Disney Channel Musical Month - Descendants 2

OK, one of the rules of Disney Channel Musical month when I was pre-planning it was that it was one entry per franchise. But one of the movies that’s listed as a musical on google I’ve skimmed through and decided it doesn’t count as one. And rather than watch the Cheetah Girls movie, I’ve decided to throw the rules in the trash and do Descendants 2.

Why Descendants 2 and not Zombies 2 or Camp Rock 2? Because I actually like this one and goddamn it, I need a break from the crap. We’ve got a few new talents, China Anne McLain is in this one, she was the lead protagonist in the show ANT Farm, where she was a musical prodigy, which bodes well. Thomas Doherty had at the time been doing another Disney show called the Lodge, which also had musical elements. Dylan Playfair is also a major addition, he was in a show called Some Assembly Required, a sitcom that whilst funny often suffered from having too many comic relief idiots. He played one of them, Knox, probably the dumbest but nicest of them.

I guess I should mention the main cast too. Cameron Boyce (RIP) was in the sitcom Jessie and he was an uncomfortably creepy child in that show. Dove Cameron got the special Guest Star accreditation in Austin and Ally but had been the star of her own Disney Channel show Liv and Maddie, she played both of them.

Sofia Carson had been in an episode of Austin and Ally as well but this was her first major role in television. Bobboo Stewart had the most experiences, he was in 3 of the 4 Twilight Films, played Warpath in X-men: Days of Future Past, the last good X-men film, but no major Disney Channel appearances [he would later be one of the villains in Lab Rats: Elite Force but we don't talk about that here]. Mitchell Hope had been in a couple of shows in 2012 and I hear was on the verge of giving up acting entirely before landing this role. 

With all that completely necessary preamble out of the way, let’s take a critical look at Descendants 2.

Mal is under a lot of pressure, being hounded by the press and having to present herself at a Royal Cotillion where she will officially get a made-up title ‘Lady of the Court.’ She’s at breaking point and missing her old life, especially as she feel’s she’s been forced into a mould she doesn’t fit. She’s been using magical shortcuts to expedite the process, nothing harmful just speed-reading, hair dyeing and making food for a picnic. But Ben finds out and does not take it well.

Mal decides to go back to the Island, with her old turf there now controlled by a new Trio. Harry, the son of Captain Hook, Gil, the son of Gaston and Uma, Daughter or Ursula. Though mostly Uma and Harry, Gil is dumb as rocks. Uma has always been jealous of Mal and wants to bring down the barrier, no surprise there, really.

Ben and the others head to try and bring Mal back but Ben ends up captured by Uma, with Uma only agreeing to release him in exchange for Fairy Godmother’s wand. I didn’t think magic worked inside the shield but…

There’s a few minor subplots with the others, Jay is having to navigate the casual sexism of Auredon sports. Carlos is trying to work up the courage to ask Jane to the Cotillion dance and Evie and Doug are doing their own fashion business.

The story is good. It handles the message of being yourself much better than most because it acknowledges that external pressures can make that difficult without it being a liar revealed story and acknowledges that knowing who you are is not always easy at that age, especially as you’re pulled between two different worlds.

Uma is a great antagonist. China Anne McLain really shines and gets to act a lot more over-the-top than she could in ANT Farm. She also gets 2 of the best songs in the film. Harry’s performance is also really over-the-top, we even see he’s wearing a fake hook. Gil is forgettable. He doesn’t have any Gaston-like personality. He doesn’t have the charm or ego of Gaston; he just gets to say lines to Ben regarding their parentage.

The music really makes this film, there’s a lot of well-choreographed sequences, to which 4 have made my favourites playlist, more than any other musical. Ben has an interesting arc where he begins to realise that starting with 4 means others are going to be left behind and maybe there’s more he could do.

Evie also has to try and reconcile her past as her attempts to distance herself from the Isle have come at the price of her not really acknowledging how her best friend has been struggling. The boys both get a word in as the climax approaches, both with some sound advice.

The climax at the Cotillion is interesting. It implies that Uma can cast spells with the spell-book, which is Odd since she’s not a witch. OK, having a powerful wand she could but she doesn’t have that. And then we see the CG budget get stretched a bit as Ben tries to call for peace, with little success by the end.

Uma survives to return another day. And we get a hint that the grand-daughter of the evil Step-Mother, Dizzy, is coming to Auredon.

Descendants 2 accomplishes more than most and uses the Disney Movie premise to create some interesting characters with some great over-the-top performances. The songs are the best this theme month has offered so far with great direction and choreography to match.

Rating 75/100