--- title: "Descendants" year: 2015 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/descendants" fi1m_id: "descendants" imdb_id: "tt3440298" tmdb_id: 277217 wikidata_id: "Q17278086" fi1m_score: 60 critics_reviews: 2 published: "2026-09-24T01:54:44.170915+00:00" updated: "2026-09-24T01:54:44.682799+00:00" region: "JP" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Descendants (2015) Directed by Kenny Ortega · 1h 52m · Eirin PG12 · Family, Adventure, Fantasy, TV Movie ## Identity Descendants - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/descendants - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** descendants - **IMDb ID:** tt3440298 - **TMDB ID:** 277217 - **Wikidata ID:** Q17278086 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3440298/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/277217, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17278086 **Fi1m score: 60** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* Kristin Chenoweth arrives in horns, sings one number and walks off with the film > Kenny Ortega’s made-for-television musical sends the villains’ children to a fairy-tale prep school, and it is bright, tuneful and thin. The young cast are game, the songs are catchy, and Kristin Chenoweth walks off with the whole thing in one number. ## Synopsis In the kingdom of Auradon, the heroes of every fairy tale have locked their villains on the Isle of the Lost, behind a magical barrier. Prince Ben (Mitchell Hope) issues his first proclamation: four of the villains’ children will be brought to Auradon Prep. Mal (Dove Cameron), daughter of Maleficent (Kristin Chenoweth), leads them, with Evie (Sofia Carson), the Evil Queen’s daughter, Carlos (Cameron Boyce), son of Cruella de Vil, and Jay (Booboo Stewart), Jafar’s boy. Maleficent gives Mal a task: steal the Fairy Godmother’s (Melanie Paxson) wand, bring down the barrier and set the villains free. At school Mal finds the Fairy Godmother is headmistress, her daughter Jane (Brenna D’Amico) wishes she were prettier, and Ben’s girlfriend Audrey (Sarah Jeffery), Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, is not pleased to see her. ## Review Kenny Ortega, who directed *High School Musical* (2006), has been handed the whole Disney back catalogue and told to make a school out of it. The premise is a good one for a merchandising department and not a bad one for a film: the heroes of every fairy tale have locked their villains on an island, and the young king-to-be decides their children deserve a chance at the nice school on the mainland. *Descendants* was made for television, runs 112 minutes and carries a PG. It is bright, tuneful and thin, and the adults are better than the children. It is worth an evening if there is a ten-year-old in the house, and worth one number if there is not. That number belongs to Kristin Chenoweth. Her Maleficent is a suburban mother disappointed in her daughter, all trilled vowels and menace thrown away over her shoulder, and when she gets “Evil Like Me” she treats the scene as if it were the only one that mattered. It is. The song is a proper villain’s number, sung with the diction of someone who has done this on a stage, and it is the one stretch of the film where the camera holds still and lets a performer work. We laughed out loud at her, more than once, and we were sorry when she left. The look of the thing is better than a television budget has any right to be. Mark Hofeling builds the Isle of the Lost as a heap of scaffolding, washing lines and corrugated iron under a grey sky, and Auradon Prep as lawns, turrets and a statue of the king out front. Thomas Burstyn lights the island in a dirty green and the school in flat, even sunshine, so that the four newcomers look wrong in it the moment they step out of the limousine. Kara Saun’s costumes do most of the storytelling: Mal in purple leather and zips, Evie in blue, Carlos in red and white, Jay in torn brown, all of it set against blazers and pastels that have never seen a stain. The young cast are game. Dove Cameron carries the lead on a sceptical eyebrow and a habit of looking at kindness as if it might bite. Cameron Boyce is loose and funny as Carlos, whose mother taught him to fear dogs, and Booboo Stewart’s Jay cannot walk past a table without pocketing something on it, a joke the film repeats and which keeps working. Sofia Carson plays Evie as a girl raised to catch a prince and not encouraged to want anything else, and she finds more in it than the script gives her. The opening number, “Rotten to the Core”, is Ortega doing what he does: a lot of bodies, a lot of angles, a chorus you can sing by the second time round. The script, by Sara Parriott and Josann McGibbon, says every lesson out loud and then says it again. A Remedial Goodness class is a good joke the first time and a tired one by the third. Mitchell Hope’s Ben is pleasant, well-meaning and about as interesting as his blazer, and the film asks us to care about him anyway. Around the hour mark there is a match of an invented sport called tourney, and we found ourselves checking how long was left, which is not something a 112-minute film should make an adult do. The singing voices and the mouths do not always meet, and Don Brochu’s editing, clean in the numbers, lets the middle stretch drift. Against Ortega’s own record this is a step down from *High School Musical*, which had one simple story and told it, and a step up from most of what the channel has made since. David Nessim Lawrence’s score is agreeable and forgettable between the songs; the songs are not. The film’s idea, that children are not their parents and get to decide for themselves, is stated plainly and often, and the audience it is for will not mind hearing it twice. Grown-ups will get Chenoweth, four good costumes and a nap. *Fi1m score 60, published 24 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Descendants worth watching?** *Descendants* is worth watching if there is a ten-year-old in the house, and we scored it 60. Kenny Ortega's made-for-television musical is bright, tuneful and thin, with the adults outshining the young cast and Kristin Chenoweth walking off with the whole film in one number. Grown-ups without children will get that number, four good costumes and a nap. **How long is Descendants, and what is it rated?** *Descendants* runs 1h 52m and is rated PG12 by the Eirin in Japan. It is a family and adventure film. **Where can I watch Descendants in Japan?** *Descendants* is streaming on Disney+ in Japan, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from ¥440. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does Descendants compare to Shrek?** *Descendants* and [*Shrek*](https://film.one/film/shrek) both throw the fairy-tale cast together and poke fun at it, but *Shrek* is the sharper and warmer of the two. Its jokes land harder and its characters outlast them, while *Descendants* says every lesson out loud and then repeats it. Choose *Descendants* for a child who wants songs and costumes; choose *Shrek* for anyone else. **What should I watch after Descendants?** After *Descendants*, try [*High School Musical*](https://film.one/film/high-school-musical) (2006, Fi1m 70): Ortega’s simpler, better school musical, with one story and the good sense to finish it. Then [*Shrek*](https://film.one/film/shrek) (2001, Fi1m 80): The fairy-tale cast thrown together and made fun of, with sharper jokes; and [*Enchanted*](https://film.one/film/enchanted) (2007, Fi1m 76): A Disney princess dropped into Manhattan; Amy Adams sings and means every word. ### Reviews we read (2) - **Variety**, Brian Lowry (70/100, inferred): Lowry finds the movie playful and tuneful, with a stronger story than many recent Disney youth musicals, though its second half feels padded. He particularly praises Kristin Chenoweth’s scene-stealing performance and the clever songs. [Read](https://variety.com/2015/tv/reviews/tv-review-disneys-descendants-1201546095/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Amy Amatangelo (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the movie flimsy but entertaining, with strong appeal as a Disney marketing concept. She especially praises Kristin Chenoweth’s performance and the song “Evil Like Me,” while noting weak lip-syncing and a bland prince. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/descendants-tv-review-811632/) ## Details - **Director:** Kenny Ortega - **Director:** Kenny Ortega - **Writer:** Josann McGibbon, Sara Parriott - **Cinematography:** Thomas Burstyn - **Editor:** Don Brochu - **Music:** David Nessim Lawrence - **Production design:** Mark Hofeling - **Costume design:** Kara Saun - **Producer:** Tracey Jeffrey - **Cast:** Dove Cameron as Mal; Sofia Carson as Evie; Cameron Boyce as Carlos; Booboo Stewart as Jay; Brenna D'Amico as Jane; Mitchell Hope as Ben; Sarah Jeffery as Audrey; Jedidiah Goodacre as Chad Charming - **Runtime:** 1h 52m - **Certificate (Eirin):** PG12 - **Release (Japan):** 18 December 2015 - **Genres:** Family, Adventure, Fantasy, TV Movie - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4UUQqefajc ## Where to watch in Japan - Disney+: streaming, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent ¥440, hd - Apple TV: rent ¥440, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy ¥1, sd - Apple TV: buy ¥1,100, sd *Checked 2026-09-24.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TR, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *High School Musical* (2006), Fi1m 70: Ortega’s simpler, better school musical, with one story and the good sense to finish it — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/high-school-musical.md) - *Shrek* (2001), Fi1m 80: The fairy-tale cast thrown together and made fun of, with sharper jokes — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/shrek.md) - *Enchanted* (2007), Fi1m 76: A Disney princess dropped into Manhattan; Amy Adams sings and means every word — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/enchanted.md) - *Into the Woods* (2014): Sondheim’s fairy tales collide, with Meryl Streep as the witch who steals it - *Labyrinth* (1986), Fi1m 74: A teenager, a goblin king, songs and puppets; the darker cousin of this one — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/labyrinth.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/descendants