Disney Channel’s Descendants 2 Is a Crowd Pleaser

Charlotte with Sofia Carson, who plays Evie in Descendants 2

Descendants 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to Disney Channel’s hit TV-musical, Descendants (2015), premieres July 21. Emmy Award-winner Kenny Ortega from the High School Musical series returns to direct the sequel. The movie is peppered with colorful costumes, catchy songs, and high-energy dance scenes.

Descendants 2 unfolds in both a real high school setting and a magical world and features a mix of old and new characters. Returning as the children of Disney’s most notorious villains are Mal (Dove Cameron), Evie (Sofia Carson), Carlos (Cameron Boyce), and Jay (Booboo Stewart).  Together, they live with the children of Disney’s most beloved heroes in the seemingly-perfect kingdom of Auradon.

Viewers are also introduced to Uma (China Anne McClain), Mal’s enemy, the daughter of sea witch Ursula, and the leader of a pirate gang.   

The movie focuses on Mal’s struggle to be “perfect” as she handles the pressures of being King Ben’s girlfriend. Overwhelmed, she runs back to her old home on the Isle of the Lost, setting off a chain reaction and causing trouble with Uma and her pirate band. 

Charlotte with actress China Anne McClain

“EVERYBODY CAN GROW”

The cast had an exciting time making the movie. Before shooting, they went to a three-week boot camp where they learned to sword fight and dance, among other activities. “We’re like family,” McClain said of her cast mates. “I feel like we’re going to be friends forever.”

The cast also enjoyed exploring such themes as accepting yourself and the power of friendship. Each character teaches an important lesson. Cameron described Mal’s message as learning to “let love in” and “be OK with not knowing who [you] are.”

According to Carson, “the moral of the story is to be unafraid to be yourself, love yourself for who you are, and not to judge.”

McClain hopes that viewers take away that “everybody can grow, everybody has a future ahead of them.”