BACKGROUND
Consider this your spoiler warning. I like to go into detail with plot points, so you might want to ensure you’ve watched Descendants: Wicked Wonderland before reading anymore.
Back in the day – you know, the 2000s – Disney Channel considered themselves lucky if they discovered they had made a film popular enough to warrant a sequel.
But then came High School Musical, which spanned three musical films. Now, fans of Disney Channel Original Movies, specifically the musicals, were coming to expect that their favourite musical franchises would become trilogies at the very least.
This turned out to be the case for a number of them. The Cheetah Girls hit three films, with The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008) actually reaching our screens a couple of months before High School Musical: Senior Year (2008) did. Descendants came along later, in 2015, and hit the three-movie marker, as did ZOMBIES a few years after that. We are also getting that longed-for – by others, not by me – third Camp Rock film in 2026.
In the last couple of years, some popular DCOM musical franchises have moved into unprecedented territory by reaching five films. Although we have ZOMBIES 5 to look forward to, probably in 2027, Descendants is the first DCOM franchise to reach this milestone.
The fourth Descendants film, Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024), helped the film series by being a reboot of sorts, not involving many of the previous cast and taking the series in a new direction. This was a similar route that the fourth ZOMBIES movie took just a year later in 2025. Descendants: The Rise of Red benefitted from having a completely new story, involving time travel, which had not been done before in the world of Descendants. It was not perfect, but it was relatively clever.
Yet, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland felt like it was rehashing old Descendants storylines. After Descendants: The Rise of Red, the two leads of Chloe and Red find that the time travelling has led to a mixture of positive and negative consequences that affected their lives. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland promised to explore those – and it did, but it was also tied up in Red’s need to understand herself, as she becomes a hero’s kid – not that I know what makes the Queen of Hearts a hero just because she’s not mean anymore – instead of a villain’s kid. For those who watched the original trilogy, you’ll know this was exactly the same character arc that Mal went through. It was old news for me, and not something I needed to see again. I’d had some hope for this fifth Descendants film but that promise I saw in Descendants: The Rise of Red was gone here and I was left disappointed.
PLOT
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland begins with a brief recap of the events of Descendants: The Rise of Red, provided by Chessy, a cat and the apparent daughter of the Cheshire Cat.
She states that daughter of the Queen of Hearts, Red, along with Cinderella’s daughter, Chloe, went back in time via a magical pocket watch to stop the Queen of Hearts from taking over Auradon, however, by doing this they inadvertently changed the past and are still figuring out how those changes have affected their current lives, for example, the Queen of Hearts is now a kind ruler of Wonderland and no longer a villain, and Red has a new sister, Pink. After their time-travelling escapades, Chloe and Red decide to hide the pocket watch in the Wonderland Royal Vault. But Chessy reminds the audience that although one villain was erased on that fateful day, a new villain was also created.
In present day, Red and Chloe wake up on a new day, their first day back at school at Auradon Prep. The two are coming to terms with their new lives, with both of them now expected to be “perfect princesses” in order to please their mothers, yet neither want that for themselves. Red also is reminded whilst at school that she is now a “HK”, a Hero Kid, and not a “VK”, a Villain Kid, meaning she has new friends, like Luis Madrigal, the son of Luisa Madrigal, and Robbie Hood, the son of Robin Hood, alongside Chloe and her sister Pink. The VKs, meanwhile, now consist of leader Hazel Hook, daughter of Captain Hook, and her sidekicks Squirmy and Squeaky Smee, the twin sons of Mr. Smee, as well as Felix Facilier, son of Dr. Facilier, and Max Hatter, the grandson of the Mad Hatter and son of Maddox Hatter. Red is struggling with this new order, continuing to see herself as a VK.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Maddox Hatter is the new villain that Chessy was referencing. He was driven mad by seeing the magical pocket watch in use many years ago, and was desperate to find it. He was so desperate that he ended up being banished to the Isle of the Lost by the Queen of Hearts. In their former lives, Maddox Hatter and the Queen of Hearts were friends, but Red’s time travelling changed all that. Chessy is now Maddox’s ally. They discover, thanks to his magical Oraculum invention, that the pocket watch is in the Wonderland Royal Vault, but they don’t know where it is. Maddox sends his mechanical dodos to find the vault. Maddox has his own plan to deal with the Queen in the meantime.
The Queen of Hearts is still blissfully happy with her life and wants to start planning a tea party. As she reels off all her ideas, we see robotic bugs have come to the throne room and have sent the Queen’s guards to sleep. Maddox then confronts the Queen, ordering her to tell him where the vault is. She refuses, so the bugs send her to sleep too.
Back at Auradon Prep, Red, Chloe, and their new friends are threatened by the new VK gang. Luis tells Red and Chloe that Maddox Hatter, Max’s father, is the biggest villain around here now. Suddenly, a playing card appears to Red, stating that the Queen of Hearts has been captured by Maddox Hatter and she needs to return to Wonderland at once. Red and Chloe go to Fairy Godmother and Cinderella to ask for permission to go to Wonderland, but as expected, they are told it is too dangerous to go there. The Fairy Godmother gives further details to them about Maddox, and says Uma is calling the Auradon Council to get help. Red and Chloe are told not to break the rules.
Red, Chloe, Pink, Luis, and Robbie decide they will still go to Wonderland together. Max, Hazel, Felix and the Smees also decide they will go with them, wanting to stop Maddox as well. Max says they’ll need him to stop Maddox, since he knows him the best. Max reiterates he doesn’t want to be like his father, so he will go against him. The group go down the Rabbit Hole into Wonderland, where Red and Chloe see strange portraits of themselves, seemingly as their hero and evil selves, but have no idea what they mean…
The group arrive in a colourful, spectacular Wonderland, which is very different to the Wonderland Red knew from her pre-time travel life. They decide the best thing to do is to head to the Queen of Hearts’ castle, where the Queen has been trapped in her throne room. The teens arrive at the Croquet Garden, but Maddox realises they are all there, thanks to his dodo spies, and starts to use his magic to torment and trick them. The group file into a nearby house, but this also becomes distorted because of Maddox’s magic. The Queen of Hearts pleads with Maddox to stop. He traps the group in a room and tries to crush them.
Red and Luis manage to escape the house through a tiny door, but the others are separated from them. Felix and Robbie end up in a teacup on a sea of water, whereas the rest show up in some sort of vegetable patch. Red and Luis successfully reunite with most of the others, having found Pink’s shoe whilst walking. Chloe alerts them all to a mechanical dodo, believing it to be a spy. Chloe wants to rewire it, to try and get it to be a spy for them instead of against them, but everyone overrules her and says they should simply destroy it. This plan doesn’t work and they decide to just keep moving before more dodos appear.
Back at home, Cinderella is made aware that Chloe and her friends went into Wonderland. Cinderella decides she’ll have to go to Wonderland to help her daughter. She chooses to go through a mirror in her palace which has a direct connection to the Queen of Hearts’ throne room. Seeing thick vines on the other side, Cinderella cuts through them and gets into Wonderland, reuniting with the Queen of Hearts. However, now the two are stuck in the throne room together, with no way out, as Maddox breaks the mirror.
That night, the teens discover they are further away from the castle now, because of Maddox’s tricks. They go to a large tree to shelter for the night. Luis tells Red that he doesn’t trust the VKs and thinks they and the other Hero Kids should go on alone tomorrow. Chessy the cat decides to have some fun by secretly pitting Hazel and Luis against each other. Red decides the VKs are best placed to get them to where they need to be. Chessy then whispers in Pink’s ear, telling her that her sister is siding with villains. Pink tells the group she thinks that is a mistake and that Max Hatter is clearly doing what his father wants him to do, by leading them into a trap. Max storms off. Red goes to talk to Max, saying that she trusts him to help them save her mother, and that they can try and save his father too. Max tells Red more about how his father turned mad, saying that all he could think about was this time travelling pocket watch, something that Red obviously knows about but does not reveal this to Max. At the same time, Hazel tells Chloe that she is simply a sidekick to Red, upsetting Chloe. Robbie and Felix later reunite with the group. Max says he has a plan to deal with Maddox, by stealing Maddox’s Oraculum, to use it to get the Queen of Hearts released.
However, Maddox has seen them discussing their plan, and shrinks them as they sleep, moving them onto a chessboard. They wake up and are shocked to find they have been moved completely off course by Maddox yet again. The teens are told by Chessy they must capture the king before they are captured. Chloe thinks they should use themselves as chess pieces and play across the board – now, where have I seen that before? However, as Chloe directs Robbie onto a square, he is launched into the air. Hazel tells Chloe this isn’t going to be that simple, and they’ll need a new plan. Red thinks they should directly fight the opposing pieces, but they are quickly overpowered, with Felix and one of the Smees being lost to the game too, and the king is raised up to a higher platform. Red and Hazel use Chloe as bait to get a flower to attack her, so Red can use it to launch herself over to the king and push him off the platform. They successfully beat the game – but Chloe is angry with Red for using her like that. The group see a cookie near by and take a bite, to grow back to normal size. They head towards Maddox’s cottage to get the Oraculum.
It soon becomes clear once again that they are behind schedule, and end up in the White Rabbit’s cottage to spend the night, since the White Rabbit leaves Wonderland in winter. Max tells Hazel that he wants to go to Maddox’s cottage alone, in case he is blamed for another trap that Maddox might set for them. Red tries to make amends with Chloe, but she won’t hear it. Luis tries to comfort Red, by telling her she’s a good leader with a good heart. Red and Luis start to fall for each other. Chloe has it out with Red on her return from her stroll with Luis, telling her she’s not treating her like a friend should. She goes off alone.
Max later makes it to his father’s cottage, where Chessy is waiting to corrupt his mind. She tells Max to use the Oraculum to answer the questions he has about his father. It shows Max his previous life with his father, and how Red’s use of the pocket watch made his and his father’s life worse. Out of anger at being denied a happy life with his father, Max finds a spell book nearby and starts making a potion, planning to use Chloe to get the pocket watch, since she knows where she hid it, and turn things back to the way they were. Chloe is approached by Max that night, and he convinces her to use this potion on herself, which was handily placed within a bracelet. As she puts the bracelet on, it instantly turns her evil. The two team up and head to the Wonderland Royal Vault to retrieve the pocket watch.
The next morning, Red worries about Chloe, having not seen her since the night before. She sees Chloe with Max and runs after her. Luis follows her, as does Pink, wanting to help her sister. They all end up at the Wonderland Maze, where it is revealed that Chloe has turned evil. Luis and Red follow Chloe and Max as they rush into the maze to find the Wonderland Royal Vault. The four run through opening and closing hedges, with each duo trying to reach the centre first. At one point, Luis tries to keep a hedge open for him and Red to get through, but only Red manages to exit that part of the maze; Luis is seemingly swallowed up by the hedge. Red is alone, hearing voices about how she has failed her friends. Chessy then appears telling Red all the things she’s done wrong on this journey, and how she has betrayed so many people. Red continues to unsuccessfully move through the maze, until she sees an item in one of the rose bushes. It is a little box, titled Pink and Red’s Treasures. Red sees her childhood with her sister and cries out for Pink to help her. Pink is finally allowed into the maze and finds Red. Pink eats part of the cookie they found by the chessboard earlier and grows taller to help get Red to the centre of the maze.
Maddox watches on from the throne room, as he sees his son reach the vault, with the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella now trapped in a cage of vines. Max finally retrieves the pocket watch, just as Red and Tall Pink show up. Pink stomps her foot, causing the ground to break away, and Red, Chloe, and Max fall down into the sunken area below it. Chloe picks up the pocket watch and threatens to use it for herself, in order to make herself powerful in the future. Red tells Chloe that she was the one to help Red see herself as a better person, a good person, and not just a villain. She apologises to Chloe for how she’s treated her in Wonderland, telling her they can figure this all out together. Chloe rips off the bracelet and reverts back to her good self. Maddox is seemingly out of ideas; however, he uses one last trick to possess some stone dragons near to where Red, Chloe, and Max are. Max is about to be crushed by one of the sculptures, but is saved by Chloe and Red. They choose to destroy the pocket watch once and for all, tossing it into a magic well.
Pink takes the rest of the group to the throne room and rescues the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella. Cinderella uses her tiara to cut the rope to the castle’s chandelier, trapping Maddox Hatter within it. The Queen of Hearts then uses her magic to get her castle back the way it was, and is reunited with her children, and Cinderella with her daughter. Max is also reunited with his father. The Queen of Hearts suddenly approaches Maddox, and cries “Off with his head!” She comes to her senses soon after, not knowing where that touch of evil came from. Red stops the guards from taking him away, saying it is her fault for what happened. If “hero” is just a word, then maybe “villain” is the same, so Maddox should be given a second chance. The Queen of Hearts says Maddox can stay in his chandelier prison until they work out what to do with him next.
To celebrate the happy ending, the Queen of Hearts throws a tea party for everyone, toasting her brave rescuers for what they did for her and Wonderland. She then states that it is time to dance, with Red and Chloe happy things are back to how they should be.
In a final scene, Pink finds something strange in her and Red’s box of treasures. Chessy says all this would be too sweet of an ending, so the story is not yet over.
CHARACTERS & CAST
After their time travel journey, Red and Chloe return to their lives surprised at how much everything has changed. Red now has a sister, Pink, and her mother, the Queen of Hearts, is kind and nice, not the mean, dictatorial villain she used to be. Chloe, meanwhile, thinks her mother, Cinderella, is stricter now, and it is completely at odds with the young Ella that Chloe met when she was in the past. Red and Chloe come back to Auradon Prep as friends and fellow Hero Kids, something that Red is struggling to deal with, having always found herself more suited to the life of Villain Kids. As their new friends join up with the VKs in Wonderland, Chloe feels that her and Red are drifting apart, since Red is more comfortable going along with the VKs than with Chloe, choosing to ignore Chloe’s ideas for the most part during their time in Wonderland. It is no wonder then that Chloe finds herself liking the idea of being evil, just to prove that she is more than just the goodie-goodie princess Red seems to still think of her as. When all looks lost, and Chloe is about to descend into darkness forever though, Red manages to reach Chloe, to stop her from using the pocket watch again. By the end of the film, Red and Chloe have revived their friendship once again, learning to understand each other better in the process.
Kylie Cantrall returned to reprise her role as Red in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. Prior to her role in the Descendants franchise, Kylie Cantrall already had a presence on Disney Channel, by starring as Gabby in their series Gabby Duran & the Unsittables (2019-21), and later being cast as Dani in Season 4 of the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-23). Most recently, Cantrall has seemingly been focusing on her music, having released her latest EP Valley Girl Problems in July 2026, and she came third in Season 14 of The Masked Singer (2019-present) in 2026. She is set to voice the character Mica Bueno in the animated film Zac Power, due for a 2027 release.
Malia Baker returned to reprise her role as Chloe in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. Baker was known for starring as Mary Anne Spier in the Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club (2020-21), and then appearing in Season 2 of the revival series of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019-22), in the role of Gabby Lewis. Recently, she was cast as Alexis in the drama film What We Hide (2025), which also starred Mckenna Grace.
Red and the Queen of Hearts were once friends with Maddox Hatter, the son of the Mad Hatter, with Maddox saving Red from the Wonderland guards, and her mother’s wrath, in their pre-time travel lives. Maddox was the one to show Red the pocket watch, telling her about its time-travelling capabilities, so that she could have a different life. He even warned her that everything could change if she used it – and it did, although Maddox Hatter ended up being the one whose life changed the most. Maddox was driven mad by the sight of Red and Chloe – not that he knew who was using it at the time – using the pocket watch in front of his younger self. From then on, Maddox wanted to find the pocket watch for himself, but by thinking about it so obsessively, it was decided by the Queen of Hearts that he had become a madman and he was banished to the Isle of the Lost. Maddox has never stopped thinking about the pocket watch, desperately searching for its location. He eventually discovers it was in Wonderland all along and sets out to get it, by using magic and tricks to stop the HKs and VKs from getting to it first, even resorting to capturing the Queen and potentially injuring his own son to find it. In the end, Maddox is thwarted by the HKs and VKs, but is told he will be given a second chance – although by the end of the film, we don’t actually know if he was ever even released from that chandelier…
Maddox Hatter was played by Leonardo Nam, reprising his role from Descendants: The Rise of Red. Nam had previously been cast as Brian McBrian in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and its 2008 sequel, going on to play Morimoto in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). More recently, Nam was cast in the recurring role of Felix Lutz in Westworld (2016-22) and appeared as Dave in the Hulu sitcom Maggie (2022).
Chessy Cheshire is Maddox’s only companion, seemingly, and is the only one to believe that the pocket watch actually exists. She is there to guide Maddox in his plans, and is only too happy to cause some mischief to stop the VKs and HKs from getting to the pocket watch first. She mostly just pits people against each other, whispering things in their ears in the hopes that will rile them up enough to cause friction with others. And it works, because these are teenagers who apparently don’t know how to regulate their emotions and think for themselves. Chessy also acts as the narrator of this film, providing a brief reminder of what happened earlier in Descendants: The Rise of Red and to tell us that Descendants: Wicked Wonderland isn’t even the end of this story.
Chessy was voiced by Awkwafina, who has some voice acting history, by voicing Courtney in The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019); Ms. Tarantula in animated film The Bad Guys (2022) and The Bad Guys 2 (2025); and Zhen in Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). For Disney, Awkwafina had also previously voiced Sisu in their animated film Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), as well as Scuttle in the live-action remake The Little Mermaid (2023). She also played Katy in the Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Outside of that, Awkwafina is known for her roles in comedy films, such as being cast as Constance in Ocean’s 8 (2018), Goh Peik Lin in Crazy Rich Asians (2018), and Ming Fleetfoot in Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). She also co-created, wrote, and starred, as Nora, in the sitcom Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (2020-23).
Now on to the large group of Hero and Villain Kids that come with Chloe and Red to Wonderland to save the Queen of Hearts. Within the HKs, we have Red’s sweet little sister Pink; Red’s love interest Luis Madrigal, and his best friend Robbie Hood.
Pink is overlooked much of the time by Red, probably because Red doesn’t remember ever having a sister, as she didn’t have one before her and Chloe time travelled. Pink wants to be a part of Red’s life, but Red mostly keeps her at arm’s length. It isn’t until Red is shown her and Pink’s box of treasures in the Wonderland Maze that she is given any memories of life with her sister, and from then on, Red wants Pink fully involved in her plan to stop Max and Chloe from getting the watch. Pink proves herself useful in doing this. Pink is also the one who is involved in the cliffhanger scene, potentially setting up a new story all about her. Pink was played by Liamani Segura, who had previously worked for Disney, by playing the recurring role of Emmy in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-23). Segura is set to star as Sage in Camp Rock 3 (2026).
Luis Madrigal, like Red, is struggling with expectations and living up to his mother’s legacy of being strong and tough, able to hold everything together. This means that the two are able to bond during their journey through Wonderland, finding themselves opening up and talking to each other without any insecurity. They quickly fall for each other, despite Red initially being quite closed off and dismissive of this “Hero Kid”. Luis was played by Alexandro Byrd, who recently played the title character of Juan José Mundo in the movie The Legend of Juan José Mundo (2025).
Robbie Hood is Luis’ best friend, and one of Red and Chloe’s new friendship group. Robbie doesn’t actually end up appearing much in this movie, as he finds himself separated from the others on various occasions, like by ending up in a teacup with Felix Facilier after getting through Maddox’s tricky “fun house”, and for being launched out of the chessboard. The focus within the Hero Set is mostly on Pink and Luis. Robbie was played by Joel Oulette, who was cast in the lead role of Jared in the Canadian series Trickster (2020), and was a contestant in Season 9 of The Amazing Race Canada (2013-present) prior to his role here. He is set to play Tommy Ross in the 2026 adaptation of Carrie for Amazon Prime.
For the VKs, the leader of the group is Hazel Hook. She is a tough, strong leader, with a lot of opinions and a lot of directions for her gang. She is particularly watchful of the Smees, as they are clumsy and can’t always be trusted to know what they are doing! Despite her rough exterior, Hazel is very protective of her friends, standing up for them against their common enemy: the HKs. However, by the end of the film, the VKs have learnt to get along with the HKs, mostly through Hazel’s openness to working with them. Kiara Romero was cast as Hazel Hook, having been cast as Ruby D. in JoJo Siwa’s film The J Team (2021) for Paramount+ and Nickelodeon, and as Liz in the teen romance film First Love (2022) prior to her involvement in the Descendants franchise.
Max Hatter is another important member of the VKs, as his knowledge about Maddox Hatter, his father, is vital to the group’s success in Wonderland. He hasn’t grown up having a good relationship with his father, due to Maddox’s obsession with the pocket watch, and has no desire to end up mad like him. Max wants to help the group stop Maddox, even if the HKs think he just wants to lead them all into his father’s trap. However, as Max tries to help with the plan, he ends up learning that he and his father once had a close relationship, but thanks to Red’s use of the pocket watch, their lives have changed immensely, making Max angry that Red never thought to mention how her actions destroyed his and his father’s life. It’s no wonder that Max wants to get to the pocket watch to fix their lives, and isn’t afraid to use Red’s best friend Chloe to do that. He eventually learns that using the pocket watch would do more harm than good and has to live with the life and the father he has right now. Let’s just hope Red and the Queen came through on giving Maddox his second chance.
Max was played by Brendon Tremblay, who was cast as Antoine in the Canadian series Gang de hockey (2023-24) before his role in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. Tremblay is set to appear as Alexander in the upcoming Disney Channel series Coven Academy (2026).
Rounding out the rest of the VK group are Felix Facilier, Squirmy Smee, and Squeaky Smee. Much like with Robbie Hood, these three don’t have all that much to do with the story, as the VK focus is squarely on Hazel and Max. Felix Facilier was played by Zavien Garrett, who recently appeared in the Monster High films for Nickelodeon and Paramount+. Squirmy Smee was played by Ryan McEwen, who was cast as Roy in the 2023 Paramount+ series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Squeaky Smee was played by Dayton Paradis, who was a participant on Canada’s Got Talent (2012-present) and will appear in Camp Rock 3.
There are also other returning cast members from Descendants: The Rise of Red in this film. Two of these are Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts, and Brandy as Cinderella. After being enemies due to an incident during their school days, thanks to Red and Chloe’s return from the past and stopping that event from occurring, it is clear that the two characters ended up remaining friends, meaning the Queen of Hearts had no reason to be mean. Cinderella wants to help the Queen of Hearts, her real name being Bridget, and tries to rescue her herself, only to be caught up in Maddox’s plan and trapped alongside her. But they stick together and stay positive, knowing their daughters are on their way to find them.
Paolo Montalban also reprised his role as Prince Charming from Descendants: The Rise of Red, although his appearances here are few and far between. Melanie Paxson got slighter more screen time here, but not by much, reprising her role as the Fairy Godmother, a part she played throughout the original Descendants trilogy as well as in the fourth film.
MUSIC
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’s soundtrack was released on 17th July 2026, and consists of eleven songs, as well as an additional track for the score suite.
The soundtrack for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland received a mixed reaction, with some absolutely loving the songs and others not so much. I didn’t think much of the music from Descendants: Wicked Wonderland initially, but a few have grown on me now.
The first song to appear in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is “Perfect Princess”, which plays shortly after the narrated opening of the film. “Perfect Princess” shows Red and Chloe struggling to adapt to their lives, which have changed due to their time travelling, on their first day back at school, with both of them expected to act like perfect princesses, despite neither of them wanting that pressure. The song was written by Mitch Allan, Chantry Johnson, and Michelle Zarlenga, and was performed by the entire cast. I didn’t think much of this song at the start of the film, but have recently come to like it. “Perfect Princess” was first heard during Disney Night on Season 24 of American Idol (2002-present) on 20th April 2026, recorded by some of the cast at Disneyland Park. The performance was then released on YouTube. The song was released as a single in June 2026.
Following on from that is “Mad”, performed predominantly by Leonardo Nam as Maddox Hatter. “Mad” is Maddox Hatter’s villain song, where he is tormenting the teens with his magic and trying to stop them from reaching the Queen of Hearts’ castle. As a fan of most villains’ songs, I did like this song. I thought Nam played this new villainous version of Maddox Hatter very well, with plenty of eccentric energy. “Mad” was also written by Mitch Allan, Chantry Johnson, and Michelle Zarlenga. A different version of the song also appears on the soundtrack, under the title “Mad – Wicked Wonderland”. In this case, it was performed by Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, and Liamani Segura. I did not like this version. This song was released as a single in June 2026 as well.
After that, the tension between the HKs and VKs threatens to reach boiling point. “Did You Hear About Them” plays, allowing each group to showcase their strengths, whilst trying to outdo the other and highlight the other group’s weaknesses. It was a good way of introducing a dance-off and sing-off to the movie, and it is quite a fun number, with a nice beat to it, but I don’t feel like it added much to the story. “Did You Hear About Them” was performed by the teenage cast, with Kiara Romero and Alexandro Byrd, as Hazel Hook and Luis Madrigal, getting the most out of this song. It was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz.
The group then find themselves shrunk down and placed on a huge chessboard, being told to capture the king to get off it. “Dancing with the Enemy” is basically Red instructing the group on how to proceed here. It’s another good song for a group number, with plenty of opportunities to showcase the young actors. I preferred this song to “Did You Hear About Them”, feeling that this scene needed a song to move the characters’ journey forward quickly. “Dancing with the Enemy” was performed by Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, and Kiara Romero, and was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz. It was released as a single in July 2026.
“For Once in My Life” is the romantic duet within Descendants: Wicked Wonderland. It is performed by Kylie Cantrall as Red and Alexandro Byrd as Luis, as they start to accept they have feelings for each other. Although I find the song decent as far as Disney Channel musical duets go, I didn’t think Luis and Red’s relationship was particularly believable, so having this sweet love song when we barely even saw the two speak was odd. “For Once in My Life” was written by Jordan Powers and Josh Cumbee.
After that, the film then takes us to a duet between Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts and Brandy as Cinderella called “The Girl I Used to Be”. This takes place as the two remain captive in the Queen’s castle. It sees them reminisce about their young selves and how they’ve grown as people, whilst also trying to figure out how to connect with their daughters. When I was first watching Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, this was the first song in the movie that I really liked. It was written by Jaheem King Toombs.
Then comes my favourite song in the film and that is “Heartless”, another villain’s song of sorts. This song is about Chloe feeling betrayed by Red, how she has ignored Chloe and dismissed her ideas throughout their time in Wonderland. This means that Chloe is vulnerable and open to being manipulated, so when Max Hatter comes along trying to convince her to be evil to get revenge on Red for messing up his and his father’s lives with her time travelling, Chloe accepts, wanting to show Red just what she’s made of. It was performed by Malia Baker as Chloe and Brendon Tremblay as Max Hatter, and was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz.
“Who I Am” is a song for Red, as she struggles to deal with the fact Chloe has gone over to Max’s side and is now a villain, and blames herself for it. Red wants to figure out who she is, not be defined by the title of “Hero Kid” or “Villain Kid”. By the end of the song, Red has decided to call on her sister Pink to help her. This song reminded me a lot of “My Once Upon a Time” from Descendants 3 but did not surpass nor equal it. “Who I Am” was performed by Kylie Cantrall as Red for the most part, with Liamani Segura joining in as Pink at the end of the song. It was written by Kari Kimmel and Jackson Hoffman.
The finale number of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is “Go Live It”, performed by the entire cast as they celebrate their happy ending during a tea party in the Queen’s castle. Every Disney Channel musical has a big, high-energy group number like this at the end of their films and this one was at least comparable to others, although not my favourite of the collection. It was written by Matthew Tishler and Shridhar Solanki.
The End Credits song, accompanying clips from the film, specifically of the dance numbers, is actually a cover of the End Credits song from Disney Animation’s Mulan (1998). It is the song “True to Your Heart”, written by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, but performed by Liamani Segura in this case. I never liked this song when it was in Mulan so sadly, I didn’t like it in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland either!
The composer for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was Torin Borrowdale, who was back after composing the score on Descendants: The Rise of Red. Borrowdale has also composed music for series such as the fantasy series Locke & Key (2020-22) on Netflix, as well as the medical drama Pulse (2025).
The soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard Kid Albums Chart, which matches the performance of the soundtrack for Descendants: The Rise of Red. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland did slightly worse in two other charts, by reaching No. 2 on the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums Chart, whereas Descendants: The Rise of Red topped it. Descendants: The Rise of Red peaked at No. 60 on the US Billboard 200 chart, whereas Descendants: Wicked Wonderland entered this chart at No. 88 but it may improve[1].
PRODUCTION
Descendants: The Rise of Red had ended on a cliffhanger, leaving those viewers watching during its premiere in July 2024 wondering just what consequences Chloe and Red were going to face after going back in time and changing the past and, therefore, the present.
This little bit of narration at the very end of the film turned out to be exactly the set-up for another movie that it was intended to be, with “Descendants 5” first announced in February 2025. An official title for the movie was announced on 6th May 2025: Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, signalling that this movie would take place in Wonderland, with an expected release date of July 2026 eventually being revealed through its trailers in 2026.
Kimmy Gatewood was tasked with directing this new Descendants movie, taking over from Jennifer Phang who had directed Descendants: The Rise of Red. Gatewood is both an actor and director, having played Stacey Beswick in the Netflix series GLOW (2017-19), going on to be cast in the recurring role of Coach Crowley in Netflix’s Atypical (2017-21) from Season 2. Her projects in directing include the romcom Good on Paper (2021) and some episodes of the series The Baby-Sitters Club (2020-21) and Girls5eva (2021-24).
The two writers who had written the screenplay for Descendants: The Rise of Red, Ru Sommer and Dan Frey, returned to co-write Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, with Tamara Chestna. Chestna had previously co-written the films After (2019) and Moxie (2021), as well as writing the Amazon Prime film Something from Tiffany’s (2022). Chestna also has links to Disney Channel, having been a writer on the DCOM musical, Sneakerella (2022).
The original story of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was reported to be quite different to the story we ended up with. After production on the film had begun in April 2025, details started to slowly emerge. The working title for this fifth Descendants film was actually Descendants: For the Win, and was meant to revolve around Wonderland hosting the Auradon Kingdom Cup Games, all whilst a new villain attempts to use the magic of Wonderland for his own purposes. This is an interesting concept that would’ve made this fifth film unique to others that came before it. However, it was decided that streamlining the story and stripping out the references to these games was for the best for whatever reason.
Filming took place in Canada, specifically in Vancouver, British Columbia, from around April to the end of May 2025. This was a return to Descendants’ roots, as the original trilogy had been filmed in Vancouver, whereas Descendants: The Rise of Red was actually filmed in the US state of Georgia[2]. This meant that the cast and crew of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland got to return to the real setting of Auradon Prep: Hatley Castle in Colwood, British Columbia. Other areas around Vancouver used for filming reportedly include Burnaby Central Park, and Hycroft Manor for Chloe’s family home[3].
Although plenty of CGI is used in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, such as for various creatures in Wonderland, as well as the exterior of the castle that the Queen of Hearts and her family reside in, the crew actually built many sets that the cast were able to walk around in and interactive with. Examples of these include the Wonderland Garden sets, the Queen of Hearts’ throne room, the huge chessboard, and even the maze sequence. The only full sequence the cast had to do with all green screen was the sequence of the characters falling down the rabbit hole to get to Wonderland, with the cast being harnessed onto cranes to film the scenes[4]. The cast much preferred being inside of these impressive sets, so that they could immerse themselves in the world of Wonderland realistically.
This attention to detail in the set design also filtered down into the costume design, with all the Descendants films being remembered for their iconic costuming, hair, and makeup, in order to ensure each character can be linked to their famous Disney family. For example, Luis’ vest contains nods to the film Encanto (2021), with embroidery referencing the Miracle Candle, and Hazel Hook is continuing to represent her family in a leather outfit reminiscent of her brother Harry from Descendants 2 and Descendants 3, complete with her own hook accessory as well. Pink looks very much like how her mother did when she was younger, as we saw from her younger self in Descendants: The Rise of Red. Pink loves pink, obviously, and likes to wear flouncy fabrics in items like her skirts and bows. Max and his father Maddox still wear top hats, as you’d expect from the grandson and son of the Mad Hatter, but their chosen colour palettes use a lot of purple, potentially due to their links to magic, whereas we’d normally expect the Mad Hatter to be wearing green.
Red and Chloe continue to wear red and blue respectively, as a salute to their mothers’ colours, but in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, their outfits are softer, with less accessories and more of a princess vibe than the tough warrior-like costumes they had in Descendants: The Rise of Red. You’ll also notice that Chloe does not have a sword as she did in the previous one. Instead, she was given a small dagger. Chloe actually has two versions of this dagger, one with a blue handle and one with a black handle. The black dagger matches Chloe’s evil persona, where her costume morphs into darker tones. The look is more sophisticated, with a cape flaring out to show how effortlessly cool being evil is.
As we’ve come to expect from Disney Channel, when they announce they’re making a musical, we know that means plenty of group dance numbers. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland is no exception, with the cast being put through their paces by choreographer Emilio Dosal. Dosal has also worked on the choreography for other musicals, included Disney Channel’s Sneakerella, Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025). Dosal said he expected a lot from the cast, but was impressed with their work ethic and performances[5].
RECEPTION
After the red carpet premiere to celebrate the release of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, held on 14th July 2026 in Los Angeles and attended by the cast, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland first premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 16th July 2026. Since many international Disney Channels have now shut down, the film then came to Disney+ to premiere to a global audience on 17th July 2026. This is now the expected release schedule for many Disney Channel movies, i.e., coming to Disney+ the day after Disney Channel.
Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura, Kiara Romero, and Alexandro Byrd all participated in a watch party during the premiere of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland for Disney Channel too, looking back at their favourite moments and the best musical numbers.
Within just a couple of days of its release, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was reported to be the Number 1 movie on Disney+, taking the spot previously held by Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025). This wasn’t only in the US either, as it was said to have topped the charts in over 70 countries, including the UK and Canada, which shouldn’t come as surprise given the fact that it is summer vacation for many school-age children right now, and the other Descendants movies have been viewed on the streaming platform for over 700 million hours collectively[6]. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland has continued to be the No. 1 streaming film on Disney+ worldwide since it premiered[7]. The Disney Channel premiere didn’t do as well, reportedly only being viewed by 0.3 million on this specific date, but the Disney Channel premieres of DCOMs have been steadily decreasing year-on-year for a while now. I’m sure The Walt Disney Company are putting much more emphasis on how well their television movies are doing on streaming platforms nowadays.
As with most Disney Channel movies, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland received mixed reviews. Some absolutely loved this film, probably viewers within the actual target demographic, so arguably the most important ones to please, much preferring Descendants: Wicked Wonderland to Descendants: The Rise of Red, whereas some die-hard fans of the original Descendants trilogy continue to refuse to give any credit to the two latest films, which is understandable as Disney did move on rather quickly with rebooting the series.
On the positive side, many enjoyed the additions of the characters of Hazel and Luis to the story, who were given a lot of screen time and plenty of opportunities to shine. I’d also like to add Max Hatter into this as I felt Tremblay did a good job with his character, as Romero and Byrd did with theirs. There were also comments about the setting of Wonderland, and how colourful and interesting all the sets were, adding in plenty of nods and references to Disney Animation’s Alice in Wonderland (1951), such as the bread-and-butterflies, and the croquet flamingos. The message, about being more than your parents’ expectations and forging your own path, was also appreciated by those watching – although I would just like to point out that that has been the message of every Descendants movie. All five talk about how people shouldn’t be pigeonholed and told to be either “good” or “bad”.
The negative criticism focused on unused side characters and the pacing. It was felt that there were too many characters tossed into the mix in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, who were only really there to provide a quick joke, if that. This relates to characters like Robbie Hood, the Smee twins, and Felix Facilier, who were constantly being separated from the group in weird and unnecessary ways. I personally agree with this comment, and am unsure why Luis, Hazel, and Max weren’t considered to be sufficient additions to the group of Red, Chloe, and Pink. Six characters is plenty to keep up with, especially when four of them are new ones to the franchise; ten is too many. The romance between Luis and Red was also seen to be quite forced and unnatural within the storyline, given they only actually had two scenes where it was just them two. I also agree with this, and wasn’t sure why we had to have this relationship in the movie. I get that it’s Disney Channel and they like to add love interests here, there, and everywhere in their movies and series, but maybe that doesn’t always need to be the case anymore. Or at least, they could’ve had the chemistry simmer for a bit, and potentially have the romance grow in a spin-off or a later film. Some also pointed out that the ending felt rushed. I didn’t like how easy it was for Chloe to become good again. It was literally just Red saying “Don’t go bad”, and Chloe going “Ok, I won’t”. It would’ve been nice to have extended this moment and delved a bit deeper into why Chloe felt the need to become evil in the first place. Others also wondered why Pink was not used much in Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, despite being a prime example of how the time travelling from the previous story had changed things for Red. I can only assume that Pink is going to be explored more in a later film.
My biggest issue with Descendants: Wicked Wonderland was simply the recycling of Mal’s storylines from the original trilogy and giving them to Red to go through just in a different setting. Red struggles with her new role as a “Hero Kid” and not a “Villain Kid” here. Mal had exactly that same issue after going against her mother in Descendants and ending up with Ben, feeling the pressure to act like a hero and not a villain. This went on throughout the original trilogy of films. Having Red go through the exact same thing just felt boring and repetitive to me. I wanted Red to have her own problems, like feeling guilty about how her time travelling affected Max and his father, something that wasn’t touched on much, or trying to get along with her new sister, despite not really knowing her. I did, however, like the conflict between her and Chloe, which did feel realistic and natural for the characters.
As for award wins for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, because it has only just been released, there is no information on this currently. However, looking at the response to Descendants: The Rise of Red, it would seem that nominations could be possible in award ceremonies like the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards in 2027, and the Kids’ Choice Awards in 2026, since Descendants: The Rise of Red had nominations and wins at these ceremonies. Other more specialised award ceremonies, such as the Directors’ Guild of America Awards, may also recognise Descendants: Wicked Wonderland.
LEGACY
Shortly after the premiere of Descendants: The Rise of Red, the Descendants/ZOMBIES: Worlds Collide Tour was announced at the D23 Expo in August 2024.
From Descendants: The Rise of Red, cast members Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Dara Reneé, and Joshua Colley participated in the tour, which kicked off in San Diego on 17th July 2025, and ended in Fort Worth, Texas on 16th September 2025. They performed alongside some of the stars of ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires, those being Freya Skye, Malachi Burton, and Mekonnen Knife. This tour was later made available to view on Disney+ and Disney Channel in February 2026, under the title Descendants/ZOMBIES Worlds Collide Concert Special. Along with performances of songs from all the Descendants films, there were also some exclusive looks and reveals about the story of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, and an interview with Liamani Segura, to discuss her casting as the new character of Pink. Segura even made a surprise appearance on the tour, performing the song “One Kiss” from Descendants 3 during its date in Anaheim in July 2025[8].
Due to the popularity of this event, a new tour was announced and officially confirmed around March 2026. This Worlds Collide Concert Tour is not only bringing together those from the Descendants and ZOMBIES franchise, but also cast members from Camp Rock 3, with songs from the first two Camp Rock films expected to be performed. Specifically from Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, Liamani Segura, Alexandro Byrd, and Kiara Romero will be participating in the tour alongside their fellow Disney Channel stars. The American leg of the tour will begin on 25th September 2026 in Palm Desert, California, running until 13th December 2026 with its final performance of the year in Mexico City. The tour will then move over to Europe for a brief time, beginning with a performance on 6th February 2027 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and ending on 24th February in Madrid, Spain.
There have been some references to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland at the Disney Parks over Summer 2026 as well. This includes the DescenDANCE Party x Camp Rock Jam, which has been performed at the Disney Springs Waterside Stage on select nights at the Walt Disney World Resort, as part of their Cool Kids’ Summer event, and to promote and celebrate the release of their two newest DCOM musicals, featuring music from both franchises. It began in late May 2026, with Alexandro Byrd and Kiara Romero making a special appearance at one event, and is expected to run until early September 2026.
Also at Walt Disney World, but this time at the Walt Disney Presents attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, a new display was unveiled in July showing a variety of costumes and props from the film, belonging to the characters of Red, Chloe, Pink, Hazel, Cinderella, and the Queen of Hearts. Some of the cast were also spotted at Magic Kingdom to talk about the film in the run-up to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’s release date.
Although not a new event made for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, the DescenDANCE Party is expected to return to the 2026 Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World, and should include music from Descendants: The Rise of Red and Descendants: Wicked Wonderland in order to continue promoting the film. However, when the dance party reappeared at the Disneyland After Dark: Disney Channel Nite events in April 2026 at the Disneyland Resort, no music from the latest two films was used.
On screen, Disney announced that they were making new short-form series based on some of Disney Channel’s most popular franchises. This series is titled Locker Diaries, with ZOMBIES being the first to get this treatment, arriving in February 2026. Locker Diaries: Descendants, debuted in July 2026, shortly after the premiere of Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, and is expected to last for ten episodes. As the name would suggest, the action of these short episodes is seen through lockers, in this case, the lockers at Auradon Prep[9].
There has also been a new Descendants project announced recently, and that is Descendants: Hidden Heroes, although there are few details about what this may be, whether it is a new short film, or a potential spin-off. Speculation around a sixth Descendants film is also being discussed, because Descendants: Wicked Wonderland ended on a cliffhanger, with many thinking that this new film is teasing the possibility of Pink turning evil. So, just like Audrey in Descendants 3, then? I want to see more of Pink, but please, give her an original storyline, not something we’ve already seen before.
In terms of merchandise, a line of Mattel dolls has been made available to purchase, with a doll each depicting Red, Pink, Chloe, and Hazel. You can even get a Red doll that sings “Perfect Princess”, as well as a doll with “Evil Chloe’s” outfit and one for the Queen of Hearts. This adds to the costuming, clothing, and books also on sale and specifically related to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, alongside the other similar types of official merchandise still available that represent the characters in the original Descendants trilogy.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As I said earlier, after watching Descendants: Wicked Wonderland I felt a bit disappointed.
It’s not that I hated the film and found it unwatchable. I enjoyed parts of it, like a few of the songs, and I always like seeing new talent coming through Disney Channel.
The reason I was disappointed was not because Descendants: Wicked Wonderland told a boring story, it was just that I had seen all this before, from the original trilogy. With all the excitement, albeit some plot holes as well, that came with the time travel aspect of Descendants: The Rise of Red, I was expecting more from the plot, other than a haphazard journey through Wonderland and an inner conflict between being a hero and a villain.
I wanted to see more consequences stemming from the events of Descendants: The Rise of Red and a proper admission by Red and Chloe of what they did and why. But it didn’t happen. Having said that, I felt that the cast did a good job with the music and story they were given. I was just hoping for a plot with a little bit more substance to it.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Keith Caulfield, ‘‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ Debuts At No. 1 On Kid Albums Chart’, Billboard.com, 29th July 2026.
[2] Credit: Susan Gittins, ‘DESCENDANTS 5 With Kylie Cantrall as Red is Underway in Vancouver’, HollywoodNorthBuzz.com, 1st April 2025.
[3] Credit: Susan Gittins, ‘Rita Ora & Brandy in DESCENDANTS: WICKED WONDERLAND Filming in Vancouver’, HollywoodNorthBuzz.com, 6th May 2025.
[4] Credit: Laughing Place, ‘“Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” Interview – Legacy, Sisterhood & Falling Down the Rabbit Hole’, Laughing Place YouTube Channel, 16th July 2026.
[5] Credit: ABC13, ‘Go on set of ‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ with Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Liamani Segura’, ABC13.com, 17th July 2026.
[6] Credit: Sam Fang, ‘Disney’s New Sequel in 11-Year-Old Franchise Is Officially the Most Streamed Title in the World, Replacing Avatar: Fire & Ash’, CBR.com, 20th July 2026.
[7] Credit: Amanda Finn, ‘‘Descendants: Wicked Wonderland’ Hits the Top of Disney+ Chart’, WDWNT.com, 30th July 2026.
[8] Credit: Disney, Descendants/ZOMBIES Worlds Collide Concert Special (2026), Disney+.
[9] Credit: Disney, ‘New Short-Form Series “Locker Diaries” Unlocls All-New Adventures From Disney’