Descendants 2

The 2015 DCOM "Descendants" proved to be incredibly popular among the kids, and not without good reason. However I was given some negative responses to my IMDB user review of the movie, which is something all IMDb users are at risk of getting. Just because I didn't feel the same way most people did about it doesn't mean I was unsympathetic towards the main characters. Whatever misgivings I may have had about the previous movie, it had nothing to do with Dove. Before the movie, Cameron herself said this would blow the first movie out of the water, and I have to admit I was impressed.

Mal is on the verge of marrying Prince Ben, and is overwhelmed by the publicity. Before we see what she's living with, we get a fantasy sequence used as the theme song, and I have to admit, no matter who mentions any song called "Ways to be Wicked," I always think of the Lone Justice song from the 1980's. The daughter of Maleficent is caught off guard by the prospects of marriage, as well as the prince showering her with gifts, including a new scooter. She's also facing pressure to turn her spell book over to the "Museum of Cultural History," which she has been reluctant to do. In the meantime, Carlos has been crushing on the fairy godmother's daughter Jane (who looks better in the sequel, BTW), Jay is winning the heart of Lonnie, and trying to get her a spot on the fencing team. Evie is adjusting well to life in Auradon, and even helping those in need. After being caught using her spell book for a date with Ben who chastises her over it, she finally breaks down and is ready to give up and return to the Isle of the Lost.

Certainly no slouch when it comes to talent is China Anne McClain, who plays Uma, the daughter of Ursula from "The Little Mermaid." Disney probably wanted her for a few more projects since she became the third wheel on her own sitcom, and they got their money's worth with McClain. With the sons of Captain Hook, Gaston, and lesser pirates, Uma more or less runs the island, as well as a seafood dive bar and restaurant But seeing Mal on TV apparently living the good life pisses her off.

On the isle, we meet a pre-teen hairdresser named Dizzy Tremaine (Anna Cathcart), who is the granddaughter of one of the evil stepsisters of Cinderella. With her messy pigtails, color-splattered frock, and purple cat-eyeglasses barely hiding her copper eye shadow, Dizzy's true talent as a hairstylist is overlooked by her grandmother, but not by Mal or Evie. Unlike the other kids of the villains, she is anything but evil. Mal also keeps her from being victimized in an extortion racket by one of Uma's gang, which leads to the revelation that she has returned, and so has her purple hair.

Feeling guilty over trying to change his girlfriend and driving her away, he decided to go to follow her to her former prison island, and Evie, Jay, and Carlos know they have to go with the Prince, at least partially for his protection. They eventually find her and he tries to talk her into coming back, through no avail. While Mal loves the Prince, and life on Auradon, she feels she's a liability to her boyfriend, the royal family, and the kingdoms. But then Evie starts off a duet of "The Space Between," and everything seems like it's going to be okay.

Unfortunately Ben gets kidnapped in the process of trying to bring Mal home, she demands that Uma let him loose. Meanwhile Ben tells her abductor that the effort to bring the villain kids away from their evil parents influence was going to be expanded to other kids and could've even included her. The new villain makes a deal with the future princess and demands the fairy godmother's wand. The villain kids return home to make a fake wand with a 3-D printer, and bring it to Uma as a substitute this time with the help of Lonnie. They have a musical number before the exchange, with a bridge where Prince Ben urges the girls not to fight, but they go through with it anyway, and battle each other when Uma finds out it's fake, but not before returning Ben. I smelled a sequel to this the moment that Mal's spell-book was dropped on the Isle of the Lost as they tried to escape, and to be honest, I'm open to the idea. I also wish I was able to say something about the possibility of a third movie in my review before the first promo for it. I won't spoil the ending if you haven't seen it already, but the first four refugees of the Isle of the Lost do defeat the remaining villains. Also the post-credit ending is better than anything Kenny Ortega did with his previous franchise.

Having said that, there are only so many years that the cast can continue to be believable as their characters, and unless I'm mistaken Melissa De La Cruz's books will outnumber the movies that the cast can make. So the idea that the third one could be the last won't surprise me at all.

Despite being better than the original, Descendants 2 still isn't a very good movie. The characters and plot are still pretty lame.

LIKES:

Villain Kids: In most movies, the story is only as good as the antagonists to fight and in this case Uma (China Anne McClain) is an improvement over last movie's band of baddies. Descendants one tried to reinstate the classic baddies, with subpar casting and actors who semi looked the part. The direction of the movie though put the kids in the forefront and the villains in the back, resulting in rather boring/cheesy performances. With the kids being the focus, the new villain of Uma gets the focus and development needed, and her malicious planning are nice qualities. Her second in command Harry Hook (Thomas Doherty) is the enforcer who has some mad skills to bring to the table and actually does something to up the ante in a rather calm series. With kids at the focus, the doors open wide for more adventure at hand.

The Story: The first movie did a nice job introducing all the relationships of the world while embedding it in plots of doing villains' bidding, but also battling yourself when morals conflict. Yet the story was very simple and lacked the kick that it needed to be fully entertaining. Descendants 2 was a step up, building on those relationships and using them to tell a new story that involved exploring more of the isle. The added "suspense" was again a step in the right direction, and the increased urgency only brought more suspense to the mix.

The Songs: By far my favorite component was the soundtrack. After seeing Descendants a thousand times over the last two years, I made my list and found only a couple of songs I found timeless. In this installment, the five out of six tracks will most likely be coming to my Ipod. The dance numbers were much better for me and they fit very well into the theme of the movie instead of just being jammed in at random intervals ( see Evil Like Me and Ridiculous). The new soundtrack has edge and really kicks up the beat. Nice improvements guys.

Dislikes:

Dropped plot elements: If you haven't followed the animated shorts and accompanying books, then this won't affect you. However, the super fanbase will note other characters missing from Auradon's halls. Many characters are absent in this film, and even those from the first film have been reduced to back burner secondary appearances with little involvement in the main plot. Audrey, Jane, even Doug are not nearly as involved, most likely to give the newbies more screen time. Unfortunately…

New elements lacking: Outside of Uma and maybe Harry, many of the new characters are also reduced to smaller roles than I anticipated. Newcomers Dizzy (Anna Cathcart) and Gil (Dylan Playfair) have been the highlights of the recent advertising campaign, but sadly don't do much in this film. In addition, many of the dramatic buildups, foreshadowing, and magic are actually played less than I originally thought. Guess dancing and sword fighting are more important than complete plots. One warning I have for future installments is to not grow so big to drop other characters, or face the threat of devouring yourself by inconsistencies.

Rushed Plot: Descendants holds a lot of potential to be an epic tale, and that first book by De La Cruz was an epic introduction filled with that potential. The movies unfortunately have lost that balance and go for the rather rushed conclusions that make many DCOMs lacking. Number 2 did not improve on this element, but worsened as they tried to shove too many plots into the short run-time. Much of the conflict is dropped quickly, the tasks and trials are rapidly completed, and new elements are haphazardly dropped without any buildup or heat. I know they are shooting for time constraints, but with something this big… you can take your time and go a little longer. Younger audiences won't care about this, but older ones like me would appreciate a little more dramatic play ups. In addition, don't set up potential plots and drop them like a bad habit (see Chad Charming subplot). That incomplete presentation is a little disappointing with legendary directors in the mix.

Anti-climatic ending: I know, this is a movie geared for younger generations, we can't have too violent of a fight. The sword fight did a decent job of bringing the appropriate action especially the tangle between Harry and Jay (Booboo Stewart). However, another struggle at the end showed off some semi-decent computer work in a very…bland manner. I can't reveal much more, but an epic tangle could have come in that wasn't so…abruptly stopped. Kids watch lion King, Aladdin, and Incredibles, they can handle more than G rated punches. Add some "fire" to the mix, or throw in some close calls to mix things up and actually bring fear to the mix.

The Verdict:

Overall, Descendants 2 stepped its game up on many levels with their villains, story, and songs. Yet it still succumbs to the modern spin on DCOMs to go for musical gimmicks and diluted themes that while entertaining are not the only sustenance of the film. Descendants 2 story has room for improvement in regards to integrating its characters more, and could take a lesson from the books in regards to adding some suspense to the film. Still, it is one of the better DCOMs I have seen in a long time, and certainly the more impressive sequel to grace the small screen. With a little more work and some other feedback from you fans… Descendants 3 (which I feel will come) can be even more exciting.

My scores:

Family/Musical/Adventure/Fantasy: 8.0 Movie Overall: 5.5

The 103rd Disney Channel Original Movie. A sequel to the 2015 film of the same name. One of the most expected film, at least for a television film and by the Disney fans. And the children. I am not one, but ever since I was young, I loved Disney films and never stopped, yet. Especially after the massive hit song, 'Ways to be Wicked', the countdown for July 21st had began. So here we are!

The first film was unexpected. I did not think it would work, but it did. Seeing from some fresh perspective, particularly the new generation of classic villains really brought a modern day flavour for the fantasy genre. BUT, this part was not as good as the previous one. An enjoyable film, no doubt on that, it had some decent moments. Yet what's really missing was the COMEDY. The original had lots of fun, whereas this film became more serious. Obviously it's still fall under PG. So in my opinion, the children might find it fun to watch than the grownups.

From the same director, who had helmed many films for Disney Channel. A decent graphics too, which did not required in the big scale, excluding in the climax. Visually, that part was acceptable, but I expected a bit more spectacular. An average story. It is mostly about a rescue mission, that takes place equally at Auradon and Isle of the Lost. From all, Uma's big entry marks this film. So it is more like a clash of the villains, where the heroes are sidelined with a limited scope.

As always, Mal led the entire film. Apart from her education, she's now more a Auradonian by appearance with a big makeover. Though, her relationship with Ben has been tested. And following that, the heartbroken Mal returns home. The real action-adventure began when Ben got into a trouble while pursuing his love. So the gang of the good villains and the bad ones had no choice, but to battle it out with all their strength. And with a small twist, the issue was resolved, revealing who ended where.

❝You can stick a tiara on a villain, but you're still a villain.❞

Truly it was like watching some Indian film, mainly because of the colours. Yep, it was enchanting with those colours, as it could be costumes or the backgrounds and settings, but I loved it. It makes the teen girls envious. Only if it has a better screenplay, would have been an even better flick. The performances were wonderful. The old cast was good as always. And the new ones had granted the film to get more powerful. Especially I'm talking about Uma, the daughter of Ursala, a sea witch from 'The Little Mermaid'.

The film opened with the YouTube hit song that I mentioned earlier. There are like ten songs and all were good that nearly covered the one-third of the film. Setting in different mood and place and with the characters, really it was well done on the musical side of the film. Crucially, none of them were annoying, because of placed in the right segment of the storyline. Usually I'm not the fan of modern musicals, but this was good, especially having short and sweet tracks.

This is not simply a fantasy film that of the two decades ago. It borrowed the present world technology, like the 3D printing concept. That thing had some important role in the story segment. But when the dog could speak, it was like going back to the classic like in the animation. By the way I felt like there's some connection between Dude the dog and 'Dog with a Blog'. So there were some brief ups and downs, but the entire film rode on just over the average.

It was telecasted simultaneously in all the sub-Disney networks, as well as worldwide in other kid's networks. So it is now the second most watched DCOM of all time. This ending was not perfect, yet opened the gate for possible widening its cast even bigger if there will be a third. As to how it was received, I don't see the Disney thinking to put a brake to the potential franchise. In my opinion, it might become the longest film series for Disney Channel, which could drag for coming decades. So, dear Disney, lets us know when's the next one's due. Meantime, you keep updated with the first two if you haven't seen them yet. Who knows, it might surprise you, but surely for your kids.

6/10

The story is not interesting, and adding new character. it like they try to push the 4 main one down with this Uma character. The dance is not as sharp as the old one. The last scene where a dragon fight with an octopus, really? In many way, everyone know dragon would kill that octopus for lunch not like it has a very hard time fighting it. come on Disney, you guys really going down hill.