Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and we continue the Summer Blowout with Mission Marvel.
Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of this cross over. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's my least favorite episode of the entire series Ferb Latin exists but out of all the episodes, we will be looking at, this is the one that frustrates me the most. Let's just say there were a couple of these throughout the episode.
Hold it, we need something more fitting....
That's better. Now, here's the thing I have nothing against Marvel as I've seen all of the MCU films in theaters and I like superheroes for the most part (one of my favorite shows is The Flash) but here's the thing, this was announced not too soon after Disney bought Marvel and aired in 2013, only a year after the first Avengers came out. And the entire time, I was watching it, I never felt like was watching an episode for Phineas and Ferb but rather an advertisement for these Marvel characters. Because if I'm to be frank, some things in this special make no sense and okay, I need to address one of my biggest pet peeves before we even get into the review proper. This is one of the actual lines from the episode.
I hear you. None of the women superheroes showed up, so it's all about testosterone and...powers and...fighting, which... (shrugs) yeah.
Just because you addressed the problem, doesn't mean it goes away. And more importantly, why didn't anyone ask Marvel if they could use some of the women from their roster? Heck, this special was capitalizing on the fact that people probably knew these characters from The Avengers movie. And do you know, who was in that movie?
Black Widow and it wouldn't have been hard to include her because S.H.I.E.L.D. was in this special. I'm not trying to get on a feminist tirade here but it's really dumb that the special didn't include any of the women from Marvel's roster. If they didn't want Black Widow, there's Squirrel Girl (Which from what I've seen of her would've been hysterical), Storm, Captain Marvel Wasp, and much much much much more to choose from,
As evidenced by this picture and here's the thing, Phineas and Ferb was a show that attracted children of both genders. I'm pretty sure that girls watching this special would have loved to seen female superheroes taking part in the action. I mean it wouldn't have been that hard to justify any of these great women being in the special. I'm sorry but this bugs me more than anything in this special. Now, that I've addressed the biggest issue, let's get onto the review proper.
The Plot
We start the special with Phineas, Ferb and friends surfing in space. They get to a space station shaped like Phineas' head and dock.
Okay, I'm getting a Power Rangers In Space vibe form this.
Alright, I just had to get that outta my system. Meanwhile, we see that Perry has already been trapped by Doof and learn of his latest invention, Power-Drain-inator. Which is where one of my biggest issues. Doof wants to use it to take the power away from his brother, the mayor. But you see Agent P destroys the machine and it the Marvel heroes while fighting their foes in NYC as we have a battle Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man fighting Red Skull (Where's Cap?), Venom, Whiplash, and Modok. And it's during this battle, where the heroes lose their powers.
And this is where one of my biggest issues comes in. Okay, look I understand that superhero is a bit skewed but I was confused by something, I get Thor and Spidey being weak but I was left confused by Tony and Hulk. I'll admit that I've never read an Iron Man comic before in my life but I thought Iron Man's powers came from the arc reactor and I didn't think that this should have effected him but I'm willing to let that one slide more than Hulk.
Shouldn't Hulk have turned back into Bruce Banner? I mean, perhaps I'm overthinking it but it seems like it would have made more sense. Anyways, back in Danville, the kids arrive back home and as if on cue, Candace wants to show Linda, the latest invention but it disappears as Buford mentions that he's hungry. So, she prepares a snack and on the Helicarrier, the heroes are informed by Fury that the beam that caused them to lose their powers from the Tri-State Area. Meanwhile, Norm (Doof's robot minion) cleans up the debris from the fight as Doof wonders where the beam hits and just the TV news reports that it hit New York City. Back at the house of our main characters, the heroes arrive to figure what happened to their powers.
Candace has been left in charge as their mom is going a walking tour of the town. You live there, why? Oh well, it really doesn't matter. The heroes join the kids for their snacks and Spider-Man questions as to whether or not, they sole their powers. Candace comes down to her usual I'm in charge routine and notices Spider-Man and makes nothing of it at first but then faints and just then, Iron Man falls down. No one thought to get Tony out that armor. I mean how did this machine have the power to shut down Iron Man's suit. That's the thing, they are so loose with what this inator can do and normally that wouldn't bug me but when bringing these superheroes, it just doesn't make sense. Meanwhile In Agent P's Lair, Nick Fury is using the big screen to inform Perry of the mission. Okay, I do like how he's thrown off by Perry being a platypus. That was funny.
And we start another annoying running joke of Monogram copying Fury's style. Which got really old really fast. Back at Doof's, the Marvel villains arrived not too long after Doof mistakenly posted a blog about how he stole the powers of the Marvel heroes and Doof shows the villains around.
Red Skull is confused as to where the machine that took the powers of the heroes is. It was destroyed by Perry. And here we get a repeat joke that Fury did asking if Perry has any superpowers. It wasn't funny the first time and it's not funny here. Red Skull tells Doof to rebuild the machine and he does but first he has some errands to run. Meanwhile, Phineas unveils S.H.E.D.
Get It? Get It? Do you get it? However, it seems to have taken inspiration from the Tardis as it's small on the outside but big on the inside. Thor notices The Beak suit, which is from a prior superhero special (that was also bad). Okay, there is a cute moment where Candace is just so starstruck by the heroes as she apparently had to do research for a comic cross over between the Marvel heroes and her favorite thing in the world, (that's not Jeremy), Ducky Momo And she asks the heroes to read her fan-fiction but Spider-Man tells her that they aren't allowed to read unsolicited material.
This was pretty funny. Meanwhile, the villains and Doof spend time doing evils things via song montage.
Back at S.H.E.D. (Ugh), the heroes step onto a platform to get their powers back but things go awry because Candace is too eager and presses the button and it causes the heroes to get each other's powers as Thor now has Spider-Man's powers. And Hulk now has Tony's business skills. Huh? I get that's supposed to be a joke but it's not really that funny as it doesn't make sense. Meanwhile, the villains continue to do many evil things. Back at S.H.E.D., the heroes discover more about the mixed up powers such as Iron Man having Thor's powers but this does not make him worthy to wield Thor's hammer. Candace and Phineas get into an argument and she decides that she should leave. The heroes head to the mall, where the villains are causing so much mayhem but it's no match until Perry in his superhero outfit, which is pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, Candace, Buford, and Baljeet are working on the machine that'll restore power to the heroes but Candace ends up plugging the machine into early and thus causing Baljeet to turn into a Hulk like monster. At this, Phineas revokes Candace's S.H.E.D. access. Okay, this is something I need to address, Phineas comes off a really mean in this special towards Candace. I get things are at stake but this doesn't feel like Phineas. And the way, the special treats Candace as a clumsy fan girl that can't do anything right is no better.
I don't get the special's need to bring these attitudes in as we've never seen the characters this harsh towards each other before. Meanwhile, Doof is hard at work on the second of the power draining machine and after he finishes it, the Marvel villains trap him as they have no use for him any longer and they plan to completely destroy the Tri-State Area and take the powers of all the superheroes worldwide. Perry tries to stop them but is trapped by Venom. And meanwhile Baljeet in his Hulk form is rampaging through the town.
Back at the house, Candace is up in her room lying on her bed feeling dejected and that leads into the line that I talked about at great length at the beginning of this review. Meanwhile Buford is chasing Baljeet in Hulk form and critiquing his style. At City Hall, Red Skull proclaims the end of the Tri-State Area. Red Skull makes the heroes come down to fight to protect the citizens and they agree to, even though they're powerless. Because as Thor put it.
"Being a hero isn't the armor you wear, but the metal in your spirit and the steel in your resolve
Though Spider-Man undercuts the moment with a quip. So, they were doing that long before Ant-Man. Phineas and Ferb try to finish up their Beak suit after it got busted in the last duel with the villains. And just then Candace and Isabella come into help but they're just brushed off as Phineas doesn't think they have time to listen as they need to get going. And the heroes arrive to face the villains and they are trapped just as soon as they get there. Though the battle, the heroes get their powers back after Isabella realizes that they cannot be lost, only transferred. But they before they can fully get them back, they find other ways to fight the baddies. Doof is now trying to find a way to stop the baddies. Candace and Isabella return to the space station and try to find a way to get the powers back to the heroes. And thanks to some thinking on the part of Candace, the heroes get their powers back and after a lengthy duel with the villains, they all sign off and say goodbye to the kids in their various ways. Which is sweet but doesn't make up for how bad, this special was.
Characters Main Characters
Phineas voiced by Vincent Martella
Look, I get Phineas' anger but it was really uncomfortable to watch most of the time on this special.
Candace voiced by Ashley Tisdale
I don't get what the special was trying to do by making Candace so clumsy as that hasn't before nor was it seen after it aired.
Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Hulk, & Spider-Man voiced by Travis Willingham, Adrian Pasdar, Fred Tastsciore, & Drake Bell
While it should have been fun seeing the heroes in this special, it really wasn't as there was just so much logic thrown by the wayside that their appearance really didn't make much sense. And it never seemed like they were on equal footing with the main characters.
Supporting characters
Perry voiced by Dee Bradley Baker
Perry was a bit fun and I liked his superhero get up.
Ferb, Buford, Baljeet, & Isabella voiced by Thomas Sangster, Bobby Gaylor, Maulik Pancholy, & Alyson Stoner
It really didn't feel like the other kids had much to do in this special. Oh sure, Bajeet turned into a Hulk but other than that, they felt sidelined.
Music
Surfin' Asteroids
A fun opening number that has nothing to do with the rest of the special at hand.
My Streets
This song is pretty fun, what you can make out of it and does go nicely with the battle. Oh, and hi Stan Lee cameo.
My Evil Buddies and Me
There is admittedly something funny about seeing Doof hanging out with Marvel villains causing mayhem but I dunno, this also leads to another problem, I have. It felt like they were trying to force these two different styles to work and it just didn't.
Only Trying To Help
Do I need to repeat what I said up top? Just because you address the problem, that doesn't mean it goes away. And just because you set it to a sad song doesn't mean I'm going to brush it off. This song is frustrating in that regard.
Feelin' Super
I don't remember this song and I think I'm okay with that.
Feeling Froggy
This is a pretty fun number but not one that I'd come back to. And at least the siblings finally apologize to each other.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz voiced by Dan Povenmire
While Doof was a lot of fun, he felt out of place with the Marvel villains.
Red Skull, Whiplash, Modok, & Venom voiced by Liam O'Brien, Peter Stormare, Charlie Adler, & Danny Trejo
This was perhaps my biggest issue, the villains felt out of place with Doof as you knew they were going to turn on him as soon as they showed up and at the same time, they never felt like a real threat either. It's like they were just there.
My Final Thoughts
While I personally have nothing against Marvel or Disney trying other ventures with the Marvel properties, I just thought this was really bad. I get the desire to want to use these characters but they just felt so forced in. Ah well, we go from one franchise that Disney bought to another as next time we look at the much better...
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and back to the Summer Blowout. And today, we are doing things a bit differently. You see, one of the episodes that the show is most known for is Rollercoaster: The Musical. Which is a musical retelling of the pilot episode. Now yes, there are quite a few key differences between the musical episode and the pilot as observed by the Phineas and Ferb Wiki. But I don't want to spend a whole review going that's different, that's the same as that'd get boring real fast for me. And that's when I thought, I can still talk about the music of the episode as it's a musical, so why not make it a Music Fridays article. And viola la, here we are. With that outta the way, let's begin.
Hey Ferb
Okay, admittedly I love this one mostly for the musicals that it references and it includes everything from The King & I to Les Mis to West Side Story to The Phantom of The Opera and so much more. The song itself is okay and it's fun but it's the musical references that really get me going with this one.
Your'e Going Down
While not bad, I do prefer Hey Ferb, though I do like the '60s Doo Wop feel as this number. And though, it's never been confirmed with this being an episode drawing inspiration from musicals, I always thought Candace's and her friends' dresses may have been a reference to Dreamgirls.
What'cha Doin?
Ah, now this is more like it. I love the fast paced and upbeat nature of this song. Probably my favorite Isabella song from the whole show and I think in terms of Isabella professing her love for Phineas, I like this one more than City of Love. It's just catchier.
Mom Look
This is the better Candace song. I love all the little references to everything the boys have done up to this point. And I just love seeing her get more and more frustrated as the song goes on and it's a good frustration song and I really feel Candace because her mom won't listen to her. Wow, that's rough.
Aren't You A Little Young?
Not much to say here other than it's a fun and rousing show stopping number. One thing I haven't touched upon is that at least three of the songs in this episode take lines that the show is known such as this one and turn them into a musical number and it works rather well.
Back In Gimmlestump
I'll admit that I didn't want to make of this song at first as it was bad and I think that was the joke but yeesh, it was bad. At least the second half got better but I think this is my least favorite song from this special.
Rollercoaster
Man, this song is just a blast. Who knew singing about riding a roller coaster could be so awesome? Apparently, Jeff and Swampy (the creators of Phineas and Ferb) did and boy, did they knock it outta the park with this song. While I love Hey Ferb for the musical references, I do think that this is the best song in the musical.
Carpe Diem
I've always said that Phineas and Ferb are excellent with ending songs and this is no exception. This like all of their ending sogns makes you feel happy about what you just watched. And it's nice to see something with Kenny Ortega after I had to watch Descendants. Though his cameo does raise a question and I could be stretching but part of me thinks that this song title could be a Newsies reference. As they say in the song, Carpe Diem means Seize The Day and Seize The Day is the name of a song in Newsies, which Kenny Ortega directed. I'm probably making this up but man. that'd be so cool if it turned out to be true.
I hope you enjoyed this deviation from the standard Summer Blowout article because next time, we return to normal with what is easily my least favorite episode of Phineas and Ferb....
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. Well, Descendants aired last Friday and I watched it. And my thoughts... uhm, I didn't like it but I kinda figured that going in and there were a lot of things that really made no sense or just angered me but I think I'm less upset with the movie and more upset with what it is. Because if I'm to be honest, this really didn't feel like a movie. Yes, that is true of a lot of Disney Channel movies but the thing is, this seems more like Disney wants this film to be a franchise starter so that they can have something that can compete with Mattel's Ever After High, which itself is a spin off of Monster High.
Now this is not a new criticism, when a popular line takes characters and re- imagines them in a High School setting as the same criticism was levied against Equestira Girls, when the first characters designs were released.
The thing that led me to this conclusion was that before the film was even out, there was already a line of dolls, a prequel book and an online web-series. Now yes, most of those can be considered as tie-ins or promotion for the movie but it feels as though, Disney wanted to get this merchandise out there so that kids would be enamored with these new characters before the film even aired.
Which on the one hand, I do get why they would release these before the film but then you add in that 4 days after the film airs, Disney Channel announces an animated shorts series based on Descendants to start airing next month, I grow suspicious.
We won't go over how bad, the animation looks but yikes. To me, it's when you combine all of these elements together that I don't think Disney saw this as movie but rather as a launching pad for a new franchise. Now having said all of this, I can't review it as a franchise starter, I have to review it as a movie. And it does fail a bit in that area. Also one thing to keep in mind with me is that I'm a fan first and a reviewer second. So, I apologize in advance if I get a little nitpicky but I will try to reel in the anger because this doesn't need to be a text version of Moviebob's review of Pixels. I'm against using that language on a Disney blog to begin with. So, that's why I am bringing something back from the Mickey Mouse (2013) Mondays reviews. Oh, Elsa...
I know ,I know how people feel about Frozen but during those reviews ,postings images of Elsa during Let It Go was my coping mechanism to not get too angry and there are certain things in this film that did make this Disney fan, a bit upset but we will come to those as we go along. Now seeing as I did a Can We Talk about for the film's trailer, I won't be covering that here. Though I will share with you the first six minutes as there is something that Kenny Ortega said that does bug me. There is something about his statement of this being a Once Upon A Now fairy tale that just really didn't sit well with me. I truly get what he was saying because stuff like Once Upon A Time could also be considered Once Upon A Now because they place these classic fairy tale characters in present day but there is something about Mr. Ortega saying that, that just rang false to me. I mean mo disrespect to Mr. Ortega as I do enjoy the High School Musical films and Newsies is one of my favorite musicals but that just really bugged me. Okay, with this really long introduction outta the way, let's finally get this review started.
The Plot
We open the film like the classic Disney films of past as we see a storybook but oh wait, what's this? It's an IPad. Yeah, the cynic in me did come out when I saw the storybook turn into an IPad because that came across as the film trying to be hip and modern. From voice-over narration provided via main character, Mal. We learn that Belle and Beast had united all of the Disney kingdoms into the United States of Auradon and had banished all villains, sidekicks and accomplices to the Isle of The Lost, an island with a barrier that makes it impossible to escape and also impossible to use magic. We'll be coming back to magic in this film because this film with magic doesn't really make much sense. We then are introduced to Belle and Beast (He's never given a name other than Beast in this movie) and their son, Ben who is about to be crowned king soon. Keep in mind, that's he's only 16 and both of his parents are still alive.
And here, we learn that Ben, the son of Belle and Beast has decided on his first proclamation as king. To give the kids of the villains on the Isle of The Lost, the chance to attend Auradon Prep and to live there. Beast is at first against because the villains have committed unspeakable crimes. Let's see here, The Evil Queen poisoned Snow White with an apple. I'll give you that. Jafar tried to use The Genie to become Sultan of Agrabah. Fair. Maleficent put Aurora is a deep sleep and made it to where she couldn't live with her family for the first 16 years of her life. Yeah, that's reasonable. Cruella.... stole puppies. Uh yeah... Look at I'm not saying that's not bad but One of these isn't like The Other. Now, if I may I'd like to bring up Once Upon A Time during last season also had Cruella. And I many of these same concerns but the actress playing Cruella put my fears to rest and Once also found a reasonable way to fit her into the show by making her a crazy psychopath that was given magic powers by The Author because he had a mad crush on her.
I apologize for going into such great detail about this but from the moment, this film was first announced, I had thought that Cruella felt out of place and was only put in this film because she is one of the most popular Disney villains. Getting back to the plot of the review at hand, Beast is at first against this but Belle reminds him that she gave him a second chance and that these kids deserve a chance and then we cut to the Isle of The Lost, where via the first song number, we are introduced to our main characters, Mal, Evie, Jay, & Carlos. After which Maleficent shows up and tells them that they'll attending Auradon Prep.
The kids at first against this but they have no say in the matter as Maleficent wants them to go there and steal The Fairy Godmother's Wand so that she can bend good and evil to her will. She provides Mal with her spell book, which she apparently keeps in a freezer and oh, she needs The Evil Queen's help because Maleficent doesn't know how to open a fridge. Yes, really! Each of the kids have a reason not for wanting to go but it doesn't matter as they end up going as a limo comes to pick them up and they get their taste of magic.
The kids arrive at the school and Doug, Dopey's son is their guide. And we get a joke about how he can't remember the names of the Seven Dwarves. It's not much but I'll take it. And after sometime at the school, they head to a museum houses artifacts from classic Disney movies such as Fairy Godmother's wand to steal it but that goes well as you might think. Because while they do get close to obtaining the wand, Jay happens to trigger a security alarm and that alerts the security that Mal had put to sleep using her mother's spinning wheel of the presence of someone in the building. And then we see their first day at school, where Jay joins the school's sports team and Carlos, has a run in with a dog and is scared of them because his mother had told him that dogs are nasty and foul creatures but he gets over his fears of dogs in less than one scene. Eh, that's not how you do character development. You had a good idea here but you should have let this be more organic. The idea of Carlos getting over his fear of dogs is a good idea but the problem is that the film rushes this and that causes me to never buy into him no longer being afraid of dogs.
Meanwhile Evie develops a huge crush on Chad Charming, son of Cinderella and Prince Charming. And this guy is a jerk! He knows that Evie has a crush on him and uses that to get her to do all of his homework because she has a magic mirror that she can ask anything to it and it'll give her the answers. Seriously, this guy is so smug and this guy only gets better because both the film and the online web series, School of Secrets hint at that he cheated on half the princesses at school including the daughter of my favorite, Rapunzel. Who thankfully avoided being in this thing. Are we sure that this is the son of Cinderella and Prince Charming from this movie...
And not the son of Cinderella's Prince from Into The Woods.
I wouldn't be shocked if he used this famous line from Into The Woods on some of the princesses.
I was raised to be charming, not sincere
I'm sorry, I'm sorry but I really take issue with the idea that Cinderella, the nicest of Disney princesses and one of my favorites could raise such an inconsiderate jerk. I'm calm, I'm calm but just ugh... Here have an Elsa picture.
And from there, the film really lulls because not much else happens. We find out that Evie learns of the wand's usage at Ben's coronation. Mal tries to befriend Fairy Godmother's daughter, Jane by giving her a makeover by doing up her hair. Or attending a good behavior class that even the Villain Kids find boring taught by Fairy Godmother. And I would agree with them but I do like all of the answers to the questions in this class are Classic Disney Tropes. But this does bring up an issue I have with this movie. At the beginning of the film, we learn that it is forbidden to use magic. Fairy Godmother is the one that implemented this rule. I get why this rule was put in place because magic shouldn't be used as an easy way-out as we saw with Evie earlier in the film but this being a Disney movie, that does seem like a rather strange rule to have in place for something in a Disney movie because Disney films are known for magic going from Pinocchio to Aladdin to The Princess and The Frog. And also if you are going to make this a rule, enforce it because the kids get away with using magic at least twice in this film and only once is there any sort of consequence. Because late at night in the school's kitchen are seen making cookies to use as a form of a love potion on Ben. (I forgot about him) but they need a human tear of sadness, which they snatch from Lonnie, the daughter of Mulan.
Which the next day before the school's big game, Mal gives to Ben to eat and he does and through the game, Jay and Carlos help the team to win the game.
And Jay is named MVP. And after the game through song declares his love for Mal and asks her to be his date to his coronation upsetting his current girlfriend, Sharpay Evans. Oh, I'm sorry I mean Audrey, daughter of Aurora. And she ends up going with Chad instead. I hope she knows what she's getting into. After this, Chad turns on Evie and has her magic mirror taken away. And she starts to develop feelings for Doug. We also get a glimpse of Chad and Mal's first date by the lake and I'm sorry, this scene was just so boring and had one of the most lifeless numbers in it from this movie. Sometime later, afterwards we see that Fairy Godmother had arranged a video chat for the Villain Kids with their parents but apparently none of the villains know how to turn on a laptop as it actually takes them sometime to figure that out.
Wow, I haven't used that in a while but afterwards, we do get a nice scene of the villain kids standing up to their parents and letting them know they aren't going to be what they're parents think they are destined to be. This was set-up because the school is having an upcoming Parent's Day and the villains for obvious reasons aren't allowed to leave the Isle of The Lost. And yeah, things could have gone a little better and no, I'm not referring to the Hip-Hop Remix of Be Our Guest. Granted, that was pretty bad. There is a bigger problem at stake here. Because you see Audrey's grandmother comes to visit her on Family Day. And having never met Mal, she doesn't know who that is but when she learns that she is the daughter of Maleficent. And well, that opens up some old wounds.
I appreciate what the film was trying to accomplish with this scene because I absolutely adore the concept of the parents addressing the hurt and pain that they were put through but I take issue with Queen Leah putting the blame on Mal. She has every right to be hurt by what Maleficent put her through but it isn't right of her to blame Mal because if we go by this film's set up. Mal, while most likely knew about her mother's actions, she played no part in that as she was most likely not alive yet. This sadly makes the other hero kids turn on the Villain Kids. And because of this, the Kids who had decided not to steal the wand, now plan to go back and steal the wand. The day of the coronation arrives and we learn that Ben knew about the love potion all along as it wore off, when he went in the lake during their first date. During this time, Mal is struggling with herself on whether or not, she can be the good person that Ben knows that she is or if she is destined to be the villain, her mother thinks that she is. This doesn't matter much as Jane takes the wand from her mother as she wants to give herself the magical makeover that her mother won't give her. It's too late to stop her as the barrier around the Isle of The Lost is broken and Maleficent takes advantage of this and heads to the Coronation. What about the other villains, you may ask. They stay on the island. Okay, let me get this straight. We have Jafar, The Evil Queen, Cruella, and Maleficent and you only use one of them for the climatic battle. We could have had a cool climatic battle between good and evil but you only send one of the villains there. And she freezes all of the attendants at the coronation save for the Villain Kids and says that they have failed her. Oh, not before she uses the wand to pick Fairy Godmother's nose. Ewe! I'm gonna need another Elsa.
Okay, I'm better. Does anything good come out of this battle? Well, if you didn't like how Jolie Maleficent didn't turn into a dragon, Kristin Chenoweth Maleficent does turn into a dragon
....For three minutes. And then is defeated by the power of love. (No, it's not of The Huey Lewis and The News variety) as Maleficent shrinks down to the size of a lizard because that is amount of love she has in her heart. And it ends with a dance party. And that is Descendants. What do I think? This film had some good ideas and I will not knock this film for it's ideas but where it falls flat is the execution. This could have been a really cool film but all they did was mix Disney tropes and characters with that of high school tropes and stereotypes. And the end result came out feeling muddled. Now, let's move onto characters and that is perhaps the film's biggest failing.
Characters
Before we get started here, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. While I may not like these characters and think they don't have much depth to them. I in no way mean any disrespect towards the actors in this film as they did their best with the flimsy material that were given. Also, one thing you have to understand with me is that I love characters. The characters to me are the most fascinating part of a story and that's why I have done articles such as Power of The Princesses and Villains Profiles because I love exploring characters and seeing what makes them who they are. So, when a story fails in the area, I am the most disappointed. With that out of the way, let's start our look at the characters.
Main Characters
Mal played by Dove Cameron
Mal had perhaps the most interesting or the potential for the most interesting arc in that she was given an internal struggle between being good and being what her mother expects of her. This film gets close to fulfilling her arc and making her the standout character of this film. But they missed it. Though as she has the most character in the film, she is easily my favorite character if because, the others don't have much to make them stand out.
Jay played by Booboo Stewart
As soon as I saw Jay in this film, one thought came to mind and I have not been able to shake it since I watched this movie. He's an evil Aladdin. Okay, think back to One Jump Ahead from Aladdin and this lyric.
I steal only what I can't afford(That's Everything!)
Now, while yes that is played for laughs in the song, we know from Aladdin's circumstances that he steals because he has no other means of getting by. Whereas with Jay, it's an addiction. He does it, just because he can. You take out the idea of Aladdin doing this to get by and have him just do because he can, that's Jay. And his whole arc is about learning that he doesn't need to steal and that he can be a team player. Which really came outta nowhere.
Carlos played by Cameron Boyce
Carlos had the most disappointing arc in this film because it was wrapped up way too quickly. It was wrapped before the middle of the film even kicked in. His arc was such a rush job that it was frustrating.
Evie played by Sofia Carson
Evie like Mal is a little better than the boys in terms of her development as her whole arc is about learning that she doesn't have to rely on her looks to get boy's attention and can actually be smart and not act dumb.
Supporting Characters
Ben played by Mitchell Hope
This character is such a goody good white knight that it's unbearable. He's so bland, boring and forgettable that even though, he is Mal's love interest, I forgot that he was in the film half of the time. They didn't give this character enough to do and he felt less like a character and more like a device to keep the plot moving.
Chad Charming played by Jeddiah Goodarce
This character, this character. Congratulations Chad Charming, you have done the impossible as you have unseated Sharpay Evans from High School Musical as my most hated Disney Channel character. I didn't think that was possible as I have had special kind of burning for Sharpay since I saw the first High School Musical in 2006 but within the span of one night, this character made me hate him more because how much of a jerk, he is. From the idea that he is such an arrogant airhead of a jerk that he is willing to use young girls to his advantage or to the fact that he apparently cheated on half the daughters of the beloved Disney Princesses, this character makes me sick. I'm sorry but I need another Elsa image but Let It Go won't do.
Yeah, that seems fitting for how this character makes me feel. This is for every single one of those young princesses that had their hearts broken by this "prince" and I use that word in the loosest sense.
Audrey played by Sarah Jeffery
Speaking of Sharpay Evans, we come to Audrey. Audrey was just basically a Sharpay Evans clone and that's not saying a whole lot because all Sharpay Evans was , was a Queen Bee that ruled the school and could get her way. That also fits the description of Audrey. Now to be fair, she is a smidge nicer than Sharpay but that's all she has going for her.
Jane played by Brenna D' Amico
I look at Jane's description as it's says that she's shy and insecure and another character comes to mind. Fluttershy. Because that also describes Fluttershy or where she was back in the first season but even with that said, Jane gave me more of a scaredy cat vibe than Fluttershy does now but again Flutters has grown. Though I think the issue here with Jane is that her shyness could have been handled better. I believe that the film is implying that she is this way because of Fairy Godmother being her mother and that she perhaps feels peer pressure to live up to who her mother is. And if that is the case, I think more can be done with that. But I do have to call this film out on something else, it's only after Mal gives Jane a a new hairstyle that she becomes more confident. Unintentional or not, I do feel that does reinforce the notion that girls need to have something about them change in terms of looks to be more confident in who they are. That's a bit troublesome.
Doug played by Zachary Gibson
Well, this character sure does exist. There's really not much to this character other than being super smart and helping Evie realize that she's also smart. And oh by the end of the movie, they're a couple. Huh, he's Dopey's son. Well, I hope get-togethers with Snow White turn out better for Doug and Evie than they did for Mal and Ben with Queen Leah at Family Day.
Lonnie played by Diane Doan
Well, this character sure does exist. Huh, I'm getting a sense of Deja Vu. Weird, it's as though I've already said that. I wonder why. Heh, it's probably not a big deal. Really, other than being Mulan's daughter, Lonnie doesn't have much going for her in terms of character.
The Fairy Godmother played by Melanie Paxson
I will say this about The Fairy Godmother in this movie, I liked her better than Helena Bohema Carter as The Fairy Godmother. Though there were times, where she felt less like The Fairy Godmother and more like Supernanny. I can't explain it but I just got that vibe from her. Maybe it had something to do with how she punished Jane at the end of the movie by saying that her teenage daughter was going in a very long timeout. I found that a little weird and saying to the TV, she's a teenager, ground her. But whatever, she could've been handled much worse than she was.
Beast & Belle played by Dan Payne & Keegan Connor Tracy
Okay, why is Beast making me think of Clark Kent? It has to be the glasses. That does bring me to another point, why was Beast never given a proper name in this film? Because while Beast is what we as Disney fans know him as, I would say that that is what he was and not who he is. Perhaps, it's just me but the idea that they never gave him a name and only refer to him as King Beast is a little awkward considering his past. I mean they could have used the old myth that has been running in Disney circles for years that his real name is Adam. Now, I've never bought into that myself as there hasn't been any official evidence of this but it would have solved the problem of just referring to him as King Beast and it would have also been a nice nod to longtime Disney fans. As for Belle, Hi Blue Fairy.
Yep, Belle is Blue Fairy on Once Upon A Time. I know I bring that up every time I mention this movie but I like doing that. Again with Belle, not much is really done with here in this movie.
Music
Rotten To The Core
Okay, this song ins't good. It's barely passable as a good opening number darn it, if it isn't a catchy number. And this is the only time that Jay, Carlos, & Evie. Because most of the other singing in this movie falls to Mal. It's a fun number but it's not good. I know some fans think this and the Be Our Guest Remix are the worst song in this film but I would disagree because we are coming to that right now.
Evil Like Me
Maleficent is singing a show tune. I repeat, Maleficent is singing a show tune. There is something incredibly wrong with that statement. Look, I'm not the biggest fan of Maleficent. I've gone on record saying that I think she's overrated but stuff like this is starting to make me feel sympathetic for the poor gal because it seems like no one at Disney can figure out what makes her such a popular Disney villain. And this also leads to something else I have an issue with, Kristin Chenoweth as much as I love her was miscast in this role. Kristin Chenoweth as an actress is just so at odds with what people think of, when they think of Maleficent. Because Maleficent is supposed to be this great powerful force that strikes fear. Kristin Chenoweth is too bubbly for that kind of role. Oh and I'm also convinced that Mr. Ortega lifted the ending shot of this number from Hocus Pocus, which he also directed. It just seems way too similar to one of the scenes of The Sanderson Sisters in that movie.
Did I Mention?
This song is okay. It's not bad but at best, it's forgettable. There's really not much more I can say about this number. It's a little corny but I think I would've like the numbers more if they were more like this and less like what I listened to up above.
If Only
While Dove Cameron has a good voice and I imagine that this is meant to be the radio single that Disney wants to give airtime to on Radio Disney, I really find this song forgettable. It's not bad and it does a good job of exploring what she wants and how she starting to change. But I don't know, it's just one of those songs that as soon as it's over, I forget it.
Be Our Guest
Oh, I wish that I could forget this one. I have never come across a good remix done by Disney of one of their own songs. And this is no exception. This is just dorky. And look, I'm speaking as someone that has no troubles calling himself a dork but this is just bad. I get what they were trying to do as they wanted to entertain their parents on Family Day with a song but Lumiere, show these kids how it's done. That's better.
Set It Off
I barely paid attention to this song, when watching the film because I was just happy that the film was over but is it mandatory for Disney Channel films to end with a big song and dance number? Because I've noticed that in so many Disney Channel films that I've seen. This song, it's fine I guess. I've heard worse and I've heard better. It's not one I like but it doesn't get on my nerves.
Villains
Jafar, The Evil Queen, & Cruellea De Vil played by Maz Jobrani, Kathy Najimy, & Wendy Raquel Robinson
Ugh, this was the film's biggest failing. They made the villains that weren't Maleficent complete idiots in this movie.Granted, she had her moments as well and they didn't even feel like villains. They felt more like they were lackeys to Maleficent. No, that's Magic Mirror, Iago, Horace and Jasper. Not Jafar, Cruella, and The Evil Queen. This is indicative of something that I've seen with the Disney villains in the past, where Maleficent is pushed as the leader. Well here's its' pushed so far that these three can't do anything without Maleficent's guidance. And Maleficent fans, I understand your frustration from last summer about they messed up your favorite Disney villain because they did that to mine with Jafar. They turned him into a walking joke, who is a desperate old man, who still wants to get a lamp. What happened to his Genie powers? He feels less like a villain and more like someone I'd go to have something appraised. Ah well, at least I have Naveen Andrews from Once Upon A Time In Wonderland for a good live action Jafar.
Maleficent played by Kristin Chenoweth
There's really not much more I can say about this miscasting that I didn't touch upon when talking about Evil Like Me. I love Kristin Chenoweth. I became a fan of hers, thanks to Wicked and I own her latest concert on DVD but even as a fan, this was such a miscast. I never once bought Ms. Chenoweth in this role. It felt less like someone playing Maleficent and more like someone cosplaying as Maleficent at Comic Con.
My Final Thoughts
I've seen other reviews compare this film to Mr. Ortega's last big venture with Disney Channel, High School Musical. If I may speak as someone that is a fan of those films, each of those films had something that I felt was lacking from this film. Passion for the subject material. Say what you will about High School Musical and the juggernaut that it became but I felt the love from the cast and crew that went into those movies. I never felt any passion for the subject material in this film. And I stand by what I said up top in that I don't think that Disney saw this a film but rather a way to launch a new franchise. I standby that belief and everything that I have seen in relation to this film hasn't dissuaded my opinion on that one bit. That is my biggest issue because I have nothing against launching a new franchise because that for all intents and purposes is what Equestira Girls did but that film followed it's own logic and was able to not mess with things too much. And still deliver an entertaining story. I'm not saying that people can't like this movie but I just think it could've been better than what it was and that's why it makes me so angry. Since there is already talks of a sequel, I'll just say right now that I will not review that. Peace!
