Descendants: The Rise of Red is an American musical fantasy comedy film directed by Jennifer Phang. The film is the fourth installment in the Descendants franchise. It was released July 12, 2024 on Disney+ and was aired on August 9, 2024 on Disney Channel.
Synopsis[]
In this newest installment in the mega-hit "Descendants" franchise, former Villain Kid (VK for short) Uma, now headmaster of Auradon Prep, sends an invite to the school to another VK – Red, the rebellious daughter of the tyrannical Queen of Hearts from Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts has long held a grudge against Auradon, and especially Cinderella, and seizes the opportunity to seek revenge when she drops her daughter off at school. When the Queen of Hearts incites a coup against Auradon, Red must team up with Cinderella's perfectionist daughter Chloe and travel back in time to try to undo the traumatic event that set Red's mother down her villainous path.
Plot[]
Some years after the events of Descendants 3, Mal, Ben, Evie, and Jay left Auradon on business, leaving Uma as the new headmistress of Auradon Prep, she sends an invite to Princess Red, the rebellious daughter of the tyrannical Queen of Hearts, much to Fairy Godmother's dismay as Wonderland is not part of the alliance due to its chaotic and unruly nature, but Uma manages to convince her as a way to honor Carlos. Meanwhile, in Wonderland, Red, who has never known freedom and longs to escape her mother's oppressive nature, is being chased by The Jack of Diamond's guards, after vandalizing the courtyard only to be rescued by Maddox, son of the Mad Hatter and Red's private tutor, who shows her his latest invention, a pocket watch that can travel to specific moments in time, but despite warning her about the effects it could have, such as possibly losing her mother, she steals it. At the same time, Chloe Charming, daughter of Cinderella and King Charming and younger sister of Chad, prepares to leave for her first year of Auradon Prep and is gifted a modern pair of glass slippers for her good and kind actions. The next day, The Queen of Hearts convinces her daughter to punish the Jack for his inability to protect her courtyard by having him beheaded, but she flippantly refuses, only for Red's invitation to Auradon Prep to arrive, which her mother accepts for her, believing it to be an opportunity of a lifetime.
Red and her mother follow the invitation through the rabbit hole which leads them to Auradon just as Chloe and her mother arrive, the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella meet for the first time since their time at Merlin Academy, Auradon Prep's original title, which turns hostile immediately, relaying a traumatic prank of the Queen of Hearts suffered from their high school days, and their daughters have a cold introduction. At Auradon's opening day, the Queen shows Red the looking glass which shows Red as a capable and compliant princess next to her mother, which Red immediately denies as she refuses to be anything like her, but The Queen does not believe her. Uma welcomes Red to Auradon, only for her mother to launch a coup on the Kingdom and take everyone prisoner, including Uma, Fairy Godmother and Cinderella, who refuses to bow to her. The Queen of Hearts goads Red into condemning Cinderella, but despite Ella's urging, Red complies and has her sentenced to a beheading, leading all of Auradon to turn on her. Chloe attempts to use her sword, in order to rescue her mother only for Red to stop her, Chloe attacks her, inadvertently activating Maddox's time watch which sends both Red and Chloe into the past, when their mothers were their age, and the school was called Merlin Academy.
Red and Chloe fight over the pocket watch, with Chloe believing that they should return to before the coup, and Red believing that they were sent to the current time for a reason until they resolve to team up for the sake of both of their mothers. The princesses meet Principal Merlin and enroll themselves into the academy under the guise of exchange students of far-off kingdoms, they are escorted to chemistry class where they are partnered with Bridget and Ella, (teenage versions of The Queen of Hearts and Cinderella respectively), and are surprised to find that they used to be best friends and that Bridget actually used to be a kindhearted person who just wanted to be friends with everyone before becoming Queen. While passing out enchanted cupcakes to other students, they meet a group of young villains, including Morgie, son of Morgana le Fay and teenage versions of Maleficent, Hades and Hook, all led by Uliana, Ursula's younger sister, whom is just as evil as her. She steals Bridget's cupcakes and consumes the enchanted flamingo feathers from all of them, accidentally turning her into a flamingo that chases her and Ella through the school, embarrassing her in front of everyone and invoking her vengeance, which Red and Chloe realize is the catalyst for Bridget becoming the cruel-hearted Queen of Hearts. After the chase comes to a halt, Bridget wanted to apologize for what happened, but her attempt was declined by Ella because Uliana had done it to herself. She also tells Red and Chloe that Uliana usually bullies her and Bridget. Prince Charming then comes across Ella and asks her if she wants to go to the Castlecoming dance, however she is not very enthused, refusing to go out with him and Charming leaves unfazed because of the possibility of her attending the dance if Ella changes her mind. Even though Chloe appears to sense chemistry between them, Ella is not interested in him at the moment. She instead chooses to go to the dance with Bridget who's pleased about that.
Looking for answers, Red and Chloe visit Ella's house, which Chloe is shocked to find it in shambles and disarray, compared to her otherwise pristine home, and officially meet Ella who only allows them in if they help her with her chores, by order of her stepmother. They question Ella about why Bridget and Uliana are who they are, which Ella states that Uliana is who she is because she feels like she has to live up to her sister's reputation of being one of the worst villains there was and hates Bridget specifically because she's so kind and only wants to be friends. When Red calls her mother an easy target because she's weak, Ella responds by saying she's the strongest person she knows because of hard she tries to be loved by everyone and when Chloe tells her about how her slippers were a gift for her good behavior, she asks if she really earned them if they were a gift, making both of them question their own motives. While cleaning, Chloe accidentally breaks a vase, but Lady Tremaine chooses to blame Ella for it, despite Chloe admitting her own fault, and forbids her from going to the upcoming Castlecoming dance, and Ella reluctantly complies, and when Chloe tells her that it's unfair, Ella tells her about how unfair her own life has been since her parents died because of how her stepmother treats her despite how kind she is, making Chloe realize that her mother had lived a very different life from her.
The duo travel to the Black Lagoon, where the VKs hang out, and secretly follow them inside as they try to figure out what the big prank on Bridget is supposed to be in which they discover is a spell from an enchanted cookbook that is meant to turn Bridget into a monster after eating a cursed cupcake. The duo decides that the best thing to is to get the cookbook before they do so they can't cast the spell, they visit Bridget to ask her where it is, where they find her practicing a special dance for the Castlecoming dance with a deck of cards and ask her if she knows anything about the cookbook, and Bridget searches for it. While she looks, they find Bridget's looking glass and look at how their future is currently only to see that The Queen of Hearts has captured King Charming and coldly teases him by dropping Cinderella's glass slippers in front of his eyes and they break into pieces, suggesting that she successfully beheaded Cinderella, much to Charming and Chloe's despair. Bridget then thought it was strange that she couldn't find the cookbook. Red and Chloe began to realize that the spell book might be one of the banned books in Principal Merlin's office, but Bridget doesn't like the idea of going there because of how dangerous that is.
The girls have argument about what to do with the information, Chloe believes it's best to confess everything to Principal Merlin because it's the right thing to do, despite the fact that it could expose them, while Red resolves to steal the book themselves before Uliana can and take it with them so they can't pull off the prank, Chloe tells her that it's wrong and that it would make her no different than her mother, only for Red to coldly retort saying that she doing the right thing is what led her mother to her demise, and leaves to steal the book by herself because she knows she's bad. Later, Chloe, in a moment of self-doubt, goes back to Ella's house and asks her advice on what the right thing is, and Ella tells her that sometimes you need get your hands dirty to do a lot of good and that people who know that they're bad aren't actually that bad, Chloe then begins to reflect on her own goodness while helping Ella clean her garden which she realizes is more vain and skin deep than she believed and resolves to help Red steal the book.
Back at the academy, the VKs watch as Red sneaks into Merlin's office where she reunites with Chloe who apologizes for what she said and together, they look for the enchanted cookbook, only to accidentally trigger a security protocol that causes swords to attack them while a mechanical owl goes to warn Merlin, they fend off the swords and Chloe successfully throws her slippers at another owl before it flies off with the book, only for the VKs to enter and take it for themselves, but when Uliana opens it, the book casts a spell on her, Maleficent, Hades and Hook freezing them in place due to their evil nature. Chloe then gives the book to Red, believing her to be the real hero, she opens it and removes the recipe. They leave just as Merlin returns and gives the VKs a year's worth of detention, blaming them for the destruction, preventing them from attending the dance and causing the prank.
Assuming Bridget will be fine, Red and Chloe reconcile their differences and become best friends as they activate the pocket watch and return to Auradon, minutes before The Queen of Hearts launched her coup. The duo find that the Queen of Hearts is now a kind-hearted queen spreading love and joy and is truly happy that her daughter will be attending Auradon Prep as they embrace, and Chloe reunites with her mother as Uma announces the opening of Auradon Prep. The kingdom celebrates with a dance party, but in a narration, Uma states that while everyone got what they wanted, getting what you want can be dangerous, especially when you mess with the fabric of time, and then says that the story isn't over yet.
Cast[]
- Kylie Cantrall as Red, the whip-smart and rebellious teenage daughter of the Queen of Hearts.
- Malia Baker as Chloe Charming, the perfectionist and athletic daughter of Cinderella and King Charming
- China Anne McClain as Uma, daughter of Ursula and niece of Uliana.
- Brandy Norwood as Cinderella
- Morgan Dudley as Ella, the young Cinderella
- Rita Ora as Queen of Hearts
- Ruby Rose Turner as Bridget, the young Queen of Hearts
- Dara Reneé as Uliana, the younger sister of Ursula and aunt of Uma.
- Joshua Colley as Hook, the teenage Captain Hook
- Melanie Paxson as Fairy Godmother
- Grace Narducci as Fay, the teenage Fairy Godmother
- Jeremy Swift as Principal Merlin
- Leonardo Nam as Maddox, the son of the Mad Hatter
- Sam Morelos as Meadow, a student at Merlin Academy
- Anthony Pyatt as Teenage Hades
- Peder Lindell as Morgie, the son of Morgana Le Fay
- Mars as Teenage Maleficent
- Paolo Montalban as King Charming
- Tristan Padil as Teenage Prince Charming
- Julee Cerda as Lady Tremaine
- Alex Boniello as Jack of Diamonds
- Levin Valayil as Aladdin
- Kabir Bery as Teenage Aladdin
- Shazia Pascal as Jasmine
- Aiza Azaar as Teen Jasmine
Production[]
Development[]
On August 18, 2021, Lauren Kisilevsky, Senior Vice President of Original Movies at Disney Branded Television, responded to the questions regarding the cliffhanger ending of Descendants: The Royal Wedding by saying "The tease is a tease" and that "We'll see where we get with the franchise. It is our beloved franchise just as much."[1] It was announced on September 21, 2021 that two new Descendants films were in development, under a multiyear production deal with former Disney Branded Television president, Gary Marsh.[2]
On May 10, 2022, Disney announced a new Descendants film was in the works, set to release on Disney+ under the working title The Pocketwatch. Jennifer Phang was set to direct, with a script from Dan Frey and Russell Sommer.[3]
Returning to the franchise is production designer Mark Hofeling, who previously designed the sets for the entire Descendants franchise.[4]
Casting[]
On September 10, 2022, during the D23 Expo, it was announced that China Anne McClain would be reprising her role as Uma, with Kylie Cantrall and Dara Reneé joining her in the cast.[5]
On November 21, 2022, it was announced that Brandy Norwood, Rita Ora, Malia Baker, Ruby Rose Turner, Morgan Dudley, Joshua Colley, and Melanie Paxson joined the cast of The Pocketwatch.[6]
On February 2, 2023, it was announced that Jeremy Swift and Leonardo Nam joined the cast.[7]
On February 15, 2023, it was announced that Sam Morelos, Anthony Pyatt, Peder Lindell, Mars, Tristan Padil, Kabir Padil, Grace Narducci, and Aiza Azaar joined the cast as teen versions of classic Disney characters.[8]
On March 22, 2023, it was announced that Paolo Montalban was cast as King Charming. Like Brandy Norwood, he previously portrayed a version of this character in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.
On March 24, 2023, it was announced that Alex Boniello had joined the cast as Jack of Diamonds.[9]
Filming[]
Filming began on January 30, 2023 and wrapped on March 21, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.[4][10]
Videos[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first installment of the Descendants franchise not to feature the main cast of the original film, those being Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos.
- The only cast members from the original films returning are China Anne McClain and Melanie Paxson.
- Multiple characters were considered to be featured but ended up not being, including the teenage version of the Beast and Tiana. Meadow was meant to be a main character, but ended up being a cameo.
- Brandy and Paolo Montalban reprise their roles as Cinderella and Prince Charming, roles originally performed in the 1997 television production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella.
- This will be the first film in the Descendants franchise to not be released two years after the last movie.
- This is the first Descendants film to be released on Disney+ before airing on Disney Channel.
- It is the fifth Disney+ Original Movie to be produced by Disney Channel for the streaming service after Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, Sneakerella, and Zombies 3.
- This is the third Disney Channel Original Movie to be a fourth installment to an existing franchise after Return to Halloweentown and Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure.
- This is Kylie Cantrall and Dara Reneé's second Descendants project after the Descendants Remix Dance Party in 2020.
- This is Kylie Cantrall's first Disney Channel-related work since Gabby Duran & the Unsittables.
- Dara Reneé also played the antagonist role of Savannah, the antagonist of the 2018 DCOM Freaky Friday.
- This is the third movie that Suzanne Todd has been the executive producer of that featured Alice in Wonderland characters followed by Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass.
- The soundtrack was released on July 12, 2024 to coincide with the films release.
- "What's My Name (Red Version)" was released as a single on April 26, 2024.
- "Red" was released as a single on June 21, 2024.
- The red carpet premiere was on July 10, 2024.
- This film creates the contradiction as the "Queen of Hearts' Salon" is located on the Isle of the Lost and the Queen of Hearts stayed in Wonderland.
- This is the first Descendants film to involve time travel.
External links[]
References[]
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