Descendants (2015 film)

Descendants, a 2015 American musical fantasy television film, was directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega, with a script from the writing duo Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott. The story follows the teenage offspring of classic Disney villains—Mal (daughter of Maleficent), Evie (daughter of the Evil Queen), Jay (son of Jafar), and Carlos (son of Cruella de Vil)—as they leave their island prison for the first time. Their mission is to steal the Fairy Godmother’s wand to free their imprisoned parents, but they struggle to adjust to life in Auradon. The movie premiered on July 31, 2015, as a Disney Channel Original Movie, earning positive reviews and drawing 6.6 million viewers.

The cast includes Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, and Cameron Boyce in the lead roles, alongside Mitchell Hope, Melanie Paxson, Brenna D'Amico, Sarah Jeffery, Zachary Gibson, Jedidiah Goodacre, Dianne Doan, Dan Payne, Keegan Connor Tracy, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Maz Jobrani, Kathy Najimy, and Kristin Chenoweth. As the first entry in the Descendants franchise, it spawned several TV series, short films, and specials, including the animated short-form series *Descendants: Wicked World*. Sequels followed: *Descendants 2* on July 21, 2017; *Descendants 3* on August 2, 2019; *Descendants: The Rise of Red* on July 12, 2024, on Disney+; and *Descendants: Wicked Wonderland* on July 16, 2026, on Disney Channel and the next day on Disney+.

The plot begins with Belle and Beast as king and queen of the United States of Auradon, a prosperous nation built from surrounding kingdoms. Villains and their children are exiled to the Isle of the Lost, a slum island sealed by a barrier that neutralizes magic. Their son Ben, about to be crowned king, decides to give four children from the Isle a chance to attend Auradon Preparatory, away from their parents’ influence. He picks Carlos, Jay, Evie, and Mal. Maleficent secretly orders them to steal the Fairy Godmother’s wand to break the barrier so she can conquer Auradon.

The four meet Ben and his girlfriend Audrey, daughter of Princess Aurora. The Fairy Godmother serves as the school’s headmistress. Evie uses her mother’s tiny magic mirror to find the wand in a museum, and Mal uses Maleficent’s spinning wheel from the same museum to put a guard to sleep. Their attempt fails when a barrier blocks the wand and triggers an alarm.