9th May 202516th Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

Sneakerella (2022)

BACKGROUND

The story of Cinderella is incredibly well-known and has become one of the most adapted stories of all time, with new versions popping up every few years.

Disney has created three popular versions of the tale of Cinderella alone, with their 1950 animated version still being watched decades after its release. We also have the 1997 version starring Brandy, based on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, along with the 2015 live-action remake, with Lily James in the title role.

Outside of that, there are various other studios who have adapted the story of Cinderella in both modern and traditional ways, such as Ever After (1998), Amazon Studios’ Cinderella (2021), Hilary Duff’s A Cinderella Story (2004), which spanned a film series of five other movies, and even Maid in Manhattan (2002) starring Jennifer Lopez.

Versions of Cinderella have to have some sort of twist now to keep the viewer interested because it’s been done so many times before. In the case of Sneakerella, Disney once again looked at adapting Cinderella, but this time, they were going to do something different: a gender swap. You’ve got it; Cinderella became a boy named El – not Sneakerella, that would be too random a name for audiences to get on board with – who is an aspiring sneaker designer and stock boy at his mother’s shoe store, and Prince Charming turned into Kira King, the daughter of a basketball legend with his own business empire.

There haven’t been many versions of a gender-swapped Cinderella movie before, with one being Cinderfella from 1960, starring Jerry Lewis in the lead role. You could also technically look at the story of Aladdin, at least Disney’s version of it anyway, as being a take on Cinderella with the gender roles reversed.

Sneakerella promised to do things differently though, by being a modern version of the story. There are no royals here, not in the literal sense, nor do we have talking animals and pumpkin carriages. All those iconic moments of Cinderella are instead grounded in reality, to make Sneakerella feel real. And I think it worked. Although I don’t know much at all about “sneaker culture” – people who have a deep love of sneakers – outside of watching Air (2023), the movie all about the original Air Jordans and how they came to be, I liked the gender swap in Sneakerella and I felt that it was an appropriate retelling of the story for young people of today.

As an adult though, with little to no interest in shoes, especially sneakers, or trainers as I call them, Sneakerella was just ok for me. I like the story of Cinderella, having watching numerous versions of the story on screen, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Sneakerella was a musical. My biggest issue was just how long Sneakerella was. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to watching it, and if I have to watch a movie I’m not sure about, I want it to be 90 minutes or less. Sneakerella was closer to two hours, which made the story drag, especially in the last half an hour or so, sadly.

PLOT

Sneakerella begins in the Queens borough of New York City, where El, now living with his stepfather and two stepbrothers after his mother died, works as a stock boy in his mother’s old shoe store, Laces. El’s stepfather, Trey, has taken over the running of the business, but finds it very stressful balancing that along with regular family life. Trey prioritises the needs of his children, Zelly and Stacy, over El, making El work extra shifts should those two not feel like working that day or have other plans, even if El may have plans of his own.

On a day just like that, El does have plans, to go to a sneaker launch with his friend Sami, but he is told to work in the store, making sure it is clean and tidy, ready for Trey to have a meeting there at 7pm that night. El pretends to start work, but as soon as Trey, Zelly, and Stacy have left to go about their days, El simply switches the sign on the shop door to say “Closed” and catches the train into Manhattan with Sami, almost missing it as El couldn’t not help neighbour Gustavo carry soil to the community garden.

On the train, El and Sami discuss their excitement at buying this exclusive pair of sneakers, with the two seemingly planning to share them as they are pricey. Sami then talks about the sneakers she’s wearing, which have a fingerprint stain on them. El starts to customise her sneakers on the train. El wants to be a sneaker designer, even drawing designs in his spare time. Sami is overjoyed with her new shoes, and the two head to the sneaker launch. There, the two see a huge line to get into the store to purchase the shoes, and are accused of cutting in line when they mistakenly believe they are at the end of the line and in fact are not. The girl stood by them lets them in the queue next to her, pretending that El is her cousin. The girl introduces herself as Kira and the three talk about their love of sneakers, with Sami mentioning that El has a “superpower”: he can know details about people just from looking at their shoes. Kira demands to see the “sneaker psychic” in action and El manages to correctly deduce information about two people. Kira is impressed.

However, the group soon find that these limited-edition sneakers are all sold out, and to make things worse, El and Sami are rumbled by people further back in the queue, as they notice that Kira and El are not cousins so they did cut in the queue. The three split up, with Sami heading away from the group of chasing guys on her skateboard, and El taking Kira to the nearest train. They all manage to get away safely. El then decides to show Kira around Queens, taking her to restaurants and to meet his neighbours. They end up at a huge spray-painted mural which has been added to over the years. El encourages Kira to paint something on there. Kira sprays a simple white frame and takes a photo of the two of them inside it, so she can remember this day. As the two talk about El losing his mum and their connection through a shared love of shoes, Kira asks El to do a “reading” of her from her shoes. El says, to be honest, her shoes are quite basic and don’t say much about her at all. Although most people would probably be offended by being called “basic”, Kira laughs it off. As El and Kira lean in for a kiss, Kira’s phone starts ringing, and El realises it’s 7:25pm – he’s late and never cleaned up the shop! El rushes away to get home.

At the store, Trey is naturally furious with El for shirking his responsibilities, and for ignoring the fact Trey had an important person coming for a meeting there. He is given all next week’s shifts and is grounded as punishment, much to the delight of Zelly and Stacy. The stepbrothers then show El that they’ve left the store room in complete disarray for him to clean up too! As El tidies up, he remembers all the memories with his mother in the store, from the positives of his mother teaching him all about shoes, to the negatives of his mother’s illness and eventual death… El really misses his mum right now.

Kira returns home late as well, having missed dinner and a meeting about “gala prep”. Kira is the daughter of former basketball player, now sneaker entrepreneur Darius King. Kira’s sister, Liv, starts discussing how they need to get their sales figures up and believes the way to do that is by releasing a whole new design at Sneaker Con. Liv believes sleeks, a thinner, cleaner design of sneaker, are the way to do this, having done copious amounts of research on the market. Kira, however, thinks they need to find a new designer, someone who will push boundaries, to design their new shoe. Darius isn’t so sure, but tells Kira if she can find an experienced designer by the night of the gala, they will go with that.

The next day, El and Sami realise that the girl from yesterday was in fact Kira King, after seeing a photo of the King family on the front of the newspaper. El is horrified at learning he dissed the shoes of someone so famous! Sami tells him not to worry and starts planning a way for them to get into the King gala so the two can meet up again. Sami says they can sneak in through the service entrance, disguised as waiters, since she knows two people who will be working there that night. Before El can get excited about this plan, he realises something is going on with Trey. Trey says he’s tried everything to make the store a success, bringing in new styles, but it hasn’t worked so he’s planning on selling the store, potentially to Foot Locker. El is devastated, as this is his mother’s store and wants to keep it open, but Trey tells El this is the real world, and hard decisions have to be made sometimes.

Later that night, El discovers old tools in the store, along with his old sneaker designs. He begins to design and make his own pair of sneakers, planning to wear them at the gala. On the night of the gala, El inadvertently makes his stepbrothers suspicious by making dinner for them and generally being overly nice. They spot El trying to leave the store and lock him in the store room. El tries to leave through the back shutters, but his brothers lock those too; El is trapped. El knows he’s running out of time to get to the gala but doesn’t know what to do. As he sits up against a drawer, and whacks his head against it in frustration, lines from his designs magically fall off the piece of paper and float across the street. Suddenly, Gustavo appears and opens the shutters to let him out. He knows El has somewhere important to be, and tells him to put on his new sneakers. Sami then arrives to tell El they’ve missed their lift to the gala. Gustavo offers them the use of his orange classic car and tells them to go to the gala, but to return by midnight. El and Sami head off.

At the gala, El and Sami are asked for tickets and magically El realises he has two in his jacket. They are allowed inside. El says he has to find Kira, leaving Sami to enjoy all the hors d’oeuvres that waiters bring by her! Sami is then approached by two guests, who ask about El and his fancy sneakers. Sami lies and says El is a very famous designer but can’t possibly give them any more details about his career, which leads to the guests asking everyone else at the gala if they know anything about this designer. Word gets around quickly. El eventually finds Kira, who is happy to see him again. Kira takes El to the King “Sneaker Hall of Fame”, and El geeks out over all the exclusive sneakers. El then shows Kira his sneakers and she realises he must be the designer everyone is talking about at the party. El pretends to be a famous designer like they all say. Thinking El can be the King brand’s new designer with all his experience, Kira wants to introduce El to her father, but he notices it is already midnight, meaning him and Sami have to leave. Confused, Kira tries to run after him, but after a chaotic escape, all El leaves behind is one of his shoes, which became stuck on an escalator. Kira shows the sneaker to her father, who wants to chat with this designer. Kira tells her sister that she doesn’t have his number. Liv decides to help her find him, via a huge social media campaign, dubbed #wheresmyprince.

Outside the gala, El and Sami see their car being towed away; they were too late leaving. El then gets angry at Sami for feeding those rumours about him being a famous designer. Sami simply says it’ll all work out and personally, she thinks he could be a famous designer anyway. The next day, Sami chastises El for not responding to Kira’s social media campaign. He says he’s scared about his lies getting out and hurting her. Sami says he shouldn’t be scared, and the two take a photo of El’s other sneaker at the mural where Kira painted that frame all those days ago. They send it to Kira, who calls them, asking if El will have a meeting with Kira’s father. El agrees to it.

What El doesn’t realise is that his stepbrothers have heard El and Sami talking about how El is going to be the next big designer for Darius King out on the street. They can’t let that happen, and search El’s room for the shoe. They can’t find it, but soon discover it in the secret closet with all the old tools. The two steal it and take it to Darius King, telling him that El isn’t a designer at all, but just a stock boy at his mother’s shoe store.

On the morning of El’s meeting with Darius, he oversleeps and finds his sneaker has gone. Sami tells him to go without the shoe and to bring his new designs instead. However, as El arrives at the King office building, he sees Zelly and Stacy leaving; he knows something’s wrong. When El gets to the meeting room, he sees that Kira is upset, knowing that El lied to her about his design experience. Darius King talks to him and says he is simply a scammer, trying to use Kira and the family brand for fame. El is warned to stay away from all of them. El then learns back home that the store has sold and they will be moving away, back to New Jersey where Trey and his family previously lived. As El throws out all his designs, the design that he had created for a potential Sneaker Con shoe blows out of a bin and makes its way over to Gustavo.

On the day of Sneaker Con, El wakes up to see his design is now an actual pair of sneakers. How did that happen?! El sees his stepbrothers loading up the removal van as they are moving that day. El sees Sami on the street and asks her to stall his brothers so he can get out of the house without being seen. Sami happily obliges, giving El a head start to the King Sneaker Con launch, but it’s not long before Kelly and Stacy realise that El has left the house and know where he must’ve gone. They commandeer the moving van, telling their father not to worry. Trey is confused and annoyed at his sons for doing this. Sami tells Trey that he needs to see El as the talented kid he really is and tells him where they’ve gone.

El arrives at the King sneaker launch just as Darius is doing a musical performance. El shows Kira his newly designed shoes and apologises to her for what happened. Kira apologises for putting pressure on El to lie about his design experience. Kira then convinces her father to let El tell his story to the crowd. As El starts to talk about what happened, Zelly and Stacy arrive, once again reiterating that El is nothing but a fraud, however, they are stopped by Trey. Trey apologises to El for being so hard on him since his mother’s death and for not understanding how much the store and designing meant to him. He asks for a second chance at being a father to El. El accepts. Darius King then announces that El will be the new designer for the King sneaker brand.

The movie ends one year later, where we see that El and Kira are now a couple and El has been able to keep his mother’s shoe store, renaming it “El-evate”. He sees that he is now inspiring others with his shoe designs and is happy that he finally fulfilled his dream, as well as continued his mother’s legacy.

CHARACTERS & CAST

El is struggling with his family life, now that his mother has died and he’s been left to fend for himself, with a stepfather and two stepbrothers who don’t seem to care at all about him. El is forced to work exceedingly long hours at his mother’s shoe store, but in actual fact, he doesn’t want to be selling shoes; he wants to be making them. Although he has had some experience in customising his own sneakers, and Sami’s, El has no real design experience and doesn’t seem to have ever made his own pair of sneakers. It’s not until he meets Kira King that he wants to show off his talent, whether to impress her or to make some use of her father’s connections – or a bit of both – I’m not sure. But El does design a pair of sneakers that gets people talking and he starts to think this might be the making of him. Sadly, his stepbrothers come in to ruin his opportunity, and El starts to lose faith in his ability. Thanks to friend Sami and neighbour Gustavo, who push him to take advantage of his talent, El plucks up the courage to apologise to Kira and Darius King, revealing that he is a good person with genuine talent and belief, allowing El to get his dream of being a real sneaker designer.

Chosen Jacobs was cast as El. Jacobs had previously appeared as Will Grover in a few episodes of Hawaii Five-0 (2010-20) before landing the role of Mike Hanlon in horror movie It (2017), reprising his role in It Chapter Two (2019). After Sneakerella, Jacobs went on to be cast as Frankie in the Netflix film Purple Hearts (2022) and Alex in the Hulu original film Darby and the Dead (2022).

Helping El overcome a lack of confidence is his best friend Sami. Sami is a very loyal friend who is always there for El and has his best interests at heart, even if that means pushing him to do something difficult or uncomfortable, such as planning to attend the King gala and making El respond to Kira’s social media campaign, despite El’s worries about how his lies may backfire on him. Those lies did in fact backfire on El, but Sami was there to tell him how much she believed in him and his talent, making him think that he could go to the King Sneaker Con launch to make things right, even providing the diversion to get him there.

Sami was played by Devyn Nekoda, who had previously been cast as Mackenzie in the DCOM The Swap (2016). Outside of Disney, Nekoda was cast as Anika in Scream VI (2023) and as Sage 5 in sci-fi series Utopia Falls (2020). She also appeared as Riley in Season 1 of Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia (2021-present).

Also there to help El, in some quite magical ways, is Gustavo, El’s neighbour. Gustavo is El’s “fairy godfather”. It’s not specifically shown that Gustavo has magic, as in he doesn’t cast spells or anything, but he always shows up at just the right moment, like when El is trapped in the store on the night of the gala. Apparently, some drawings leapt off their page and flew across the street, alerting Gustavo to the fact El was stuck and needed help. Gustavo also happens to have a car to give to El and Sami, tells El to put on his fancy shoes for the gala, and then seems to make El’s Sneaker Con design a reality at the end of the film. Having seen El’s mother succumb to illness, Gustavo clearly has some sort of feeling of responsibility to look after El and keep him safe and happy in his difficult family situation, however, he doesn’t make this too obvious and it’s not entirely clear whether El is aware of Gustavo’s “influence” or whether he thinks everything is purely coincidental!

Juan Chioran was cast as Gustavo. Although Chioran has primarily acted on stage and not on screen, with roles in many productions over the years at the Stratford Festival, held in Stratford, Ontario in Canada, winning a Gemini Award for his 2000 performance as Count Dracula in Dracula: A Chamber Musical, Chioran may be familiar to Disney Channel fans from playing the role of Francobollo Garibaldi, Galleria’s father, in The Cheetah Girls (2003). He also has experience in voice acting, recently voicing the recurring role of Señor Tapir in the PBS Kids series Elinor Wonders Why (2020-present).

Then we have El’s love interest, Kira King. Kira doesn’t seem to fit in well with her superstar family, as we see when Kira is stood in line like an ordinary person to try and buy sneakers from her own father’s brand. She doesn’t want handouts and she’d rather not have people know she is the daughter of Darius King in case it changes someone’s opinion of her. This is why she doesn’t reveal this to El when they first meet. Kira wants her father’s sneaker brand to be more about sneakers that tell a story instead of just being plain ones that can make a lot of money, whereas her sister, Liz, is focused on finding a style that will sell. Kira is ecstatic when she “discovers” that El is an experienced sneaker design, because not only does she like him, but he’s just the type of person she promised her father she could find before Sneaker Con, to give them a better design than Liv’s boring sleeks. Kira is devastated to learn that El lied about his sneaker experience, but she soon realises that the pressure she felt to find a great designer for the company led to her putting pressure on El to lie about who he was. Kira takes some responsibility for what happened between her and El, so when they make up, she convinces her father to listen to El’s apology and his story.

Kira was played by Lexi Underwood. Prior to Sneakerella, Underwood was cast as Pearl Warren in the Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere (2020), which starred Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. She went on to portray Malia Obama in the series The First Lady (2020). More recently, Underwood starred as Isabella LaRue in Season 2 of the series Cruel Summer (2021-23). Kira’s sister, Liv, was played by Robyn Alomar, who had previously been cast as Aliyah 5 in Utopia Falls (2020).

Kira’s father is Darius King. Darius was a former basketball player and has now started a sneaker “empire”, creating a huge brand which is popular with many sneaker fans, with El and Sami being two of these fans. Darius isn’t shown to be a money-crazed entrepreneur, and instead, encourages his business to be run as a family enterprise, with everyone having equal say, which is why he allows Kira the opportunity to find a designer to come and work with the brand, to give their sneakers some much-needed expression. After being informed that El, Kira’s chosen designer, lied about his experience, due to Darius’ protective nature, he tells El to stay away from his family, not wanting them to be duped by a “scammer” and a fraud. Darius is, quite rightly, sceptical of El’s motives for getting close to his daughter, believing that El wants fame, but by the end of the film, Darius learns that is not the case and sees El for the talented designer he is.

Darius King was played by former professional basketball player John Salley, whose career ran from 1986, when he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, and ended in 2000, retiring after a spell with the Los Angeles Lakers. During his basketball career, Salley became a four-time NBA champion, being the first player in NBA history to win championships with three different teams. After basketball, Salley turned to the screen, as other basketball players have also done, being cast as Fletcher in the movie Bad Boys (1995), reprising the role in 2024 for Bad Boys: Ride or Die. He also came in third place in the US version of the reality series I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! back in 2009.

For El’s stepfamily, we have Trey, the stepfather, and Zelly and Stacy, the stepbrothers. Trey doesn’t mean to be cruel to El with his work in the shoe store; he is simply stressed and overworked trying to keep the store afloat now that he is running it single-handedly without El’s mother. He tells El that his sneaker designing dreams are just a folly and that El needs to start living in the real world. Things between the two of them really hit rock bottom when Trey says he is selling the store and moving all of them back to New Jersey, much to the delight of Zelly and Stacy who apparently hate living in Queens. Zelly and Stacy don’t initially seem to be “wicked” stepbrothers, however, their villainy progresses beyond just messing up the store room for El to clean up and generally seeming to ignore El and his needs. Instead, they go out of their way to ruin El’s chance of being a designer for King just to make him miserable. Stacy seems to be the mastermind behind these schemes, being the brother with the brain, whereas Zelly is the “less smart” one who goes along with whatever Stacy says. In the end though, Trey learns of El’s talent and stops his sons from ruining El’s opportunity. It’s not clear whether the four of them become “one big, happy family” because we don’t see it, but I’m sure Trey now keeps his sons in line.

Trey was played by Bryan Terrell Clark, who has been cast in the recurring roles of Pastor Logan in Season 2 of Snowpiercer (2020-24) and as Dr. Dermatologist in Hulu’s Saint X (2023). He also appears as Mr. Tea in the series Diarra from Detroit (2024-present). Hayward Leach was cast as Stacy. Leach played Freddie in Season 2 of Love Life (2020-21) and went on to appear as Roy in Elsbeth (2024-present). Kolton Steward was cast as Zelly. He had previously played Jarvis in the Canadian sitcom Some Assembly Required (2014-16), and appeared as Owen in the DCOM The Swap (2016), going on to play the role of Tyson in the Disney sequel Disenchanted (2022). Steward currently voices Rory in the animated Netflix series Unicorn Academy (2023-present).

PRODUCTION

The start of production on Sneakerella was announced in October 2020, where the three main actors, of Chosen Jacobs as El, Lexi Underwood as Kira, and John Salley as Darius King, were announced. A brief plot of the film was also described, and an expected premiere date was set to be sometime in 2021[1].

Because filming began at the end of 2020, although clearly the film industry was back at work by then, the cast and crew would’ve been required to comply with certain restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This included crew members wearing masks and face coverings, and cast having to do so when not on camera. Social distancing and ways of restricting contact with those outside of production were likely enforced too. It was also the case that cast and crew could not explore the surrounding areas properly either. Devyn Nekoda is from Ontario and she stated that she was disappointed that she was unable to show her American castmates the area properly whilst they were filming there, meaning they spent their downtime mostly hanging out in their apartments together[2].

Specific filming locations in Canada used for Sneakerella include the Hamilton International Village District, with its shops and city blocks being repurposed to look like the Astoria neighbour in Queens, New York City, where El and his stepfamily live. King Street East in Hamilton, Ontario was reportedly used as the location of the big street art mural that El takes Kira to on their afternoon in Queens together[3]. The Bay Adelaide Centre in Toronto appears to have been used as the location of Darius King’s business headquarters[4]. Due to the fact that Sneakerella’s production took place in Canada, but the story is set in New York City, some CGI enhancement was likely used to represent certain areas of the famous city. To be honest, when watching Sneakerella, I quite easily believed it was filmed in New York, although admittedly I have never been to either New York City or any part of Canada. I’m sure anyone familiar with either place would’ve easily known the truth of its filming locations.

Sneakerella was directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, who had previously directed the movie Ramona and Beezus (2010), which starred former Disney Channel actress Selena Gomez, and some episodes of Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019), which featured Descendants star Sofia Carson. Rosenbaum and Carson worked together again for Netflix’s 2022 movie Purple Hearts.

The writers of Sneakerella came from a variety of places. Two of these were from the world of the DCOM, these being David Light and Joseph Raso who worked on the first three ZOMBIES films. Another screenwriter was Tamara Chestna, who had previously co-written the screenplay for After (2019), the first in a series of movies based on the novels by Anna Todd. Chestna is also set to be a writer for the upcoming fifth instalment of Disney Channel’s Descendants franchise. The other writers on Sneakerella were Mindy Stern, and George Gore II, who is perhaps best known for his role as Michael Kyle Jr., or just Junior, in the sitcom My Wife and Kids (2001-05).

Continuing in the pattern of having crew that have history with either Disney Channel or teen dramas, Jane Startz, who produced the film Ella Enchanted (2004), itself a take on the traditional Cinderella tale, was a producer on Sneakerella, as was Rachel Watanabe-Batton, a producer on the Mr. T series I Pity the Fool (2006). From the world of musicals, Christopher Scott was another credited producer, who was a choreographer on In the Heights (2021) and even Wicked (2024). Scott was also a choreographer on ZOMBIES (2018) for Disney Channel. The choreographers on Sneakerella were Emilio Dosal and Ebony Williams, who both worked on In the Heights, the film adaptation of the stage show.

Although Disney and musicals were a key part of Sneakerella’s production, another important feature of the movie is, of course, “sneaker culture”. I had very little prior knowledge of sneaker culture before watching Sneakerella, other than the fact I knew exclusive, limited-edition sneakers were bought and sold, and that Nike fought to have Michael Jordan sign with them to create the famous Air Jordans. I had to do some research.

The origin of the sneaker goes back to the 1860s where in England, they were used for the sports of tennis and croquet. Their use was entirely functional and had nothing to do with fashion. Sneaker culture likely began with the rise of athlete-endorsed shoes in the 1970s and 1980s, with the most popular designs on the basketball courts being Puma, Adidas, and Converse around this time. In 1985, the public release of Nike and Michael Jordan’s sneaker collaboration, the Air Jordans, was the biggest thing to transform sneakers. Despite only being a rookie on the basketball scene at this time, Nike and Adidas fought for Jordan to sign with them. Eventually, Nike won and Jordan signed a five-year, $2.5 million endorsement deal with them. Nike were incredibly radical with their design because NBA guidelines stated that sneakers had to be 51% white to be used on the court for games. The Air Jordans were actually “illegal” shoes, with mostly red and black colouring. Nike chose to pay the $5,000 fine that was set for any players that came on to court with shoes that went against the guidelines rather than change their design. Luckily, it paid off for everyone involved, because Michael Jordan became one of the best and most famous basketball players in the world, with his sneakers following suit.

It wasn’t only basketball and sports stars that contributed to this culture either. Hip-hop was a contributor as well. Hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. released the single “My Adidas” in 1986, which led to them having an endorsement deal with the brand. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana later made Converse a symbol of youth and rebellion. Other celebrity and luxury brand sneaker collaborators led to further hype with their limited-edition releases. By the mid-2010s, sneakers had become a status symbol. Singer Drake even commissioned a one-of-a-kind pair of Air Jordans in 2016 that were wrapped in 24-carat solid gold[5].

Sneakers aren’t only about collections now; they are supposed to tell a story about yourself, this being something that El is a clear believer in, as is his friend Sami. El even likes to guess people’s personalities from their shoes. Sneaker culture has also built a community for some sneaker lovers, and I learnt that Sneaker Con is a real thing, not something that was made up for Sneakerella. Sneaker Con was founded in August 2008, by Alan and Barris Vinogradov and Yu-Ming Wu. Its inaugural event took place in Times Square Arts Center in New York City, hosting over 3,000 people in March 2009. Sneaker Con now goes all over the world, having had events in cities outside the US, like London and Sydney[6].

Even with all that talk of sneakers, Sneakerella doesn’t forget to honour its fairy-tale source material. During the opening song of Sneakerella, “Kicks”, bubbles appear during the sequence. This a nod to the song “Sing Sweet Nightingale” from Disney Animation’s Cinderella (1950) where Cinderella sings whilst cleaning, and bubbles form around her, showing her image inside of them. The orange convertible that El and Sami are given by Gustavo to get to the gala has this license plate: PMPKN XPRS, as in “pumpkin express”, which is a clear reference to Cinderella’s famous pumpkin carriage. There is also a brief glimpse of graffiti art versions of two of the bluebirds from Cinderella as El is making his “glass” sneakers for the gala. Speaking of these sneakers, with their plastic soles meant to resemble the original glass slippers, they were designed by Eske Schiralli, a designer who founded his own footwear and garment design house, Mad M.F.G. in 2017 and has collaborated with Adidas and Nike, as well as Disney now[7]. The famous clip from Cinderella of the glass slipper being placed on Cinderella’s foot in the animated movie can also be seen during Kira’s social media campaign to find her prince. Finally, some of the character names reference the 1950 movie, such as Trey being a shortening of Tremaine, like Lady Tremaine, Cinderella’s stepmother; and Zelly and Stacy being shortened versions of Drizella and Anastasia, Cinderella’s stepsisters[8].

MUSIC

Much like other versions of the Cinderella story on screen, Sneakerella was a musical, although due to its modern setting, its music is heavily based in R&B, hip-hop, and rap, unlike the majority of other Cinderella movie musicals. Many of these songs go alongside big dance numbers, featuring dance styles like hip-hop and breakdancing, which is quite different to most other Cinderella adaptations too.

The opening song of Sneakerella is “Kicks”, which introduces us to the character of El, as well as his neighbourhood, and the collective love of sneakers within the community. I liked “Kicks” in terms of it being a good opener for the audience. A brief snippet of “Kicks” is also used in the End Credits. I did find that it sounded kind of similar to the music in Disney Channel’s ZOMBIES and Descendants movies. This was a thought I kept returning to throughout Sneakerella. “Kicks” was performed by Chosen Jacobs as El, and was written by Antonina Armato, Tim James Price, Thomas Armato Sturges, and Adam Schmalholz.

Following on from that, we have “Best Ever”, which is performed by Jacobs as El and Lexi Underwood as Kira. “Best Ever” is the song used when El takes Kira to Queens and shows her around his neighbourhood, before ending their day at the street art mural. This is the first hint that Kira and El are falling for each other. There is a reprise of this song just a bit later, as they sit by the mural. “Best Ever” and its reprise were written by Clyde Lawrence, Gracie Lawrence and Jordan Cohen.

After that great day with Kira, El comes back to find that his stepfather is angry at him for not cleaning up the shoe store. At this point, El sings the song “In Your Shoes” as he thinks about all the memories he had in this store with his mother, going from happy moments to the saddest, most painful ones as his mother succumbs to illness. This song was quite moving, in part for the music itself, as well as for the flashbacks that are shown on screen of El’s life with his mother. “In Your Shoes” was written by William Behlendorf, Jason Mater, and Brandon C. Rogers.

A more positive song, “Work Up”, also performed by Jacobs as El, follows this a few scenes later, as El makes his own pair of sneakers for the King gala. This was an upbeat, hip-hop-style piece, showing that El finally has some confidence in himself and he’s going to achieve his dream of being a sneaker designer. A brief snippet of “Work Up” is used in the End Credits. “Work Up” was written by Anthony Ferrari, Sean Turk, and Dewain Whitmore.

One of the most well-known songs from Disney Animation’s Cinderella is “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”, where Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother gets her ready for the ball. Sneakerella has its own version of this, “Life Is What You Make It”, where Gustavo, El’s “Fairy Godfather”, helps him and Sami get ready for the gala, giving them new clothes and even a car to get them there. To be honest, I didn’t like this song much, feeling that it went on a bit long and took away from some of the urgency about getting to the gala. It was performed by Juan Chioran as Gustavo, Devyn Nekoda as Sami, and Jacobs as El. “Life Is What You Make It” was reprised at the very end of Sneakerella as we see how everything ended up for El, as well as being used for the beginning of the End Credits. It’s another big dance number here too. This song was written by Tora Litvin and Doug Rockwell.

There was actually a song from Disney’s 1950 Cinderella that was adjusted to fit into Sneakerella. This is “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, which was originally written by Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston, and Mack David. It is used for the scene where El and Kira see each other at the gala, and there is even a contemporary dance that the two do together, although this is seemingly shown to be a daydream. Personally, I prefer the original version of “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, but it was an interesting, modern update to it. This song was also remixed, although this does not feature in the movie, only on the soundtrack.

After the gala, where El left Kira without an explanation or talking to her father about his sneakers, Kira and her sister have a plan to launch a social media campaign to “find” El and get him to meet her to discuss his sneaker designs. The song used for this scene is “Perfect Fit”. Again, this wasn’t the best song from the movie for me. It was performed by Lexi Underwood as Kira, and Robyn Alomar as her sister, and it was written by Greg Bonnick and Hayden Chapman.

Following on from that, El’s stepbrothers Zelly and Stacy learn that El is close to becoming a famous sneaker designer, and out of jealously and a desperate need to get their father to move them back to New Jersey, the brothers launch a plan to ruin El’s life by stealing his “glass” sneaker and telling Darius King that El is a fraud, and not a designer at all. The song Hayward Leach and Kolton Stewart perform here as Stacy and Kelly is “Shut It Down”. I actually quite liked this song, probably because it was the “villains’ song”. “Shut It Down” was written by Farrah King.

The final song to appear in Sneakerella is a rap battle simply titled “Finale”. This shows El trying to convince Darius King about his potential to be a great designer for his business. There is a bit of back-and-forth between the two, before Kelly and Stacy burst in to call him a fraud, with Trey, El’s stepfather, telling them to back off as he apologises for not paying enough attention to El’s life and wanting to be a better father figure to him. I probably would’ve preferred this whole tie-up of the storyline to have taken place through dialogue and not a rap battle, but that’s just me. The rap battle suits the musical styling of the movie. “Finale” was written by Theron “Neff-U” Feemster, Jordan Power, and Frankie “Rank” Wood.

Theron “Neff-U” Feemster also wrote another song for the Sneakerella soundtrack, and performed it alongside Julia Pratt. This song is “Fly Higher”, which was not used in the film.

The score was composed by Elvin Ross, who has collaborated with Tyler Perry on the music for some of Perry’s projects, including the sitcoms Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (2006-25) and Meet the Browns (2009-11).

Sneakerella did win an award for its music: a Children’s and Family Emmy award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Live-Action program. Two of the movie’s songs were also nominated at the same ceremony for Outstanding Original Song. These were “In Your Shoes” and “Kicks”.

RECEPTION

Although production on Sneakerella took place during the last few months of 2020, with many news outlets listing a 2021 Disney+ premiere for the movie, for some reason or another, the release of Sneakerella was delayed a few times.

The first trailer for Sneakerella dropped on 12^th November 2021, with a release date listed as 18^th February 2022[9]. However, February 2022 came and went; there was no Sneakerella on Disney+. It seems that a new trailer was then released on 8^th April 2022, with a release date of 13^th May 2022. This time, the trailer was correct and Sneakerella did come to Disney+ on this date. It’s been said these delays were due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite filming already being completed by 2021. Perhaps Disney were just trying to find the best time in their schedule to release Sneakerella, so that it wasn’t overshadowed by some other Disney+ release coming in the days or weeks around it.

Sneakerella received mostly positive reviews from critics after its release, although the audience reaction was more mixed.

On the positive side, Sneakerella was seen as a modern take on Cinderella which was appreciated for its fun spin on the story and its diversity. Others liked the musical soundtrack, likening it to other Disney Channel hits like ZOMBIES and Descendants. The leads of Chosen Jacobs and Lexi Underwood, as El and Kira, were generally well-received, as was Devyn Nekoda as Sami. It was also considered better than the average Disney Channel movie by some.

On the other hand, a further adaptation of Cinderella, so soon after Amazon Prime’s 2021 version with Camila Cabello in the title role, was considered unnecessary. Some criticised certain story aspects, such as Kira’s social media campaign to “find” El. In the original story, Prince Charming doesn’t really know what Cinderella looks like and certainly doesn’t know where she lives, making his journey to find her seem realistic, whereas in Sneakerella, Kira already knows what El looks like and knows that he lives in Queens, since he took her there on the day that met. It was queried why Kira didn’t just go to Queens and ask around for him. I thought this too when I watched it, but obviously, in the movies, everything needs a level of tension and drama or there is no point to it. Some also picked up on the fact that a gender-swapped Cinderella is really just a version of Aladdin, which made Sneakerella less unique than originally advertised. Another comment was simply that Sneakerella was just too long and dragged in places. I agree with this, as I was relatively focused on the movie up until they got to the gala and then I found myself getting bored and wondering why the ending was being dragged out so much. Sneakerella was about twenty minutes longer than the average DCOM so that’s probably why it bothered me. I am capable of watching movies longer than 90 minutes, I swear.

As Disney don’t release viewing figures for every Disney+ release, unless it has done exceptionally well, like the premieres of their new animated movies or those of Pixar, it is unclear how many people watched Sneakerella on its release.

Although Sneakerella feels like a typical Disney Channel Original Movie, being produced by Disney Channel and being a musical reminiscent of the ZOMBIES or High School Musical franchise, it wasn’t labelled as a DCOM.

That is because Sneakerella did not premiere on Disney Channel; it premiered on Disney+. This has started to become the norm and I believe the simple reason for this is because many of the international Disney Channels have since shut down. Nowadays, it seems that most “Disney Channel movies” premiere on Disney+ and the US Disney Channel within a few days of each other, making the label Disney Channel Original Movie inaccurate. Sneakerella was in a similar situation to Secret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020) which premiered on Disney+ in 2020 but did not come to Disney Channel until 2023. Sneakerella apparently premiered on Disney Channel on 13^th August 2022, three months after its Disney+ date. Viewing figures for its Disney Channel premiere were also unavailable.

Despite not having viewing data to judge the popularity of Sneakerella, the movie itself did win numerous awards at the 1^st Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, held on 10^th and 11^th December 2022, proving that it was appreciation by industry professionals. The awards won were in the categories of: Outstanding Fiction Special; Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Live-Action Program; Outstanding Editing for a Single Camera Program; and Outstanding Choreography.

Sneakerella was also nominated for other awards here, including Outstanding Art Direction; Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Program; and Outstanding Directing for a Single Camera Program. In total, Sneakerella won four awards, and was nominated for eleven in total. These eleven nominations meant that Sneakerella tied with The Mysterious Benedict Society (2021-22), a Disney+ series, for most total nominations at this event. Production designer Elisa Sauvé won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design for a Television Movie at the Directors Guild of Canada Awards.

LEGACY

Although Disney Animation’s Cinderella was followed by two direct-to-video sequels with varying levels of success, there was no sequel for Sneakerella. This isn’t a surprise since Sneakerella tied up its story neatly just like any other adaptation of Cinderella. “Sneakerella” met his “princess” and started his dream career as a sneaker designer. Everything worked out for him and we are led to believe that El and Kira lived “happily ever after”.

Instead, Sneakerella continued the legacy of the Disney musical, more specifically the Disney Channel musical. The first Disney Channel musical was The Cheetah Girls, released in 2003, two decades prior to Sneakerella. After Sneakerella, the DCOM musicals that followed it were ZOMBIES 3 (2022) and Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024), with further movies from these franchises coming over the next few months and years.

Sneakerella did also become another movie in a long list of screen adaptations of the classic fairy tale of Cinderella. But with so many of these over the years, potentially Sneakerella did not do enough to be remembered in the years and decades to come.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I can’t say I disliked Sneakerella. It had its moments where it was quite clever and it did feel new and fresh, not a scene-by-scene repeat of Disney’s 1950 animated film.

I think I am, however, too old and “uncool” to fully appreciate Sneakerella. For one thing, I don’t have a love of sneakers. If El looked at my shoes, I don’t think he’d have much to say about them, which would basically mean he thought I was “boring”. Probably fair. I’m also not a fan of hip-hop or rap so the soundtrack wasn’t something I found overly memorable or enjoyable.

But I appreciated the attempt by Disney Channel to do a gender-swap of Cinderella for the young people of today. Many parents claim that they won’t let their children watch some of Disney Animation’s older movies, including Cinderella, due to their “outdated” views on society, including the role of women.

Sneakerella tries to represent the culture of young people today, giving them more of an accurate view of their lives compared to some of the more traditional Cinderella stories we see on screen. I think putting Sneakerella on Disney+, a platform with so much more variety than that of Disney Channel, meant it may’ve struggled to find its audience. But it only came out a couple of years ago; maybe it can be found again.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Denise Petski, ‘‘Sneakerella’: Chosen Jacobs, Lexi Underwood & John Salley To Star In Disney+ Movie’, Deadline.com, 21^st October 2020.

[2] Credit: Elisabetta Bianchini, ‘Canadian cast of Disney+ ‘Sneakerella’ welcomed Americans ‘with open arms’ during COVID-19’, News.Yahoo.com, 13^th May 2022.

[3] Credit: Michael Kras, ‘This new movie musical on Disney Plus was filmed all over Hamilton’, Cekan.ca, 27^th May 2022.

[4] Credit: Cormac O’Brien, ‘The First ‘Sneakerella’ Trailer Just Dropped & The Ontario Is Fully Showing Throughout’, Narcity.com, 13^th November 2021.

[5] Credit: Starlight Williams, ‘How sneaker culture took over the world’, NationalGeographic.com, 27^th April 2023.

[6] Credit: ‘About’, Sneakercon.com.

[7] Credit: Noel Ransome, ‘Eske Schiralli on Building the Sneaker for Disney’s ‘Sneakerella’ and Drake Rocking His Clothes’, Complex.com, 13^th May 2022.

[8] Credit: Sarah Sterling, ‘5 Dreamy Animated Cinderella References in Sneakerella’, D23.com, 13^th May 2022.

[9] Credit: Cormac O’Brien, ‘The First ‘Sneakerella’ Trailer Just Dropped & The Ontario Is Fully Showing Throughout’, Narcity.com, 13^th November 2021.

20th Sep 202430th Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

Lemonade Mouth (2011)

BACKGROUND

Disney Channel have created many musicals throughout their decades of making Disney Channel Original Movies. Some have been super successful and spanned one, two, or maybe three sequels. Others haven’t reached that same level and remain as standalone Disney Channel musicals – but some of those go on to achieve “cult status”.

Lemonade Mouth appears to be one of those musicals. Probably not something that many people would remember instantly, or would come to mind when you say “Disney Channel Musical”, but if you remind a certain age group of this movie, there will likely be many comments on how much they loved that film when they were ten, eleven, twelve-years old. Basically, it might not be in the forefront of many minds, but memories of it are in the back there, somewhere, waiting to get out.

Unfortunately, I am not one of those people and have never been one of those people for a number of reasons. I was eighteen when Lemonade Mouth was first released. Some might think that I must’ve just missed out on it because I would’ve been “too old” to be watching Disney Channel at the time.

That was not true. I was watching Disney Channel in 2011, and I remember Lemonade Mouth being heavily advertised that year, never seemingly being able to get away from hearing “Determinate” at least twenty times in one week, just from those small, little advertisement portions Disney Channel have between their programming, where they show off their newest Disney Channel movie or latest Disney star’s songs. It didn’t appeal to me and to be honest, I just found all this “lemonade” was started to slowly choke me.

That’s a bit extreme, but my general reaction to Lemonade Mouth was disinterest. I liked Bridgit Mendler in Good Luck Charlie (2010-14); however, it wasn’t a “must-see” show for me. I didn’t know any of the other actors in the movie; the music was alright but when you hear the same song over and over again, it does start to grate on you; and just the name of the movie made me laugh. I just kept thinking: Lemonade Mouth, what a ridiculous name for a film. Maybe that’s just because I’m more of a cola girl myself.

Anyway, I did finally watch Lemonade Mouth sometime around 2016 or 2017 when DisneyLife came to the UK, a similar idea to Disney+, meaning that lots of Disney films were suddenly available to a wider audience. I thought it was alright, but didn’t love it. Rewatching it this week, I found I liked the music more, but I still felt the same about the story.

PLOT

Lemonade Mouth recounts the tale of how a famous band of the same name came to be, going back to a high-school detention, where Stella, the guitarist; Wen, on keyboards; Mohini, on bass; Charlie, on drums; and Olivia, the lead singer, all met for the first time. But how did they get there?

Stella is the new girl at school. She’s a bit rebellious, probably because her parents and younger brothers are all geniuses and she’s not, so instead of being focused on school work, she’s interested in music and generally finding ways to “stick it to the man”. She gets detention after trying to stage a protest against Principal Brenigan’s rules on t-shirt slogans during a corporate-sponsored assembly – the principal sounds a bit corrupt if you ask me, but that sadly is not the point of this movie.

Wen is struggling to get along with his father’s new girlfriend, Sydney, who is in her mid-twenties. He discovers that she has accidentally taken his school assignment to her college classes and is horrified to find that she has come to his school to return it to him. This warrants some classic banter from the surrounding students, but Wen actually gets detention after snapping at his teacher, who mistakenly thought Sydney was his mother.

For Mohini, or just Mo, she gets in trouble after being caught trying to skip class with her boyfriend, Scott, and settles for detention instead of a call to her overprotective, strict father. Scott, being a school athlete, gets no punishment at all. Charlie gets detention for accidentally kicking a football (soccer ball) into his coach during try-outs after he gets teased for his poor skills, which is irritating because Charlie is only there because he feels like he has to live up to his older brother’s football and academic talents. Finally, Olivia gets detention for sitting in the janitor’s closet – which doesn’t seem like a punishable offence to me, but I guess she was skipping class too? I don’t know; but like I said: corrupt principal.

In detention, which is housed in the basement along with any other extracurricular activity that is not sport related, the five students, after getting a Mel’s Lemonade each from a vending machine just outside the room, are being supervised by Miss Reznick, who is the school’s music teacher. She is furious about her class being moved to the basement and leaves the room briefly. The five go about cleaning up the room for her but quickly become distracted by the instruments and play a song together. Miss Reznick is overjoyed to find these kids have some natural talent and try to convince them to enter the upcoming Rising Star competition, but none of them are interested, not believing they could compete with the school’s most famous band, Mudslide Crush, anyway.

They all head home. Olivia lives with her grandmother and their very old cat, Nancy who Olivia treasures. Wen distances himself from his family because he doesn’t want to be around Sydney. Mo is practising her violin, trying to get away with putting a rock twist on her music; her parents quickly tell her to stop. Charlie lies to his parents, telling them that football (soccer) try-outs went well for him, and Stella continues to feel like an outcast in her family.

The next day, Stella decides to call the other four together at the local pizzeria to discuss this Rising Star contest, because she thinks they have something to say and deserve to have their voices heard. Wen doesn’t need much convincing, but the other three really aren’t sure. So, they solve this the way so many great discussions and debates have been settled in the past – with a coin toss! If the coin lands on heads, then they go ahead with forming this band. It lands on heads; their fate is sealed. However, their first practice doesn’t go well at all. Mo and Charlie are even about to leave, until the other three start up a song, with Mo and Charlie joining. They sound really good again and get the opportunity to play at the upcoming school Halloween Bash.

Mo goes to see her boyfriend, Scott, who happens to be the guitarist for Mudslide Crush. He complains to her about their set being cut at the Halloween Bash, so some other band can play as well. Mo tells Scott that is her band that will be playing at the bash. He is confused and feels somewhat betrayed. The next day at school, the other students apparently feel the same way and as the group head to practice, they find a threatening note on their door. Everyone at school hates them. Olivia then finds herself being harassed by some of the popular kids, including Ray, the lead singer of Mudslide Crush, who can’t understand how shy Olivia could possibly be the lead singer of a band. The others come to defend her, with Stella spitting some of the Mel’s Lemonade into Ray’s face. As he pleads his innocence and turns the blame on the others to Principal Brenigan, he inadvertently gives the band their name, by saying that “lemonade mouth” over here spat at him. Well, if the boot fits…Wen later goes to Olivia’s house to work on new music for Lemonade Mouth where the two become closer. Olivia explains to Wen about Nancy the cat, and how it’s the last thing she has left of her mother, but that the cat probably won’t be around much longer. Anyway, they get back to writing a brilliant song for the Halloween Bash.

Then, disaster strikes. Due to Principal Brenigan’s corporate sponsor, Turbo Blast, who built their gymnasium, no other competing drinks brand can be sold in the school, so that means the Mel’s Lemonade machine will have to go. Stella is angry and plans to protest it. More disaster strikes after Wen learns his father is going to marry Sydney, and Mo finds that Scott has been cheating on her, with a cheerleader no less! At the Halloween Bash, things descend into chaos when Olivia has a panic attack and needs to be coaxed out of the girls’ bathroom and onto the stage. She struggles initially but soon finds her feet, and Lemonade Mouth become an instant sensation with the students. Stella also uses this newfound fame to protest publicly about the removal of Mel’s Lemonade from the school. The principal is not happy about this and shuts the band down, banning them from future school performances.

However, the band soon realise that they’ve gained a whole army of fans, with kids even asking for recordings of Lemonade Mouth’s Halloween Bash performance. This gives them an idea; Principal Brenigan can ban them from playing at school but not outside of it, so Wen and Stella arrange for Lemonade Mouth to play regularly at the pizzeria.

Later, the band discover that Olivia is not at school and, worried about her, they go to her house. They learn that Olivia’s cat has died and she’s absolutely devastated. As the band members console her, Olivia also reveals to them that her father is in prison for an undisclosed crime. They all agree to support each other through any personal problems.

As the band’s fame reaches new heights, with their performance even being played on radio and the Rising Star competition coming closer and closer, more troubles hit the band. Mo becomes entangled in a love triangle between Scott, who wants her back, and Charlie, who wants to be with her. Mo rejects Charlie and he storms off. Mo later comes down with the flu. Charlie breaks his fingers after trapping them in a drawer. Wen gets a black eye after a picture frame falls into it, and as he and Olivia fight over the future of Lemonade Mouth, Olivia loses her voice.

Meanwhile, Stella has plans to protest against the removal of Mel’s Lemonade’s vending machine. On that day, the other four begrudgingly come to support her. Stella is shocked by the state of them all. But there’s no time for that because the machine is being removed. A scuffle ensues between the removal men and the band, with the police being called. They are thrown together in a holding cell, awaiting their parents. This gives them lots of time to talk about the band, and whether or not they should perform at Rising Star. Despite their issues, they decide they should try.

Their parents come to collect them and each band member has their own moment of clarity. Wen accepts Sydney as a new member of his family; Stella learns that her family love and support her, despite them being quite different; Mo tells her dad that she needs to be her own person, not who he wants her to be; and Charlie talks to his brother about the pressure their parents are putting on him to be just like him. They say they’ll speak to their parents together. We also learn that Olivia has been narrating the story of Lemonade Mouth to the audience by way of a letter to her father, which she sends to him in jail, not wanting to be embarrassed and distant from him anymore.

At Rising Star, Mudslide Crush are a huge hit with the audience and it is then Lemonade Mouth’s turn. They attempt to get through their signature song, “Determinate”, but find they can’t go on with all their illness and injury. Saddened, they head off the stage, but soon hear the audience singing their song for them. Scott also comes on stage to play guitar for the band, as a way of trying to win back Mo. Olivia then tells us that Lemonade Mouth didn’t win Rising Star. Well, yeah – it would’ve been ridiculous if they had. You can’t have the audience compete for you!

Tying up some of the movie’s loose ends, Mo and Scott get back together, with Scott joining Lemonade Mouth as a guitarist; Charlie moves on from Mo and finds himself another girl; and Olivia and Wen start dating, with Wen also giving Olivia a new kitten to replace Nancy the cat. Stella meets the owner of Mel’s Lemonade at Wen’s father’s wedding of all places and asks him to donate some money to build a new auditorium at their school. He agrees and Principal Brenigan has to learn to accept that there are beneficial classes for his students outside of sports! Oh yeah, and Lemonade Mouth went on to achieve great success, even getting the chance to play at Madison Square Garden.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Stella Yamada doesn’t get off to a good start at her new school right from the off. She is wearing a t-shirt that says “Question Authority” which bothers Principal Brenigan, telling her to cover it up, which shows that her rebellious nature will not be welcomed here. But Stella, luckily, doesn’t care and refuses to be silenced, even when she’s thrown in detention, her band is shut down, and her favourite lemonade vending machine is taken away. Stella just doesn’t know when to give up. And good thing too, otherwise Lemonade Mouth may have never become so famous, as she was the one who pushed the others to create this band.

Singer and actress Hayley Kiyoko was cast as Stella, having previously portrayed Velma in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009) and its 2010 sequel, television reboots of the early 2000s Scooby-Doo live-action movies. So, Kiyoko was not a Disney Channel star before Lemonade Mouth, however she did have a recurring role in Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12) as Stevie Nichols in 2010. Also on screen, Kiyoko appeared as Raven Ramirez in CSI: Cyber (2015-16) and later starred as Lexi in the web series Five Points (2018-19). In recent years, Kiyoko has focused on her music, releasing albums in 2020 and 2022, and released her first novel Girls Like Girls in 2023.

Wen Gifford is struggling to cope with his father having a new woman in his life. This isn’t uncommon for many children and teenagers to deal with, as divorce is a very real thing, however, when your father is dating someone so much younger, that’s where the difficulties can come in, especially as a teenager. The jokes and comments can be brutal and inappropriate, so I can see why Wen isn’t overly accepting of Sydney. Instead, he uses the band to take his attentions away from all that and becomes closer to Olivia in the process, as they write the band’s music together and talk about their personal lives. By the end of the movie, Wen has learnt that if Sydney makes his father happy, then it should make him happy too, regardless of their age gap, and stands beside his father as best man at their wedding.

Wen was played by Adam Hicks who was already famous on Disney Channel at this time for his role as Luther Waffles in the comedy series Zeke and Luther (2009-12). He went on to star as King Boz in Season 3 of Pair of Kings (2010-13), also for Disney, after the departure of Mitchel Musso from the show. Hicks later appeared in the horror series Freakish (2016-17) in the role of Diesel Turner. Hicks has recently been releasing his own music.

Mo has a difficult time adjusting to who she wants to be whilst also managing her parents’ expectations of her, to be a good student, a brilliant musician, and a perfect daughter. It’s a lot for her to deal with so Lemonade Mouth gives her an outlet to figure out who she wants to be. Her boyfriend, Scott, doesn’t seem to be particularly good for her, encouraging her to skip class with him, and then getting caught, but she loves him anyway. He later cheats on her, which is further proof that he’s not good for her – and yet, they still get back together. If you ask me, I think she would’ve been much better off with Charlie.

British actress Naomi Scott was chosen for the part of Mo Banjaree. Scott had no prior Disney experience, and did not go on to star in any Disney Channel series afterwards, which is a bit of a different journey to most actors who appear in Disney Channel movies. This was entirely Scott’s choice as she came to work on Lemonade Mouth at the age of 18. She had not been in the “Disney machine” throughout her childhood and adolescence and felt that she already knew where she wanted to go with her career, so refused Disney’s offers of putting her on one of their shows or making her one of their recording artists[1]. However, this did not hold her back. Scott was cast as Kimberly Hart, the Pink Ranger in Power Rangers (2017) and went back to Disney to star as Princess Jasmine in their live-action remake Aladdin (2019). She was also cast as Elena, one of Charlie’s Angels, in the 2019 film. Later, Scott appeared as Olivia Lytton in the series Anatomy of a Scandal (2022).

Charlie’s brother has just left for college, and he was academically and athletically gifted at school. Because his brother isn’t there to take the pressure off, Charlie’s parents have their full attentions turned on him. They want him to be as successful as his brother, but disregard the fact that actually Charlie isn’t good at sports and just wants to play music instead. Being part of Lemonade Mouth is a dream-come-true for him. It’s only when his brother returns home from college and Charlie learns that his brother’s grades during his first year of college haven’t been so great, that he realises he doesn’t need to be like his brother and can be his own person. Charlie also deals with his first heartbreak during this film, with Mo seemingly not interested in him. But the joke’s on her, because Charlie moves on and meets someone else, whereas Mo is left with her cheating, jealous boyfriend!

Blake Michael was cast in the role of Charlie Delgado. Michael had not previously been cast in any Disney Channel series either, however, went on to star as Tyler James in the Disney series Dog with a Blog (2012-15), winning Best Leading Young Actor in a Television Series at the Young Artist Awards in 2013 for this role. Michael has since refocused his attentions on work outside of acting.

For Olivia White, she’s had a difficult life, with both of her parents absent for different reasons. This has made her shy and a bit of an outcast. She potentially needs Lemonade Mouth the most out of all the other members because she has little to no self-confidence and this gives her a way to become more confident and outgoing as a person. It also allows her the chance to make real friends who will stand by her, regardless of what’s going on in her life. It’s nice to see her reaching out to her father too, as losing one parent is tough, but losing both must be horrific.

Bridgit Mendler portrays Olivia here, and had a long career with the Disney Channel, first appearing as Juliet van Heusen on Wizards of Waverly Place (2009-12), going on to lead her own show Good Luck Charlie (2010-14) in the role of Teddy Duncan. After a recurring role in the series Nashville (2012-18), as Ashley Willerman, and main roles in the series Undateable (2014-16) as Candace, and Merry Happy Whatever (2019) as Emmy Quinn, Mendler has also moved away from acting and pursued other business interests.

Moving away from the Lemonade Mouth members, we also have two members of Mudslide Crush who make repeated screen appearances. One of these is obviously Scott Pickett, Mo’s boyfriend and lead guitarist in Mudslide Crush, later guitarist in Lemonade Mouth. I think I’ve said all I need to about him, so let’s move on! Scott was played by Nick Roux. Roux had a small role in Wizards of Waverly Place (2009-12) around the time of Lemonade Mouth. The other Mudslide Crush member we see is Ray Beech. Ray is a classic bully, thinking he’s better than everyone else and picking on those who he doesn’t think are worthy of breathing his air. Every Disney Channel movie needs a jerk and Lemonade Mouth’s happens to be him. Ray was played by Chris Brochu, whose brother Doug starred as Grady in the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance (2009-11). Brochu was later cast as Luke Parker in Seasons 5 and 6 of The Vampire Diaries (2009-17) and as Dylan in Season 6 of Shameless (2011-21).

For the adults, we have the corrupt Principal Brenigan and the wacky teacher Miss Reznick. Brenigan cares about money and ruling the school with an iron fist, needing everyone to follow his rules or risk the consequences. He’s also one of those teachers who only cares about sport, with any achievement in anything else not considered to be worthy enough because sport is where all the money is. From my limited experience, I think sports usually take precedence in most schools which is both unfair and wrong. It makes Principal Brenigan seem like a real principal – even though I doubt many like to ride a Segway through the halls to check up on people…Christopher McDonald was chosen for this role, having previously become known for his role as Shooter McGavin in the Adam Sandler comedy Happy Gilmore (1996). A sequel to this movie, which does include McDonald, started filming in 2024. McDonald has also had roles in movies such as Grease 2 (1982) as “Goose” McKenzie; Thelma & Louise (1991) as Darryl; Quiz Show (1994) as Jack Barry; and Flubber (1997) as Wilson Croft. On television, McDonald was cast as Rex Weller in Family Law (1999-2002); as Tommy Jefferson in Harry’s Law (2011-12); Harry M. Daugherty in Boardwalk Empire (2010-14); and as Marty Ghilain in Hacks (2021-present).

Miss Reznick is a passionate music teacher, encouraging the kids to start up Lemonade Mouth, but she’s probably a bit too crazy for this movie, screeching loudly and generally seeming quite scatterbrained. I wasn’t a huge fan of Miss Reznick, but I do like the actress who portrayed her, Tisha Campbell. One of Campbell’s earliest movie roles was as Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors (1986) which I watched recently and really liked. I also know her from the series My Wife and Kids (2001-05), where she starred as Jay. She also starred as Gina Waters-Payne in the sitcom Martin (1992-97) alongside Martin Lawrence. More recently, Campbell appeared in Last Man Standing (2011-21), as Carol Larabee in Seasons 7 and 8, and was cast as Suzanne in the series Uncoupled (2022), with Neil Patrick Harris.

MUSIC

The soundtrack for Lemonade Mouth consists of ten original songs.

Having said that, only nine of these exist within the final edit of the movie. That is because the song “Livin’ on a High Wire” appears within the Extended Edition of Lemonade Mouth, which was released on DVD in May 2011. It was quite common at the time for Disney Channel to release extended editions of their movies on DVD, which generally included an additional song. This song features within a scene of Lemonade Mouth being interviewed on a show called The Music Scene, before launching into a performance of this new song. As I don’t own the Extended Edition of this film, I’m not sure where this scene would come into the original cut of the movie, but I can only assume that it’s at the end as Scott is sat there as their new guitarist. Anyway, it wasn’t a song I liked.

But luckily, I liked many of the other songs within Lemonade Mouth, with seven of the nine being performed by the title band, and two by Mudslide Crush. For the two Mudslide Crush songs, “And the Crowd Goes”, their song for the concert in that warehouse, and “Don’t Ya Wish You Were Us”, their song for Rising Star, both performed by Chris Brochu as Ray, I didn’t like either of these, but as we’re meant to be rooting against Mudslide Crush for having an egomaniac as a lead singer, that was probably for the best! They just sound too obnoxious for me; this band love themselves way too much.

For the Lemonade Mouth songs, I’ll start with my three favourite ones. The first of these is “Determinate”, the signature song of Lemonade Mouth, featuring in two different instances; first at the Halloween Bash and then at Rising Star. It’s all about overcoming fear, which is quite ironic seeing as their lead singer is almost too nervous to even perform it. I like the chorus of “Determinate”, finding it very catchy, and I like that small bit of choreography they do here too; those bounces on the spot and the step to the side? You’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it!

I also really like “Somebody” and “She’s So Gone”. “Somebody” is performed as a way of convincing Mo and Charlie to stick with the band during their disastrous first rehearsal, as they say that their band will give them a voice and stop them feeling so invisible. “She’s So Gone” is a powerful song about moving on after a break-up and is the only song in the movie to be led by Naomi Scott as Mo. Although Scott and Hayley Kiyoko are featured as backing vocalists in Lemonade Mouth’s songs, Bridgit Mendler as Olivia is the lead singer with Adam Hicks as the lead rapper, also contributing to the writing of the songs “Determinate”, “Breakthrough” and “Livin’ on a High Wire”, allowing Mo a chance to express her feelings about Scott results in a breathtaking, hugely emotional song that I love.

The other songs that Lemonade Mouth sing are: “Turn Up the Music”, during that first detention, making this their first performance; “Here We Go”, performed at the Halloween Bash after “Determinate”; “More Than a Band” as they agree to help each other through their troubles; and “Breakthrough”, which they perform at the end of the movie. Of these four songs, I wasn’t too impressed with “Here We Go” as it was quite loud and didn’t say much to me; it was about rebellion but I’ve never been very rebellious so the message just went right over my head! I also found “Breakthrough” to be a bit disappointing as a final number. I would’ve preferred to just hear “Determinate” again, though I understand that this was meant to be their big showstopper to show how far they’d come from that basement detention. I do like “More Than a Band” and “Turn Up the Music” though as these seemed to say the most about friendship, which, to me, was the main point of Lemonade Mouth the movie.

Lemonade Mouth’s soundtrack topped the US Billboard Top Soundtracks and Kid Albums charts and peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard 200. The three singles “Somebody”, “Determinate” and “Breakthrough” also reached the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 89, 51, and 88, respectively on that chart. “Somebody”, “Determinate”, and “Don’t Ya Wish U Were Us” also all managed to get into Radio Disney’s Top 30. “She’s So Gone” would later be included in Billboard’s The 100 Greatest Disney Songs of All Time list, at No. 79.

Urban Outfitters even released a limited-edition vinyl album of the Lemonade Mouth soundtrack in 2024. I’m not entirely sure why, as I wouldn’t have thought that Disney Channel movies quite matched the hipster, trendy vibe of Urban Outfitters, but I guess anything Disney is popular these days and businesses have to jump on that band wagon!

The score for Lemonade Mouth was composed by Christopher Lennertz. Lennertz had previously work with Disney Channel, on the music for Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). He has also composed the music for many other movies, including Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007); Hop (2011); My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016); The Pickup (2025) for Amazon; and Back in Action (2025) for Netflix.

PRODUCTION

Instead of being based on an original story, Lemonade Mouth is actually based on a young adult fiction novel, written by Mark Peter Hughes.

Hughes wrote his debut novel, I Am the Wallpaper, in 2005, after entering the manuscript to Random House’s Delacorte Press Young Adult Novel Competition. He was one of five finalists, getting the opportunity to publish the novel, despite working as a data analyst at the time. Once Lemonade Mouth got noticed by a publisher and became a big success, he soon quit his job to become a full-time writer.

Hollywood producer, Debra Martin Chase, who had produced Disney Channel movie, The Cheetah Girls (2003), as well as The Princess Diaries (2001), felt that the novel Lemonade Mouth was very special, and that it appealed to Disney Channel’s perfect audience of young adults. Chase also thought that the story would fit in with the usual genre of Disney Channel movies, being about school life and living your dreams, with the added bonus of being able to make it a musical, one of Disney Channel’s most popular film types.

Hughes’ novel tells the story of the band from five different narrators, each member of the band, with them giving accounts of their lives and the history of Lemonade Mouth from their point of review. Hughes has said that he got the idea for this novel structure from The Beatles Anthology, which featured accounts from all four members[2].

As with most book-to-film adaptations, some elements of the story have to be changed or omitted to fit the general runtime of a movie. Lemonade Mouth is no exception, although the general story remained unchanged. One big difference is the instruments played by the Lemonade Mouth band members. In the book, the characters play instruments like the ukulele, the trumpet, and the double bass, however, to make Lemonade Mouth into a rock band, probably to interest young audience members as well as to get across the idea of challenging authority, these instruments were replaced with more classic “rock” ones such as guitars, keyboards, and drums. Some other differences include that Charlie’s brother was stillborn in the book, whereas in the movie, he is just at college, and that Mo gets detention for being caught making out with her boyfriend. Mo also ends up with Charlie at the end of the book – but not the movie. Boo! The main characters’ names were slightly altered too.

Regardless, Hughes was very pleased with the final movie and with the five main actors for their portrayal of his much-loved characters and even sent them notes thanking them for doing so well with the material. Hughes loved every minute of the experience of turning one of his best novels into a television movie. The Hughes family got to spend a couple of days on the set of the film, which was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A couple of interesting facts linked to the “lemonade” of Lemonade Mouth include that the author’s inclusion of Mel’s Lemonade in his book was a tribute to Del’s Lemonade, a drink he enjoyed during his time growing up in Rhode Island[3]. Also, the spitting of the lemonade by Stella onto Ray was from a machine. The machine was used to spit out the perfect quantity and viscosity of liquid to make it look great on screen. The liquid used was not lemonade but some sort of green substance that would look yellow when landing on human skin. This fact came from the “What’s What” Edition of Lemonade Mouth, where, during the showing of the film, random facts about production would come up on screen.

RECEPTION

To build-up excitement for the release of Lemonade Mouth, the cast were invited to perform on shows such as Daybreak and Good Morning America, choosing to perform their signature song, “Determinate”. The usual behind-the-scenes videos and music clips were shown on Disney Channel in the weeks before the movie’s release date also.

Disney Channel aired Lemonade Mouth on 15^th April 2011. On its premiere night, Lemonade Mouth reached 5.7 million viewers, which is a decent figure. It also became the No. 1 cable movie of 2011 in the US. It wouldn’t reach the UK until 16^th September[4].

Lemonade Mouth certainly seems to have amassed a group of loyal fans, even as these fans have gotten older. Many claim that Lemonade Mouth deserves more recognition, despite not being as hugely successful as High School Musical, and that the soundtrack is one of Disney’s best from their Disney Channel musicals. The opportunity to have a storyline for each of the five characters was also appreciated, as it gave viewers a chance to get to know each one’s troubles, strengths, and worries. The message about questioning authority was another positive comment, although, speaking for myself, I didn’t feel that was the primary purpose of the movie. With hindsight, parallels have been found between Lemonade Mouth and The Breakfast Club (1985), both being about five very different students all meeting in detention, which is a good thing to reflect on if you’ve seen both movies.

On the negative side, some didn’t like the amount of Disney Channel actors that appeared in Lemonade Mouth. This doesn’t bother me so much, as I found when I was younger that having actors I already knew in Disney Channel movies got me more interested in watching them. It also has the added benefit of allowing people to watch the Disney Channel movie and then go back and find the shows that the actors have come from. Others said that Lemonade Mouth was too “squeaky clean” to be aimed at teenagers, despite the movie being all about teenagers. I can understand the reasoning behind this comment, because Lemonade Mouth does not feel like a movie aimed at teens. It’s not exactly Mean Girls (2004), or Easy A (2010) is it? So, teenagers wouldn’t exactly feel they could relate to all aspects of it. Looking at some reviews I’ve read, the ones who were in their tween years or early teens seemed to like Lemonade Mouth the most, and still do to this day. Those that didn’t grow up with it have found it harder to appreciate.

But all that being said, I found many more positive comments about Lemonade Mouth than I did negative ones, with many saying that Lemonade Mouth remains one of Disney Channel’s best original movies.

Lemonade Mouth won the Popstar! Poptastic Award for Favorite TV Movie in 2011 and director Patricia Riggen was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs at the Directors Guild of America Awards in 2012.

LEGACY

After the release of the movie, members of the cast were seen at Downtown Disney at Disneyland in May 2011, and then at the D23 Expo in Anaheim in August 2011, where they met fans, signed autographs, and took part in interviews.

Some of these interviews included questions about the future of Lemonade Mouth, both as a band and as a movie. The cast were very interested in going on tour, with other Disney Channel musicals, such as High School Musical (2006) and Camp Rock (2008), doing this just a few years earlier. Disney announced a joint Descendants and ZOMBIES tour for Summer 2025, so tours are natural extensions of their movie franchises.

However, a tour never happened. Nor did a sequel, which the cast were excited for as Lemonade Mouth 2 had been greenlit for development not long after the movie’s air date. It was even hoped that it could be a feature film, released in cinemas, just like High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)[5].

And yet, Lemonade Mouth 2 didn’t happen, with Bridgit Mendler announcing this during an interview in 2012. She said that it was decided not to move forward with it as there wasn’t a good enough story to tell in a sequel, as well as the cast having moved on to their own individual projects[6]. To make it even more disappointing for film fans, Mark Peter Hughes, author of Lemonade Mouth, stated that he was writing a sequel novel to Lemonade Mouth in 2011[7]. This was published in November 2013 and titled Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up, with the story delving in to what happened after the band achieved instant fame, whilst dealing with plenty of unexpected events in their personal lives too.

Even with this sequel novel, Disney Channel never made Lemonade Mouth 2, despite having the material to do it. This would suggest to me that Disney felt Lemonade Mouth was not a successful enough franchise to continue expanding.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Lemonade Mouth claims to be a movie about making your voice heard and refusing to be silenced by those that don’t understand or don’t care about you. It’s a movie about underdogs, finally fighting through and coming out on top.

It’s also a “band movie”, showing the highs and lows of being in one, which isn’t exactly a new concept but if you’re someone who is a dedicated follower of bands, then this concept might be interesting to you. I’ve never really been interested in bands. I like to listen to music but I’ve rarely been able to settle on a band, or even a singer, that I’ve liked and followed for years. Instead, I have collections of songs from a variety of different people that I throw into a playlist and shuffle up. I don’t think I’ve followed a band since I was about seven or eight-years old and liked S Club 7.

Lemonade Mouth is also simply about friendship, something we can all relate to. Where the rebellious messaging of the movie and the band concept didn’t work on me, the friendship elements certainly did. It was great to see a group of people that perhaps wouldn’t have been friends be thrown into a random situation and come out the outside feeling like they’ve known each other for years.

But the music is really were Lemonade Mouth shines, and how it has managed to stay in the minds of many. It’s a good soundtrack and even though I only really like three of the songs, they’ve been thrown into that random playlist I was talking about and I’ve listened to them many times since then.

Lemonade Mouth was an edgier movie to come out of Disney Channel and one that feels very serious at times, looking deep into the lives of these students. I’m sure many kids found they could relate to one of these characters, which is hugely beneficial to anyone who might have felt isolated or like an outcast.

It just shows “your people” can always be found.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Perri Nemiroff, ‘Here’s Why Naomi Scott Didn’t Want Her Own Disney Show Early in Her Career’, Collider.com, 18^th April 2021.

[2] Credit: Karen McCally, ‘Features: Paperback Writer’, Rochester.Edu, from Rochester Review May-June 2011, Vol. 73, No. 5.

[3] Credit: Bob Tremblay, ‘Film: Wayland author’s ‘Lemonade Mouth’ opens wide’, MetroWestDailyNews.com, date unknown.

[4] Credit: Author Unknown, ‘Disney’s ‘Lemonade Mouth’ cast talk touring, sequels and being “edgier” than other Disney movies – watch’, DigitalSpy.com, 15^th September 2011.

[5] Credit: Clevver TV, ‘Adam Hicks Talks Possible ‘Lemonade Mouth’ Tour At D23 Expo 2011’, ClevverTV YouTube Channel, 22^nd August 2011.

[6] Credit: Shine On Media, ‘Bridgit Mendler on No “Lemonade Mouth 2” & New Music’, Shine On Media YouTube Channel, 12nd July 2012.

[7] Credit: Jim Hill, ‘”Lemonade Mouth” author Mark Peter Hughes already working on sequel to this Disney Channel Original Movie’, JimHillMedia.com, date unknown.

2nd Aug 202429th Sep 2025 by The Disney Purist

Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024)

BACKGROUND

For anyone who stopped watching the Descendants series after Descendants 3 (2019), you can be forgiven for assuming that this whole Disney movie series was done, completed, and finished. For those who stuck with it and watched the animated short film Descendants: The Royal Wedding (2021), you’ll have noticed that Disney were toying with the idea of expanding the series, looking to Alice in Wonderland (1951) for inspiration.

I did watch Descendants: The Royal Wedding, but I didn’t think they would be making another movie based on Wonderland and its characters. I thought it was just there to say “look what we can do”, assuming that not many people were going to be asking for a further movie, so it wouldn’t be made. I was wrong.

I forgot that Descendants as a franchise was a big property for The Walt Disney Company and that, to them, it would make perfect sense to make a fourth Descendants movie. To the rest of us, maybe a “Descendants 4” didn’t make sense.

Without a key member of the cast, Cameron Boyce, as well as seeing the effect his passing had on the rest of the cast and crew, it seemed unthinkable for Descendants to go on without him. I wasn’t happy with the idea of this new movie; others felt the same way.

I can’t say I kept up with any further news, other than to hear that Descendants 4 was in the works. I didn’t know when the release date was, I didn’t know who the cast were, I didn’t know what the plot was, and frankly, I didn’t care. As 2024 began, and trailers and interviews started popping up online, I paid a slight bit of attention. I knew that if I wanted to review the Descendants original trilogy, I couldn’t just ignore Descendants 4 – which came to be known as Descendants: The Rise of Red, to distance itself from the original films.

It is only fitting for Descendants: The Rise of Red to not be numbered, as it is not a sequel to Descendants, but a spin-off, with just two original cast members returning: Fairy Godmother, and, thankfully, Uma. When I heard Uma was back, I was vaguely intrigued.

Yet I still wasn’t excited. I only watched the movie this week, not being enough of a fan to watch it on its premiere date or even its premiere weekend, so by the time I got round to watching Descendants: The Rise of Red, the reviews were already circulating and the results were mixed.

After watching Descendants: The Rise of Red, I felt that the music was comparable to Descendants, as was the talent of the main cast, however, what really let it down was the story. Ten minutes before the end, I felt like the plot was leading up to something, and then – nothing happened. It was disappointing, because I thought so much more could’ve been done with the storyline, but the character development did not allow it to happen in the way I’d hoped it would. More on that later. On a more positive note, if you disregard the Descendants trilogy, which you can do here, Descendants: The Rise of Red is a pleasant enough movie, still full of colour and clever ideas. In the context of the Descendants series though, it fell a bit flat for me.

PLOT

Descendants: The Rise of Red begins with a voiceover from the one and only Uma, who says that Ben and Mal, now King and Queen of Auradon, along with Evie and Jay, have sailed away to other realms to promote harmony and peaceful relations with Auradon. Mal has named Uma as Principal of Auradon Prep in their absence.

Uma arrives at Auradon Prep and is welcomed by Fairy Godmother, who is also moving on to a new role as President of Auradon University. As her first order of business, Uma says she plans to invite Red, daughter of the Queen of Hearts, to come from her home of Wonderland to Auradon Prep, as part of the Villain Kid initiative that Ben started all those years ago. Fairy Godmother is uncertain by this addition to the school, as Wonderland is a hostile land, and its leader never wanted to join Auradon, therefore, the rabbit hole, the portal to Wonderland, was walled off, so no-one could enter Auradon from there. Uma says that the VKs would’ve wanted this, especially Carlos, who is no longer with them but had always believed other VKs would get their second chance in Auradon like he had. The invite is sent.

In Wonderland, we see that Red is actually quite the rebel. She doesn’t like her mother’s tyrannical way of ruling, has no desire to grow up to be like her, and just wants to get out of there – except the Queen of Hearts won’t allow it. Dodging the guards after vandalising the Wonderland Plaza, Red is rescued by her friend Maddox Hatter, son of the Mad Hatter. He tells her that perhaps someday she’ll be able to have a new life somewhere else, showing her a project he’s been working on: a pocket watch, which is actually a time machine. But Maddox quickly pulls it away from Red, telling her it’s much too dangerous; altering the fabric of time can lead to disastrous consequences. Red is then sent back home, sneakily taking the pocket watch with her. The next day, Red meets with her mother, the Queen, who is just about to punish her Army Captain, the Jack of Diamonds, for not finding the criminal who vandalised her plaza – not realising that the criminal was in fact her daughter! The Queen then tells Red to decide how the Captain should be punished. She isn’t able to do it, disappointing the Queen of Hearts, but the disappointment is short-lived, as Maddox arrives with a letter. It’s the letter from Auradon. Red doesn’t believe her mother would ever let her go to Auradon Prep, since the Queen despises Auradon, but surprisingly, the Queen readily accepts the invitation, telling Red to pack. She obviously has a plan…

Back in Auradon, we meet Cinderella and King Charming’s daughter, Chloe, sister of Chad Charming, who is practising for the Auradon Swords and Shields team with her dad. She is very excited to be heading to Auradon Prep, and her parents are very proud of her, so much so that she gets a gift of glass sneakers. Chloe and Cinderella head to the welcoming ceremony at Auradon Prep for the new students, with King Charming going to see Chad at college instead.

The Queen of Hearts drives Red through the rabbit hole over to Auradon for this same welcoming ceremony. Their car is thoroughly inspected by security and they able to proceed inside the castle. The two soon come face-to-face with Cinderella and Chloe. The Queen of Hearts and Cinderella clearly have some bad blood between them, with Cinderella referencing some sort of prank that happened to the Queen when they were at school together. We also learn that the Queen’s name is apparently Bridget. Chloe tries to be nice to Red, but Red has no time for “goody-goodies”.

At the welcoming ceremony, Fairy Godmother introduces Uma as the new principal of the school, but as Uma is giving her speech to the new students, she becomes distracted by the Queen of Hearts shuffling a deck of cards. Uma asks her to stop, but the Queen refuses, throwing the cards into the air. The cards then transform into soldiers from her army. Uma is captured, Fairy Godmother’s wand is broken, and everyone runs in terror – though the Queen of course blocks off all the exits. The people have no choice put to bow to the Queen of Hearts, the new ruler of Auradon. Except Cinderella will not kneel to the Queen. The Queen of Hearts tells her daughter to punish Cinderella for this act of treason, reiterating to Red that her plan is for the two to rule side-by-side, with the Queen’s hand-held looking glass even showing this future. Red, in a moment of weakness, sentences Cinderella to be beheaded. Seeing what she’s done, Red then pulls out Maddox’s time machine/pocket watch and plans to go back in time to fix this, except Chloe tries to attack Red at the same time, to stop her mother being taken away, and touches the pocket watch. The two go back in time together.

Confused as to where – and when – they are, since Red was never given instructions on how to use this pocket watch, Chloe and Red find themselves in an empty part of what they assume is still Auradon Prep. It’s not. It turns out instead of going back two minutes, like Red planned to just take her mother’s cards off her to stop the coup, they have actually gone back two decades, and this isn’t Auradon – it’s Merlin Academy, the school that existed prior to Belle and Beast’s creation of the United States of Auradon. Red and Chloe come up with a new plan to stop the Queen of Hearts’ takeover of Auradon; perhaps they can stop the prank that made the Queen so bitter in the first place.

Merlin, the Headmaster of Merlin Academy, obviously, finds the two girls and assumes they are transfer students, immediately taking them to his Alchemy class. The security here is much more lax than at Auradon Prep; apparently, anyone can just walk in! At Alchemy class, Red and Chloe are assigned mentors – their mothers. Well, the teenage versions of their mothers, known here as Bridget and Ella. Bridget and Ella don’t exactly fit in with the rest of the students, but Bridget tries to be kind to everyone – even the Villain Kids. Yes, more VKs – and some of these happen to be the teenage versions of the VK parents from the first three Descendants films! The leader of this VK group, which includes Captain Hook, Maleficent, and Hades, is actually Uliana, Ursula’s younger sister, so Uma’s aunt. She doesn’t like Bridget or Ella, tormenting them constantly. But as Bridget hands out cupcakes to everyone, complete with flamingo feathers, Uliana decides she wants some of the feathers and starts to eat them. Bridget warns her she shouldn’t have too many, but Uliana doesn’t listen and promptly turns into a flamingo. Despite falling into water and the spell wearing off, Uliana wants revenge on Bridget and starts to plan with her evil sidekicks.

Red and Chloe know that this act of revenge is due to take place at the Castlecoming dance – see what they did there? – and follow the VKs to find out exactly what it will be. They go to Ella’s house to get some advice, and find that she is being used as a servant by her stepmother. Ella informs them that Uliana is trying to live up to her sister’s meanness and that she picks on Bridget because she’s weak and won’t stop trying to be friends with them. Ella then tells Red and Chloe that the VKs normally hang out at the Black Lagoon. Red and Chloe go there, where they overhear their plan: to make a cupcake from the Sorcerer’s Cookbook that will turn Bridget into a monster in front of the whole school. No, there aren’t any buckets of pig blood here like in that infamous prom scene from Carrie (1976), so if that’s what you were hoping for, well, then you’ve got some major issues!

Since Bridget is a keen baker, Red and Chloe ask if she happens to own the Sorcerer’s Cookbook, but she does not, saying it is likely banned for student use, with Merlin probably having the only copy hidden in his office. Red knows to stop the prank they have to get that book before the VKs do; Chloe thinks they should just tell Merlin. Red goes alone to steal the book, with Chloe going to Ella for more help. Ella tells her that sometimes you have to cross that line between “good” and “bad” to do what’s right. Chloe goes to Merlin’s office to help Red. The VKs see the two go into the office and watch them. Red and Chloe fight off the magical defence systems in Merlin’s office, with some struggles, but the VKs enter at the last moment and grab the book. They are then frozen because the book can’t fall into the wrong hands, i.e., a villain cannot open it. Chloe tells Red to open it, to prove that she isn’t evil, and sure enough, the book opens for her. They hear Merlin coming to the office and escape through a window. Merlin sees the frozen VKs and gives them detention.

Red and Chloe hide the book, stopping the prank on Bridget. They then go back to the present, though Red is scared they haven’t done enough to change events. As they approach the ceremony in Auradon again, Red hears the Queen of Hearts refuse to stop playing with her cards during Uma’s speech, just like the first time. Red braces herself for the coup all over again, but it turns out the Queen is actually just excited for her daughter to be in Auradon and throws heart-shaped bubbles into the air. She is also wearing a white and red dress, not just red, as more evidence that she has changed.

And that’s the end of the story. Or is it? In typical Descendants fashion, we are then told by Uma that this isn’t the end of the story, and that we’ll have to wait and see whether Red and Chloe’s time-travelling escapades have actually done more harm than good…

CHARACTERS & CAST

Naturally, Descendants: The Rise of Red focuses on the new Villain Kid, Red. Although she is the daughter of the oppressive Queen of Hearts, Red is not evil. She doesn’t want to rule Wonderland, or want to be remotely like her mother. The only thing Red really wants is to get out of Wonderland and live her own life, where she doesn’t have to feel like a big disappointment. Red is a bit of a rebel though, even if not villainous, and doesn’t spend her time being sweet and kind to everyone. She breaks the rules, pushes the boundaries, and yet, she is still caring. She wants to change her mother’s past so that she doesn’t need to feel angry and hateful towards everyone. She is devoted to her mother both in the past and the present, despite herself, protecting Bridget from bullies in the past, and relenting to her mother’s wish for Red to be a strict ruler at times. Red is a complicated girl, figuring out everything as she goes along, but her heart is in the right place most of the time.

Kylie Cantrall was cast in the role of Red. Cantrall began her career online, singing and performing on YouTube, later releasing her own music. She gained a presence in acting from Disney Channel roles, like Raven’s Home (2017-23), in the role of Jasmine in 2018, and the lead of Gabby in Gabby Duran & the Unsittables (2019-21). In 2023, Cantrall was cast as Dani in Season 4 of the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-23). She also provided the voice of Savannah in the movie Ron’s Gone Wrong (2021). Cantrall had a link to Descendants prior to her role as Red, appearing alongside Cheyenne Jackson in the TV special Descendants Remix Dance Party (2020).

Chloe is the daughter of Cinderella and King Charming, so she has been brought up to be kind, selfless, hard-working, and loyal – which is quite amusing since her brother, Chad, turned out to be a bit of a jerk! Chloe is intelligent and athletic, so would easily thrive in a school like Auradon Prep. She behaves like a princess should, however, she soon finds that this annoys Red, who isn’t your typical princess, villain or hero, and learns through their time-travelling journey together that it isn’t always so easy to determine what a “good” person or a “bad” person is, realising that she needs to decide what are the right and wrong actions for her, not just fitting everything and everyone into a simple category.

The part of Chloe went to Malia Baker. She began her acting career with a few small roles in series like The Flash (2014-23) and The Twilight Zone (2019-20), before starring as Mary Anne Spier in the Netflix series The Baby-Sitters Club (2020-21). After this, she appeared in the second revival series of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019-22), in the role of Gabby Lewis for its second season.

For their parents, we have the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella. In the present day, the Queen of Hearts is hard-to-please, easy-to-anger, and generally unlikeable. She rules Wonderland with an iron fist, everything being exactly to her satisfaction. On the other side of that, we have Cinderella. She is kind, caring, and the epitome of goodness. Despite her difficult upbringing, she has come out of it unscathed and unresentful, whereas the Queen of Hearts seems to blame everyone else for how she is feeling, turning her back on anyone who was cruel to her. They are the polar opposites of each other at this stage, with Cinderella trying to get the Queen to forget whatever prank was played on her at school, when they used to be friends, and let go of some of that hatred. It doesn’t work.

The Queen of Hearts was played by Rita Ora here. Rita Ora is best known for her singing career, where she has had such hits as “How We Do (Party)”, “R.I.P.”, “Anywhere”, and “Lonely Together”. She has also featured as a judge and host on talent shows such as The Masked Singer and The Voice. On screen, Ora was cast as Mia Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) and its two sequels, and later appeared as Dr. Laurent in Detective Pikachu (2019). She also voiced the character of Sir Luthera/Wandering Blade in the animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight (2022-23).

Making a surprise appearance as Cinderella in Descendants: The Rise of Red was actually Brandy Norwood, who was cast in this same role for the 1997 live-action television movie Cinderella, which was produced by Disney but was based on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical, not their animated movie. Although an unexpected casting choice, it was welcomed by many fans of the 1997 movie. Paolo Montalban, Brandy’s co-star, also returned to his role of Prince Charming, though now a king, for this Descendants movie. Brandy was originally known for her singing career though, releasing her debut album in 1993. She won an American Music Award in 1996 for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist, a Grammy for her song “The Boy Is Mine” in 1999 for Best R&B Performance, a Teen Choice Award in 1999 for Choice Female Artist, and a Kids’ Choice Award in 1996 for Favorite Singer, amongst many accolades. Brandy was also a judge on the first season of America’s Got Talent (2006-present), was a contestant on Season 11 of Dancing with the Stars (2005-present), and has acted on various series including Zoe Ever After (2016) in the lead role, and Queens (2021-22) as Naomi Harris-Jones. Rita Ora was a big fan of Brandy when she was younger, so was so excited to be acting alongside her[1].

We also get to see the teenage versions of the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella, and their characters might surprise you. In actual fact, the Queen of Hearts, or Bridget as she is known at this point in time, is very kind, wanting to be friends with everyone, even the villains. It’s quite a shock for Red when she finds out that her mother changed so much just because of something that happened to her at school. Cinderella, or Ella as she is known, is not as nice and sweet as you might expect either. She is best friends with Bridget, and has a crush on Prince Charming, but despite Cinderella in many adaptations of the story not being angry with the fact she is treated as a servant and not seen to match up to people’s ideas of royalty, in this movie, Ella does seem to feel she has been treated unfairly and holds a grudge against the princesses, as we see in some of the scenes of Ella talking to Chloe. Ella tells Chloe “her princess is showing”, which isn’t the kindest thing to say to someone who has lived quite a sheltered life; there are better ways of voicing this! It’s also odd to hear Ella say her best friend is “weak”, when she talks to Red and Chloe about why the VKs pick on Bridget. It’s a very strange take on the character, but I guess it is more layered than many other versions. It is just at odds with Brandy’s portrayal of Cinderella, I think.

Bridget was played by Ruby Rose Turner, with Ella being portrayed by Morgan Dudley. Ruby Rose Turner had previously been cast as Cami in the series Coop & Cami Ask the World (2018-20) for Disney Channel before Descendants: The Rise of Red. Morgan Dudley recently appeared in the Netflix movie A Tourist’s Guide to Love (2023) as Robin.

Now, for the VKs. The leader of this new group is Uliana. As Ella says to Chloe and Red, she is trying to “out-mean” her older sister, Ursula, by bullying many of the royals. She has a group of sidekicks around her, including the mistress of all evil, Maleficent, and God of the Underworld, Hades, which is a little bit weird, seeing as I highly doubt those two would be anyone’s sidekick, but never mind. To be honest, I find the whole concept of these particular villains being at school odd, and it’s very hard not to get confused by all the multiple storylines from the animated films, as well as those in Descendants. Even though Descendants clearly has its own story, and is not related to the animated films, I can’t forget the canon of the animated films when it comes to the villain parents in Descendants.

Anyway, Dara Reneé was cast as Uliana, having been cast as Kourtney Greene in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She had also appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie Freaky Friday (2018), and, alongside Kylie Cantrall and Cheyenne Jackson, was a part of the TV special Descendants Remix Dance Party (2020). Reneé is very much the star here, with the rest of VKs not making a big impression on me.

There are only two returning characters and cast members for Descendants: The Rise of Red, and they are China Anne McClain, returning in the role of Uma, and Melanie Paxson, returning as Fairy Godmother. Although the movie does not revolve around them, and they are minor, supporting roles this time around, it felt comforting to have these two back. It made me settle into the story a bit easier, knowing those two were there, even if Mal, Jay, Evie, and Ben were not.

MUSIC

The music of Descendants: The Rise of Red, on the whole, is decent. I do like the first song of “Red”, performed by Kylie Cantrall. This is our first introduction to the character of Red, and it’s a strong, powerful song, where we see that she is not her mother’s daughter and wants nothing more than to escape her. She also gets a kick out of destroying her mother’s castle grounds and dodging her guards apparently! On 21^st June 2024, “Red” was released as the second single from the movie, and it was performed by Cantrall as part of “NerdNite” at Vidcon in Anaheim on 28^th June[2]. Alex Boniello also performs on this song as the Jack of Diamonds, Head of the Queen of Hearts’ army. Boniello had previously performed the roles of Moritz and Connor Murphy in the Broadway productions of Spring Awakening, from 2015 to 2016, and Dear Evan Hansen, from 2018 to 2020, respectively.

Red then gets a duet with her mother, performed by Rita Ora, called “Love Ain’t It”, when they arrive at Auradon, as the Queen of Hearts tries to convince her daughter to rule Wonderland just like she does. This is also when we see the hostility between the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella. Honestly, I didn’t like this song much at all, and probably even found it worse than the duet Mal has with Hades in Descendants 3. It doesn’t match my style or taste in music and is nothing to do with the singers. I’m a big fan of Rita Ora’s music normally. Malia Baker, as Chloe, also gets to have a duet with Cantrall as Red, and that is “Fight of Our Lives”, when the two figure out how to work alongside each other, despite their differences, so they can fix everything and get back to Auradon. I don’t mind the chorus too much on this one, but I don’t love the rap portions particularly.

Chloe later has a duet with her mother, performed by Morgan Dudley, but when she’s younger. This is the song “Get Your Hands Dirty”. They are actually cleaning up Lady Tremaine’s courtyard together, though this is all about Ella telling Chloe that life isn’t always “black and white”, when Chloe isn’t sure what to do about stopping the villains; she knows breaking into Merlin’s office is wrong, but should she do it anyway “for the greater good”, to stop the VKs? This is quite a pleasant song, and I like the melody.

Now for the big group numbers. There are two of these. The first one is “Life Is Sweeter”, where Red and Chloe are introduced to all the students at Merlin Academy, as Bridget hands out cupcakes to everyone. This is my second favourite song in the soundtrack, after “Red”. It’s a hopeful, positive song with all the heroes, showing everyone in harmony – until the VKs come along. But that makes it all the more fun! It also gets a reprise at the end of the movie, performed by Ora and Cantrall. The other group number is just for the villains, and it’s called “Perfect Revenge”, whilst they are discussing the best revenge plan for Bridget. Again, it’s a bit too “rappy” for me, but Dara Renée is very good here as Uliana. I also liked the “poor unfortunate soul” line. Clever.

We also have three shorter songs that appear in the movie. One of these is “Shuffle of Love”, performed by Ruby Rose Turner as Bridget. The full version of the song appears on the soundtrack, but it only appears briefly in Descendants: The Rise of Red, when Red and Chloe are talking to Bridget in her room, and she mentions a new dance she’s created. It would’ve been a good song to use if they’d had the Castlecoming dance scene… It is played during the End Credits too. Then there is a brief version of Cinderella and Charming, performed by Brandy and Pablo Montalban, singing “So This Is Love” from Cinderella (1950). But the best one is “What’s My Name (Red Version)”. Uma performs this during the Welcoming Ceremony at Auradon Prep, just her and her pirates, which I very much enjoyed. The full version was actually the first single from the soundtrack to be released, on 26^th April 2024, and features Kylie Cantrall as Red too.

Another song that appears on the soundtrack is a remix of “Life Is Sweeter”. Finally, a cover of Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation” is also listed on the soundtrack, performed by Cantrall, along with “Descendants: The Rise of Red Score Suite instrumental”, composed by Torin Borrowdale. The song “Bad Reputation” might sound familiar to anyone who likes 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Shrek (2001), or Red, White & Royal Blue (2023).

Much like its predecessors, the soundtrack for Descendants: The Rise of Red topped the US Billboard Kid Albums and US Soundtrack Albums charts, however, it has so far only peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard 200 chart, whereas the previous three Descendants soundtracks had reached No. 1, No. 6, and No. 7 respectively on that same chart.

PRODUCTION

Although a potential new Descendants movie exploring the realm of Wonderland was teased at the end of the animated short film Descendants: The Royal Wedding in 2021, it wasn’t for another year that this movie would be announced.

At the D23 Expo in September 2022, a new Descendants film was officially confirmed as being in production, under the working title Descendants: The Pocketwatch, clearly referencing the pocket watch that Red uses to go back in time. This title was perhaps a bit too “on the nose” so in March 2023, the official movie name was announced as Descendants: The Rise of Red. It would also seem that Disney were careful not to refer to it as Descendants 4, not wanting to annoy original Descendants fans any more than they already had! It also makes it clearer that this was going to be a spin-off, not a sequel. It was also said that Descendants: The Rise of Red would premiere on Disney+.

In March 2023, it was also confirmed that the original VKs would not be returning but that Uma and Fairy Godmother would be. Other casting news at this time was that Brandy and Paolo Montalban would be reprising their roles of Cinderella and Prince Charming from Disney’s live-action 1997 film Cinderella. Rita Ora was named as the Queen of Hearts, Kylie Cantrall was named as Red, her daughter, and Malia Baker was cast as Chloe, Cinderella’s daughter, alongside a list of teen actors who would be portraying students at Merlin’s Academy, like Villain Kids and Princes and Princesses. One of these was going to be a younger version of Rapunzel, named Zellie, whose scenes ended up being cut for time.

It was also believed at this time that the basic plot would be that Chloe and Red would be using the magical pocket watch to go back in time after chaos breaks out during the celebration of a new royal baby. This got fans very excited over the possibility of this being the announcement of Mal and Ben’s baby, even though they weren’t scheduled to return, as well as speculation over who else in Auradon might be having a baby[3]. This storyline was still being written in articles talking about Descendants: The Rise of Red as close to the premiere date as May 2024. This idea was clearly scrapped, for unknown reasons. All I can say is that I’m glad Disney couldn’t write a storyline of Mal and Ben having a baby, despite some fans clearly wanting this. Ben and Mal must still be in their early-20s at this stage. Come on, give them a chance to live their own lives first!

This new movie meant new characters to the Descendants franchise, and as per usual, their costuming did not disappoint. Much like the earlier Descendants films, there is still the same emphasis on characters having signature colours. In this case, Red and the Queen of Hearts, obviously, wear red, with Chloe and Cinderella wearing the expected blue. Bridget, a kinder version of the Queen of Hearts, wears pink, and Ella actually has more turquoise than blue in her costume, probably to distinguish between her and Chloe. Because Ella has turquoise in her clothes, it means that Uliana has a mixture of colours, like purple, to reference Ursula, and turquoise, to reference Uma, so the family colour chart is still the same. Unlike the Descendants trilogy though, we don’t see nearly as many princes and princesses wearing pretty dresses and tailored suits. The “VK look” of leather trousers, boots, and jackets certainly seems to have caught on, even in the past! Chloe isn’t even wearing a dress in present day Auradon, whereas Audrey, Mulan, Chad, and Ben are all costumed in typical royal and aristocratic fashion in their pastels and soft fabrics in the earlier movies. Tony Award-nominated costume designer Emilio Sosa took over the costume designs from Kara Saun for Descendants: The Rise of Red. Like Saun, Sosa was also on Project Runway, becoming the runner-up in Season 7. He went on to design costumes for various musicals and plays, such as Porgy and Bess, for which he received his Tony Award nomination in 2012, Sweeney Todd, and Annie Live! (2021).

There were also all new sets, like Wonderland. Wonderland is set in picture-perfect landscaping, with perfectly manicured gardens, a huge red castle, and many references to their “wonderful” queen. It is a much better version of Wonderland than what we see in the ABC spin-off series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013-14); also Disney, also live-action, but with the benefit of ten more years of CGI development. Anyone who has seen this series will know exactly what I’m talking about! Later, we get a brief look at the Villains’ hangout of the Black Lagoon, where they actually go inside an old, dead anglerfish… Eww. It might not even be dead, which makes it even more gross!

Again, similarly to the Descendants trilogy, the cast were put through tough training schedules, for dancing and sword-fighting. The dance routines aren’t quite as big as those in the first three Descendants movie. Although there are some ensemble dances, they don’t open and close the movie, and don’t feel like big celebratory moments with all the young cast, but the choreography is just as complicated and contemporary as you’d expect.

RECEPTION

Descendants: The Rise of Red held its red carpet on 10^th July 2024 at the Disney Studios in Burbank, which the cast attended, before premiering on screen on 12^th July; however, this was not on Disney Channel as you might expect. It was first shown on Disney+.

After Disney’s streaming service became such a huge success on its debut in the US and Canada in November 2019, before hitting the global markets in 2020, it was decided that Disney Channel would shut down in certain countries, the UK included, in the early 2020s, with content moving online instead, although Disney Channel does remain in America. Descendants: The Rise of Red will have a Disney Channel premiere on 9^th August.

Luckily, having its release on Disney+ only increases a movie’s chances of having high viewing figures, and Descendants: The Rise of Red was no different. It became the most viewed Disney Channel Original Movie premiere in Disney+ history – though in all fairness, I don’t think there have been too many of those so far – having 6.7 million views in its first three days on the platform. This is comparable to Descendants 3, which was viewed by 8 million total in the three days after its premiere date[4].

However, high viewership does not always correlate with audience reaction. In this case, Descendants: The Rise of Red suffered more negative reviews than those within the original Descendants trilogy. Some of these opinions were established from the point that production of Descendants: The Rise of Red was confirmed, due to the fact that making a new Descendants movie without Cameron Boyce was seen as an insult to his memory by a small proportion of fans. The fact that some of the original cast members confirmed they would not be returning to this “sequel” as well, having moved on to other projects since, made this original opinion even stronger, as these fans felt that the original cast were also against a new Descendants film. Some of these fans even debated “boycotting” Descendants: The Rise of Red for this reason, but whether they did or not, I don’t know.

Others were excited by this movie, and were quick to point out that Descendants: The Rise of Red was not being promoted as a sequel, and is in fact a spin-off. These fans liked the idea of new universes being explored outside of Mal and her friends in Auradon.

This was prior to the movie’s premiere, and yet even after the premiere, the reviews seem to fit into two different camps once again. The more positive camp say that the movie does feel like an extension of the Descendants franchise, with some great music, costuming, and set pieces, and just said that it was not better than the original trilogy because it was different, so perhaps shouldn’t be compared to the original movies anyway. It was deemed “good enough” but not exactly special.

The more negative side said that there was some confusion over the characters, especially as the original actors from the 1997 Cinderella film were brought back for Descendants: The Rise of Red, even though their backstory wasn’t going to be the same as the 1997 film. I will admit this did take a bit of time for me to get my head around. I had to basically forget everything that I had seen in Cinderella (1997) and adjust to the fact that Cinderella and Prince Charming actually met at school here. I have only recently watched Cinderella, so it wasn’t too difficult for me to do, but had you been a huge fan of that movie, watching it multiple times throughout your life, I can understand this new backstory being too much to get on board with. Others also felt that the story was rushed, and full of plot holes, which is a typical comment with many time-travel-based movies; everyone gets confused.

So, what did I think of Descendants: The Rise of Red? I thought it was alright, but I won’t be rushing back to watch it. Some of the music did feel similar to the Descendants trilogy; I liked Uma returning, if only for a few brief scenes; and I found many of the new characters quite likeable and well-acted, such as Red, Chloe, and Bridget. But parts of the story did confuse me. The biggest issue I had was that it felt to me like the story had been leading us in a new direction, a big twist, which never came to pass. Instead, we got the ending we’d all been expecting, which isn’t new or exciting. This relates to the “prank” that is played on Bridget. Although Red and Chloe believe the VKs would be carrying out this prank on Bridget, I thought that this was going to be red herring, and that Ella was going to have played the prank on her. I felt this because Ella wasn’t overly nice about Bridget, saying she was “weak”, and not accepting Bridget for the nice, sweet person she was. I wondered if maybe Red and Chloe would have stopped the VKs in their tracks, but then at the dance would come to find that Ella, Chloe’s mother, had actually done something to hurt or embarrass Bridget there, perhaps to try and impress her Prince Charming. This might have explained why Cinderella seemed to feel guilty over Bridget’s past in the present time, and why she became so kind and good, as a way of righting her past wrongs. This would have also fixed the “plot hole” of the VKs being frozen by touching the Sorcerer’s Cookbook, which would have surely happened in the original timeline, since Chloe and Red didn’t put magic on it, so they couldn’t have even carried out their plan. Anyway, we got what we got, and it was a predictable ending, which felt like a big let-down and a missed opportunity.

LEGACY

Much like the first three Descendants movies, clothing, novels, and toys were available to purchase around the time of Descendants: The Rise of Red’s release date. Some of these toys included dolls, produced by Mattel, of the new characters, like Uliana, Red, Chloe, and Bridget. Some of these dolls were also produced with a version of the Sorcerer’s Cookbook[5].

It would also seem like Descendants: The Rise of Red was made with a sequel already in mind. Uma’s voiceover at the end of the movie suggests that Chloe and Red have messed up the timeline by going back in time, and that the consequences of this have yet to be discovered. This turned out to be exactly the set-up for another movie that it intended to be, with “Descendants 5” first announced in February 2025. An official title for the movie was announced on 6^th May 2025: Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, signalling that this movie will take place in Wonderland.

Furthermore, at the D23 Expo in August 2024, it was announced that some of the cast of Descendants: The Rise of Red would be reuniting for a concert tour in Summer 2025. But this isn’t just a concert for Descendants fans, because this concert tour also involves cast members from the ZOMBIES franchise, making this the Descendants/ZOMBIES: Worlds Collide Tour. From Descendants: The Rise of Red, fans can look forward to seeing Kylie Cantrall, Dara Reneé, Malia Baker, and Joshua Colley on stage, alongside stars of ZOMBIES 4: Dawn of the Vampires Freya Skye, Malachi Burton, and Mekonnen Knife. The tour kicked off in San Diego on 17^th July 2025, and will end in Fort Worth, Texas on 16^th September 2025.

Within the Disney Parks, costumes and props from Descendants: The Rise of Red have been spotted at the attraction Walt Disney Presents at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. Costumes of Red, Chloe, Bridget, and the Queen of Hearts, along with a replica of the Sorcerer’s Cookbook, are currently on show in one of the exhibits, as promotion for the new film. These exhibits swap out constantly, so it will likely only be around until hype for the film has died down.

This Halloween season, a new version of the DescenDANCE party that first debuted in 2019 after the release of Descendants 3 played at the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties in 2024 at Rockettower Plaza Stage in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, this time using music from Descendants: The Rise of Red[6].

FINAL THOUGHTS

Descendants: The Rise of Red received mixed reviews on its release. This may have surprised those at Disney, but it really shouldn’t have done. It was always going to be difficult to follow something as popular as the first three Descendants films, especially when Descendants 3 and Descendants: The Royal Wedding tied up everything pretty well. Without Cameron Boyce, it didn’t seem right to some fans to continue the franchise, so selling Descendants: The Rise of Red on this loyal group had to be tough.

I didn’t think Descendants: The Rise of Red was a bad movie, and if it hadn’t been linked to the Descendants franchise, I might have liked it more. It reminded me a little bit of The School for Good and Evil (2022), which I very much did like, probably more so because it wasn’t linked to Disney animated films. Having characters go back in time to see these great villains of Disney Animation just seemed strange; seeing them in the future is much easier to accept than seeing them in the past, when we already think we know what they’ve done from some of the best Disney animated movies ever made. It didn’t work so well.

The time-travel angle does give Disney some scope to rectify some of the viewer complaints and comments, such as around character development and predictable storylines, but it remains to be seen whether Disney can live up to this potential.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Entertainment Tonight, ‘Descendants: Rise of Red: Go Behind the Scenes of Brandy’s Cinderella Return! (Exclusive)’, Entertainment Tonight YouTube Channel, 7^th July 2024.

[2] Credit: Disney, ‘Kylie Cantrall Paints Wonderland “Red” In New Music Video From “Descendants: The Rise of Red”’, DisneyPlus.com, 21^st June 2024.

[3] Credit: Author Unknown, ‘Descendants 4: The Rise of Red – what we know about the new Disney film’, BBC.co.uk, 27^th March 2023.

[4] Credit: Phil Wood, ‘‘Descendants: The Rise of Red’ Breaks Three-Day Disney+ Viewership Record’, WDWNT.com, 17^th July 2024.

[5] Credit: Author Unknown, ‘Celebrate the Release of Descendants: The Rise of Red with New Products and Soundtrack!’, D23.com, 12^th July 2024.

[6] Credit: Cade Handley, ‘New ‘Descendants: The Rise of Red’ Exhibit at Disney’s Hollywood Studios’, WDWNT.com, 12^th July 2024.

26th Jul 202416th Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

Descendants 3 (2019)

BACKGROUND

Descendants had become a huge entertainment property for The Walt Disney Company in the space of just a couple of years. With two movies, a few television spin-offs, a series of novels, costumes, and merchandising, Descendants was great for business.

So, it made sense for the Descendants franchise to increase its potential with one more movie, to create a trilogy. Uma had told us at the end of Descendants 2 (2017) that the story still wasn’t over after all, so a “threequel” just made sense.

Disney film trilogies aren’t actually all that common. No Disney animated film has currently stretched to three movies, with sequels even being relatively rare, although it has been said that Frozen III is in the works. Only Pixar’s Cars and Toy Story franchises have gone as far as three movies, although Toy Story has of course reached four, with a fifth apparently in development.

In Disney Channel movie history, Descendants became the fifth franchise to reach at least three films, after Zenon, Halloweentown, The Cheetah Girls, and High School Musical, but making Descendants 3 was still a big deal. The identity of Mal’s father was being teased; Uma was going to make a return and she wasn’t going to be happy; plus, Descendants 2 talked about a whole new generation of Villain Kids making their way to Auradon. A lot was going to happen and the fans were excited about where Descendants 3 would take them.

Little did we know that the hype train was about to come to a crushing stop.

On 6th July 2019, the news broke that Cameron Boyce, the actor who played Carlos, had suddenly passed away, at the age of just 20, a month before Descendants 3 would be released. I remember where I was when I found out, because I was away on holiday. My thoughts instantly turned to Cameron’s family, and to the cast of Descendants, who I knew would be absolutely devastated to lose one of their closest friends, and someone they had been working alongside for four years. Promoting this movie was going to be a struggle for them, and watching the movie was going to be difficult for the fans.

I was in my late-20s when I watched Descendants 3 and I was not looking forward to it. I knew it would be difficult to watch, even for me, someone who hadn’t grown up watching this cast. They were a similar age to me, so I was just devastated for them. I can’t imagine how the young fans of the franchise must have felt at this news. It might have felt to them like a close friend had suddenly gone from their lives and they didn’t know how to handle it.

Before this week, I had only watched Descendants 3 once, on its premiere date in the UK. After that, I had bought the DVD but I hadn’t watched it again. In all honesty, I wasn’t a fan of the story or the music. I was not sure whether or not the news of Cameron’s passing had been the main factor in me not enjoying Descendants 3. On re-watching it this week, I found my opinion had only changed slightly. It is most definitely my least favourite of the three, although I did like the ending and felt that the finality of it was fitting, as well as ending the series on a high note, especially in light of the tragic news.

PLOT

Descendants 3 begins with Mal giving us all a brief recap about the journey of the VKs in Auradon so far. We then find that the four VKs, Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos, are at the Isle of the Lost to announce the new VKs that have been selected to come to Auradon, to study at Auradon Prep as they did. At a ceremony for “VK Day”, it is confirmed that Dizzy, daughter of Drizella; Celia, daughter of Dr. Facilier; and Squirmy and Squeaky, twin sons of Mr. Smee, will be the next four to go to Auradon. They will be picked up and brought to Auradon soon.

Back in Auradon, Mal has been keeping watch for Uma as she is worried about her return and what threat she may bring to Auradon when she does. Ben tells her not to worry and that they’d better get going to pick up the new VKs. They go outside, where many other Auradon residents are, supposedly to watch the new VKs journey to Auradon on television. It then turns out that this is a surprise proposal, with Ben proposing to Mal. She happily accepts, and everyone is so happy for them both. All except Audrey, Aurora’s daughter, who has returned to Auradon. Her grandmother, Queen Leah, is furious with Audrey for ruining their family’s legacy by not becoming Ben’s queen. But there’s no time for bad vibes, because Mal, Ben, Carlos, Jay, and Evie have to get to the Isle to collect the new VKs.

As the group are about to leave the Isle through the barrier, disaster strikes. Hades rushes towards the closing barrier and tries to pull himself through. Mal transforms into her dragon form to try and fight him off, but Hades attacks her, using his “ember” to drain her of her magic. Using the last bit of strength she has, Mal successfully pushes Hades back through the barrier, and they return to Auradon. But that’s not all. Audrey, angry at Mal for “ruining her life”, goes to the Museum of Cultural History to steal the Queen of Auradon’s crown. At the same time, she is drawn to Maleficent’s sceptre, which also resides there as an exhibit. Audrey takes both the sceptre and the crown and becomes a villain.

With all this happening, Belle and Beast, and Fairy Godmother, are concerned about the safety of Auradon. Mal proposes that the best solution is to close the barrier forever. Ben is not happy with this solution, as it ruins his whole plan to unite Auradon and the Isle of the Lost eventually. Mal says it is their only choice and he reluctantly agrees to it. Mal goes to talk this all through with Evie, however, Mal does not mention that it was actually her idea to close the barrier and Evie believes Mal won’t let that happen, pleased that Mal is soon to be an official royal and she can make important decisions like that. At Evie’s house or company headquarters, because she’s now a big-time fashion designer, Audrey arrives, showing that she was the one who stole the artefacts. Mal tells Audrey not to use Maleficent’s sceptre, because the magic is too dangerous and too powerful. Audrey doesn’t care, having gone full villain at this point, and turns Mal into an old hag. Evie, Carlos, and Jay see what has happened and ask if Mal’s magic can reverse the spell on her. Mal says that there is only one thing that can reverse the magic of the sceptre; Hades’ ember.

The four VKs, and Celia, because she knows where Hades’ lair is, head to the Isle on their scooters, using the same magic spell that Mal used in Descendants 2 to get across the water without opening the barrier. Meanwhile, at a birthday party for Jane, Carlos’ girlfriend and Fairy Godmother’s daughter, Audrey has arrived and puts a sleeping curse on the gathering. Jane avoids the spell by jumping into the Enchanted Lake, whose waters can reverse magic spells, until it dissipates. She then calls Ben to tell him what has happened to the others. When the VKs arrive on the Isle, Mal is freed from the “old hag” spell, since there is no magic on the Isle. They go to Dr. Facilier’s Voodoo Arcade where Carlos sees a news report on television saying that all of Auradon is under a sleeping curse. This further motivates Mal to get Hades’ ember. The others try to retrieve their scooters from Harry and Gil, who have stolen them, whilst Mal and Celia rush over to Hades’ lair, where we learn that Hades is in fact Mal’s father. Hades naturally does not want to part with the ember, but after some persuasion, he hands it over to Mal, warning her that she is only “half Hades” so its powers won’t work in the same way. Mal says she’ll take her chances and leaves with it, being told not to get it wet. Who knew magic embers were like gremlins?

Back in Auradon, Audrey appears to Ben, saying she’ll reverse the curse if he makes her his queen. Obviously, Ben refuses this, so instead of putting Ben to sleep, Audrey curses him with something else, and then she starts turning some of the Auradon residents to stone.

The VKs then leave the Isle – via the barrier that Jay has the remote control for. Which is odd, because they arrived on their magic scooters over the water; why didn’t they just drive on the road to the Isle? Anyway, they couldn’t retrieve the scooters, so I guess they are walking now, but just as the barrier is about to close, Harry and Gil jump through it. The ember is knocked out of Mal’s hand, but luckily, Uma appears in the water and catches it. She turns into her human self again, and says that she’s been looking for a hole in the barrier, but couldn’t find one, though she did get to see from afar all the wonderful things that Auradon has that the Isle does not. Uma says she’ll drop the ember in the ocean unless Mal agrees that all the VKs on the Isle be given the chance to go to Auradon. Mal agrees through desperation. Uma, Harry, and Gil then join the others on the quest to lift the curse.

In Auradon, Carlos’ dog, Dude, still talking after the events of Descendants 2, tells them that Audrey put some of the residents to sleep and others turned to stone. The group go to the castle to find Ben, but Audrey has been watching them through the sceptre and curses the suits of armour to attack them. Luckily, the VKs outsmart the spell and move on. They then go to Audrey’s school dorm room to try and find her. She’s not there, but Uma reads her diary and discovers that she spends a lot of time at Fairy Cottage. The team then split up, with the boys going to find Ben, and the girls going to Evie’s house.

At the house, they find Doug, Evie’s boyfriend, asleep, and she wakes him with true love’s kiss. But Audrey tries to use magic to trap them in the house. Using both their magic powers combined, Uma and Mal manage to defeat the spell, showing that they actually make a good team. Meanwhile, the boys discover that Ben has been turned into a beast. Carlos gets him to calm down by removing a thorn from his paw, and then Jane comes along and shoots him with water from the Enchanted Lake to – mostly – remove the curse. It seems the water is not all-powerful though and leaves Ben with fangs and some grizzly facial hair!

They then meet the others at Evie’s house, before heading out to Fairy Cottage, with Ben leading the way since Audrey had taken him there before. Only a traumatised Chad, Cinderella’s son, is found, as he had been helping Audrey until she went a bit too evil. Afterwards, Ben wonders why Uma is helping them, to which Evie says it’s because Mal promised to let all the VKs leave the Isle. Mal then confesses that her plan was, and still is, to close the barrier to the Isle – forever. Celia is angry that she will have to choose between her new life and seeing her father again, and snatches the ember, throwing it into some water. Uma and Harry angrily leave, and Evie tells Mal how disappointed she is in her, for getting her “happy ending” but not letting anyone else get theirs. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Ben are then turned to stone by Audrey. Mal seems lost about what to do next.

She hears Celia calling for help and follows the sound, to see Audrey holding her hostage at the top of a tower. Mal still has the unlit ember and using her dragon form tries to relight it, but it doesn’t work. Uma sees Mal struggling and uses her magic to help relight the ember. It works and Mal battles Audrey. The ember breaks all the spells, but wounds Audrey.

An unconscious Audrey is being watched over by Leah, as Ben, Mal, and his parents discuss what to do next. Mal knows that only Hades can revive her with the ember, but Ben doesn’t believe he’ll ever do that for them. Mal tells Ben that Hades is in fact her father, so he should help. Ben orders his guards to bring Hades to them. Hades then arrives handcuffed. He is reluctant to do anything for them, since Audrey is a villain, and why should she be helped just because she’s “one of them”? She went evil and should be treated as all the other villains have been. Mal eventually convinces him to use his ember to help Audrey and she is revived. Audrey is very apologetic about what she’s done, with Leah saying sorry for putting pressure on her, and Ben and Mal apologising for how they hurt her. Hades then hands the ember over to Mal to keep.

Later, there is an engagement party for Mal and Ben in Auradon. Mal gets up to give a speech, but says that she does not want to be Queen of Auradon because it is not a united realm. She tells everyone that without the help of “the villains”, Auradon would be in ruins. Good and bad can come from anywhere, regardless of who your parents are, so fear of the villains doesn’t help deal with anything. Mal proposes that they do finally unite the Isle and Auradon, by destroying the barrier once and for all. Ben and Fairy Godmother approve, and with the wand, the barrier is replaced with a bridge. All the residents from both the Isle and Auradon come together to celebrate, in a display of unity.

The movie then ends with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos walking across the bridge to the Isle to finally see their parents again.

CHARACTERS & CAST

There is plenty of action in Descendants 3, but unlike in the other two movies, quite a few of the main characters aren’t really used, sadly. At least not to their fullest. The movie is instead mostly about Mal and Audrey, or about Mal and Uma, with Evie, Jay, Carlos, Ben, and the others only being used as sidekicks, in my opinion anyway. I think this is why I struggled with the film in part, because I feel like this movie is too plot-driven, and not character-driven.

Mal seems to have settled in very comfortably to her new royal role. Her and Ben are making serious decisions about Auradon together, and the thought of becoming queen after the two of them get engaged doesn’t faze her one bit, which is quite the transition from how she was in Descendants 2. It’s also a surprise that she would want to take down the barrier between the Isle and Auradon forever, since she was set on staying there in the previous movie when she was having a crisis of confidence. It just seems like Mal’s whole behaviour has changed so much between Descendants 2 and Descendants 3, and I couldn’t get on board with it. She’s no longer Mal, she’s Queen Mal, which is fine; I get that royal life would change a person, but I thought Mal didn’t want to change herself…

I also struggled with her and Ben’s engagement. It seems to me that between each of the Descendants movies, only a few months can have passed, despite the movie’s being made two years apart. Supposedly, Descendants 3 is set after they have graduated from Auradon Prep, though it is not mentioned[1], so, in my mind, I’m watching two 18-year-olds get engaged, which seems odd to me to put in a Disney Channel movie. I understand that in fairy tales and Disney’s animated movies many of the princes and princesses get married when they are young, but Descendants feels too much like real-life to me that this doesn’t feel overly appropriate. Obviously, they are in love and they are a cute couple, but I just don’t think this plot point was necessary to the overall story. She didn’t need to get engaged to Ben to be able to get her opinions across on Auradon matters; Ben would’ve wanted to hear them regardless of whether she was an “official royal” or not. It is possible these two are 20-years-old at the time of Descendants 3, because four years passed between the making of the movies, but I find it hard to believe that Dizzy has waited two years since her official invitation from King Ben to join Auradon Prep before actually being confirmed as coming over. I get that they’d need to do health and safety assessments, and educational plans, and emergency contact forms, and all that paperwork, but two years is just ridiculous!

As for Evie, Jay, and Carlos, they unfortunately don’t seem to have much to do in Descendants 3. Evie’s biggest plot point is around her having her first kiss with Doug and worrying that it may not be true love as she tries to wake him from the curse, but this is all resolved in one song. She’s got her fashion business empire now, and a house, and she seems to be the mentor for the new VKs, but that’s about it. Jay has no sports team to be involved with here, so his main story is about his blossoming bromance with Gil as they plan to travel the world together at the end of the movie. Carlos is concerned about missing Jane’s birthday party at the start of Descendants 3, and then not much else happens. They just seem to be helping hands, and it’s a shame that they didn’t get to do more, whereas in Descendants 2, they had a lot of time together to talk as a group, about how they were feeling, and each one had an important emotional breakthrough in one way or another.

Dove Cameron, Mitchell Hope, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, and Cameron Boyce all returned to reprise their roles of Mal, Ben, Evie, Jay, and Carlos, respectively. Dove Cameron received the Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress for her role as Mal in 2020, and since Descendants, Dove Cameron has continued to act on screen, for example in the musical comedy series Schmigadoon! (2021-23), and having a voice role in the animated series Big Nate (2022-present). She released her debut album Alchemical: Volume 1 in December 2023 and her song “Boyfriend” was a viral sensation in 2022. Mitchell Hope continues to appear in films, such as Let It Snow (2019) and the Prime Video film Don’t Make Me Go (2022).

After receiving a main role in Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019) – which was great and definitely deserved a second season – Sofia Carson went on to appear in multiple Netflix films including Feel the Beat (2020) and Purple Hearts (2022), where she also wrote for and performed on the soundtrack. Carson also performed at the Oscars in 2023 alongside Diane Warren, singing the song “Applause” from the movie Tell It Like a Woman (2022), which was up for Best Original Song that year.

After Descendants, Booboo Stewart was cast in Season 4 and 5 of the series Good Trouble (2022-24), and is a member of the band That Band Honey, as well as being a mixed media artist. The world lost a very gifted actor when Cameron Boyce passed away due to complications from epilepsy in July 2019. He would’ve gone on to have a successful career. Boyce was set to co-star in Adam Sandler’s Hubie Halloween (2020) at the time of his death.

Uma, Harry, and Gil also returned to Descendants 3, and I must say, I wasn’t enjoying the movie all that much until Uma came back. She gave some much-needed energy to the film. Uma and Mal learning to get along and using their magic together is very touching, as is seeing them reconcile when the barrier goes down, since you can see how much that means to Uma, and how upset she was when it seemed that Mal was going to go back on her word just to get Uma to help her fix Auradon. Harry and Gil don’t add too much to the overall story, but they gave a much-needed injection of humour, from how they find Auradon to be a weird but wonderful place, stealing people’s money and eating too much fruit! At the end of the movie, Harry is rejected by Uma as he’ll flirt with anything that moves, so randomly, he seems to get together with Audrey, which is an amusing twist.

China Anne McClain, Thomas Doherty, and Dylan Playfair returned to portray their characters of Uma, Harry, and Gil, respectively. After Descendants, China Anne McClain was cast in Hubie Halloween (2020) and returned to Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (2006-present) where she plays the character Jazmine Payne. Doherty went on to star as Max Wolfe in the reboot of Gossip Girl (2021-23) and appeared in the horror film The Invitation (2022). Playfair continued to appear in the sitcom Letterkenny (2016-23) as Reilly, and then played Coach T in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (2021-22).

After missing out on Descendants 2, Audrey made her return to Auradon for Descendants 3. She was the resident mean girl of Auradon back in the first movie, but things certainly take a turn here, as she becomes a full villain, thanks to Maleficent’s magic, which is ironic given her family’s history with her! Audrey uses magic to try and “fix” her life, by convincing Ben to make her queen. It’s not the most tragic backstory for a villain, but it’s not the worst. She does have a lot of pressure from her grandmother to marry a king and become a queen, so it wasn’t entirely her fault that she went off the rails. For me, Audrey wasn’t an entirely convincing villain, as she seemed more crazed and hysterical than evil, though I did like her menacing singing of “Happy Birthday” as she cursed Jane’s birthday party. Sarah Jeffery returned to play Audrey. She had provided the worse of Audrey in the animated series Descendants: Wicked World (2015-17), despite missing out on Descendants 2. Jeffery went on to appear as Cristina Santos in crime drama Shades of Blue (2016-18) and was later cast as Maggie Vera in the reboot of the series Charmed (2018-22).

There is also the new VK, Celia. She seems to be close friends with Dizzy, another VK who is getting the chance to go to Auradon, but since Dizzy spends much of her time asleep, it is Celia’s opportunity to bond with the original VKs; Dizzy got to do that in Descendants 2. Celia is a trickster, like her father, Dr. Facilier, but wants to go to Auradon, and is very excited about the opportunity she’s being given. She is an immense help to the VKs as they look to find Hades, as she used to run errands for him so knows where he spends much of his time – which is how she avoids that pesky sleeping curse. Jadah Marie was cast in this new role of Celia, younger sister of Freddie, who appeared in the animated series. Before her casting in Descendants, she had appeared as Tasha in the sitcom Mann & Wife (2015-17). She also sang alongside Sarah Jeffery for the Christmas song “Audrey’s Christmas Rewind”, released in December 2019, and appeared in the Netflix series Julie and the Phantoms (2020), which was partly directed by Kenny Ortega.

Now to the last new character to mention: Hades. I’ve already said my bit about the Descendants’ villain portrayals being a bit weak for the parents. I can’t exactly say that for Hades, because he looks like a rock ‘n’ roll singer crossed with a biker, and he certainly is not flamboyant. He can indeed be menacing, but these moments do not last long, since he doesn’t want to be too mean to his own daughter. I can, however, say that I did not like this portrayal of Hades, although I know the majority of Descendants 3 viewers and critics did enjoy it. This Hades is nothing at all like the Hades that James Woods voiced for Hercules (1997). That was apparently the point, since Cheyenne Jackson, the actor who was cast as Hades for Descendants 3, did not want to use anything of Woods’ interpretation of the character[2]. This disappoints, but does not surprise, me. Kenny Ortega did want the actors to have their own take on these famous Disney villains, so it fits for the movie. The character himself is not actually that bad, much like how I felt about Kristin Chenoweth’s Maleficent, but they aren’t my Maleficent or Hades. The reveal of Hades as Mal’s father put an end to months of speculation. This couple pairing did please me though, as it makes quite a bit of sense, because, going back to the animated series House of Mouse (2001-03), there was an episode where Hades was trying to ask Maleficent out on a date.

Cheyenne Jackson began his career on the stage, appearing on Broadway in musicals such as understudy roles for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Aida in the early 2000s and later in Xanadu as Sonny from 2007 to 2008. More recently, Jackson played The Wolf and Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods on Broadway in 2022. On screen, he has had roles in the anthology series American Horror Story from 2015 to 2018. He also had a recurring role in the series Julie and the Phantoms (2020), alongside Jadah Marie and Booboo Stewart, and was cast as Max in the sitcom Call Me Kat (2021-23), with Mayim Bialik. Jackson also came third in Season 7 of The Masked Singer (2019-present).

MUSIC

Unlike Descendants and Descendants 2, there are more songs on this soundtrack that I don’t like than I do like. There is actually only one that I really like and unsurprisingly, that is “My Once Upon a Time”; I always like the big emotional songs. It’s a bit of a power ballad, with Mal knowing that she has made a mess of things with her plans for the barrier, upsetting her friends, and that she’ll have to find a way to fix them without the support of Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Ben who have been turned to stone. It’s a lovely song, and Dove Cameron’s vocals are stunning. The only problem is that in the movie, the song is not its full length and it is broken up with a scene of Mal pleading with Uma to help her, which kind of spoils it a bit.

There is one other song that I don’t mind too much and that is “Night Falls”, performed as the group battle the suits of armour. It has some great harmonies, and it has a good beat to it, but when they, in true Disney fashion, defeat them with a dance battle, it gets a bit weird for me! It charted at No. 84 on the Billboard Hot 100. I also have mixed feelings about “Queen of Mean”, Audrey’s solo about how she’s going to get what she wants once and for all. I don’t like the rap portions, but the more melodic sections are quite nice. “Queen of Mean” reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent eight consecutive weeks in that chart, making it the longest charting Descendants song. I know it was definitely the most popular song when the film came out.

Then we’ve got the two big production numbers, one to open the movie, and another to close, as per the first two Descendants movies. The opening number is “Good to Be Bad”, a hip-hop number with street dance choreography to match. It’s not about being evil or mean, unlike “Rotten to the Core” and “Ways to Be Wicked”, but instead it’s a celebration about the new VKs getting their chance to go to Auradon, as well as the original VKs recognising the importance of the Isle in their upbringing. It’s a catchy number, but I don’t prefer it to the other two opening songs. “Break This Down”, the final song, I also don’t prefer to “Set It Off” from Descendants, or “You and Me” from Descendants 2, but it is a cheerful song all about unity, and it is nice to see residents from the Isle and Auradon dance together.

So, for two songs that I unfortunately don’t like at all. The first is the rock ‘n’ roll duet between Mal and Hades, “Do What You Gotta Do”. She’d already had a duet with her mother in the first film, so I suppose it made sense for her to have a duet with her father, but this is odd. The two are mostly just trading barbs with each other, about how Hades wasn’t there for her as a child. It’s a strange song, I think, and it doesn’t move any of the plot forward. “Evil Like Me” at least showed the power Maleficent had over Mal, and how she felt she had to follow in her mother’s footsteps to make her happy.

The other is “One Kiss”, performed by Sofia Carson as Evie when she is readying herself to kiss Doug and wake him from the sleeping curse. Sofia Carson has a beautiful singing voice, and she hadn’t had a solo in Descendants prior to this, so it was nice to see that. However, again, this song felt like an unnecessary addition to the soundtrack, other than to showcase Sofia. I felt very much like Mal and Uma, thinking just kiss him already!

There are a few other songs on the soundtrack that vaguely appear in the main movie. One of these is China Anne McClain’s cover of “Dig a Little Deeper” from The Princess and the Frog (2009) in the End Credits. This matches the two The Little Mermaid (1989) covers that appeared on Descendants 2, to show that the new VK is the child of that film’s villain. Another is Audrey’s sinister version of “Happy Birthday”, which I very much like, and Ben’s reprise of “Did I Mention” from the first film which he sings as he proposes to Mal.

Outside of this, there are also two other songs that are additional to the movie. One is “Rotten to the Core” (D3 Remix), which features other VKs other than the original four, including Harry, Uma, Audrey, and Celia. I’ve never really liked remixes, but it’s good to update the original song with these other VKs to give them a chance to shine too. The other is “VK Mashup”, which is, as you’d expect, a mashup of some of the big VKs songs from all three movies. An excerpt of the Descendants 3 score, composed by David Lawrence once more, also features on the soundtrack. All cast sing for their characters in Descendants 3.

The Descendants 3 soundtrack peaked at No. 7 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, in a lower position than either of the two movies before it. It did, however, still top the US Kid Albums and US Soundtrack Albums charts. It was also nominated for Top Soundtrack at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, but lost out to the soundtrack of Frozen II (2019).

PRODUCTION

Descendants 3 begins in a different place emotionally to the first two films. In the first movie, the Villain Kids only know the Isle and how to be evil or mean. In the second movie, they are adjusting to their new lives in Auradon, some quicker than others. Descendants 3 already feels more like there is unity between the Isle and Auradon, as the VKs are no longer ashamed of their past in the Isle, and know that the young VKs who still remain there should be able to choose their own path, which is why they are letting more attend Auradon Prep.

With this in mind, we see that the Isle of the Lost is actually cleaner, brighter, and the residents are much happier, because they know that Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos are now championing their rights over in Auradon. I did say that the villains would clean up the place if they felt properly motivated! Unless the residents of Auradon did it as some sort of community project, or by way of apology for twenty years of banishment and neglect… Either way, it looks pretty good and to properly pay tribute to their four “success stories”, each one now has an area of the Isle named after them: Carlos’ House, Evie’s Alley, Jay’s Way, and Mal’s Court.

There are also new sets featured on the Isle again. One of these is Hades’ Cave, which looks like a typical “man cave”. It’s dark, there is stuff all over the place, and he must’ve taken some interior design tips from Gaston, because there are sheep-skin rugs everywhere. This is the place where Hades wants to sit and be angry by himself, so naturally, the front entrance has a big sign saying “GET LOST” across it. Another new set on the Isle is Dr. Facilier’s Voodoo Arcade, which is huge, brightly lit, and features lots of games and stands, like a carnival would look. There are also references to Dr. Facilier’s “friends on the other side”, with a giant picture of one on the entrance way. The actor who played Dr. Facilier in Descendants 3 in a few brief scenes was Jamal Sims, who happened to be the choreographer on this movie. Sims had previously worked with Miley Cyrus, on the choreography of her song “Hoedown Throwdown” from Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) and on her Wonder World Tour in 2009. He has also regularly appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009-present) as a choreographer and guest judge.

The costumes for Descendants 3 were made to feel more couture and be more finessed this time around, though there is still plenty of leather and high-heeled boots in the characters’ outfits. There are less cutesy dresses and suits though, probably because the characters spend more time on the Isle and battling evil in this story. There is also a layer of added sophistication to some of the characters, such as Uma, Harry, and Gil. In Descendants 2, their costumes were a little bit tatty, because of their difficult time on the Isle and the lack of access to high-quality fabrics, I guess. This time, they look more stylish and classier than in Descendants 2. China Anne McClain stated in a behind-the-scenes video that Uma’s costume was made to look like it was glistening; to reference the fact she had been in the ocean for a long time as she tried to find a way into Auradon.

Audrey also got a new look. She is wearing a pink dress reminiscent of her mother, Aurora’s, at the start of the movie, and has pink and blue streaks in her hair, to reference the Good Fairies’ fight over what colour Aurora’s dress should be in Sleeping Beauty (1959). I don’t particularly like that look. Her evil villainess look seems to suit her much better. She looks like a younger, brighter, more modern version of Maleficent.

As for Hades, gone are the flowing robes that we are used to, and instead we get a biker, rock ‘n’ roll outfit for the character, which matches Cheyenne Jackson’s choices for his portrayal of Hades, but not Disney Animation’s. We also got to see Ben briefly made up like the Beast. It apparently took five or six hours to put all the prosthetics on, which must have been a pain, but luckily, I doubt it took more than a day or two to film those scenes[3]!

As the premiere date came closer and closer, the cast obviously went out to promote the movie. At Disney Channel Fan Fest at Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland on 27^th April 2019, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson, Dove Cameron, Cheyenne Jackson, Anna Cathcart and Jadah Marie came on stage to talk about their new movie. A video introducing the character of Hades was shown as well as some teaser trailers. It was also confirmed that Descendants 3 would air in August.

Following on from that, there were the usual interviews and behind-the-scenes videos released on Disney Channel to hype up the new movie. Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Cheyenne Jackson, Booboo Stewart, and Kenny Ortega even appeared on Celebrity Family Feud, on 28^th July 2019, where they won $10,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

A fan dance party event was also held at the Marketplace Stage at Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort from 26^th July to 11^th August 2019, showcasing some of the music from the movies. This was then moved to Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café at Magic Kingdom for the Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween parties. It seemed to just be a single DJ hosting the event there, however when it came to Disneyland for the Oogie Boogie Bash that same year, there were a group of dancers teaching guests specific dance routines to go along with music from Descendants[4].

There was also an addition to the A Descendants Short Story series and that was Audrey’s Royal Return, which aired on 5^th July 2019. It sees Audrey going to a spa and recapping the events of Descendants and Descendants 2 from her point of view, basically saying how Mal coming to Auradon has put everyone in danger, and that is why she stayed away from Auradon for a while, taking a break from it all at Fairy Cottage in the forest. But she misses Auradon and wanted to make a big entrance, so she has had a makeover at the spa to get her ready for that day. If this biased recap of events wasn’t enough for you, a more factual “Story So Far” video was also shown on Disney Channel.

RECEPTION

After all that build-up, everyone was ready for Descendants 3, however, in light of Cameron Boyce’s death, the red-carpet premiere that was scheduled for 22^nd July 2019 was cancelled. The Walt Disney Company instead made a donation to the Thirst Project, a charity organisation that Cameron supported. He had received the Pioneering Spirit Award in April 2019 for raising $30,000 for the Thirst Project, which aims to bring awareness and aid for the global water crisis. It was also announced at this time that Disney Channel would dedicate the telecast of Descendants 3 in Cameron’s memory[5].

Descendants 3 aired on Disney Channel in the US on 2^nd August 2019, where it was watched by around 4.5 million viewers on the night. It came to other Disney Channels worldwide in October that year. Most viewers liked the positive message of the movie, that good and evil aren’t destined, and that it’s the choices you make that define you, not where you’ve come from. This is basically what the whole series had been leading up to, as they could be seen as a discussion around what heroes and villains are. It was also appreciated that a three-minute tribute video to Cameron Boyce had been included in the original premiere. It showed behind-the-scenes moments from his career, such as making Michelle Obama laugh on the set of the series Jessie (2011-15), as well as some advice to the young viewers on how they can cope with grief.

Outside of that, there are some quite conflicting views. Many agreed that the film was tinged with melancholy as we all knew that this would be the last time all four of the VKs would ever be seen on screen together. It also made some of the lines that the characters speak even more poignant. Some absolutely loved the music and the film, claiming Descendants 3 as the best movie in the trilogy. Others didn’t agree with that statement, but did still find it to be a satisfying ending to the series.

That is my overall opinion on Descendants 3, but I also have some gripes about it too. One of these is around the music. I felt that some of the songs seemed to be shoe-horned into the movie, with very little purpose or story progression. I think some of the main cast were sidelined in Descendants 3 as well, with this story being about the fight between Mal and Audrey, with a little Uma thrown in, but not much from anyone else, which was disappointing, since the VKs friendship had been a key part of both Descendants and Descendants 2. The plot was also quite simplistic with many easy resolutions, such as Mal only needing to ask Hades twice to hand over the ember, despite that being the only piece of magic he has and the fact that he hadn’t spent much time with his daughter at all in her life up until that point, and the final battle between Mal and Audrey being underwhelming to say the least. It just seemed that every moment of peril or conflict was over within a few seconds.

LEGACY

Descendants 3 seemed to put an end to the story as the realms of Auradon and the Isle of the Lost were finally combined, but that wasn’t quite the full finale.

In October 2019, for the Halloween season, a stop-motion short was released titled Wicked Woods: A Descendants Halloween story. In this five-minute short film, the four VKs, Uma, and Audrey are being hunted by the Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on Halloween night in the forest around Auradon, as the Horseman searches for a new head. It turns out he just wanted some candy and leaves the group alone once he’s got some! There was a song written for this short, “Keep Your Head on Halloween”, and the original cast returned to voice their characters, so it must’ve been recorded before Cameron Boyce’s passing as Carlos is a part of this story.

After that, in August 2020, an animated series of shorts aired on Disney Channel that followed Evie and Mal’s preparations for Mal and Ben’s upcoming wedding, titled The Planning of the Royal Wedding. These episodes are only a few minutes long, and look at typical wedding planning activities, such as cake tasting and seeing the wedding dress. This series was made to build anticipation for the 20-minute-long Descendants: The Royal Wedding that would air the following year. Sofia Carson and Dove Cameron returned to reprise their characters here.

On 13^th August 2021, Descendants: The Royal Wedding aired on Disney Channel. Much like the series of shorts around the planning of the wedding, but unlike the three main films in the series, Descendants: The Royal Wedding is an animated short film. Naturally, it centres around the wedding of Ben and Mal. Everything is seemingly going to plan, however, Hades accidentally sets fire to all of the decorations at the church and goes off back to the Isle. Mal, Jay, Evie, Ben – and Audrey, who has turned nice for once and become the official wedding planner – go to speak with him as Mal needs her father at her wedding. Whilst in the Isle, Fairy Godmother and Ben’s parents magic themselves there, and Ben and Mal decide that, as all the people they love are here, they should have a small ceremony in the forest. After this ceremony, everyone is reunited at the wedding reception at the castle. All the cast members return to voice their character roles, although a few characters are missing such as Jane, Harry, and Gil for unknown reasons. Carlos is also not here, however, there is a touching tribute made to him. Jay and Evie give Mal a wedding gift of a charm bracelet featuring charms that reference each of the four VKs, which is sweet. I personally didn’t need this entry in the Descendants series, and I don’t like the animation style, but I understand that many viewers would’ve wanted to see this to fully complete the storyline. The short film does also end with a reference to new stories beginning. A rabbit hole, as well as painted red roses, are shown at the very end of the special, hinting at a new Descendants story potentially coming.

So, those were the official Descendants entries that specifically tie up the stories of Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. Aside from those, sing-along editions of all three Descendants movies later aired on Disney Channel. There was also another television special, Descendants Remix Dance Party, that was shown on Disney Channel on 20^th March 2020. It was a one-night only dance party hosted by Cheyenne Jackson as Hades, set in his “Club Ember”, where songs from all three movies were featured. Disney’s Descendants: The Musical also became available for licensing for local productions to stage in 2020, following in the legacy of other Disney Channel Original Movies, like High School Musical (2006) and Camp Rock (2008)[6].

FINAL THOUGHTS

By making Descendants 3 and then the animated short film Descendants: The Royal Wedding, Disney successfully brought the stories of Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos to a close. It made sense to make three feature-length movies because Descendants was one of few Disney franchises that had matched the popularity of High School Musical on any level.

Yet, all good series must come to an end and it was only right that Descendants ended in the way it did for the four original VKs. There was an air of finality to the series, and I was happy with how it finished. Even though I am not a fan of Descendants: The Royal Wedding, with its creation, viewers did not have to feel cheated of seeing Mal get her “happily ever after” with Ben.

Some time has passed since these features were released, and the actors have moved on to other projects. Not having Cameron Boyce and Carlos involved in feature Descendants projects would make any look back on these VKs quite unlikely.

However, Descendants has remained a popular franchise and with its fairy tale setting, similarly to the ABC series Once Upon a Time (2011-18), there are opportunities to explore other characters. Rightly or wrongly, Disney Channel have done just that with their most recent Descendants entry: Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024).

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Alex Reif, ‘Film Review: “Descendants 3” (Disney Channel)’, LaughingPlace.com, 25^th July 2019.

[2] Credit: Zach Johnson, ‘Bringing Down the Barrier: Behind the Scenes of Descendants 3’, D23.com, 2^nd August 2019.

[3] Credit: Disney, ‘Behind the Scenes of Descendants 3! Compilation: Road to Auradon: Descendants 3’, Disney Descendants YouTube Channel, 6^th September 2019.

[4] Credit: Sieera Vieregge, ‘Just Announced! The DescenDANCE Party Is Coming to Walt Disney World!’, DisneyFoodBlog.com, date unknown.

[5] Credit: Denise Petski, ‘‘Descendants 3’ Red Carpet Premiere Event Canceled In Wake Of Cameron Boyce’s Death’, Deadline.com, 11^th July 2019.

[6] Credit: Logan Culwell-Block, ‘Stage Adaptation of Disney Channel’s Descendants Now Available for Licensing’, Playbill.com, 5^th March 2020.

19th Jul 202429th Sep 2025 by The Disney Purist

Descendants 2 (2017)

BACKGROUND

Since Descendants (2015) ended with Mal saying that this wasn’t the end of the story, it was only too obvious that Disney were planning a sequel. Plus, the fact that Descendants turned out to be a hugely successful Disney Channel Original Movie meant that the decision was even more simple. A no-brainer really.

With the potential for new villain kids to be introduced to the series, as well as the incredibly talented and likeable original cast returning, Descendants 2 intended to be bigger and better than Descendants. It didn’t disappoint.

The music is amazing, the sets are fantastic, the new characters are just as entertaining as the originals, and it followed a very relatable story, about struggling to fit in and trying to find your place in the world. In this case, it is Mal who isn’t coping so well in Auradon, whilst the other three have settled in extremely easily. Everyone can relate to this, that first day of school, or first day of a new job, when everything has changed and you have no choice but to just get on with things, even if it seems like you’ll never manage it.

Despite being 24 at the time of Descendants 2 being released, I’m not ashamed to admit that I was very excited for the movie and was counting down the days to its air date. I had actually recently started a new job and it wasn’t at all what I had expected, so I needed something to look forward to. That just so happened to be Descendants 2. I’d also missed out on the excitement of Descendants, choosing to watch it on DVD months after its release instead of seeing it live on Disney Channel, so I wanted to recapture that feeling I used to get about DCOM premieres when I was younger.

Thankfully all that build-up hadn’t been for nothing, because I loved Descendants 2. It was thoughtful, sweet, and for once, I actually liked every song that appeared in the movie – that doesn’t happen very often with me. I listened to the soundtrack on the drive to work for a little while, as a way of calming myself down since I didn’t like driving.

Sadly, it didn’t work and I stopped driving; I still don’t. I also did not manage to stick it out in that job and quit, but although Descendants 2 doesn’t exactly remind me of great times in my life, it hasn’t been tainted and rewatching it this week, it made me smile. It is my favourite movie in the series and I was so pleased to see that it had done well, because the talent of the main actors continues to shine through here.

PLOT

Descendants 2 begins with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos crowded around a cauldron, clearly trying to enact some kind of spell. Cursed apples start to appear inside the cauldron, at which point, the VKs pass these apples out to all the students and teachers of Auradon Prep. Beast and Belle, King Ben’s parents, even fall for the trick. But don’t worry too much, because this isn’t like the Evil Queen’s poison apples; nobody is dying or falling into a coma. They just make everyone less well-behaved. No school work gets done, graffiti gets sprayed everywhere, and they all seem to be goofing off in one way or another!

We then see that this whole scene had only been happening in Mal’s mind. She is in fact standing in front of a crowd of press, sporting a new blonde hair-do, struggling to find the right things to say as photos of her are being snapped. Luckily, Ben comes to the rescue and tells all of the reporters to get lost. He then has to leave to do king stuff, so Mal is left alone with her thoughts again, which are quite disturbing at this point in time. Mal is dealing with the pressures of being the King’s official girlfriend, having to make visits to royalty, do interviews, and she is soon to become a Lady of the Court, which will be officially announced at Auradon’s upcoming Cotillion dance. It would be an understatement to say that Mal is nervous and stressed out. She has been using spells to try and make herself fit in and be perfect for everyone, and not understanding why she still has these impulses to be go back to her evil ways, whereas Jay, Carlos, and Evie do not feel that way at all. Evie is loving life in Auradon, making dresses and designing clothes for all of the students; Jay is still very much a jock, now captain of the school’s Swords and Shields team; and Carlos has a crush on Jane, Fairy Godmother’s daughter, and has his dog, Dude, to look after.

Meanwhile, over in the Isle of the Lost, Uma, the daughter of Ursula, and Harry, the son of Captain Hook, are angry that Mal is living the royal life over in Auradon, whilst they have been left in the dismal ruins of the Isle, not being allowed to get their “second chance” like the others had. Seeing Mal on TV in news reports only makes them more furious.

Back in Auradon, Mal takes Ben out on a picnic with all of his favourite foods, as he keeps giving her extravagant gifts, like a purple scooter. However, Mal actually forgot what day it was and had to use her spell book to make all of this. As Ben searches for napkins in their picnic basket, he finds the spell book and is annoyed that Mal would lie to him about still having it, and not turning it over to the museum like she promised. Ben doesn’t seem to understand how hard this transition has been for Mal, and upset, she packs up all of her stuff, including her mother, Maleficent, who is still a little lizard from the events of the first movie, and flees back to the Isle, using a spell and her scooter to get across the water.

Once in the Isle, Mal heads to Lady Tremaine’s hair salon where she asks Dizzy, Drizella’s daughter, to give her a new look, to make her feel more like her old self, which she does by turning Mal’s hair purple again. As Mal and Dizzy are finishing up, Harry enters the hair salon and orders Dizzy to hand over all the money in the till. Mal says hello to her “old friend”. Harry responds that Uma won’t be giving Mal back her turf, but she isn’t concerned; she says she’ll just take it back as she plans to stay in the Isle.

Evie has realised that Mal has run away and goes to Ben for help. He says that he has to go to the Isle to get her back, but Evie reminds him he knows nothing about that place. Despite not wanting to go back there, Evie says she, Jay, and Carlos will go with him. They take the limo over the barrier to the Isle and cover it up with a tarpaulin so no-one will know they are there. After a brief makeover and lesson in how to behave correctly on the Isle, the four go to Mal’s old hideout to find her, except Gil, son of Gaston, spots them and runs to tell Uma the king is here.

Ben manages to speak to Mal, and tells her he loves her. Mal says that she isn’t good for him or for Auradon and that she is going to remain in the Isle where she belongs. Heartbroken, Ben leaves as she wishes, but Evie, Carlos, and Jay take their eyes off him for one minute, and he’s gone. Uma has him and she wants a meeting with Mal. Mal, irritated at her friends for being so careless, goes to Uma where Uma announces her terms for Ben’s release: she wants Fairy Godmother’s wand by noon tomorrow or else Ben dies.

The VKs come up with a plan. Carlos and Jay go back to Auradon so they can 3D print an exact copy of the wand, whilst Evie and Mal go to the hair salon to make smoke bombs to use as a distraction during the swap, since Uma will realise that the wand is a fake quite quickly. Evie and Mal also have a heart-to-heart, where Mal reiterates that she doesn’t want to go back to Auradon. Evie offers to stay too, but Mal says she belongs in Auradon.

The next day, Ben and Uma talk as they await Mal and the others. He invites her to Auradon, to get her second chance, but Uma doesn’t want a pity hand-out; she wants to make her own way there. Mal and the VKs, plus Dude the dog who snuck back with Carlos and Jay, and Lonnie, Mulan’s daughter, who blackmailed her way into this plan, arrive at Uma’s boat with the fake wand, ordering her to give Ben to them. Uma’s not an idiot though, and she wants proof the wand works. Mal puts a spell on Dude to make him talk – and Dude starts talking, but only because he ate a magic truth gummy the day before and has been talking ever since! This is enough evidence for Uma though who doesn’t know this, and the swap is done. But Uma then immediately tries to destroy the barrier between Auradon and the Isle, which she is unable to do. A fight ensues and after a – quite lengthy – sword fight, a huge smoke bomb is thrown, giving the VKs, Ben, and Lonnie their chance to escape. They pile into the limo and head back – with Mal’s spell book accidentally being left on the Isle.

Back in Auradon, Mal is told by Ben that she doesn’t have to attend Cotillion if she doesn’t want to. Jay, Evie, and Carlos then talk to her, saying that she should’ve told them how she was feeling because they all think about their old lives on the Isle from time to time. Again, she is told she doesn’t have to go to Cotillion that night, but she should probably give it a try and if it doesn’t work out, then they won’t stop her returning to the Isle.

As everyone arrives at Cotillion, which is being held onboard a ship, Mal makes her big entrance, having decided to attend after all. However, as Ben is about to enter, he makes a shocking announcement – that Uma is here and he is in love with her! Everyone is rightly angry with Ben for hurting and humiliating Mal, even his parents who can’t understand what has happened. Jane then reveals the stained-glass window of Ben and Mal that he had commissioned, showing Mal that Ben does love her for who she is, not for the princess she tried to be. Uma is fuming though, and orders Ben to declare his love for her, by giving her the ultimate gift: destroying the barrier between Auradon and the Isle. Fairy Godmother refuses to do this, and Mal realises that Uma must have put a spell on Ben. She then declares her love for Ben and kisses him, with true love’s first kiss breaking the spell.

Uma then dives into the water, and using her mother’s magic necklace, transforms herself into a cecaelia – half-human, half-octopus, like Ursula – and starts to attack the boat. Mal shocks everyone, including herself, by transforming herself into a dragon to fight Uma. Ben jumps into the water to break up the fight, saying that this is not the way to resolve their differences. The two do stop fighting, with Uma simply turning away from the party and heading back to the Isle. Mal returns to her human form and her and Ben reunite. Mal’s spell book is returned to her, as Uma did steal it, but she hands it over to Fairy Godmother to put in the museum. Evie then asks Ben if Dizzy could be invited to Auradon, saying she has a whole list of kids from the Isle who would benefit from spending time there. Ben happily agrees, and everyone at Cotillion then parties away, much like they did at the end of Descendants, glad to see that the craziness has ebbed once more.

Uma then appears to the audience, saying the story is still not over…

CHARACTERS & CAST

Since Descendants ended with Mal and Ben embracing their feelings for each other, it is only fitting that Descendants 2 would focus on their new relationship – except everything isn’t all happy and rosy with them. Mal is struggling to fit in with her new “princess” role now that she’s Ben’s official girlfriend, using spells to make everything she does perfect. Ben is unfortunately too busy with King duties to help her and is quite unsympathetic when she tries to explain why she’s turned to magic again. This causes a huge falling out between the two of them, and even when Ben goes to the Isle to try and win Mal back, the conversation ends up taking a turn and Mal tells him to go back to Auradon without her – and then Ben is snatched by Uma and her gang, in a nice little twist on the usual “damsel in distress”! It’s not until the Cotillion dance that the two are able to reconcile again, and that’s after Uma has come in to try and spoil everything. Mal is really put through the wringer in this movie! Luckily, it’s a happy ending for Mal and Ben by the end of Descendants 2. Dove Cameron and Mitchell Hope reprised their roles here from the first film.

Whilst Mal begins to look back at their times on the Isle, Evie is having a great time in Auradon, now becoming the resident designer at the school, and is excitedly preparing everyone’s outfits for Cotillion. Evie is also happy in a relationship with Doug, Dopey’s son, who is helping Evie run her new fashion business. When Evie is forced back to the Isle to convince Mal to return to Auradon, she instantly sees the difficulties that the children there are still facing, and begins to feel guilty about the fact she was given a fresh start and these kids aren’t allowed to. One of these is Dizzy, Drizella’s daughter, as in one of Cinderella’s stepsisters. Dizzy shares Evie’s love of fashion and is not evil at all. In fact, she’s being treated badly by her grandmother, Lady Tremaine, much in the same way that Cinderella was. This gives Evie the idea to ask King Ben to give some other villain children a chance in Auradon like she got, and he’s very happy to do so.

Sofia Carson returned to play Evie, as did Zachary Gibson as Doug, who had previously had a minor role in the Disney Channel movie Zapped (2014) prior to his casting in the Descendants series. Anna Cathcart was chosen to portray the new character of Dizzy. After Descendants 2, Cathcart was cast as Kitty Song-Covey, sister of the main character, in the Netflix film series To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018-21). She later reprised this role in the spin-off series XO, Kitty (2023-present). Cathcart’s first major screen role was in the educational children’s series Odd Squad (2014-present) as Agent Olympia.

Jay is still a big presence in Auradon Prep’s sports teams and instead of seeing him play Tourney in this movie, they have a new sport: Swords and Shields, which seems to be a mix of traditional sword-fighting and fencing, so there is less chance of blood and limb loss. Although Jay helps out Mal, Evie, and Ben over in the Isle, fighting off Uma and her gang of pirates with his impressive sword fighting skills, his main storyline in Descendants 2 actually involves Lonnie, Mulan’s daughter, and Chad, Cinderella’s son. Lonnie wants to join the school’s Swords and Shields team, but as Chad points out, a team can only consist of its captain and eight men; no girls allowed. Jay, as captain of the team, is reluctant to go against the rule book, but when Lonnie convinces Jay to let her help over in the Isle, he sees what a talent she is and gets her on to the team: by making her the captain, since the rule book doesn’t specify that the captain has to be a man. Nice loop hole there.

Booboo Stewart returned to his role as Jay for Descendants 2, as did Dianne Doan and Jedidiah Goodacre as Lonnie and Chad respectively. After Descendants, Doan was cast as Mai Ling in the series Warrior (2019-23), and later was cast in the recurring role of Kora in the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-20). Goodacre was cast in the Disney Channel movie Zapped (2014) prior to his role in Descendants. He later played the role of Dorian Gray in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-20).

Carlos is also involved in the plan to rescue Ben in the Isle, but he has other things on his mind too. One of these is around keeping the four VKs together. He doesn’t let Mal and Evie go off to have “girl talk” alone, wanting them all to be there for each other, so it’s not just girls against guys. They all have shared experiences in the Isle, so they should all be able to share their feelings about Auradon too. Carlos is definitely the peacekeeper in the group. Another thing he has to deal with is the fact his dog, Dude, has suddenly started talking. This occurs as Carlos asks Mal to give him a “truth gummy”, as he hopes to be able to ask Jane, Fairy Godmother’s daughter, to be his date for Cotillion, but he’s too shy to do it. However, Dude then eats the gummy and starts talking. It’s not really an issue, but Dude doesn’t have the benefit of human experience to be able to filter what he says, so he talks at all the wrong moments and is quite blunt in what he says. Despite not having this truth gummy, Carlos finally gets up the courage to ask Jane to the dance and she gladly accepts, giving us another Descendants couple to root for.

Cameron Boyce returned to his role as Carlos, as did Brenna D’Amico as Jane. D’Amico’s first acting role was in the first Descendants movie. She later appeared in the first two seasons of web series Chicken Girls (2017-present) as Sandy, and is still appearing in movies such as The Never List (2020) and in the upcoming Saturday at the Starlight. Dude was voiced by former Saturday Night Live (1975-present) cast member and writer Bobby Moynihan, who was on the show from 2008 to 2017.

Now for the new VKs. The main one is obviously Uma, daughter of Ursula. She has been forced to run night-shifts at her mother’s fish and chip restaurant and is incredibly bitter about Mal and her friends’ rise to fame in Auradon, having been passed over for her chance to get over there. Uma despises Mal and thinks it’s about time she got to have a taste of what’s in Auradon. But she doesn’t want a handout, as she turns Ben down for an invitation to come over there; Uma wants to get there on her own. And how does she do that? With magic, of course! That obviously doesn’t work out for her, but she promises that this isn’t the end of her story and that she’ll be back.

China Anne McClain was cast as Uma. McClain’s acting career began at a young age. She turned down the chance to appear in the Disney Channel movie Jump In! (2007), instead choosing to star in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (2007-present), which she has recently returned to. McClain also starred alongside Cameron Boyce in the Adam Sandler films Grown Ups (2010) and Grown Ups 2 (2013). For Disney, her first major role was as Chyna Parks in the series A.N.T. Farm (2011-14), before starring in the Disney Channel movie How to Build a Better Boy (2014). Most interestingly, she was cast as Freddie, daughter of Dr. Facilier, in the animated series Descendants: Wicked World (2015-17). When McClain was cast as Uma, her sister, Lauryn, took over this voice role.

A villain would be nothing without her sidekicks and Uma gets two of these: Harry, son of Captain Hook, and Gil, son of Gaston. Uma seems to be the brains of the operation, Harry is the brawn, and Gil is the…comic relief, or pretty face? I’m not sure how Gil is of use to Uma, but he’s there anyway, and his dim-wittedness is quite amusing. Dylan Playfair was cast in the new role of Gil, having previously acted as Knox in the teen sitcom Some Assembly Required (2014-16). Thomas Doherty was chosen to play Harry. He had previously played Sean Matthews in the Disney Channel series The Lodge (2016-17).

MUSIC

Much like Descendants, Descendants 2 features many big, high-energy, colourful ensemble numbers. Within the soundtrack’s six original songs, only one of these does not fit that description and that is “Space Between”, the duet between Mal and Evie. Similarly to “If Only” from the first movie, this is the emotional calm moment of reflection in the film. Mal and Evie are saying to each other that even though they may not physically be in the same realm together, they’ll always be there for each other, as Mal has said she will not be coming back to Auradon with the others. It’s very touching, and Sofia Carson and Dove Cameron’s voices blend so well together. It’s beautiful and my favourite song in the soundtrack.

Another number that is not a huge ensemble number, I suppose, is “Chillin’ Like a Villain”, which involves Evie, Jay, and Carlos teaching Ben how to act like someone from the Isle, since he almost gets beaten up for trying to shake hands with a random stranger! Despite not having backing dancers, “Chillin’ Like a Villain” still includes some quite complicated choreography. It might sound patronising to say this but I can really see how much Mitchell Hope’s dancing as improved between Descendants and the sequel. All four of them look perfectly in sync with each other and not one bit of it looks awkward – apart from the moments when Ben is supposed to not be fitting in with the other three, of course! This song itself is incredibly catchy and gets stuck in my head on a regular basis. It was actually filmed during a typhoon in Vancouver. It was the final day when they could film in that particular set, so they just had to roll with the punches, with half of the set apparently blowing away and the whole place almost flooding!

So, to the big production numbers. Let’s talk about “You and Me” first, even though it’s the finale piece. It’s an upbeat, hopeful song, much like “Set It Off” in Descendants, though it does have a touch of melancholy to it as they talk about what they’ve learnt through this whole experience. It was filmed on a flooded yacht deck, which required two huge water cannons to get the deck sufficiently flooded. The cast are literally dancing in ankle-deep water, but nobody seems to slip and injure themselves. It must have been a nightmare for costuming, hair and make-up, and health and safety, but I bet it was so much fun to film[1]!

Then there is “Ways to Be Wicked” which opens the sequel, warning the viewer that they’d better be ready for this bigger and better movie! It starts the film off with more of a bang than “Rotten to the Core” did in Descendants. It also helps that it confuses everyone because the VKs seem to have gone bad, passing out cursed apples to everywhere at Auradon Prep, whereas we left them at the end of Descendants vowing to be good!

Now to the new, true villains, who get to have just as much fun as the heroes. Uma gets her very own song to introduce her to the audience and that is “What’s My Name?”. China Anne McClain pulls this song off brilliantly, as it needed some real power and strength to it. This shows that Uma is not someone to be messed with. This is my second favourite song in the movie, because I always love the villain song in Disney’s animated movies and this certainly feels like one. The only thing that I don’t love is Harry’s little rap bit in the middle. It wasn’t really needed, and this song is meant to be all about Uma, so don’t pull focus away from her, Harry! The song takes place in a restaurant, so there’s lots of dancing on tables and chairs, and even dancers flying from bits of ceiling decoration.

The final number within the movie to mention is “It’s Goin’ Down”. This scene was originally only going to be dialogue, but apparently, it was changed to be a rap battle after being inspired by some of the songs within the musical Hamilton. I particularly like the piece that Ben sings in the middle of all this hostility, as he gives a heartfelt plea to Mal and Uma to stop all this fighting – even though he’s tied up and walking the plank at this point so he doesn’t really seem to be in the best position to try and call a truce! This song gets an even bigger stage than the others in the movie as it takes place in the docks and on Uma’s boat. It also ends with a huge sword fight, which must have been difficult to choreograph.

Descendants 2’s soundtrack debuted at No. 6 in the Billboard 200 chart, which doesn’t match up with the original movie’s soundtrack which topped that chart. Descendants 2, however, did equal its predecessor by topping the Billboard US Kid Albums and US Soundtrack Albums chart. But that doesn’t mean that the soundtrack was received poorly. The soundtrack topped the iTunes album chart on 24^th July 2017, just a couple of days after its release, and the six songs from the movie filled the Top 10 of the Soundtrack Songs chart for Apple less than 24 hours after the movie aired[2].

As well as songs from the movie, a version of “Kiss the Girl”, sung by the cast as the End Credits song, and “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, by China Anne McClain, also appear on the soundtrack. These songs are clearly there to reference the fact that Uma’s mother is from The Little Mermaid (1989), just in case it wasn’t clear! There are also three songs from Descendants: Wicked World on this soundtrack, as a kind of cross-promotion, I guess.

One other thing I will mention is that all the cast members seem to sing for their characters in Descendants 2. In Descendants, singer-songwriter Jeff Lewis was credited as providing the singing voice for Ben, however, for Descendants 2, Jeff Lewis’ name only appears as a credit for “You and Me”, alongside Mitchell Hope’s. Hope does definitely seem to be the sole singing voice for Ben in both “Chillin’ Like a Villain” and “It’s Goin’ Down”.

Composer David Lawrence returned to compose the score for Descendants 2.

PRODUCTION

Since Descendants had been such a huge hit, and because Mal teased a sequel at the end of the movie itself, hype around a potential sequel began as soon as Descendants finished airing in 2015. The cast had been asked about whether there would be a sequel during interviews after the movie had premiered, such as at the D23 Expo in August 2015, however, they refused to comment on it. It wasn’t until October 2015 that Disney Channel officially confirmed that they would in fact be making a Descendants 2.

The first behind-the-scenes video was dropped in November 2016, which showed glimpses of the new sets as well as clips of the cast sword fighting. The cast interviews promised that the movie would be huge. “Ways to Be Wicked” became the first single of the soundtrack to debut after playing on Radio Disney on 13^th April 2017, a day before it became available to purchase online. Shortly after, the premiere date was revealed: 21^st July 2017.

The movie was of course promoted in all the usual ways, with interviews and performances. It was revealed that there were going to be more action-packed scenes, with the cast going through around 20 hours of sword training, more visual effects, and bigger sets, with more dance numbers and superior music[3]. The cast were also invited onto Good Morning America to perform “Ways to Be Wicked” and “What’s My Name?”.

Kara Saun, the costume designer for both Descendants and Descendants 2, who was a finalist on the first season of Project Runway (2004-present) talked about how she came up with the costumes for the newer characters. She said that she did a lot of research, by watching the Disney animated films that the villain parents come from and going to Disney’s Animation Research Library to look at artwork. From that point, she would look at the parent’s signature colour and incorporate that into the child’s clothing. However, they couldn’t have the same colour, which became a bit of a problem when adding in these new VKs. Both Gaston and Captain Hook are known for wearing red, but it was decided that Harry’s signature colour would be red, and Gil would have burnt orange instead, which references some of the early artwork on Gaston which used that colour instead of red, apparently. Uma also could not be purple like Ursula because that’s Mal’s colour. Instead, Saun looked to Ursula’s eyeshadow to find Uma’s colour of turquoise[4].

Sofia Carson, Dove Cameron, Booboo Stewart, Cameron Boyce, and China Anne McClain, joined by Kenny Ortega, were all seen at the D23 Expo on 14^th July 2017 to promote the film. There was a mini parade that ran through the conference centre featuring these six in vehicles, with Mark Hamill and Stan Lee following behind them. The day before, they had also been the Grand Marshals in the pre-parade at Disneyland, prior to Mickey’s Soundsational Parade coming through. “Ways to Be Wicked” played as they went by.

RECEPTION

Descendants had reached over 100 million viewers worldwide not too long after its release, having had 6.6 million viewers just on its US Disney Channel premiere date. Disney wanted to do something bigger for Descendants 2.

It was decided that the movie would air on 21^st July simultaneously across six different networks in the Disney-ABC Television group. These channels were Disney Channel, ABC, DisneyXD, Freeform, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movies. It was reported that the movie reached 13 million total viewers across those six networks, with Disney Channel’s audience reaching 5.3 million on the night. Descendants 2 also broke social media records for Disney Channel, reaching 174.1 million video views, 90.8 million impressions, and 14.6 million engagements by the time of its release[5].

The cast were involved in a live party on Disney Channel for the premiere, which featured games, Descendants 2 gossip, and surprises, seemingly taking place between the channel’s programming on that day. There was also the ABC After Party with Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart and China Anne McClain, which aired straight after the movie’s premiere.

Many viewers liked this darker sequel, enjoying the lively musical numbers and the messages about fitting in and the class inequality between the fortunate of Auradon and the unfortunate of the Isle. The new characters were received well, and the majority felt that this was a step up from Descendants, as the sequel had promised to be. If you liked Descendants, the critics were sure you’d like Descendants 2. Most of the negative reviews came from people that already hadn’t liked the first one, but there were additional comments around the CGI not being good enough. That’s probably because there is so much “big budget” CGI in movies nowadays that people forget that television movie budgets aren’t nearly as much, even if it is Disney! Descendants 2 was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Television Presentation in 2018. It sadly lost out to Twin Peaks: The Return (2017).

It came to light shortly after the movie premiered that there had in fact been a particular moment that was filmed but cut from the final edit. This was a kiss between Harry and Gil, a photo of which Thomas Doherty and Dylan Playfair put on social media. Though this scene was cut from the movie, in the novelisation of Descendants 2, there is a line which mentions the two characters kissing. It is at the point when they are watching Uma arrive at Cotillion on television, and seems to just be a kiss of celebration that their plan has worked and they can finally get off the Isle. I don’t believe it was meant to be anything serious or romantic, so I can see why it wouldn’t be needed in the film, but I can also see why it could’ve been there, since it was such a small moment[6].

LEGACY

In 2016, the four VKs returned to the Disney Parks for another holiday show, after they were seen in 2015’s show. This was Disney Parks Presents: A Descendants Magical Holiday Celebration, a show featuring musical performances and a look at the Disney Parks for the holiday season. With Cameron Boyce and Sofia Carson hosting from Walt Disney World, and Booboo Stewart and Dove Cameron at Disneyland, they performed a new version of the song “Rotten to the Core”, renamed to “Jolly to the Core”. China Anne McClain was also a performer during this show, as she had been announced as a new cast member addition for Descendants 2 back in June 2016. An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the sequel was also shown to further hype the sequel. In 2017 for the holiday season, Sofia Carson recorded a new version of “Chillin’ Like a Villain” called “Chillin’ Like a Snowman”, which she performed at Magic Kingdom during the Disney Parks’ festive television special that year.

After Descendants 2, as a sequel was once again teased in the movie itself, this time by Uma, many fans were excited to see what would come next. In February 2018, Descendants 3 was officially announced as coming to screens in Summer 2019. I actually find it a little bit unfair how and where Disney decided to announce Descendants 3, as it was during the premiere of ZOMBIES, another musical DCOM, on 16^th February 2018. Were the cast and crew of ZOMBIES really not allowed their own moment in the spotlight? Could the Descendants 3 announcement not have waited until afterwards?

Anyway, to make the wait for Descendants 3 easier for fans, a new ten-minute live-action short film called Under the Sea: A Descendants Short Story premiered on 28^th September 2018 on Disney Channel. It followed on from the teaser of the official announcement, where Mal has just seen a glowing orb in the woods, whispering her name. Mal sees Dizzy on the beach outside of the woods on the Isle. It turns out Dizzy is wearing Uma’s necklace, so she has been sort of possessed by her. Harry and Gil arrive to warn Mal away from the Isle and let her know that Uma is looking for revenge. Mal then dives into the water, where she sees Uma. This seems to only be a hallucination and Mal is back on the beach, talking to Dizzy. Mal is scared that danger is coming to Auradon. The short features a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” by Dove Cameron. The cast reprised their roles here.

Under the Sea doesn’t add much to the Descendants franchise, and it seems to have only been made as a way of bridging the gap between the release dates of Descendants 2 and Descendants 3. It also sought to build anticipation for the next film, but it did confuse some viewers, including me, since it didn’t give us any more information about Descendants 3. We already knew about the glowing blue orb being Mal’s father, and we’d already managed to speculate who Mal’s father must be.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Making a sequel can be a tricky undertaking, especially when that sequel has promised to be more extravagant than its predecessor.

Managing fan expectations is perhaps the most difficult task, but there are other potential risks. Like, what if the new characters don’t come across well on screen, or don’t gel with the originals? Or what if the music isn’t good, or the story confuses viewers?

Luckily, Descendants 2 didn’t have anything to worry about because a large proportion of Descendants fans loved the sequel. Not everyone would say that the sequel is better than the original, like me, though. I liked the sequel more because it was a bit darker and touched on real-life issues like dealing with your past, and creating an environment with equal opportunities for all. It felt less like a fairy tale than Descendants, in a good way.

Due to the success of Descendants 2, this was not the end of the series, and there was still more to come from this cast.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Kimberly Nordyke, ‘Sword Training, 1,500 Costumes and Water-Filled Dance Numbers: Behind the Scenes of ‘Descendants 2’’, HollywoodReporter.com, 21^st July 2017.

[2] Credit: Melinda Newman, ‘Disney Channel’s ‘Descendants 2’ Soundtrack Strikes a New Wicked Chord After Original Hit’, Billboard.com, 2^nd August 2017.

[3] Credit: Kimberly Nordyke, ‘Sword Training, 1,500 Costumes and Water-Filled Dance Numbers: Behind the Scenes of ‘Descendants 2’’, HollywoodReporter.com, 21^st July 2017.

[4] Credit: Beth Deitchman, ‘The Villain Kids are Dressed to Thrill in Descendants 2’, D23.com, 21^st July 2017.

[5] Credit: Disney ‘‘Descendants 2’ Premiere Reaches 13 Million Total Viewers’, TheWaltDisneyCompany,com, 24^th July 2017.

[6] Credit: Noelle Devoe, ‘Thomas Doherty Shares the Surprising Kissing Scene That Was Cut From ‘Descendants 2’’, Seventeen.com, 25^th July 2017.

12th Jul 202416th Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

Descendants (2015)

BACKGROUND

Despite Disney Channel continuing to dish out new original movies to hordes of eager tweens and teens on a regular basis, nothing had captured anyone’s attention quite like the High School Musical trilogy.

That wasn’t for lack of trying though. Disney Channel have always made good movies, with their musicals generally being their most successful films, and in the years after the release of High School Musical (2006), we were given some great ones, including Camp Rock (2008) and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), as well as Lemonade Mouth (2011) and StarStruck (2010).

Although the reception to all of these was positive on the whole, they hadn’t matched the fame of the High School Musical franchise. Disney Channel knew they needed something bigger, something more marketable, something more familiar. And so, with that in mind, they went back to the Disney animated movies to find their inspiration.

So, were given Descendants, a movie that used some of the most adored Disney Villains of all time as its basis, but there’s always a twist, especially in Disney – and that twist was that Descendants was going to be about… the villains’ kids? Who saw that coming?

As a hardcore fan of the Disney Villains, I was concerned when I heard about Descendants. I wasn’t watching Disney Channel much at the time – I was “too old” for that – but there was such a buzz around the announcement of Descendants that I must’ve just heard about it online. I had never considered the possibility of the Disney Villains having children, with many of them seeming to have died in their respective movies, but let’s not worry about canon here; it all gets very complicated if you do.

In a way, I was right to be concerned. I first watched Descendants on DVD, having received it as a Christmas present in 2015, and seeing the over-the-top, flamboyant, and might I say weak, portrayals of some of my favourite villains was not what I had wanted to see, although I was not overly surprised to see this change in these characters – this is a Disney Channel movie after all. However, in another way, I wasn’t right to be concerned, because luckily, Descendants isn’t about the classic Disney villains, it’s about the kids, and the four main characters were instantly likeable and their star quality amazed me.

As the movie went on, I liked Descendants more and more, and forgot about the villain parents. I ended up being very impressed, surprising myself as I had only wanted to watch it so I could be bitter about the villain portrayals. My pettiness is disappointing, I know.

PLOT

The story of Descendants begins with a classic storybook opening, except this is 2015 so the story is actually on a tablet, because no young person reads actual books anymore, do they? Anyway, this backstory tells us that when the Beast and Belle married, Beast decided to unite all the neighbouring kingdoms, naming them the United States of Auradon and he became king of all of the realm, seemingly by his own decision, with no election held so that the people could decide who might be ruler of Auradon. I guess democracy is dead in fairy tale world! To stop any further evil from disrupting everyone’s “happily ever afters”, all the villains and bad guys were banished to the Isle of the Lost and refused entry to Auradon.

Around twenty years later, Belle and Beast’s son, Prince Ben, soon-to-be crowned King Ben at the young age of 16, states that as his first official proclamation, he has ordered that some of the villain children from the Isle be allowed to start a new life in Auradon, as they should not be punished for their parents’ mistakes. The four kids who will test out this new idea are the children of Cruella De Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Jafar from Aladdin (1992), the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), and of course, the mistress of all evil, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (1959).

A limo comes to collect the four teens, Carlos, Jay, Evie, and Mal, but they are uncertain about going to a boarding school full of “prissy princesses and perfect princes”. Maleficent is eager for them to go though, as she has never given up hope of escaping the Isle and ruling over Auradon. She pushes her daughter, Mal, to agree to her plan, to find Fairy Godmother’s wand and break the barrier between the two lands so that she can storm Auradon and usurp the throne. They agree and head to Auradon in their fancy limo, although they initially believe it to be a trick as they are driven towards a huge ocean, but there’s an invisible road that appears with the click of a button. How lucky is that!

At Auradon Prep, the four villain kids, or VKs, receive a mixed reception, with many suspicious of their intentions. The most suspicious of these is Audrey, Ben’s girlfriend and the daughter of Princess Aurora, so yeah, there’s bad blood between her and Mal already. Ben is still sure of his plan and welcomes them all warmly. The four are led to their dorm rooms and they begin to settle in to their surroundings before their first day of school the next day. Except Mal just wants to get this wand for her mother and get out of here, so she gets the other three to focus on their actual mission. Evie discovers, via her magic compact mirror, that Fairy Godmother’s wand is housed in The Museum of Cultural History and it’s just a short walk away. After breaking into the museum that night, using Maleficent’s spell book that she gave to Mal, which can only work in Auradon, not in the Isle, they find the wand, but Jay tries to grab the wand and the alarm goes off. They run back to school and are not caught, although Mal is annoyed; they actually have to go to class tomorrow now!

During the school day, the four VKs struggle with their class Remedial Goodness, a new class just for them, of course, and find that many of the students and teachers are scared of them. Evie just wants Chad, son of Cinderella and Prince Charming, to fall for her, despite Doug, Dopey’s son, being interested in her; Jay finds that he’s good at Tourney, a sport that seems to be a medieval version of lacrosse; and Carlos learns that dogs can actually be friendly, despite his mother telling him that dogs are vicious pack animals that will hunt him down and attack him. Mal, however, is intent on completing her mother’s wish and goes to Fairy Godmother’s daughter, Jane, for information. Now that Fairy Godmother is a teacher, she apparently never uses her wand anymore, much to Jane’s annoyance as she wants to use it to make herself beautiful. Mal tries to get Jane to like her by magically changing her hair style and telling Jane she should tell her mother how she feels. This doesn’t work, but Evie says that the wand will be used at Ben’s Coronation later in the week. Mal asks Ben if she can sit in the front row for the ceremony but he tells her those seats are only for his parents and his girlfriend. That gives her an idea.

With Maleficent’s spell book, Mal and the rest of the VKs are able to make cookies that contain a love spell. Using some clever reverse psychology and emotional blackmail, Mal convinces Ben to eat one of the cookies and he falls in love with her instantly. After Auradon Prep win their Tourney game, Ben declares his love for Mal, much to Audrey’s dismay who starts to date Chad, which upsets Evie as she wanted to be his girlfriend, and was willing to do his homework for him just to get him to like her. Mal tells her she can do so much better than him, which is mostly definitely true! Evie decides that with Doug’s tutoring, she’ll focus on her school work, and she begins to like Doug instead.

Later on, Mal tells Evie that Ben has asked her out on a date and helps get her ready. Ben takes Mal for a cute picnic by the Enchanted Lake. Despite Mal believing the two of them are very different, they end up bonding over their struggles to deal with their parents’ expectations of them, and how they just want to choose what they want to do with their lives. Mal realises that actually, she does like Ben and now feels guilty for the spell.

The next day, as Family Day is coming up and the VKs parents cannot come to visit, a special video call is set up for them. Mal tells her mother about the Coronation and that gives Maleficent the date for her revenge plan to take place. The four teens now aren’t sure about this plan, but on Family Day, tensions run high as Mal runs into Queen Leah, Aurora’s mother and Audrey’s grandmother, and the teens realise that nobody wants them here, giving them motivation to carry out the plan to steal Fairy Godmother’s wand. Mal doesn’t want to keep Ben under the love spell though and makes something to reverse it.

On Coronation Day, Ben and Mal arrive together in a carriage. During the ride to the cathedral, Mal gives him the brownie and tells him to eat it later in the day, but he doesn’t listen and takes a bite right there. He says he doesn’t feel any different and reveals to Mal that he knew about her love spell and that it washed off after he went swimming in the Enchanted Lake during their date. Surprisingly, Ben is not angry and thinks it’s cute that Mal put him under a spell just because she was jealous of Audrey and didn’t think Ben would like her without a spell. Ok Ben, you just keep believing that delusion if it makes you feel better!

During the ceremony, the wand is stolen and the barrier between Auradon and the Isle of the Lost is broken. Maleficent is overjoyed and magics herself to the cathedral. In a shocking discovery, it was actually Jane stealing her mother’s wand, wanting to make herself beautiful like Cinderella. Mal takes the wand from her in a seemingly selfless act, but she refuses to return it, not wanting to disappoint her mother. She says that she just wants to be good, and doesn’t want to go through with this, giving the wand back, but as her, Evie, Carlos, and Jay vow to each other that they’ll choose good over evil, Maleficent arrives and freezes everyone except the four. She takes the wand from Fairy Godmother’s hand, but the VKs fight back and retrieve it. Maleficent then transforms into a dragon and attacks them. Mal uses a counterspell which turns Maleficent’s dragon into a lizard. Everyone is unfrozen and Mal returns the wand to Fairy Godmother, who tells Mal that Maleficent was shrunk so that she would become the size of the love in her heart, which, naturally, is quite small!

After all that mess, it’s time to party and celebrate Ben’s Coronation Day. The students do this with a dance number and fireworks outside of Auradon Prep, which are being watched from afar by the other villain parents. As we continue watching all the students partying together as friends, we see Mal’s eyes flash green, and hear her say that the story isn’t over yet.

CHARACTERS & CAST

Mal is Maleficent’s daughter. She seems to be the villain kid who is most inclined towards being evil, compared with the other three, and that is because her mother is one of the most evil villains of them all. Maleficent is also the only villain who thinks they can get off the Isle, so all that scheming and wickedness would’ve rubbed off on her daughter! But Mal actually doesn’t want to be evil like her mother. After getting to Auradon, she realises that she wants to be a good person and that she likes Ben, and that he makes her happy, whereas being mean and cruel doesn’t. Mal stands up to her mother, which must’ve been incredibly difficult for her, and is ultimately the one who outsmarts and defeats her. Mal was played brilliantly by Dove Cameron. At the time of Descendants, Cameron was performing the dual role of both Liv Rooney and Maddie Rooney in the Disney Channel series Liv and Maddie (2013-17), for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children’s Programming in 2018. She had also starred in the Disney Channel movie Cloud 9 (2014).

Evie is the daughter of the Evil Queen. She has been brought up to believe that beauty and money are the most important things in the world, so all Evie needs to do is stay young and stunning and bag herself a rich prince – according to her mother. Although Evie attempts to do this by flirting with Chad, it doesn’t work out for her, and she learns that actually she is intelligent, creative, and independent; she doesn’t need a guy to give her life meaning and she can be successful on her own terms and with her own talent. Though I like Mal, I also really like Evie, because she’s very optimistic and level-headed. Sofia Carson was cast as Evie, who had first appeared on Disney Channel in a guest role on the series Austin & Ally in 2014. After Descendants, Carson starred in a different Disney Channel movie, Adventures in Babysitting (2016).

Carlos is the son of Cruella de Vil. His mother taught him to be scared of dogs, after all her traumatic backstory with them, I suppose. She also seems to treat her son like her own personal slave, not wanting him to go to Auradon so he can do her hair… Carlos is funny, helpful, kind, and a complete scene-stealer. Carlos is one of the first to stand up to their parents, as he shows his mother that she was wrong about dogs by getting himself a pet, the school mascot, Dude. Even in Descendants, you can see that Carlos is being set up to be the one that holds the four of them together, despite the difficulties they’ll face. The very talented Cameron Boyce played the part of Carlos. Prior to Descendants, Boyce had been cast as one of the kids in the Adam Sandler film Grown Ups (2010) and its 2013 sequel. He was famous on Disney Channel for his role as Luke Ross in the series Jessie (2011-15), where Debbie Ryan played the title character. Boyce also voiced Jake in the animated series Jake and the Never Land Pirates from 2012 to 2014.

Jay is the son of Jafar, and due to there not being any magic on the Isle of the Lost, Jafar and Jay make their living by stealing from others. Jay does the exact same thing when he gets to Auradon but he soon learns that he doesn’t need to be doing that because he has his own skill – and that is being a great Tourney player, which automatically makes him a jock and part of a team. He is the most confident one of the four, but he can be a bit hot-headed, easy to anger if someone disrespects him. Booboo Stewart, who played Seth Clearwater in The Twilight Saga (2008-12), was cast as Jay. Stewart had also played Warpath in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) before his role in Descendants.

Before we get to the “heroes”, it’s probably worth briefly mentioning the villain parents. Although not as menacing or as wicked as their animated counterparts, the villain parents are much more kid-friendly in Descendants and I guess it makes sense that they aren’t particularly strong or confident now because they have been banished to the Isle for twenty years and can no longer practise magic or make big evil plans. Stand-up comedian Maz Jobrani portrayed Jafar here, and Wendy Raquel Robinson, who had roles in The Steve Harvey Show (1996-2002) as Regina, and The Game (2006-23), as Tasha, played Cruella de Vil. Kathy Najimy, who starred as Mary Sanderson in Hocus Pocus (1993) and its 2022 sequel, as well as Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act (1992) and its 1993 sequel, was cast as the Evil Queen, and the fabulous Kristin Chenoweth got the almighty task of playing Maleficent. Chenoweth is known for numerous roles, including originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked, as well as her screen credits, like Mary Jo Gornicke in RV (2006), Olive Snook in Pushing Daisies (2007-09), and Mildred/Miss Codwell in Schmigadoon! (2021-23). Chenoweth was also cast as Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray Live! (2016) with Dove Cameron playing her on-screen daughter, Amber.

For the heroes, obviously the main one is Ben. Ben is one of the few residents of Auradon to welcome the Villain Kids to Auradon Prep, but that’s probably because it was his idea to bring them there. If you don’t stand up for your own decree, no-one else will! Ben is very kind and understanding; he should be since his mother is Belle. Ben is played by Mitchell Hope, with Descendants being his breakout role. I actually very much like this character and think Hope portrayed the charm and sincerity of Ben well.

His parents, King Beast – the man still isn’t allowed a name? – and Belle were played by Dan Payne, who has appeared in many Hallmark holiday movies, and Keegan Connor Tracy, respectively, who was cast in the role of the Blue Fairy in the ABC series Once Upon a Time (2011-18). Then there is Fairy Godmother, the kind and fair headmistress of Auradon Prep. She is determined to teach the VKs how to be good, no matter how they behave. Melanie Paxson was chosen to play the part of Fairy Godmother. Fans of the Nickelodeon show True Jackson, VP may know her as Doris Aden, but prior to that, she had appeared in sitcoms such as Notes from the Underbelly (2007-08) and Happy Family (2003-04).

Descendants benefits from a large and varied supporting cast, with many other “royal children” who have not been mentioned, simply because it would take too long to write about all of them! Some of these characters do become more involved in later stories.

MUSIC

The soundtrack of Descendants features a lot of big, show-stopping ensemble numbers. The one song in the movie that goes against this is “If Only”, my favourite song in the movie. It’s an emotional, heartfelt solo performed by Mal, as she thinks about what she really wants from life. It’s a calm moment of meditation in amongst a story that is full to the brim with action and conflict. There is also a reprise of “If Only” later on, as Mal tearfully makes the antidote for her love spell for Ben the night before the Coronation.

“Rotten to the Core” is a huge production number with complicated choreography and a little bit of parkour that sets up the movie to focus on these four villain kids. It shows them in their natural habitat of the Isle of the Lost. It immediately grabbed my attention when I watched the movie for the first time and kept me interested in what was still to come. Another big dance number is featured at the end of the movie with “Set It Off”. After Ben’s Coronation, it’s time to party and the Auradon Prep students show us how it’s done. It’s a positive, happy ending to the movie, showing that they are “all in this together”.

So those are the songs that I do like in Descendants. Now for the ones I don’t like so much. The first one is “Did I Mention”, which is the song that Ben sings in front of all the Auradon Prep students, publicly declaring his love for Mal thanks to the love spell she put on him. It’s not that I don’t like the music, I actually do because it’s very catchy, and it’s hilarious to see Ben acting so earnestly when it almost feels embarrassing for the onlooker! The only issue I have is the dance moves. Mitchell Hope doesn’t seem to be the most natural dancer, and seeing the backing dancers next to him makes it all look a little bit awkward. Not that I’m one to judge. My dance abilities go about as far as the Macarena and the Cha-Cha Slide! Maybe it’s just the shoulder pads on Ben’s Tourney uniform throwing him off balance! Singer-songwriter Jeff Lewis, who was a contestant on The Voice Season 4, is credited as Ben’s singing voice in this movie, although the soundtrack lists Mitchell Hope as an artist as well.

Another number is “Evil Like Me”. Mal is trying to live up to her mother’s legacy and struggling to find the motivation to follow in her footsteps, so it’s a duet between the two, all happening only in Mal’s mind. It feels very Broadway, very showy. Again, it’s not so much the song that bothers me, but the idea behind it. To see Maleficent, one of the most devious female Disney villains of all time, dancing around and saying things about being “finger lickin’ evil to the bone” does not compute in my mind. If I forget it’s meant to be the Maleficent, it’s fine though, and Dove Cameron and Kristin Chenoweth really pull it off.

The musical piece I dislike the most is “Be Our Guest”. It’s an odd hip-hop/rap version of the classic song from Beauty and the Beast (1991) that the Auradon Prep students perform to welcome their families to Family Fun Day. I personally found it cringey to sit through because I’m so familiar with the actual song, and didn’t feel it needed to be updated. They also mention fine dining and eating “the grey stuff” still, but the only food I can see is this scene is a chocolate fountain, so that’s false advertising in my book.

On the soundtrack, “Believe” by Shawn Mendes is the final song, featuring in the End Credits. It’s ok but not something I’ll rush back to listen to again. “Believe” was nominated for Choice Movie TV Song at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards. There is also the score composed by David Lawrence, who composed the scores for other Disney Channel Original Movies, including High School Music (2006). “Descendants Score Suite”, featuring excerpts from the score, was included on the official soundtrack. Lawrence was nominated for Outstanding Music Composition at the 68^th Primetime Emmy Awards. Descendants’ soundtrack topped the US Billboard 200, US Kid Albums and US Soundtrack Albums charts on its release.

PRODUCTION

Talk about Descendants started quite early on in production. In December 2013, the basic plot outline, i.e., four children of Disney villains being allowed to attend school at Auradon, was already known, as well as the names of the villain kids, and who their famous parents are. Kenny Ortega had also been named as director, which would have added to the excitement around the film, since he was well-known for being the director of the High School Musical trilogy – and we all know how well those did[1]. Ortega was the choreographer on many movies including Xanadu (1980) and Dirty Dancing (1987), and went on to direct Newsies (1992) and Hocus Pocus (1993), both for Disney. Casting and photos from shooting were later revealed in 2014, with a release date confirmed as being Summer 2015.

Kenny Ortega later stated in an interview that it took five months of auditioning before they found the four actors who would become Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay. He stated how impressed he was with them, and the fact that they took their roles seriously. Ortega also said how he liked that they were able to refresh these classic characters from Disney Animation, as well as be able to create new characters that would resonate with a new generation of Disney watchers[2].

Not only did the team on Descendants create new characters but they also had to create two new worlds. Auradon became the new magical kingdom, with its grand architecture, beautiful landscaping, and of course, its beautiful castle, which you can see during the “storybook opening” and coincidentally looks pretty similar to Cinderella Castle from the Disney Parks. This is the complete opposite of the Isle of the Lost. The Isle’s buildings are derelict, covered in grim and graffiti, and it looks like a dark, dismal junkyard. I’m sure if the villains hadn’t been condemned to a life there, banished from civilisation, they might have been a bit more motivated to clean the place up. As it is, that was not the case!

Descendants is also known for its stunning costumes. Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay begin their story in heavy leather outfits. The steampunk look of the Isle of the Lost is in sharp contrast to Auradon, where the princes all wear suits, and the princesses wear pretty dresses. Evie, being such a fashionista, is inspired by these clothes and makes new creations for the four. Although they wear dresses and suits, especially at the Coronation where it is a given, they still manage to retain some of that steampunk style, with leather incorporated into many of their outfits, perhaps as a way of complementing their journey to goodness without forgetting their roots.

RECEPTION

Since there was such a buzz around the release of Descendants, it is only natural that there was some serious promotion for the movie, not just on Disney Channel, but outside of it, with the four main cast members being interviewed by news outlets and media channels in the days and weeks leading up to the release date, saying how honoured they were to be cast as these famous villains’ children and how proud they were of the movie.

On Disney Channel, a 23-episode series of short clips were shown every day prior to Descendants’ premiere date. This series was called Descendants: School of Secrets, and showed a mysterious and unnamed student using a hidden camera to show footage from inside the world of Auradon Prep, revealing the mixed reaction of the students after the announcement that four villain children would be attending their school soon.

After all that press, Descendants finally premiered on Disney Channel on 31^st July 2015, where it was viewed by 6.6 million people on the night. It didn’t reach the UK Disney Channel until 25^th September 2015, by which point the reviews were already out.

Many of these reviews were positive, likening Descendants to High School Musical, albeit not regarding Descendants quite as highly. The soundtrack was generally regarded as being just as strong as that of High School Musical, and some praised the costumes and the message of being yourself, and good overcoming evil. The performance of the four lead actors was also considered to be very strong on the whole. The best description of Descendants that I read in any review was ‘High School Musical meets Once Upon a Time’, which I feel is a very accurate description of this movie[3]. On the more negative side, some complained over the auto-tune sound to some of the music, which I’ll admit you can hear in places, such as during “Rotten to the Core”, as well as the original villain characters not being accurate to their animated counterparts, which I’ve already had my say on.

Kenny Ortega won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Children’s Program from the 2016 Directors Guild of America Awards for Descendants, and the screenwriters, Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott, won the Writers Guild of America Award for Children’s Longform Program. I think these awards are a testament to how well Descendants was received not just by children or teenagers, the target audience of the movie, but by the movie-making industry itself. Descendants was big news.

LEGACY

Right after Descendants had aired, a new animated series was announced, titled Descendants: Wicked World. The series ran for two seasons, from September 2015 to March 2017, with many of the original cast reprising their characters in these voice roles. The events of this series took place after Descendants. New characters, both from Auradon and the Isle of the Lost, were also introduced, including Freddie, the daughter of Dr. Facilier, who was voiced by China Anne McClain, which might sound confusing if you have already seen Descendants 2. More on that another time.

Descendants: Wicked World was apparently the first Disney Channel Original Series to be based on a Disney Channel Original Movie. It is also worth noting that three songs from this series appear on the Descendants movie soundtrack, released before this animated series aired. Descendants: Wicked World was nominated for Choice Animated TV Show at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards.

Despite some of the cast and Kenny Ortega attending the D23 Expo in August 2015, as well as being interviewed about the success of Descendants, they refused to confirm whether a sequel was in the works, even though Mal implies at the end of the movie that there is more to come. Fans didn’t need to wait too much longer for confirmation, because in October 2015 on Instagram, Disney Channel confirmed that Descendants 2 was in production. No air date was given at this time, though many assumed it would be released in Summer 2017. To celebrate the news of this sequel, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, and Kenny Ortega went to Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort to perform on stage for fans.

As well as these on-screen continuations, the world of Descendants gave more opportunities for Disney merchandising, as novels, costumes, clothing, and toys were released shortly after to cope with the success of the movie and its new fans[4].

For the 2015 Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration taping at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, the four VKs performed the song “Rotten to the Core”, cementing them as a major entertainment property within the Disney Company. Not just anyone gets invited to these kinds of Disney Holiday shows! In 2016, they returned again for Disney Parks Presents: A Descendants Magical Holiday Celebration, a show featuring musical performances and a look at the Disney Parks for the holiday season. With Cameron Boyce and Sofia Carson hosting from Walt Disney World, and Booboo Stewart and Dove Cameron at Disneyland, they performed a new version of the song “Rotten to the Core”, renamed “Jolly to the Core”. China Anne McClain was also a performer during this show, as she had been announced as a new cast member addition for Descendants 2 back in June 2016. An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the sequel was also shown.

FINAL THOUGHTS

After much anticipation prior to the release of Descendants, it did not disappoint. It received positive reviews, and many liked the new take on a classic Disney story of heroes and villains, where the villains’ children realise that they do not have to follow in their parents’ footsteps, and that they can choose their own path.

Though I was initially disappointed by the portrayal of these devious Disney villains, I found myself completely absorbed in the story that was being told to me. It wasn’t even about those villains; it was about Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos.

The success of Descendants, almost ten years after High School Musical premiered on Disney Channel in 2006, showed that Disney Channel yet again had another musical hit. And, much like High School Musical, there was more story to come.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Marc Snetiker, ‘Disney plans live-action movie ‘Descendants’ featuring villains’ kids’, EW,com, 12^th December 2013.

[2] Credit: D23, ‘Talking Disney’s Descendants with Kenny Ortega’, D23.com, date unknown.

[3] Credit: Amy Amatangelo, ‘‘Descendants’: TV Review’, HollywoodReporter.com, 28^th July 2015.

[4] Credit: Doug Marsh, ‘Disney Descendants Celebrate at Disneyland’, LaughingPlace.com, 22^nd October 2015.

5th Jul 202423rd Jan 2026 by The Disney Purist

StarStruck (2010)

BACKGROUND

Everyone remembers their first celebrity crush.

For me, there have been many. Some fleeting, some with more staying power. I know, I need help, it’s just so hard to find good support groups these days.

I’m not even talking about my first celebrity crush here, but I am talking about my first Disney Channel crush. Ethan Craft from Lizzie McGuire didn’t interest me, nor did Jake Ryan in Hannah Montana. Zac Efron did to a point, but it wasn’t until I was sixteen and I watched Sonny with a Chance for the first time, on a family holiday to Walt Disney World of all places, that I first saw him: Sterling Knight, playing the obnoxious but charming Chad Dylan Cooper. With that blond hair and those blue, blue eyes, I was hooked.

So, imagine how pleased I was to find that in 2010, just a few months later, that I’d get to see him in his very own Disney Channel movie, StarStruck, where he would be singing and playing the guitar. All my fangirl dreams had come true.

StarStruck followed in the footsteps of highly successful Disney Channel musical films, like the High School Musical and Cheetah Girls franchises. Sadly, StarStruck never quite hit those heights, but I loved it, and I know some friends of mine who didn’t even particularly watch Disney Channel at the time, because we were probably considered to be “too old” to be watching it, also quite liked it.

My love for Sterling Knight only lasted about a year and a half, and he soon graduated from Disney, moving on to new projects. I moved on too, to university…and the band Big Time Rush. Please, judge me quietly. But I never forgot about StarStruck and every time I rewatch it, it’s a real blast from the past. I can still remember the songs and many moments from the film, even after all these years.

That was a window into my awkward teenage years. I’m very sorry if it was embarrassing to read. I did say judge me quietly.

Now, let’s get to the story of StarStruck.

PLOT

StarStruck begins with a nighttime aerial view of Los Angeles, moving inside the Staples Center where teen heartthrob and singing sensation Christopher Wilde is performing a concert to crowds of adoring fans.

We then see that this is just a news report on the concert which is being watched by a teenage girl called Sara, as her parents and sister talk about packing for their upcoming trip to Los Angeles to visit their grandmother. Sara is a huge fan of Christopher Wilde. She’s hoping to meet him whilst in L.A., having researched all of his usual hang outs. You’d be forgiven for thinking that StarStruck is about Sara, but it’s not. It’s actually all about the sister, Jessica, who hates celebrities and the shallowness of fame. Shock horror – she doesn’t even like Christopher Wilde and has no desire to go to L.A!

On this lovely family holiday to L.A. from Kalamazoo, Michigan – the first time I’d ever heard of this place – Sara ends up dragging Jessica to an Under-21s club, where she’s heard a rumour that Christopher Wilde is due to sing there. Jessica is ordered to stay in their grandmother’s bright pink car and wait for her.

Meanwhile, Christopher Wilde’s parents/managers want him to move into acting as well as keep up with all of his singing commitments. A director, Alan Smith, comes to visit them and says that he doesn’t like how Christopher is portrayed in the media, looking like some sort of spoilt punk, so he tells him to stay home this weekend and keep out of the tabloids, or he won’t get the movie deal. Only, Christopher promised his girlfriend, starlet Alexis Bender, that he would sing at the club for her birthday. His friend, assistant, and chauffeur, Stubby, sneaks him in through the back, and he does perform, before quickly exiting the club. Jessica has got bored of waiting for Sara and tries to find her. She goes to the back entrance to the club – and is hit on the head by the door that Christopher Wilde is leaving from. Horrified that this girl might threaten his efforts to stay out of the press, Christopher bundles Jessica into his car and drives her to the hospital to get checked out.

It turns out Jessica is fine and just wants to go home. Christopher then gets a call to say that the director is at his house, and his parents tell him to get back quickly. Using a doctor’s car to avoid the paparazzi, he takes Jessica to his house and hides her upstairs, telling her to wait for him to return. Christopher meets with Alan and his daughters, who ask him to perform for them. After he does this, Jessica has got bored of waiting (again) and heads to his garage; Christopher follows. She orders him to take her home now. Once they get to Jessica’s grandmother’s house, Christopher finds he has been followed there by the paparazzi. He asks Jessica if he can stay in her grandmother’s garage. Jessica doesn’t want anything more to do with him, but lets him stay there anyway as he seems desperate.

The next morning, Jessica finds that, thankfully, Christopher has left before anyone could accidentally discover him in the garage. Sara hears a news report about Christopher Wilde, saying that he was spotted at his house party with a different girl, not his girlfriend, Alexis – gasp! Sara and Jessica argue about the authenticity of this piece of gossip, at which point Grandma tells them to take the car and go to the beach.

The two end up at Malibu Beach, because Christopher Wilde surfs in Malibu, you know. Jessica then sees Christopher sat on the beach. She goes over to him and asks why he is here and not at home. He tells her that his house is surrounded by photographers and needs a different car to get back. Jessica swaps keys with Christopher, but as he is about to leave in “Petunia”, Grandma’s pink car, the paparazzi swarm the car park, so the two get in the car, don (bad) disguises, and leave. They then decide to go sightseeing for the day.

As their perfect day together comes to an end, the photographers begin following Christopher again. Jessica sends them down a back road and they get lost. They argue about Jessica’s terrible navigational skills and Christopher’s bad driving, before realising that the car isn’t moving anymore. And that is because they’ve landed in mud or quicksand. The car sinks into the muddy pool. Christopher and Jessica get to solid land, but they’re still arguing, even more so now that Jessica will have to explain what happened to Petunia.

Christopher gets annoyed at Jessica for ruining his perfect day with her grumpiness, and she tells him that he is acting like a spoilt brat and doesn’t understand how he can have any real friends. The conflict ends when Christopher pulls Jessica into a lake, and the two start to get along, having a heart-to-heart about how Christopher feels pushed into doing things to further his career by his parents, but all he wants to do is sing. Jessica tells him he should do whatever makes him happy.

As they finally return to the beach and are about to kiss, Christopher realises they are back in the real world and tells Jessica she can’t tell anyone about their day together, and asks for her camera so that none of the photos from the day can get out to the press. Jessica is both angry and heartbroken, and leaves, just as Christopher is surrounded by fans. But an eagle-eyed photographer notices something between the two of them and takes a photo of Jessica, for further research. Jessica is upset for the rest of her family’s L.A. visit, and as they leave, her grandmother tells her that life has a way of working itself out.

Christopher is told by Director Alan that the story has got out and he must deny knowing Jessica if he wants this movie deal. He goes on the celeb news programme “StarStruck” and says he never met her. That doesn’t stop the press camping outside Jessica’s family home in Michigan though, as they wait for her side of the story. Her parents now know something has happened to Jessica in L.A., but she can’t talk about it. Eventually, Jessica realises that the only way the press will leave is if she talks. She gives a brilliant speech about how the media build people up into celebrities, only so that they can tear them down again, to sell papers and magazines. This is incredibly accurate even today in the social media age and sounds all too familiar. I love this speech. Jessica also says that she never met Christopher Wilde, so now everyone thinks she lied about meeting him.

Christopher gets his movie deal, but after seeing Jessica on television giving this speech, and after a few harsh words from Stubby, he realises that he has been an idiot and goes to make amends. He tells Alan that he doesn’t want to be involved in his movie anymore, and fires his parents as his managers.

At Jessica’s school dance later, only Sara seems to believe that she really did meet Christopher Wilde and the other students ignore her or talk about how crazy she is. That is until Christopher appears on the stage. He sings to Jessica and apologies for treating her the way he did. Jessica isn’t entirely convinced, until reporter Libby Lam comes into the dance and Christopher tells the whole world that he was the one who lied: he does know Jessica and he thinks she’s the most amazing girl he’s ever met. He then promptly tells the reporter to leave them all alone. This works on Jessica and she forgives him. Christopher asks her to go on a real date with him, and they hold hands, and dance the night away together. Oh yeah, and Sara is finally given the opportunity to meet Christopher Wilde – and instead, faints in Stubby’s arms… That’s obsessive fans for you!

CHARACTERS & CAST

Christopher Wilde is a teenage superstar. He’s known for being a singer, but his parents/managers want him to take advantage of that star quality and go into acting as well. Christopher doesn’t necessarily want to do this, but he feels he has no choice but to go along with it, even if that means ignoring the people he wants to be with the most, and forgetting about what he wants to do with his life. Jessica tries to encourage Christopher to make his own choices, but he struggles to accept that he has the power to do that and ends up hurting her instead. It takes Christopher a while to figure out how to regain balance over his life, but he does so eventually and manages to regain Jessica’s trust too.

Sterling Knight was cast as Christopher Wilde. Knight made his film debut starring alongside Zac Efron in the romantic comedy film 17 Again. His famous Disney Channel role is playing Chad Dylan Cooper in the series Sonny with a Chance (2009-11), alongside Demi Lovato. He then returned to the spin-off series So Random! (2011-12), the sketch comedy show-within-a-show that Sonny and her friends perform on. It’s odd that Chad Dylan Cooper would choose to perform on So Random! since the character supposedly hated the show. Maybe Mackenzie Falls was cancelled or went on hiatus or something? He was a fan-favourite character though, so it wouldn’t have been right to leave him out of the spin-off. After this, Knight went on to have a recurring role in the sitcom Melissa & Joey (2010-15). Recently, Sterling Knight seems to have stepped away from the spotlight. I can only hope that he is doing well and living his best life.

Jessica Olson perhaps is not the most likeable lead character of a Disney Channel movie. She is very opinionated and stubborn, thinking her views on life are superior to her sister’s, with Jessica believing that Sara is just delusional and celebrity-obsessed – which isn’t wrong, but Jessica doesn’t need to be quite so aggressive with her words! I will admit that I struggled to like Jessica when I first saw the movie. She doesn’t come across well and she’s mean to Christopher Wilde, which is just so wrong. It’s not until Christopher tells Jessica that they can’t see each other again, and he doesn’t let her down gently either, that I started to side with Jessica and not Christopher. She also gives that amazing speech talking about the toxic methods of the press in their pursuit of celebrities, so that’s the point where I started to like the character a lot more.

Danielle Campbell was chosen to play the role of Jessica, having had a guest role in the series Prison Break (2005-17) when she was just ten years old prior to her Disney casting. She was actually “spotted” when she was having her hair cut in her hometown of Chicago and was asked to audition for an agency[1]. After StarStruck, she appeared in the movie Prom (2011) and was part of the main cast of the fantasy drama series The Originals (2013-18) as Davina Claire. More recently, Campbell was cast in the thriller anthology series Tell Me a Story (2018-20) in the roles of Kayla Powell and Olivia Moon, and had a guest part in The Rookie (2018-present) in 2024.

Stubby, or Albert J. Stubbins to use his full name, is Christopher Wilde’s very cool, fun-loving friend. He also seems to act as Christopher’s personal assistant and chauffeur, which might not seem great to hire your friends as your “help”, but hey, let’s just hope he gets paid for it! Stubby doesn’t get nearly enough screen time in StarStruck, but his loyalty to Christopher is clear, when he tries to convince him to stay home and not perform at his girlfriend’s birthday party, and again when he tells Christopher that lying about Jessica is not right and that he seems to have changed, not for the better either.

Brandon Mychal Smith was cast as Stubby. He was another cast member from Sonny with a Chance (2009-11) and its spin-off So Random! (2011-12), playing Nico Harris. Prior to that, he also had roles in other Disney Channel and Nickelodeon series, including Phil of the Future (2004-06) and Unfabulous (2004-07). In more recent years, Brandon Mychal Smith was a series regular in the Hulu miniseries Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019), cast as Craig Thompson, and voiced Michelangelo in the animated series Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018-20).

Sara Olson is Jessica’s older sister. She is an original member of Christopher Wilde’s fan club and, with her friend AJ, they tracked Christopher Wilde’s locations over an eighteen-month period in preparation for her family’s trip to L.A. She also claims to text him every day, and during the film, she finds his address from documents in his car and then proceeds to drive to his house… There’s a fine line between a dedicated, loyal fan, and an obsessive stalker. Unfortunately, I think Sara crosses that line more times than she stays behind it! Sara should not be a role model for anyone, and you should not be impressed by the lengths she’ll go to meet Christopher. But Sara is funny, and the contrast between her love for Christopher and Jessica’s initial hatred of him is what gives us the conflict that we’d expect from these two very different sisters. I am impressed that Sara doesn’t seem to be at all jealous of her sister’s relationship with Christopher though. If that were me, I’d be fuming!

Maggie Castle was cast as Sara. Just before StarStruck, Castle had appeared in The Time Traveler’s Wife, alongside Rachel McAdams, playing the sister of McAdams’ character. She then played Jenny in the comedy horror series Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (2010-12) and its 2017 animated film.

So those are the four main characters, but there are two more that I’d like to mention. These are “the fantabulous, fabulous” Alexis Bender and Director Alan. Alexis is an up-and-coming actress who is in a “relationship” with Christopher Wilde, though this all seems to be for publicity to help further both of their careers. Alexis is fame-obsessed and just wants to be a big star, which you can’t blame her for if that’s what she wants from life. She dumps Christopher when she finds out about Jessica, but bounces back quickly, announcing she has a date with some guy called Zack.

Alexis Bender will look familiar to Disney fans as she was played by Chelsea Staub, or Chelsea Kane as she is known today. Chelsea Kane had been cast as Stephanie in the Disney Channel movie Minutemen (2008) and went on to star as Stella Malone, alongside the Jonas Brothers, in the Disney series Jonas (2009-10). Also for Disney, she voiced the character of Bea Goldfishberg in Fish Hooks (2010-14). Outside of Disney, Kane placed third in Season 12 of Dancing with the Stars and played the part of Riley in the ABC series Baby Daddy (2012-17). She returned to voice acting again in 2019 to voice the character of Loy for the series Archibald’s Next Big Thing (2019-21).

Finally, the only reason I want to mention the director is because of the actor who played him. That actor is Matt Winston, and I know him from the Mary-Kate and Ashley film Passport to Paris (1999), where he was cast as the girls’ chaperone Jeremy Bluff. When I first watched StarStruck, I recognised him instantly from that film – which says more about me than it does anything else. Winston also had guest roles in a couple of Disney Channel series before StarStruck including Hannah Montana (2006-11) and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08).

PRODUCTION

Considering StarStruck is set in Los Angeles, it makes the most sense for the movie to be filmed there and to feature a lot of big tourist attractions, especially within the scenes of Christopher and Jessica sightseeing.

Some of these spots include Malibu Beach and Venice Beach; the Hollywood Sign; the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre; the Sunset Strip; and Griffith Observatory, although this seems to just be an aerial shot, much like the Staples Center at the start of the movie. The Club Under-21 scene, where Christopher Wilde is performing “Shades” for Alexis’ birthday, was filmed at the Key Club on the Sunset Strip. It was a concert venue which closed in 2013[2].

Since Christopher Wilde is such a big star, naturally Disney wanted to show just where he spends all that money. Well, Christopher Wilde is apparently a collector of fast supercars. If you’re a supercar fan, then you’ll have lots of fun spotting the makes and models of them. Some luxury car brands that are seen in StarStruck include Ferrari, Chrysler, Pontiac, Mercedes, and Porsche. But if you’re anything like me and have very little interest in cars, then you’ll probably only notice the colour!

Christopher Wilde is meant to be a teenage popstar, so about 17 years old. Jessica Olson is a 15-year-old high school girl. Danielle Campbell’s age just about matched her character – she was 14 at the time of filming – but Sterling Knight was 20 when he filmed StarStruck. This led to some speculation about why the two characters did not kiss in the film. Instead, the movie ends with the two holding hands, wearing sunglasses, dancing slowly, and a bit awkwardly, I think, as Stubby’s dance number “Party Up” lights up the school dance. Many thought a kiss would’ve been appropriate at this point, and Jessica and Christopher lean in as though they are about to, before being interrupted by Sara.

Rumours abound that the two did not kiss in the movie because of the age gap between the two actors. This might have contributed to the decision; however, it is worth noting that in many Disney Channel movies, the lead couple does not usually kiss in their first movie. One example of this is Troy and Gabriella from High School Musical; their first kiss takes place at the very end of High School Musical 2 (2007). Another example of this is within the ZOMBIES franchise, with Addison and Zed’s first kiss also happening at the end of their second movie, ZOMBIES 2 (2020). So, it’s not actually that unusual for Jessica and Christopher to have not kissed in StarStruck.

The screenplay for StarStruck was written by Barbara Johns and Annie DeYoung. DeYoung had previously written the Disney Channel co-production 16 Wishes (2010), as well as the Disney Channel Original Movies Princess Protection Program (2009) and Return to Halloweentown (2006), going on to work on a further DCOM, Girl vs. Monster (2012). Johns went on to work on the drama series Firefly Lane (2021-23).

Michael Grossman directed StarStruck, having previously directed episodes of the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 (2005-08) and the Nickelodeon TV movie Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008). Grossman went on to direct episodes of other series such as Pretty Little Liars (2010-17) and Drop Dead Diva (2009-14).

MUSIC

Another element of StarStruck that led to some misinformation was around its soundtrack and whether or not Sterling Knight sang the songs.

Sterling Knight addressed this in a Twitter post back in February 2010, seemingly before the movie’s premiere date. He stated that he had wanted to sing all the songs for StarStruck, but only showed up one week before shooting began, so he simply did not have enough time to record all the soundtrack. The only song that Knight does sing is the title number “StarStruck”. It’s a great song for the opening concert scene and starts the soundtrack off with a bang. Drew Ryan Scott finished up the vocals on the rest of Christopher Wilde’s songs[3]. He is a singer-songwriter who has written songs for artists including Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and Selena Gomez. It is unclear why Sterling Knight was cast late for StarStruck, and who – if anyone – was scheduled to portray Christopher Wilde instead of Knight.

Although Knight did not sing much of Christopher Wilde’s music for StarStruck, he has sung for other Disney Channel projects, including for the Sonny with a Chance CD, so he absolutely would’ve been capable of singing all the songs if he’d had time. Knight can also play the guitar so it would seem to me that he does play the guitar live in the movie.

The soundtrack of StarStruck involves a mixture of romantic songs, as well as some pop songs. There is also a song that only appears on the soundtrack and in the “Extended Edition” of the movie, “Got to Believe”. The song itself is alright, but I don’t feel that it adds anything to the overall story, which is obviously why it did not make the final cut.

My least favourite song is “Shades” and that is mostly for the awkward dancing involved in the performance of the song at the club. It pains me to say it because I can see that Sterling Knight was trying so hard to look like a natural performer, but it just doesn’t come across here. This is in complete contrast to Brandon Mychal Smith who looks incredibly confident in his rapping and performing skills, both in “Shades” and “Party Up”, the song that wraps up the movie, which I do really like[4].

My favourite songs in StarStruck are “Hero” and “Something About the Sunshine”. “Hero” is the main love ballad of the film, with it being performed as a slower, acoustic version during Christopher Wilde’s party, as well as in one of his recording sessions. I like the slower version the best, with just the guitar in the background. It’s a really cute song. For “Something About the Sunshine”, this sounds like a summer road-trip song. It entirely matches the picture-perfect day that Jessica and Christopher have together, because it’s cute, bright, and cheerful, like everything is perfect and it’s just those two in the world. Anna Margaret features as the female vocalist in this song. She went on to perform songs for the Disney Channel movie Den Brother (2010) and for the Shake It Up: Break It Down album.

The final song to mention is “What You Mean to Me”. It’s another sweet, romantic song, as Christopher tells Jessica that he is sorry for trying to pretend she never existed just to keep his career on track. It would have to be quite a song to make up for all the humiliation that Jessica has faced – and luckily, it is. To perform it in front of a crowd of high school students is another step up too.

There are three songs within the soundtrack that are not performed by any of the characters in the movie and are only there for background noise. All three of these songs are actually very good, considering they are just meant to be creating an atmosphere and are not supposed to pull focus from the main action.

One of these is played during Christopher’s house party: “Welcome to Hollywood” by Mitchel Musso, who was cast as Oliver in Hannah Montana (2006-11) at this time. I used to really like Mitchel Musso’s music, and bought the CD of his debut album. “Make a Movie” by singer Jasmine Sagginario, who won Radio Disney’s 2009 N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) competition, and “New Boyfriend” by Anna Margaret can both be heard during the high-school dance, on either side of “What You Mean to Me”.

David Lawrence is credited as the composer of StarStruck’s score. He has composed the music for various other Disney Channel Original Movies, including the first three Descendants films; Teen Beach Movie (2013) and Teen Beach 2 (2015); Good Luck Charlie, It’s Christmas (2011); and the High School Musical trilogy.

RECEPTION

To promote the release of StarStruck, Disney Channel released numerous promotional videos to air between their programming over the months leading up to the premiere date. These included behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with the cast, and music videos. There was also a tour bus with a StarStruck poster pasted to the side of it being driven around Hollywood. This was used for a “StarStruck Tour” series of videos, “hosted” by “tour guide” Saralou, who just so happened to be Tiffany Thornton, the actress who played Tawni in Sonny with a Chance (2009-11), taking the five main cast members on a tour of L.A. It included a few facts about Hollywood and L.A., as well as some funny moments between “Saralou”, Sterling Knight, and Brandon Mychal Smith, who were all working together on Sonny with a Chance at the time[5].

StarStruck premiered on Disney Channel in the US on 14^th February 2010, so Valentine’s Day. The premiere generated 6 million viewers. StarStruck was the first Disney Channel Original Movie to debut on a Sunday night. Oh, how nice for all those American Sterling Knight fans to have been able to watch his new movie on Valentine’s Day… That was not the case for me as I’m British, so I had to wait until 14^th May 2010 – a whole three months later – for StarStruck to premiere in the UK and Ireland. That has always been quite normal, albeit quite irritating, with many Disney Channel Original Movies premiering in the UK anything between a week or two after the US premiere up to a few months later. Thankfully with Disney+, US and UK release dates for new Disney movies are much closer together, usually just a day or so apart.

As many TV movies do, StarStruck received mixed reviews. Some of the more negative reviews said the plot was predictable and unrealistic, disliking the clichéd storyline of a famous person falling in love with a normal person. Some also found the character of Jessica to be unlikeable, which I agree with to a point. Others felt the movie was ok, but nothing in comparison to High School Musical (2006). But many viewers were very positive about StarStruck, enjoying the movie’s soundtrack, saying it was sweet and that Sterling Knight was perfectly cast as Christopher Wilde. This is the side of the fence that I sit on.

In recent years, there are plenty of Disney fans who say that StarStruck is underrated and that, in a way, it was quite progressive by dealing with real-life issues such as addressing the difficulties of coping with fame, especially as a child or teenager, even if the role of the paparazzi in StarStruck perhaps comes across as a bit over-the-top[6].

Michael Grossman, director of StarStruck, was nominated at the Directors Guild of America Awards, in the category of Outstanding Directing – Children’s Program, for the movie, but lost out to Nickelodeon’s The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010).

LEGACY

StarStruck, unlike some other Disney Channel musicals, did not span any further movies or any spin-offs. The time for making a sequel has most definitely passed now, and the only likely plot they could’ve come up with for StarStruck 2 was for us to see Jessica and Christopher navigating their new relationship whilst Christopher went on his world tour. It’s not a particularly unique concept, so it’s understandable that Disney didn’t feel the need to make this sequel, though it would’ve been nice to have explored Sara and Stubby’s relationship a bit more as they are thrown together multiple times in StarStruck, but nothing ever comes of it.

StarStruck was released on DVD as an “Extended Edition”, which involved the song “Got to Believe” and a brief scene before the song showing that the Internet hates Jessica for being in an assumed relationship with someone famous – and that was before social media became such a big thing. It may have been years since StarStruck first came out, but the world has not changed. If anything, these kinds of incidents have gotten worse.

You could also buy the soundtrack for StarStruck on CD at the time, as well as online. Being such a big fan of Sterling Knight, I obviously got both the CD and the DVD when they were released, and still have them to this day.

At the US Disney Parks, StarStruck was a small part of the short stage show Disney Channel Rocks, which ran at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World from 2010 to 2013. This show had performers singing some of the best songs from many Disney Channel musicals including The Cheetah Girls, Camp Rock (2008), Jump In! (2007), and of course, High School Musical. From StarStruck, the song “Party Up” was performed.

FINAL THOUGHTS

StarStruck may have a few clunky lines and some awkward dance moves – specifically within the whole “Shades” scene in the club – but that’s my opinion from watching StarStruck as an adult. As a teenager, I absolutely adored this film, and any time that Sterling Knight was on screen, I didn’t really care what was happening; I just wanted to look at him.

Even now, I enjoy going back and watching some of my childhood favourite movies, as I know many adults do – though they may not like to admit it. I know I’m not alone in enjoying that feeling of nostalgia, remembering simpler times in life. It reminds me of less complicated times, when the pressures and struggles of being an adult hadn’t hit me yet.

StarStruck may not have been the best DCOM for some, but to me, it had everything I was looking for, and it’s one of the best Disney Channel musicals in my opinion, even now.

It’s a movie perfect for anyone who is prone to celebrity crushes. They aren’t realistic, but they are fun, and if watching StarStruck lets someone dream that perhaps one day, something like this might just happen to them, then that is perfect escapism.

Just don’t turn into Sara and become an obsessive stalker. That is a step too far.

REFERENCES

[1] Credit: Radio Disney, “Radio Disney’s Celebrity Take with Jake: Behind the Scenes of StarStruck”, Radio Disney YouTube Channel, 18^th February 2010.

[2] Credit: Radio Disney, “Radio Disney’s Celebrity Take with Jake: Behind the Scenes of StarStruck”, Radio Disney YouTube Channel, 17^th February 2010.

[3] Credit: Chip, ‘Sterling Knight Addresses Rumors that he didn’t sing in Disney’s “StarStruck”’, ChipandCo.com, 12^th February 2010.

[4] Credit: Disney Channel, “StarStruck DCOM Extra: Making Music”, Disney Channel YouTube Channel, 2^nd February 2010.

[5] Credit: Disney Channel, “StarStruck Tour”, Disney Channel YouTube Channel, 12^th February 2010.

[6] Credit: Nicholas Howe, ‘DCOMs: 5 Things That Made StarStruck Great (& 5 Things It Needed To Fix’, ScreenRant.com, 10^th May 2020.