Parents' Guide to

Descendants

By Emily Ashby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Energetic Disney movie's villains make likable role models.

Movie G 2015 112 minutes
Descendants Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • Descendants Movie: Scene #1
  • Descendants Movie: Scene #2
  • Descendants Movie: Scene #3

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age 9+

Based on 75 parent reviews

Kelly S.
Kelly S. Adult
October 30, 2020
age 12+

Cringe-worthy gender stereotypes

The worst stereotypes, particularly about girls & relationships between girls. Also, dating is a huge theme, so not a great fit for my 9 year old (I don’t understand common senses rating!!)
GenXMom42
GenXMom42 Adult
October 12, 2019
age 10+

Reinforces many damaging stereotypes

Where do I start. My seven year old watched this because her best friend was having a Descendants birthday party, and I immediately regret it. The movie reinforces so many damaging stereotypes in American culture. The girls use their magic skills to "fix" their friends to make them "more beautiful" - according to white Hollywood pop culture, while the boys play sports and learn how to be a team. Then there's the scene where the boys are playing sports while cute cheerleaders in short skirts cheer them on, culminating in the two rival girls fighting over a boy. This kind of content reinforces a very strong subliminal message to girls that what's important is "getting a man" and "being beautiful" according to an extremely narrow standard. Then there are the token minorities, with cringe-worthy costumes - Mulan's daugher, anyone? I could go on and on. If you are fine with our shallow American colonial, white-centric, heteronormative, patriarchal culture this is the movie for you. I know that sounds harsh, and it's probably in line with most other Disney content these days, but I'm just frustrated. There are some good messages in the film too, but in my view they are far outshadowed by the bad.
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What's the Story?

DESCENDANTS is set in the serene kingdom of Auradon, where fairy tale figures and their families live harmoniously under the reign of Belle (Keegan Connor Tracy) and the Beast (Dan Payne), thanks to the longtime exile of their enemies on the distant Isle of the Lost. As the royal couple's son, Prince Ben (Mitchell Hope), prepares to assume the throne, he decrees that the offspring of notorious villains Maleficent (Kristin Chenoweth), the Evil Queen (Kathy Najimy), Jafar (Maz Jobrani), and Cruella de Vil (Wendy Raquel Robinson) be permitted to leave the island and come to Auradon to attend school with the descendants of their parents' sworn enemies. Predictably, not everyone is enthused about the arrival of the self-proclaimed "rotten" teens -- Mal (Dove Cameron), Evie (Sofia Carson), Jay (Booboo Stewart), and Carlos (Cameron Boyce) -- but no one suspects that their true intention is to steal the Fairy Godmother's (Melanie Paxson) wand and turn it over to Mal's domineering mom, Maleficent. But as time goes on and the teens acclimate to Auradon, they begin to question their parents' influence and wonder whether they're really evil at all.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (75 ):
Kids say (161 ):

This much-anticipated fairy tale add-on isn't perfect, but it's highly entertaining in the kind of young-love, flash-mob, song-and-dance manner that tends to thrill the youngsters. Kids won't notice or care about such trivial plot inconsistencies as every classic character existing in the same time and place AND having kids at exactly the same time, for instance (really, what are the chances?), but parents might grit their teeth over some the rewrites. On the other hand, some aspects are welcome changes, namely some racial diversity that's a pleasant surprise.

Descendants is decent family fare, and with the exception of one tense scene, it's a fine pick for just about any age. Kids will love the creative play on classic characters, the unlikely relationship between Ben and Mal, and the handful of musical numbers that can feel a little cheesy to the older set. (Except for a reprisal of "Be Our Guest," that is. It's golden.) For adults, though, there's much joy to be found in Chenoweth's electrifying performance as the scheming Maleficent, and her constant bickering with Najimy's Evil Queen makes for many hilarious scenes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the choices the characters in Descendants make. To what degree does their parents' influence affect Mal and her friends? Is it OK that they wind up making their own decision? Would you feel differently if they defied their parents to become evil instead of good?

  • Does the music help this movie? Was it ever a distraction from the plot? If it didn't add to the story, what was the purpose of it?

  • Kids: What made you want to watch Descendants? Were any of your favorite actors or actresses in the cast? Do you find your watching habits influenced by the ads you see on TV?

  • How do the characters in Descendants demonstrate integrity and teamwork? Why are these important character strengths?

Movie Details

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