Descendants 2

Descendants was a very popular fantasy comedy released by Disney in 2015. The film told the story about the Fairytale Kingdom divided into the land of Auradon, where only good people live who do good things, and the Island of the Lost inhabited by the villains. A group of evil kids is sent to Auradon on a secret mission to steal the magic wand and conquer the world. The film was such a huge success that the studio immediately announced the sequel. Crowds of fans (me among them) were waiting to the second installment of the story. Well, I really hate to say it but much to my regret Descendants 2 disappointed me. The sequel turned out to be a global scale disaster. The plot is just reused from the first film. Another batch of villain kids arrive on the scene and, yes, they again want the magic wand. Come on! We have already seen it all! Can not Disney find writers who are able to come up with brand new ideas? But the biggest problem is the characters. They are blank. In the first film the characters were multidimensional. The bad guys were not just bad, they were grumpy, they were cowardly and they were funny. And the good guys (and it was the most interesting part of the story) appeared to be not so good after all. They were prone to the bouts of vanity and jealousy. And that was what made them alive and helped the story evolve till the unpredictable twist ending. The sequel has none of the above. The characters are cardboard cut and the story is just boring. And where is the humour? It is gone! The jokes are few and far between. All in all I must report that Descendants 2 fell flat on its face and even the magic wand could not save it.

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.

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.

First off I love the Idea some of the characters of these movies, but the execution is always lacking. Disney made bank off of the first one but it doesn't feel like they put any more money and effort into this one.

First off the CGI is completely HORRIBLE!!!! It really took me out of the show every time there was any CGI.

Second the "Costume Designers" should be fired as a lot of the colors clash and the clothes never seem to fit correctly.

The Acting and story was below what they should be aiming for as some areas felt really forced or unnatural. Cameron Boyce seemed to do OK but non of them can do great with this story.

It also doesn't tie into the Wicked world series as non of the new characters from that show were even in the movie. I also find Wicked Worlds story to be more interesting.

Now on to the singing.... Why was 99% of this show completely auto-tuned??? I know auto-tune can have a cool effect when used sparingly but they used it to the point that ruined songs!

The sets were very basic with horrible lighting.Why does this feel like a good high school drama set?

I also really wish they would add some better characters. Dopeys son feels forced there was no need for chad (the second son to the throne). I would love to see some of the wicked world cast and maybe the mad hatters daughter/son. Someone that is a little mad but in a good way. Pouring tea in a inopportune time or buttering a watch or celebrating someones unbirthday. There seems to be so many opportunities that they missed with the character choice. I also think they need to do something to the Beasts son Ben. Not only is his actor horrible but is character is very bland. Maybe get under a curse that changes how he looks so they can get a better actor and change his personality.

Please Disney I want to love this but your cheapness isn't helping. Just reboot it into a full blown movie and get good people to work on it. These actors could probably do a lot more if you give them something better. Shoot Booboo Stewart was actually good in the twilight Movies (not that I liked twilight that much).