July 12, 2024
Descendants: The Rise of Red is a 2024 American musical teen fantasy comedy film directed by Jennifer Phang from a screenplay by Dan Frey and Ru Sommer. Produced by Disney Channel, the film is the fourth installment in the Descendants franchise, being a spin-off of the previous three films and a follow-up from Descendants: The Royal Wedding (2021). The film was released on Disney+ on July 12, 2024, and made its debut on Disney Channel on August 9, 2024.
Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker star as Red (daughter of Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland) and Chloe Charming (daughter of Cinderella and Prince Charming from Cinderella), respectively. China Anne McClain and Melanie Paxson reprise their roles of Uma and Fairy Godmother, respectively, from previous Descendants films. Cinderella and King Charming are played by Brandy and Paolo Montalban, who previously played versions of the characters in the 1997 television adaptation of Cinderella.
Descendants: The Rise of Red received generally mixed reviews from critics. With 6.7 million views in its first three days of streaming, the film broke a record in its debut on Disney+ as Disney Branded Television's most-viewed premiere ever on the platform. The film later demonstrated substantial streaming viewership, leading as the top streaming original movie for a week and maintaining strong rankings throughout July and early August 2024. It became Disney+'s most-streamed live-action original movie since Hocus Pocus 2. A sequel, Descendants: Wicked Wonderland, is scheduled for release in 2026.
Storyline
Following the events of Descendants: The Royal Wedding, Uma is now the headmistress and principal of Auradon Prep. Her first order of business is to open the border between Auradon and Wonderland by inviting Princess Red, the rebellious daughter of the tyrannical Queen of Hearts, to join the school. Fairy Godmother strongly advises against this notion, but Uma insists that Carlos de Vil would have been supportive of it.
Red and her mother travel to Auradon, where the Queen and Cinderella reunite for the first time since their days at Merlin Academy, the original name of Auradon Prep. The meeting quickly turns hostile as the Queen recalls a traumatic prank she endured during their time at school. During the opening ceremony, as Uma welcomes everyone, the Queen unexpectedly launches a coup d'état, with her magical deck of cards, and takes the other attendees hostage.
When Cinderella refuses to bow to the Queen, a reluctant Red is forced to condemn her to death by beheading for treason, delighting her mother but angering the crowd. In horror and guilt, Red tries to use a magic pocket watch to go back a few minutes in time and prevent the coup by stealing her mother's deck of cards, but is attacked by Cinderella's perfectionist and kindhearted daughter Chloe, accidentally activating the watch and sending both girls to the past, when Auradon Prep was still called Merlin Academy. Believing they were sent for a reason, Red and Chloe begrudgingly agree to work together for the sake of their mothers.
Posing as exchange students, Red and Chloe enroll at Merlin Academy and meet Ella and Bridget, the teenage personas of Cinderella and the Queen of Hearts, and begin to seek ways to change the "present". They are shocked at their mothers' personalities, with Bridget being nice to a fault and Ella having no interest in royalty. They all hang out in the courtyard when they meet the younger versions of the villains and Uliana, Ursula's younger sister. After purposely eating too many of Bridget's enchanted flamingo feathered cupcakes, Uliana turns into a flamingo. A short chase for Bridget ensues, with it ending in Ella pulling Bridget away from Uliana, causing the latter to lose her balance, and fall into an artificial pond. When Uliana emerges from the water, having been reverted to her human form and humiliated in front of the whole school, she decides to take revenge on Bridget.
They decide to talk to Ella to find out more, and find out that Uliana hangs out at the Black Lagoon. Red and Chloe overhear the plan to give Bridget a cupcake that will turn her into a monster during the dance, using a sorcerer's cookbook. Realizing this must have been the prank that turned Bridget evil, Red and Chloe find the cookbook in Merlin's study, and after struggling with the defenses Merlin has put in place, they are successful. However, the villains are able to take it from them, but because the book should not fall "into the wrong hands," they are magically frozen, and Merlin discovers them and gives them detention. Red is able to hide the cookbook and the two of them head back to the present.
They return to the time Uma was giving her speech, and the Queen of Hearts delivers the same lines she gave in the original timeline. Red is initially scared that nothing changed, but is relieved to see that her mom is wearing a lighter gown and creates a series of heart bubbles for the celebration. Through narration, Uma informs the audience that this is a happy ending, but hints that messing with the fabric of time can have dangerous consequences, and that the story is not over yet.
Also See
Movie Trailer
- Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024) (Trailers)
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Large Splash Or DiveW PE127201
- Hollywoodedge, Lightning 08 CloseG SIG012601
- Hollywoodedge, Swish 9 Single PE116801
- Sound Ideas, BUBBLES, MUD - THICK, GLOPPY MUD BUBBLES, BOIL
- Sound Ideas, CHIMES - MAGIC CHIMES RINGING
- Sound Ideas, ELECTRONIC - MAGICAL SWISH 03