Disney Descendants Movie Review

As I'm sure many of you with teenagers and pre-teens know, Disney released a Disney Channel original movie at the end of July called Disney Descendants.  I've watched Disney Channel original movies since I was in middle school.  I've seen most of them... dating back to the Brink and Smart House era.  This was another movie in a sea of Disney Channel movies, but I have to admit,  I was really looking forward to this one.

Photo Source: Disney Wiki

This movie seemed like a bigger deal than usual.  It was the first time Disney has created a featured film based off the canon of multiple movies.  Second, it had a book released before the film which was a preface to the actual movie.  While I didn't get a chance to read it before seeing the movie, it was a genius way to get kids hooked before the movie's release.  (I still plan to read it eventually.)  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was impressed with the film.  I've seen it 3 times now and a few things have stood out to me: the storyline, songs, and nods to other Disney films.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants

The storyline was fairly predictable, but it was still cute.  Belle and the Beast's son wants his first act as king to bring the banished kids of famous Disney Villains over to Auradon so they might have a chance at "normal" lives.  Four children are selected and they attend school with the heroes' children.  The kids eventually start to fit in and realize that they like their new school. In the end, they have to choose between being good or following in their parents footsteps.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants

The songs were pretty good.  I didn't realize the movie was directed by Kenny Ortega- who also directed High School Musical.  If I had known, I would have expected the catchy songs and the detailed choreography.  Days later, I still randomly catch myself humming "Rotten to the Core" which introduced the villain kids and had amazing choreography.  I enjoyed the upbeat version of "Be Our Guest" sung by the heroes' kids.  The final song of the movie, "Set It Off" was also easy to get stuck in your head.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants

The nods to the other Disney characters was what I enjoyed the most.  The viewer could tell who each kids' parent was without being told.  This was conveyed through the style and name of the character.  I was really impressed by the costumes.  The villain kids clothing easily depicted who their famous villain parent was.  The colors of the costumes matched their parents.  Their clothing also featured symbols on the back to match.  I loved Mal and Evie's outfits.  Mal, Evie and Carlos also had hair symbolic of their mothers.  Carlos' tourney uniform had the jersey number 101 on it.  Fairy Godmother and her daughter were often seen in blue outfits with pink bows.  Doug wore a lot of purple and green like Dopey.  Finally, Auradon Prep's school colors were yellow and blue, reminiscent of Belle and Beast.

Photo Source: Disney Descendants

Disney Descendants was a cute movie and I enjoyed it.  There's a hint at the end of the movie that this might not be the last we've seen of Auradon.  I guess we'll have to stick around to see if there's more to the story!  °o°