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 27th 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 28th 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 26th July to 11th 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 5th 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 22nd 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 2nd 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 13th 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 20th 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, 25th July 2019.
[2] Credit: Zach Johnson, ‘Bringing Down the Barrier: Behind the Scenes of Descendants 3’, D23.com, 2nd August 2019.
[3] Credit: Disney, ‘Behind the Scenes of Descendants 3! Compilation: Road to Auradon: Descendants 3’, Disney Descendants YouTube Channel, 6th 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, 11th July 2019.
[6] Credit: Logan Culwell-Block, ‘Stage Adaptation of Disney Channel’s Descendants Now Available for Licensing’, Playbill.com, 5th March 2020.
The Disney Purist 