The 2015 original began
from a smart area, with the children of different Disney villains getting the
opportunity to leave the island where they’ve grown up and live among the
magical area consisted of the good guys and their offspring.
By now, that has became
a somewhat awkward build, around not just marquee characters but so many more
strange ones, unless you were really curies what the pirate sidekick Smee’s children
might be like.
The relationships have
continued to improve, with Mal (Dove Cameron), the daughter of Maleficent, now
exactly a part of the kingdom of Auradon and in a serious relationship with is
current prince, Ben (Mitchell Hope), the son of Beauty and the Beast.
Mal and her friends,
played by Boyce, Sofia Carson and Booboo Stewart, are still trying to
mainstream the children of the villains and bring them over when a disaster
happens. Lowry noted, “That raises questions about old fears, breaking down
barriers (in this case, the magical one that protects Auradon) and when they
can be set aside.”
This may sound like
there’s a more serious tone inside the movie, but that magical “wall” has been
the focus of the story from the start. Lowry mentioned, “Any loftier ambitions
also dissipate pretty quickly in the race to squeeze in mostly uninspired
musical numbers, possessing both the energy and substance usually associated
with a parade at a Disney theme park.”
To its credit, the
story does change the script a little by having one of the offspring the
protagonists – Audrey, played by Sarah Jeffery, the daughter of Princess Aurora
– basically becomes a villain. Lowry said, “If the early movies preached that
evil isn't destiny, the welcome point is being good isn't either.”
Lowry continued, “The
story also receives a boost of mischievous whimsy from the Hercules villain
Hades, played with a starched mop of hair and punk-rock eyeliner by Cheyenne
Jackson, rekindling some (but not enough) of the silliness Kristin Chenoweth
brought to the first movie.”
When you look at it, “Descendants
3” aired at an interesting time, as Disney continues to go through the vaults
both theatrically and for when Disney+ was going to be started. Lowry noted, “It
also continues its youth-oriented network's streak of spinning ratings gold out
of live-action musicals, after the "High School Musical" and
"Teen Beach Movie" franchises.”
Despite that the
talented cast and nicely choreographed dance numbers credited to their director
Kenny Ortega, “Descendants 3” feels more like a production that has run out of
everything in the formula.
Boyce’s passing brought
a serious feel to what’s otherwise a happy flick for families with younger
kids. However, all of that aside, whatever was in “Descendants” mainly, this
third installment is easily the worst in the series.
I’m sorry to say, but I
really didn’t enjoy this one at all. There was nothing in this movie that I
liked and would say for those who didn’t like the past two movies will
definitely not like this one. Now I know there are kids that like this series
so they can see this and enjoy it just fine. Remember, this is for kids and
adults will not like this trilogy at all. There’s nothing in this film that is bad for
kids, so they can see this, but I wouldn’t think adults will want to watch
this.
Alright everyone, we
have now reached the end of “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.” I know that
throughout I was constantly saying that I wasn’t the right age group for these
films, but I think these films are meant for little kids and teenagers. Adults
will probably not get into a lot of the films. However, I hope that everyone
enjoyed this month and hopefully I made some good recommendations.
Enjoy the end of the
year everyone. With the next year being the start of a new decade, hopefully it
will be a good start for everyone and will open up opportunities for those who are out there trying to get on a steady pace. I’ll see everyone
next year when I start back up with my regular Friday reviews.
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