Remembering Cameron Boyce

I'm sure by now you've heard the news about Cameron Boyce.  The news traveled quickly if you follow Disney sites on Facebook or Instagram.  In fact, I woke up this past Sunday to a flood of posts about the news.  I'm always sad to hear news of a celebrity's passing, but sometimes it hits closer to home than others.  This one did.

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Over the weekend, Cameron Boyce passed away at only 20 years old.  (I can't even fully wrap my head around that... he's Elissa's age.)  The morning of July 6th, he passed away in his sleep after suffering a seizure which "was the result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated," according to a family spokesperson.

I've watched Cameron in numerous roles throughout his career.  He's most commonly recognized for playing Carlos, the son of Cruella De Vil, in the Disney Channel Descendants movies as well as his role as Luke Ross on Disney Channel's Jessie.  

I was a fan of Cameron's in both those roles.  He's always made me laugh with his characters' antics.  He was incredibly talented and he could act, sing and dance.  It made him perfect for the role of Carlos in Descendants.  Eliot and I loved the first two Descendants movies (They're my favorites of the recent Disney Channel movies.) and we're both really looking forward to the premiere of the third movie in August.  It's going to be hard to watch it knowing it was one of the last things he acted in.

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Aside from his acting roles, Cameron was a great humanitarian.  He believed in giving back to the community and he wanted to make the world a better place.  He worked with many organizations in order to give back.  (Read more about that here.)

Another thing Cameron was well known for was how close he was to his family.  In fact, his grandmother was a member of the Clinton 12 and one of the first black students to attend an integrated public school in the south.  I remember seeing her story in a short clip on the Disney Channel.  It always struck me how close him and his family seemed.  I'm so devastated for their loss.

After the news spread, Cameron's co-stars, friends, directors and fans all took to social media to share their memories of him.  They all had nothing but good things to say about him as they spoke about his kindness, light and heart.  (You can read more about what the Descendants cast said here.)

My most fond memory of him is more personal.  I actually met Cameron briefly while at the D23 Expo in 2017.  I haven't really done a recap on that trip, but the short story is that Eliot and I, along with his sisters Sara and Elissa, were all able to take photos with the cast of Descendants 2.  When it was Eliot's and my turn, we walked up to the cast and Cameron came up to me and gave me the biggest, warmest, most genuine hug.  I remember being a little bit startled that he was so willing to give a complete stranger such a warm hug.  And his smile was electric.  The cast was all so warm and kind, but my experience with Cameron stuck out to me.  I'll always cherish that memory.

This past weekend, the world lost a bright light.  Rest in peace Cameron.  °o°

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°