Descendants
Fandom | |
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Name: | Disney's Descendants |
Abbreviation(s): | |
Creator: | Kenny Ortega (director), Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott (script), Melissa de la Cruz (books) |
Date(s): | 2015 - present |
Medium: | Film, books, animated series, video game, musical |
Country of Origin: | United States |
External Links: | Wikipedia |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Descendants is a multi-media Disney series composed of movies, novels, and television shorts, beginning in 2015. The series follows the descendants of famous Disney villains and heroes. The main characters, Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos (children of villains Maleficent, Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella de Vil) and Prince Ben (son of Beauty and the Beast) work to prove that everyone can decide their own fate.
History
In May 2015, prior to the first film's release, the prequel novel The Isle of the Lost released.
In July 2015, Disney Channel aired Descendants starring Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, and Cameron Boyce as the teenage children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella de Vil, respectively.
The first movie of the franchise was an instant hit among fans of various ages. Shortly after the premier air date, ratings showed the film was the fifth most watched original movie in cable history. Because of the instant success, Descendants 2, Descendants 3, Descendants: The Rise of Red (also known as Descendants 4) were quick to follow in 2017, 2019, and 2024 respectively. There has also been an untitled Descendants 5 film that will be announced later this year.
Disney Channel has also released various other television media and spin offs. These included short films and TV specials such as Descendants: The Royal Wedding, Descendants: School of Secrets, Descendants: Wicked World, and Descendants: The Planning of the Royal Wedding. There was also a musical released titled Disney’s Descendants: The Musical.
Canon
Synopsis
Descendants
In a present-day idyllic kingdom, the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney's iconic "Beauty and the Beast") is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella, Maleficent, the Evil Queen, and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters. These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evie, and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes, including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Mulan. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents' footsteps and help all the villains regain power, or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?
Descendants 2
The story deepens in the music-driven sequel to the global smash hit Descendants, as the teenage sons and daughters of Disney's most famous villains — Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay (also known as Villain Kids, or VKs) — try to find their place in idyllic Auradon. When the pressure to be royally perfect becomes too much for Mal, she returns to her rotten roots on the Isle of the Lost where her archenemy Uma, the daughter of Ursula, has taken her spot as self-proclaimed queen of the run-down town. Uma, still resentful over not being selected by Ben to go to Auradon Prep with the other Villain Kids, stirs her pirate gang including Captain Hook's son Harry and Gaston's son Gil, to break the barrier between the Isle of the Lost and Auradon, and unleash all the villains imprisoned on the Isle, once and for all.
Descendants 3
In Descendants 3, the teenage daughters and sons of Disney's most infamous villains (also known as the villain kids or VKs) — Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay, — return to the Isle of the Lost to recruit a new batch of villainous offspring to join them at Auradon Prep.
When a barrier breach jeopardizes the safety of Auradon during their departure off of the Isle, Mal resolves to permanently close the barrier, fearing that nemeses Uma and Hades will wreck vengeance on the kingdom. Despite her decision, an unfathomable dark force threatens the people of Auradon, and it's up to Mal and the VKs to save everyone in their most epic battle yet.
Descendants: The Rise of Red
In this newest instalment in the mega-hit "Descendants" franchise, former Villain Kid Uma, now headmaster of Auradon Prep, extends 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.
Characters
Descendants
Film Trilogy
Core Four
- Mal Bertha, the daughter of Maleficent and Hades.
- Evie Grimhilde, the daughter of the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Carlos de Vil, the son of Cruella de Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
- Jay, the son of Jafar from Aladdin
Sea Three
- Uma, the daughter of Ursula from The Little Mermaid.
- Harry Hook, the Son of Captain Hook from Peter Pan
- Gil, the son of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast
Auradon Kids (AKs)
- Prince Ben, the son of Queen Belle and King Beast from Beauty and the Beast
- Princess Audrey Rose, the daughter of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty
- Doug, the son of Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Jane, the daughter of the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella
- Lonnie, the daughter of Fa Mulan and Li Shang.
- Prince Chad Charming, the son of Cinderella and Prince Charming.
Villain Kids (VKs)
- Dizzy Tremaine, the daughter of Drizella Tremaine
- Célia Facilier, the daughter of Dr. Facilier
- Squeaky & Squirmy, the twin sons of Mr.Smee
Wicked World
VKs
- Cj Hook, the daughter of Captain Hook.
- Freddie Facilier, the daughter of Dr Facilier
- Zevon, the son of Yzma.
AKs
- Ally, the daughter of Alice in Wonderland
- Jordan, the daughter of the Genie.
- Princess Ruby, the daughter of Princess Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder.
Tie-in Novels
VKs
- Anthony Tremaine, the son of Anastasia Tremaine
- Claudine Frollo, the daughter of Claude Frollo
- Clay Clayton, the son of Clayton
- Diego De Vil, the nephew of Cruella De Vil
- Eddie Balthazar, the son of Edgar Baltazar from Aristocats
- Gaston Jr, the son of Gaston
- Gaston The Third, the son of Gaston
- Ginny Gothel, the daughter of Mother Gothel.
- Hadie, the Son of Hades and Mal's half brother.
- Harriet Hook, the daughter of Captain Hook.
- Harry Badun, the son of Horace
- Hermie, the daughter of the ringmaster
- Jace Badun, the son of Jasper
- Jade, the niece of Jafar
- Le Fou Deux, the son of Le Fou.
- Maddie, the granddaughter of Madam Min.
- Rick Ratcliffe, the son of Governor Ratcliffe
- Sammy, the son of Mr. Smee
- Yzla, the daughter of Yzma
AKs
- Arabella, the niece of Ariel and Eric
- Prince Artie, the son of King Arthur.
- Prince Aziz, the son of Jasmine and Aladdin (Deleted character from the film trilogy)
- Gordon, the Son of Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Herkie, the son of Hercules and Megara
- Pin, the son of Pinocchio
- Tiger Peony, the daughter of Tiger Lily
- Bobby, the son of Robin Hood.
- Derek, the son of Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Crabby, the son of Grumpy from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.
- Doc II, the son of Doc from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
- Opal, the daughter of Mama Odie
- Carina, the daughter of Mrs.Potts
- Hap & Cheerfull, the sons of Happy from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
- Li Shang Jr, the son of Mulan and Li Shang
- Shy, the son of Bashful from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
- Snoozy, the son of Sleepy from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
- Yi-Min, the daughter of Yao and Mei.
Omitted
- Princess Anxelin, the daughter of Princess Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder.
School of Secrets
- Bashful Jr, the Son of Bashful from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Villains
- Cruella de Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Carlos' mother.
- Queen Grimhilde from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Evie's mother and Snow White's stepmother.
- Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, Stepmother of Cinderella,Grandmother of Dizzy & Anthony and Step-Grandmother of Chad.
- Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, Mal's mother.
- Mr. Smee from Peter Pan, Sammy, Squeaky & Skirmy's father
- Hades from Hercules, Mal's, Heath's Hadie's father.
- Jafar from Aladdin, Jay's father.
- Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Uma's mother.
Heroes
- Jasmine & Aladdin from Aladdin, Aziz' parents.
- Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, Jane's mother.
- King Adam Beast from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Prince Ben's father.
- Queen Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Prince Ben's mother.
- Queen Leah from Sleeping Beauty, mother of Princess Aurora and grandmother of Princess Audrey
- Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, stepsister of Evie and stepdaughter to the Evil Queen
Fandom
This article or section needs expansion. |
Fanfiction is posted to Tumblr, Archive of Our Own, Wattpad, and FanFiction.Net.
Crossovers are often with other Disney films and television shows, such as Once Upon a Time and Frozen, but also other fandoms such as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Shipping
Like in all FanFiction, every character usually has at least one story with another character. However, the most popular ships for Descendants include:
Het:
- Mal/Ben (Bal)
- Evie/Doug (Devie)
- Harry/Uma (Huma)
- Jane/Carlos
- Evie/Ben (Bevie)
- Evie/Carlos (Carvie)
- Mal/Carlos (Marlos)
- Ben/Carlos (Benlos/Puppy Love)
- Chad/Carlos (Chadlos)
- Jay/Carlos (Jaylos)
- Jay/Ben
- Harry/Carlos (Harlos)
Poly:
- Carlos/Evie/Jay/Mal (Rotten OT4)
- Ben/Carlos/Evie/Jay/Mal
- Gil/Harry/Uma (Sea Three)
- Ben/Carlos/Jay
- Evie/Mal/Uma (Umalvie)
See List of Descendants Relationship Names for more.
Everyone is Bi
For the main trilogy of films:
- Some characters, such as Mal, Uma, and Harry, are consistently headcanoned as bisexual or pansexual by fandom, though lesbian/gay headcanons do occasionally still exist.
- Chad is routinely considered to be the token straight, though sometimes this will also apply to Doug.
- Both Audrey and Evie are headcanoned to be comphet lesbians more frequently than other female characters due to a perceived similiarity in how the pressure of compulsory heterosexuality might affect them. Evie was taught her main goal was to find and marry a Prince, and Audrey is the archetypical popular girl who is 'supposed' to have the archetypical popular boy (see Regina George, Sharpay Evans, or Glinda Upland for similiar examples of fanon comphet lesbians).
- The rest of the characters: Jay, Carlos, Ben, Gil, Lonnie, and Jane, are frequently considered bisexual or gay depending on the fan, though the former is the more common queer option to find for most of them.
[theblankspaceofmymind]
Descendants: seems a little gay but maybe that’s just me
Descendants 2: NO 👏 ONE 👏 IN 👏 THIS 👏 MOVIE 👏 IS 👏 STRAIGHT[1]
Common Themes
- Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place
- United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect
- Child Abuse - Many fanworks deal with the themes of abuse of various kinds, particularly child abuse whilst growing up on the island. Most often is deals with various forms of physical and emotional abuse and neglect.
The Politics of Auradon
Parts of the fandom have drawn attention to the implications behind the Isle of the Lost and Auradon's apparent abandonment of the Villain Kids to poverty and abuse. In effect, the 'Isle of the Lost' is a prison in which all of the villains were sent to. However, even their children have been condemned to this life and there's little suggestion that there was any attempt at rectifying or acknowledging any of these horrifying implications prior to Ben's proclamation to give the VK's a 'chance'.
Because of this, fanworks and discussions exist that will sometimes involve and delve into these implications.
Fanworks
Fanfiction
- The Princess and The Wolf by Descendants (Fan writer)
- Let's never meet again by NocturnaIV
- The Light You Bring Inside of Me by eviesthirlwzll
- Love by bloodsucker
- Legacy of Evil by Psychic_Refugee
- Did You Ever Love Me? by KingOfSymphonie
- A Kiss is a Secret Told by 8ucky8arnes
- My Wee Dragon by WaterNymph125
- Red Apples and Silver Hooks by iSporticus1234
- blue braids and pink lips by Quecksilver Eyes
- Villains and Happy Endings by DhampyrX2
- Pirate's Princess by Takara Phoenix
- now i know by kingchad
Fanart
Archives & Fannish Links
- Descendants & crossovers works at FFN
- Descendants works at AO3