Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. We are less than a week away from the Disney Channel Original Movie, Descendants. And I've done my fair share of articles covering this topic. And well, I still have my concerns. Now, I've made it clear in each of these articles that I do intend on reviewing this movie after it airs but I still have this gnawing feeling in the back of my mind that something about this film seems off. Now going by the extended trailer, gives you a glimpse of the plot, some of my concerns were put at ease.
I like the idea of Maleficent wanting Fairy Godmother's wand as that is a neat idea and reminds me of The Black Fairy's wand from Once Upon A Time. But these still aren't enough to put all of my concerns at ease. Let's begin.
6. Why A Musical?
I know this complaint seems incredibly odd considering that I love musicals and that Disney is known for great songs (We'll get to what they did to one of the greats on this list) but I can't really wrap my head around the idea that this had to be a musical. I mean the songs could be good but this seems like the type of story where the musical numbers are going to stop the story and not advance the plot. And they really seem to be hiding this fact in the trailers. Is it only a musical because Kenny Ortega is directing it?
5. I Fear That It May Rely Too Much On References
Now the trailer so far has only shown one blatant reference to a classic Disney movie, when Dopey's son says Heigh Ho in a fearful tone. But even this reference has me nervous that this movie may insert references to classic Disney movies for the parents that may be watching this film (or adults such as myself). And I'm not saying that references to Disney movies can't be done well but with how heavily, this movie has been tying itself into the animated movies in promotion, I fear that this film will be nothing but an abundance of Disney references.
4. A Hip-Hop Take On Be Our Guest Remix?
And it appears those references also apply to the songs. As an Alan Menken song is included in this film and they decided that a song from Beauty and The Beast and tweak it.
I'm for new takes on classic Disney songs but this isn't good at all. Hip-Hop & Disney rarely mix well. We've been over this with Supercali. It's not a good combo. And this cover here just sounds lifeless. Listen to the original from the movie and then compare it to this cover.
Which version gets you invested? The original as it has life and excitement to it. Whereas in the Hip-Hop cover, it just feels as though, they're going through the motions so they can move on to the next part of the film. They didn't put feeling of joy in their cover of Be Our Guest. It feels manufactured. And I don't want that from a Disney song. Especially not a cover of the one of the most beloved Disney songs of
3 Some of The Auradon Prep Kids Seem Snobby
Okay, one of my biggest concerns from seeing how the kids of the heroes act a little snobby in the trailer such as when Audrey & Mal interact, when the kids of the villains first arrive at Auradon Prep and I would think that the heroes of Disney movies wouldn't raise snobs. And this also ties into how it seems like Ben, the son of Belle & Beast is the only one that is willing to give the kids of the villains, a chance in the beginning but of course, the villain kids will win over the hero kids in the beginning.
2. Who Had Kids With These Villains & How Did They Have Kids?
Okay, so our main villains in this film are Maleficent, Cruella, The Evil Queen, & Jafar. Uhm, movie? You want to tie into the animated movies. Uhm well, there's a problem if you want to do that. These villains having kids doesn't make sense for some of them. Maleficent and The Evil Queen were killed off in their movies respectively. Jafar was trapped in the lamp in his Genie form. And okay, Cruella's fate was never touched upon. So maybe, she could have had a kid but the other three seem far-fetched. Oh, what's that? You explain it in a prequel book.
Now here's the thing. I'm not against supplementary material expanding upon the universe that you've set up but and follow me here, it's usually better to have already introduced your new characters to an audience before you expand upon your lore. And details like, who the other parents of the villain kids are might be considered a wee bit important and something that should be included. And now I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe you do go over this in the film proper but the trailer never touches upon this subject. So right now, I'm getting the feeling that you don't
1. Some Of The Casting Feels Off
Okay, while I can't speak for Wendy Raquel Robinson or Maz Jobrani as Cruella & Jafar respectfully, they still l & look off. But Kristin Chenoweth as Maleficent is just wrong. And I am speaking as someone that is a fan of her work. Maleficent is know for her loud booming powerful voice that invokes fear as soon she enters a room. Ms. Chenoweth has a small timid squeaky, almost mousy voice. Those two types of voices couldn't be further apart from one another. And as for Kathy Najimy as The Evil Queen. Again, I am baffled by this decision. The Evil Queen, while I do think she was a bit one-dimensional, she was never a comedic villain. She could be scary. With these casting choices, I get the feeling that they are trying to tone down the evilness of these classic Disney villains for the intended that'll be watching. Which I hope isn't the case but it really does seem that way and that is easily my biggest concern with this film.
These are my 6 biggest concerns with Descendants. Maybe, it'll turn out to be good but everything seems to suggest otherwise. I'll find out next Friday and then let you know in my review. Peace!
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