Descendants 2 – Teaser Trailer and Promo Art

By: Dustin Bradley

Disney Channel’s smash hit DCOM film (otherwise known as Disney Channel Original Movie respectively) Descendants aired last summer and in that time it has became a huge success.There are products ranging from merchandise, dolls, a mobile app, two original bestselling novels and even an animated series which is composed of shorts featuring our favorite reformed VKs (Villain Kids) and their old and new buddies in Auradon.

Yesterday’s release of the teaser trailer and promo art (see below) have me even more excited for this sequel, which will be helmed once again by director Kenny Ortega. That’s the man responsible for two of the best DCOM sequels ever High School Musical 2 and The Cheetah Girls 2! It seems that the entire cast from the original will be back along with some new additions including Uma who is the daughter of Usula (China Anne McLain) and a few that are yet to be cast.

The teaser shows us the core VKs leaving the Neon Lights Ball (featured in “Descendants: Wicked World”) being watched in an underwater crystal ball by Uma, who as of now seems to be the villain of the film.

But If you don’t know much about Descendants or you just want to read my opinions on it, then buckle up because I am about to share with you my Top 5 reasons as to why you should be obsessed with this wickedly fun franchise!

The Plot

Disney describes it as, “A present-day idyllic kingdom where the benevolent teenaged son of King Beast and Queen Belle offers a chance of redemption for the trouble making offspring of Disney’s classic villains: Cruella De Vil (Carlos), Maleficent (Mal), the Evil Queen (Evie) and Jafar (Jay).” So, basically these four VKs get sent from their rotten island home, The Isle of the Lost, to the bright and shiny land of Auradon because the soon to be king, Prince Ben, wants to give the children of these famed villains a chance to be good. They attend school with the sons and daughter of their parent’s worst enemies. Things go from bad to worse when they try to conduct a plan that will make them seem truly evil to their parents. Can they go through with it?

The Cast

The ensemble cast is lead by Dove Cameron (Mal), Sofia Carson (Evie), Cameron Boyce (Carlos), Booboo Stewart (Jay) and Mitchell Hope (Prince/King Ben). The supporting cast includes Sarah Jeffery (Audrey, daughter of Sleeping Beauty), Brenna D’Amico (Jane, daughter of Fairy Godmother), Zachary Gibson (Doug, son of Dopey), Jedidiah Goodacre (Chad, son of Cinderella), Dianne Doan (Lonnie, daughter of Mulan), Melanie Paxson (Fairy Godmother), Dan Payne (King Beast), Keegan Connor Tracy (Belle), Wendy Raquel Robinson (Cruella de Vil), Maz Jobrani (Jafar), Kathy Najimy (Evil Queen) and lastly the AMAZING Kristin Chenoweth (Maleficent)!

The cast is all so adorable and precious! They bring such a fresh and modern take to these characters that really make you root for them even when they aren’t being so nice. The core four all have such wonderful chemistry together that you can’t help but to rewatch this movie multiple times just to watch each of them separately. All of the teenage characters were written so true to life with real complexities and heart. But, for me, it’s the performance of a few of the adults that make me come back every time.

First, let’s single out Wendy Raquel Robinson and Kathy Najimy who were both so hilarious with every line and quip. Next, we have Melanie Paxson who was so fantastic as Fairy Godmother, the headmistress of Auradon Prep. Paxson was so quirky, hilarious and lovable that now I say some of her lines in everyday life, such as “Bibbity Boppity…YOU KNOW IT!”

Finally, we need to talk about the Mistress of the universe, of evil and of Broadway fans everywhere – Kristin Chenoweth! When I found out she was in this movie, it sold me right away. Then, when you find out that she is playing Dove Cameron’s mother…Well, then I am there! Ms. Chenoweth brought such humor to Malificent that you can’t help but love her! She made me barrel over in laughter within the first ten minutes! Oh, and don’t get me started on her end scenes where it was quip after quip of hilarity! Plus, they gave her a song cause when you have Broadway royalty, you let them sing! “Evil Like Me” is my showtune jam!

The Soundtrack

So, this is a musical, which makes it ten times better! The music ranges from EDM to Broadway to Pop. Each song is so catchy and fun that I bought the whole album right after the movie premiered! The soundtrack features all seven songs from the film plus the end credit song sung by Shawn Mendes. It also became equipped with songs from the animated spin-off, “Descendants: Wicked World” within the last couple of weeks.

I had the soundtrack on repeat for months! I still go back and listen to it as often as I can. It’s so good that it earned itself top of the charts status when it first came out on the US  Billboard 200, US Billboard Kids Albums and the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums charts. Be sure to check it out whenever you can.

The Spinoffs: “Descendants:  School of Secrets” & “Descendants: Wicked World”

Before the film was released we received a twenty-three episode series of live action shorts set in the library of Auradon Prep that showcased the thoughts and attitudes of the hero kids leading up to the arrival of the VKs called “Descendants: School of Secrets.” Narrated by Lonnie, this series gave us insight into who the hero kids really are and shows us that they aren’t all as nice as they pretend to be. The whole series is on the official “Disney Descendants” YouTube channel under their playlists. They are short 30 to 120 seconds short so you will get through them quickly. Be sure to check those out!

Shortly after the film was released, it was announced that we would be receiving an animated series of shorts that would continue the tales of the characters that we know and love plus some new ones, by the name of “Descendants: Wicked World.” The first season just ended its eighteen episode run with season two set to premiere this Fall. All of the original cast lent their voices to the project. We also received a few new characters that were either mentioned in the books or are highly original, which included Jordan (daughter of Genie), Ally (daughter of Alice) and Freddie (daughter of Dr. Facilier. These short one to four minute shorts that are sure to tide you over until we get the sequel.

The Novels: The Isle of The Lost & Return to The Isle of the Lost

Along with all of the above, when you factor in the novels then you might see how the Descendants craze as maintained it stamina. Both novels were written by Melissa de la Cruz (author of famed Witches of East End series).

The Isle of the Lost recounts the tale of our villains’ descendants banding together to retrieve the Dragon’s Eye on a mission from Maleficent. It is a prequel that gives us more details on the Isle and why it is so awful. We also get introduced to some of our favorite villains and their children that were not in the movie including Dr. Facilier, Mother Gothel, Lady Tremaine and many more. This novel is very fun and a light read as it is marketed toward middle schoolers, but it is worth it if you are a fan of the franchise.

Return to the Isle of the Lost is set after the film and tells the story of our VKs who are forced to return to the Isle when their parents (sans Maleficent) go missing. It seems that this novel also provides insight into some of the ships that were formed in the movie like Mal and Ben, Evie and Doug and Carlos and Jane as is stated that they are dating. It also includes some of the characters introduced in Wicked World and some new original characters. I recently bought it and haven’t had time to read it yet, but I am so excited to do so!

If you want any of the products talked about they are all available online and in stores. If you want to watch the spinoff series, they are available on the official “Disney Descendants” YouTube channel!