parents' footsteps, or find their own paths.

The Song and Dance: It's pretty obvious that this is another Kenny Ortega production. We once again have a team of young people from two different words jamming in elaborate group dance routines. The difference here is that the kids aren't just from different cliques. They're literally from a whole different world with ways that aren't as pretty and pastel as those at Auradon. And it must be said that while the kids aren't bad, their parents are absolutely having the most fun. Jobram looks the part of Jafar far more than the man who played him in the live-action version, Robinson is a hoot as dog-hating Cruella Di Ville, and Chenowith is having the time of her life as a totally over-the-top Malificent who wants revenge...and expects her daughter to do the same.

Favorite Number: It begins well with "Rotten to the Core," showing off just how terrible life at the Isle of the Lost is...and how much the four kids rule the impoverished citizens as they wreck as much havoc as possible. Chenowith appears in the Museum of Cultural History in Auradon to tell her daughter with many flourishes how she wants her to be "Evil Like Me." All of the kids come together in a big, colorful dance routine in the finale at and around Auradon Prep, "Set It Off."

Trivia: The movie was so huge, it became the most watched movie in cable history at that point. The soundtrack hit #1 on the Billboard 200 charts as well.

What I Don't Like: All of the Disney magic in the world can't hide how paint-by-numbers this one is. Cameron can't conjure a potion that brings life to the syrupy ballad "If Only." Most of the other kids are generic popular preppies or cutesy teens with little personality. Jane (Brenna D'Amico), the daughter of the Fairy Godmother, is supposed to be, well, plain-Jane, but she's too cute to believe that Mal's magic could suddenly make her part of the popular crowd. The kids' more realistic performances clash rather badly with the over-the-top ones from their screen parents. And "Be Our Guest" comes off as ridiculous, with clumsy choreography and a dull performance by Hope.

The Big Finale: Like most of the Disney Channel musicals, I'm the wrong audience for this movie. This one is for older school kids, young teens, and their parents who enjoy the Disney animated movies and the other Disney Channel original films and who will get a kick out of the songs, references to the Disney canon, and the young cast.

Home Media: Along with being available on Disney Plus with a subscription there, it's also on DVD (often for under 10 dollars) and most other streaming services.

DVD
Amazon Prime