fixing disney's chaotic descendants movies

[@jjcinnaberry]

learning that they raised the villains from the dead just to imprison them on an island actually makes me view the entirety of these movies differently like.. why did you need to do that? feels mega vindictive.

[@Doomzdeh]

I’d view it as a mercy tbh. If we take the existence of Hades into account, the Underworld exists in this universe and that’s where these villains went after death. If you understand how the Underworld works, they were likely sent to the Fields of Punishment where they were constantly under duress/tortured. So resurrecting them and putting them on an Island was kind of not as bad, I guess? Though I do kinda wonder how they did it and why they did it?

[@cesar6447]

it would have been easy to put that a surviving villain resurrected them, like in the youtube series "the villain's lair" where the evil queen survived the fall and saved maleficent from death, and the both of them resurrected the villains to take revenge on the heroes

[@valueyourself3047]

@@Doomzdehutootiuuuuut I need ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ ❤❤❤❤❤🎉😅

[@LunaRoA]

@@Doomzdeh It's still a terrible/stupid thing to do, not only for the children they're forcing to live alongside all these villains who they know are terrible people, but they're risking creating even more enemies for themselves and their own kids (Like Uma in the 2nd movie). But also, even if without the kids... it's a terrible strategy to put all of your enemies together in one place, the "no magic barrier" thing could be broken with technology as Carlos did in the books, so while it could be a "mercy" for the villains it did come across as vindictive from the "heroes" part to revive them only to throw them into bigger-jail when it's not a smart thing to do in insight.

[@antichrist4449]

Well, to be fair to the beast, he did get turned into a disturbed animal monster over being rude when he was like 20 something. And was trapped in a castle with people who had been turned into FURNITURE FOR THE CRIME OF WORKING FOR HIM! INCLUDING A CHILD! WHO WAS TURNED INTO A CUP! so like yeah i guess i would want to trap the people responsible and make them see what i felt. Esspecially since there was presumably a war before the beast was able to create the United States of not america. Still fucked up but at least his son is trying to make it less fucked up.

[@livianicholson9623]

baby’s first youtube video was iconic and we stan

[@coreyz6864]

i like to believe there's an alternate timeline where the target demographic for descendants wasn't for kids so it could actually get into the insane political implications going on. the canon worldbuilding is such a good premise for exploring ideas like prison abolition but the narrative (and disney) is entirely uninterested in serious commentary and it drives me insane. if you think about it for more than two minutes the setting is like hunger games level dystopian. actually ykw i said the hunger games bc it was the first good YA dystopia that came to mind, but now i'm imagining a version of descendants written by suzanne collins. spiraling into madness over what we could have had.

[@growingupwithdisney]

that would've been GREAT, she definitely would've had some great ideas, and wouldve humanized the "villain kids" even more

[@sneakyturtle2346]

No it was purposely really cringe and terrible 😊

[@anniebale4343]

I'm sorry but I started hysterically laughing at "I'm sorry she said that, she's just trying to hurt your feelings." It comes off as Ben just being like, "oh, y'know, it's just who she is, someone who insults others when she feels threatened, oh, that Audrey". Assuming that the two were good friends before they were a couple, though, I think that could work rather well, as Ben seems to always have this naive perspective on people's true colors, which I feel like would be the natural progression of Belle's ability to see the inner beauty of Adam: her teenaged son seeing the good in his friends even if they aren't always the nicest.

[@gothamtruecrime]

“there is a darkness in your soul that I am uncomfortable with” is crazy line to come out of a yt video about descendants lol

[@eleg4nts]

girl write the descendants fanfiction

[@mirandabee2323]

She'd be in good company.

[@CrystaICupid]

literally I need this whole thing written into a fanfiction plot or smth it's so good

[@nicholasjohnston1970]

She did. That was the topic of the video

[@eleg4nts]

@@nicholasjohnston1970 where is the ao3 link then?

[@nicholasjohnston1970]

@@eleg4nts it’s being played in video format

[@Mikkashiki]

“I don’t like any genre of man, so I don’t really get it” has been a motif that’s marked me like a decorative emblem embroidered in the fabric of my life 41:58

[@crazygamer_1082]

41:50 thank you for mentioning this. Because Descendants LOVES making all the black people (black women specifically; Carlos doesn’t count as he seen as a dorky nerd) the villains/antagonists of their movies. Like they did it with Audrey as well. And Sarah-the woman who plays her-is a black woman. She just relaxes her hair which is common for black women in the film industry. Cruella is also a “crazy black woman” but I begrudgingly ignored it because Cameron is black and most likely was the one who advocated for his movie mother to be a black woman. As he was (Rest in Peace Cameron) a very strong advocate for black people because his grandmother was one of the Rocky Nine. Something he was incredibly proud of as he should be because that was an unhinged event.

[@tinytaleah]

Even Celia was more “rotten to the core” than the other three (*cough* light kids *cough*) when she threw the ember in that birdbath

[@mirandabee2323]

Legit, I showed a couple of my friends the first movie, and when Queen Leah was yelling at Mal, my friends said: 94shippie: It's kinda weird having the token Black lady being against integration here. Moth: I was gonna say--

[@Velvettyy_]

EXACTLY!!! it was such a common theme for Descendants to make the black women be villainized.

[@MJ-98]

It's crazy the way they went out of their way to make all the black people villainous. In the second movie, with Uma, it almost hit the point of unintentional social commentary. It was almost definitely an accident of "we didn't think about the implications of this casting" but it's still a huge issue.

[@viviennemorgan7217]

i thought that she's white, while cameron is white

[@phoenixshadow6633]

My best experience with these films is dealing with Aussies who absolutely detested the film. Given their country was literally a penal colony for a good portion of their history

[@michellekeppler982]

I never really thought about it but you are right, maybe that's why despite it being so big elsewhere I hadn't heard of it until I went overseas.

[@coreyz6864]

no bc i think about this all the time. in justifying their premise, the writers reinvented australia.

[@cesar6447]

this saga is very culturally insensitive, especially considering how its an allegory for immigration, picturing USA as a great place, full of color and success everywhere while the isle is full of savages, crime and sadness

[@hayleymcgough8567]

as a Aussie I can tell you we were not happy

[@emiliereal1520]

@@cesar6447 Holy- I never actually thought of that :(

[@dbanuelos8443]

I was always confused as to why Uma wanted the wand, because it shouldn’t work on the isle due to the whole no magic rule. Maybe she thought that because it was the thing that created the isle it would on the isle. That still makes no sense, but a truth gummy made a dog talk. So anything is possible

[@oceanamelodies8062]

the rule is no evil magic, not no magic at all

[@nicholasjohnston1970]

Considering the wand is what made the barrier I could see how it could overpower the magic suppression

[@Little_Eris]

@@oceanamelodies8062but that was a retcon made in the third film. It was never mentioned in the second film; hell Mals narration in the first says “No Magic,” in general.

[@adrianmcbride1666]

@@Little_Eris Well it could be argued that because the barrier's magic comes from the wand, the barrier cannot disable it's own source of power. Kind of like Charmed (the comics, last season) where the dagger that uncreates all killed with it is unable to uncreate Prue because she is bonded to the very source of all magic itself.

[@angyvirtu3593]

5:38 In my headcanon, they resurrected the dead villains in order to keep anybody else from attempting to resurrect them.

[@corinneeaglebridge]

Honestly, yeah actually. That’s very likely since they have the actual god of the underworld running around.

[@anotherfeat1647]

My gosh that's such a better reason.

[@fruity4820]

Ok but like how easy it is to resurrect someone in this universe? Imagine being some random middle class pasent and you are like "so those royel asses used our tax money to resurect the most evil people in history but my sweet grandma is going to stay in the ground?" Is dying not a thing as long as you are important enough? Why would the royals even bother to have a succession line?

[@CrystaICupid]

Considering they have the literal greek god of the underworld, this is really probable

[@raven1436]

I felt it was more simply pettiness anyone who would summon them is already on the isle

[@eepr656]

I feel like the Jane plot could be fixed just by making her goal to be more confident/less afraid/awkward. “Oh you have such great style I wish I could be like that” “I mean Evie makes all my clothes, she could help, but with your mom’s wand you could really get rid of all that fear” and then the end with Jane taking the wand becomes a lesson about taking charge of your destiny and being bold but learning to do it in the right way or something

[@emeraldsky2823]

You’d think that the beast, who was villified throughout his whole film, would be sympathetic towards the descendants kids 💀

[@obehiikhigbonoaremen1241]

They could have picked a pair of Ruler's that actually would have been prejudiced or naive about villains, like Snow White and HER Prince! The Beast of all people should be sympathetic towards Mal and her " dark side" considering his past.

[@nanalove3819]

Yeah. Among all the rulers they could have chosen, they pick Belle and the Beast, the ones who have a story about redemption and how we should not judge someone on how they look. So the less likely to treat villains' kids this way...

[@cesar6447]

Snow White and Prince Florian should have being the leaders of al auradon, not only they were the first but they have more reason to hate villains, snow white got killed, prince florian lost the woman he loved just because King Magnifico declared that she was a little bit prettier than Queen Grimhilde While King "beast" and Queen Belle be the place where is auradon school place, and in his kingdom, due to him being basically curse to be a beast and almost died, magic is forbidden or tabboo, although yeah, it would be weird considering the fairy godmother, a magical being, is there, but it would have make more sense than Cinderella, Aurora and Aladdin agreing to make magic tabboo

[@michaelinthebathroom7560]

Are you saying the magic mirror is the King from Wish? /genq

[@cesar6447]

well not canonically but in Wish the king magnifico gets trapped in a mirror as a reference to the evil queen's magic mirror@@michaelinthebathroom7560

[@eatectoplasm]

@@michaelinthebathroom7560it’s a big theory. they DID say the film is deeply tied in with other films

[@adrianmcbride1666]

They may have thought that too close to Ever After High and OUaT where the main Hero families are Snow White's family (with the Evil Queen being the greatest or near greatest evil in both).

[@Ladywizard]

@@michaelinthebathroom7560 yes that was the retcon Wish made

[@sydneyhudson4806]

One thing I love is that the Latin root word mal means “bad” or “evil” and ben (bene-, beni-) means “good” or “well” Also your eyeshadow is absolutely gorgeous!!

[@alexeywlomaxw6643]

yesssssss

[@Amethyst.i]

My honest opinion I hate Ben. He falls in love with another girl and chases after her while still having a girl friend publicly humiliating her and then she’s made to be the bad guy for being upset about it. Then Ben goes on to treat Mal like trash in the second movie after he finds out she can’t cook good and uses magic?? Even though all she did was try her best for him, learning new things and changing her habits to cater to him and he’s such a jerk about it. He’s such a red flag

[@shayla106]

I love how you put Moore that he only humiliated Audrey because of the live spell. While he was falling for Mal before he didn’t cross any lines until the love potion.

[@swaggydragon]

no cause it’s so crazy how he’s just okay with being love spelled and instead of going for his girlfriend and explaining he just goes with mal cause he thinks “oh well you couldn’t get me on your own so you love spelled me, it’s cute” ??? he isn’t regular nor a good boyfriend

[@corallinelayla3181]

I’ll always hate Mal for drugging him like that. She could’ve just spelled him for a day but no. Literally stole Audrey’s life.

[@adrianmcbride1666]

@@swaggydragon Considering Audrey's personality and the interactions between them, I don't think he was particularly fond of Audrey (She dismisses that he chose not to include his title when introducing himself, acts with hostility to his guests and is a general bully). Ben also seems to mostly take after his mother, who makes it clear that she was not very fond at all of Audrey.

[@Stellamarie_7]

@@corallinelayla3181that’s the point of the first movie is that the VKs are evil. Mal was still evil at the time so of course she would do bad things. And Audrey never loved Ben she wanted to be the queen. It was like an arranged marriage since they were kids.

[@mysticalkeyblade759]

Mal literally roofied ben and was a homewrecker

[@Amethyst.i]

FR and he was a cheater and honestly awful person to Mal in the second movie too. Don’t like either of them

[@juicebox7372]

​@@Amethyst.iHow was he either of those things in the second movie???

[@Amethyst.i]

@@juicebox7372 It might not have been the second movie I don’t remember which but Mal was using magic to cook for him and when he found out he blew up on her expecting her to somehow be perfectly fit for a queen even though she had no experience or training to be one all her life like Audrey had

[@CrystaICupid]

and somehow the only people to point out that she's not a good person (Chad & audrey) are portrayed as evil 😭 Like no, they were quite literally right

[@Felicite-Etoile]

I don't even think Ben loved Audrey to begin with. It was giving... betrothed vibes? And I think Audrey only wanted to be Queen for status. They didn't love each other, not genuinely; and that's how they moved on from each other so quickly. But as for Mal & the roofies? Personally, It was difficult to vibe with the romance in the movie because of that.

[@CDTwitler]

The baking cookies scene is good but it definitely shouldn't have been Lonnie. Why would Mulan, THE HERO OF CHINA, bake anything for one, but also not a traditional Chinese snack????

[@growingupwithdisney]

I didn't even realize that, I guess this is supposed to be America, so they chose cookies cuz thats what we'd be used to

[@CDTwitler]

@@growingupwithdisney wait a minute… United States of Auradon is USA!! It’s been America this whole time!

[@luminethetraveler8822]

In ny opinion it should have been Tiana's daughter or something

[@Al_-cf1dj]

Why couldn't Mulan bake? She's not opposed to embracing her more feminine qualities by the end of the movie. Just because she's a badass doesn't mean she can't make her daughter comfort food. It would be cool if they had used a Chinese food instead but the core four making cookies so the character has to refer to cookies for the conversation to make sense

[@DavidMiller-cu2xq]

It funny enough would be more believable if she said her DAD

[@PersephoneQuill]

Aww man I want this to be canonical....I remember when I saw Descendants 3 the way I thought Mal was going to swallow the ember to reignite it and how disappointed I was when she didn't and it was just the power of the friends we made along the way...ugh keep up doing the lords work sarah

[@SpecialInterestShow]

How would swallowing it reignite it?

[@PersephoneQuill]

my thought process is "dragon have fire on inside. fire hot :D" i never said it was solid thinking hahaha

[@anotherfeat1647]

I understood the dragons have fire inside of them and if her dad is god of the place where the ember comes from she might even have the specific type of fire to reignite it. For me it's how you're little kid self thought she was gonna get it back. I guess it would just be hers forever giving her extra powers.

[@obehiikhigbonoaremen1241]

​@@PersephoneQuill Yeah this would be so cool!

[@vibewithprince2467]

QUESTION: Does every descendants fan just have their own version of the franchise, whether it's in their head, written, or drawn? With their own rules, character development, relationships, and world building? Because we all saw the amazing potential of the premise, but recognized that the execution is terrible? I genuinely thought I was the only one who did this, but based on this video and the comments, it's a common thing among fans!

[@eerielakeerie]

yeah basically! a solid portion of the fanfiction on ao3 is just people fixing canon

[@imaperson610]

Mal x Evie That’s just how it should be.

[@MichaelProdz]

I read somewhere that Descendants was in production as a collaboration with Mattel as a doll line in 2012. The original concept designs have the mattel stamp I believe. Not sure what caused the separation but at some point Disney decided to scrap it, and move forward with the films. Mattel had already invested so much time and effort into prototypes that they molded what things they had created into Ever After High. While Disney went with Hasbro for the production of their Descendants dolls. So I guess technically nobody copied anybody, they are both born from two halves of one project.

[@sunsittersinc.8173]

I always think it’s so funny that Harry from descendants was both me and my sister’s gay awakening. Me realising i liked men and my sister realising that men are just ‘not it and women are fine af’ (to put in in her words)

[@imaperson610]

Harry looks gay af Ngl… AND HOOK!! In the 4th movie hook looks so gay.

[@KaylaAbney926]

Omggg😭😭thats the best gay awakening story like everrr

[@alyssanielsen8521]

I gotta say, I think it is really admirable that Ben wanted to bring kids over from the Isle. Like most people around him support the Isle and are very prejudiced towards them, so it was something that was very controversial and was probably not discussed in a negative light.

[@natalieg9853]

The excitement every time you say “in MY version”

[@thatrantinggirl7376]

Ok I’ve been thinking with the whole idea of only bringing back kids, surely some of the villains had kids who are now adults? If Mal had never decided to bring down the barrier for good, all those people would’ve been imprisoned for life

[@brandiarmstrong2902]

33:00 In your version, since even magically-inclined Mal has to practice her magic to get it right, it could be because Jane, who isn't automatically able to use magic (without a conduit like the wand) hasn't had any real experience thereof, and this has unintended consequences when, in her emotional, heavily manipulated state, she inadvertently channels the magic within the wand not just on herself, but outward towards the home of the girl who tried to make her feel beautiful (Evie).

[@pidgeonpatrol861]

My pitch for the fundamental world building is to just scrap the idea of this being a natural world, just say that like when fairytales end your world ends up either getting mushed into the larger Happily Ever After continental mash but if your a villain you just get tossed into The End or something. Why are the villains not dead? It’s just how The End works. It’s ironic because their story doesn’t really get to end, whatever. It’s not that important. (Also like, please just scrap the whole “oh Mel is half-human” subplot. She’s just a magic homunculus or whatever. Don’t worry about it.)

[@TheCottonCandyQueen]

As a magical Homunculi, would she just look Absolutley non human? Asking for design reasons

[@pidgeonpatrol861]

@@TheCottonCandyQueen I mean there’s no reason for her to look human or inhuman. I think it would have been nice if she was green but Disney has scrubbed green Maleficent from the record.

[@pinkbuninja6536]

Mal isn’t human at all though if she’s the daughter of a fairy and a god

[@artlly_]

6:47 It could be that Hades (from Hercules, God of the Underworld) made a deal with King Beast that if he brought the other villains back to life then he would be pardoned from his crimes or something but was double crossed which I think ties his rage at 1:00:03 in nicely

[@ArcaneMelody107]

Barely into it, but the lip smack then "forcefield" has me wheeze laughing. She read the writers to filth in barely a few sentences and I'm here for it

[@mirandabee2323]

"I can't imagine what his campaign was like." I personally imagine it went something like, "Make Auradon Great Again! We're gonna build a prison island, a beautiful prison island, and we're gonna make the villains pay for it!" Am I the only one who couldn't immediately tell Ben was instantly into Mal because I thought he was just that kind of guy who's nice to everyone, and he probably wants to be extra nice to the new kids? Legit I thought he was like Jane Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. Then again, I saw Mal decked out in purple and green, and heard her saying things like "boyfriends are a waste of time," and desperately wanted aroace Mal. Me, in the middle of your D1 rewrite: Are you gonna let Dude speak in the later movies? Please don't let Dude speak in the later movies. Or at least take away his ability to speak. Evie having her Cady Heron arc, lol. I love how you've handled how Ben goes from Audrey to Mal! I need to go AFK so I'll leave this comment as is. If I want to respond to later points in the video, I'll write another comment for that.

[@error_phobianotfound]

Ben always getting spelled by Mal reminds me of this one meme photo of a guy laying on top of a pentagram and a beautiful witch lady that’s his girlfriend that he lets experiment on him 😭

[@genesisofthebetween]

The funniest thing about that meme is that the original photo was from fucking Child’s Play

[@error_phobianotfound]

@@genesisofthebetween IT IS?? That’s hilarious wow

[@genesisofthebetween]

@@error_phobianotfound yeah I’m pretty sure it’s an exorcism lmao

[@TheHiddenDirector]

I feel like the parents in the third one being good parents wasn't really backtracking. I think it was more showing that not everyone from 'bad' places have bad parents. Some people can be bad people but good parents. Hell, some of them seemed to have turned their lives around, like Dr. Facilier. And Smee was arguably barely a villain (minion or not) in the first place. For Dizzy it kind of made sense. She's an extremely kind, bubbly child. If she was older I could believe she became that all on her own. But we constantly see what the Isle of the Lost does to kids and their perceptions on life. In order for them to believe its *worth* being a good person, they have to be shown that kindness in the first place. Especially at her age, as she's very young. So it makes sense that she'd have actual love in her life.

[@Ladywizard]

Not to mention even in Cinderella her ACTUAL daughters she was strict but loving and the red headed stepsister in Cinderella 2 and 3 was able to fall in love with a baker and get redeemed and I think Dizzy's HER kid

[@nanalove3819]

​@@LadywizardConsidering her name Dizzy is more likely the child of Drizella, the sister who doesn't get the redemption arc

[@CamTheGalaxy]

I agree. I like how not all of the VKs are victims of parental abuse, and I think that fact could be something really interesting for the core four to face. Because it’s one thing to learn about heroes being good and kind to their children, but knowing that their peers on the Isle aren’t even all treated like dirt by their parents would be something they would have to grapple with. Maybe leading to self doubt and questioning if they should give their parents a second chance and if they even want to open that door as they enter adulthood and feel happy and stable with their lives, which would honestly lend itself well to the third movie’s Attempt at a second chances theme. But a subject like that is just not clean cut enough for a DCOM

[@lakegroce685]

Once Upon a Time walked so Descendants could stumble around but still managed to make it to the other side of the room.

[@butterflytaster5553]

i need to go digging in my bookmarks for the descendants fanfic i used to read which explored the consequences of being born and raised on Prison Island(TM). there's just this scene that stuck with me where the core four was so used to scrounging for auradon's scraps to clothe and feed themselves, that when they made it to the cafeteria they didn't know they were allowed to just take as much food as they needed.

[@charlottechapin5953]

If you find it, please give me a link.

[@imaperson610]

Yes pls if you find it give a link pls

[@laroux0820]

Thank you for talking about Cameron. I have epilepsy too, and have almost died because of it. Raising awareness of SUDEP is so so important.

[@jovic_sawyer]

I also think a lot in Descendants lol, i even create my own version called "My Folktale Society" to try make a more believable worldbuilding, cause this franchise is so crazy! The dead villains coming back, the silly storyline, the blend characters... And the future fourth movie will be even more confusing, with Maleficent and Hades and Ursula's sister (not Morgana but Ullyana lol) going to school at same time.

[@jazzishuman]

I have this world that I am building almost entirely in my head that is based on these movies because it's so... Vibrant, yet bland of a series, haha My brother absolutely loves these movies though, and he wanted Evie and Mal together, which is the most iconic thing about these movies for me

[@jovic_sawyer]

@@jazzishuman yess?!! Tbh i don't see that much chemistry in Mal and Ben relationship, I feel she and Evie or even Harry makes more sense, Idk. And it is fun to know more people do this worldbuilding exercise, each person had such creative and interesting different ideas! In my version, for example, Mal is called Emerald and Audrey is called Blodeuwedd and they both become friends after meeting each other in the center of the barrier (Which is in a forest of thorns in my version).

[@jazzishuman]

@@jovic_sawyer (this became quite long and it's a little bloody, so I am sorry for the essay comment, lol.) that's so cool! I really like the idea of the thorn forest being the inbetween! And Mal and Ben always felt like the secretly bi guy who can't gather the courage to invite his actual crush on a date, so settled for the Punk girl, lol. Another take my brother used to have (don't know if he still has it) is that Carlos and Ben or Evie and Ben should have been a thing. The Carlos and Ben is based only on the scene in the first movie where Ben helps Carlos with his fear of dogs, lol. Me and my brother both thought that was really cute, but I didn't really see it as romantic. (this is the long bit) Warnings for; blood and violence, conspiracy and a very brief and none descriptive moment of nudity. I don't know how old you are, so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't exposing you to something you might find uncomfortable :) In my version, it's different kids who gets to leave the island and they aren't only Disney versions. There is still an island, but it's over the entrance to Hades, so any dead character was released by Hades on the command of Zeus (or another god, but Zeus makes the most sense) so that the gods may have loyal subjects. They stil can't do magic, because that's the deal that the gods made with the people of the main land; we (the gods) gets to have worshippers and you (the people) don't have to worship us. This is a minor background/world building detail, lol. The kids who are selected are 7 (for the Magic Number 7 in fairytales, which is something I grew I with :D) ; The son of Maleficent, called Alez (he isn't Mal, obviously), 15 The daughter of the evil stepsister (I choose to stick with Giselle) Gabby, 18 The son of Jafar, Jay (I like that name), 16 The daughter of Gaston, Asta, 17 The son of Cruella, Carlos (partly because I want to incorporate him and partly to honor Cameron in a small way), 16 The daughter of Smitte (Captain Hook's dude) Sammy, 15 And finally, one who isn't quick firm in their placement, the daughter of the evil queen, Evie. I just don't really know if she fits the storyline. If she gets to stay, she'll be 16. Basically, these seven "win" a lottery for who the main land will "rescue", with the drawer being Summer, the son of Aurora, who is in a wheelchair (currently a major plot point). Summer is a very quiet, polite guy, so he wants the "villain kids" to come to the main land and has been petitioning for it for years. Summer is 17 in the story and has been petitioning for the "rescue" since he was 14. His mother is currently "too tired" to properly rule the kingdom (the kingdoms aren't united, just allied with each other and each kingdom gets an isle kid), so his father is doing it in her stead. Aurora and Philip (who is just called Phil at the moment, because my other little brother is called Philip and that's just confusing) aren't exactly in love with each other. Summer ends up getting Gabby, who is truly "wild". She growls and groans a lot, rarely speaks and Summer thinks she is absolutely terrific. He takes a shine to her real quick after she completely accepts his wheelchair, because she has seen them before. When the villain kids are first rounded up, Gabby fights tooth and nail to stay on the island, even going as far as breaking a guard's nose, but her hands are bound and she is brought along, more a prisoner than a saved victim. And the story unfolds from there, with Gabby and the others keeping in contact with each other while being in "no man's land", which is a central area where all the royal kids from the difference kingdoms all go to school together. Most of the royal kids treat the isle kids like interesting zoo animals, because it's their first time seeing a "villain". Aubrey is also in this story, but she is Summer's older sister. (this is one of the few staple scenes) Gabby meets Summer while in gym class (they are playing football or tourney or soemthing else, I just know there is a ball and teams involved), because Gabby is "too violent" to play nice and the school can't accommodate a wheelchair bound student. Gabby just walks up to Summer, who is sitting on the ground, sits next to him and begins to fidget. She asks why he is sitting there instead of playing and Sumemr says that he physically can't. Gabby leans in and listens to his chest, grunts and says, "your organs sound healthy?" Summer doesn't know how to react to that. Gabby pokes Summer's leg and it spasms a bit (a friend of mine is in a wheelchair and that's something they experience on occasion). Gabby asks if its the legs that aren't working. Summer sheepish admits that it's the legs. Gabby shrugs and sits back again, fidgets a bit and then asks if Summer wants to take a stroll. Summer reminds Gabby that he can't walk for very long and Gabby asks if "you people are so stupid you don't have wheelchairs?" Summer laughs and points out his wheelchair, which is a little ways away. Gabby grabs it and pulls its closer, before asking if Summer needs a hand. Summer tries to stand, but his legs can't carry him, so Gabby just grabs him and helps him stand. Sumemr gets in his wheelchair and asks Gabby to get the straps on his feet and she tries, but she don't understand velcro, so Sumemr shows her. Gabby looks at the wheelchair and Summer begins to drive it, making Gabby jump, her eyes lighting up because she says with wonder, "you can move it yourself?" "Yeah," Summer replies, a little confused, "it'd be silly if I couldn't get myself around." "Back home, most can't get themselves very far without help," Gabby explains. They take a stroll together. That's basically it for scenes pre-takeover. The idea is that the kids chosen weren't actually random and someone in the kingdoms are plotting to free all the villains using magical ignorance and the reputation of the villains to win favor for themselves and declare themselves, in the words of this video, "super king". No idea who it is currently, just that Phil is a red herring. This actually comes to fruition, but a major step is to kidnap all the princes and princesses to keep as hostages, but Gabby is friends with Summer at that point and sneaks into his room and steals him away in the night. This leads to Gabby taking Summer's wheelchair and them running away to hide. On the way, Gabby runs into one of her allies (either Asta or Jay, at current moment). Throughout the story, I'll need to set up that Gabby is quite violent and that ✨something is going on✨ with her and that culminates in a scene of Gabby forcing her ally onto the ground after said ally points out that Gabby isn't following the plan. Gabby attacks this ally and wounds them quite heavily, before Summer can stop her. Summer stops, her hands shaking and her fingers and hands covered in blood, before she warns the ally that "next time, I won't just go for the legs" Summer and Gabby begin to walk again, seeking a safe place to hide. Gabby stops walking and begins sniffing her blood covered hands and Summer turns his head, seeing her shake as she licking her hands and he insist they need to clean the blood off. Gabby absentmindedly nods, before she begins to walk again, her steps slow and stilted. They make it to a cottage in the forest that appears to be presently and recently vacated and Summer insists that Gabby cleans her hands. Gbby goes into the bathroom and begins furiously scrubbing her hands, until she notices something on her wrist. She looks into the mirror, undresses and see that scales are slowly growing over her body, from her solar plexus (roughly in the middle of the chest),where her hip bones are, her wrists and her ankle joints. She doesn't know what they are, but they shimmer as she moves and she looks into her own eyes to see them slowly yellowing. She looks at the bathroom door, locks it and throws herself out of the window. She lands on crawled hands and feet (she walks on her hands and feet quite a lot) and she let's out a wail that turns into a roar as she fully transforms. At current moment, she'll turn into a dragon and Summer will become a Prince in a cottage in the same way a princess is in a tower. That's as far as I have planned it, haha

[@jovic_sawyer]

@@jazzishuman that's impressive! The ideas are very interesting and the gods concept is very smart!

[@jazzishuman]

@@jovic_sawyer thank you! Sorry to ramble on for that long, it was quite late and it was the first time I put it all into writing, haha

[@lurking5018]

Please never stop making videos like this, I love listening while I do my work! If anyone knows channels similar to this please lmk!

[@josf9616]

Jenny Nicholson has long videos and similar humor / script doctoring!

[@alyssanielsen8521]

Caitlin McKillop has a similar content area and video style. She does Disney Channel content, Barbie, Tella Novellas from Disney. I really enjoy her content! Another channel I love that does video essays is Ashley Norton. She doesn't cover most of the same content, but her videos are fun! She chooses a lot of various topics, from the Nancy Drew computer games, Peter Pan Tumblr, Bama Rush, the Bachelorette, all over the place, so there is likely to be something that you would like! There are a couple similar content creators, I will have to try and find them.

[@amphibiously]

Alizee does hours+ long book break downs, and I also like Deborah the Explorer, Friendly Space Ninja, Haley Whipjack, Lulaloopsey, Mr. Nostalgia, Nikki Carreon, Princess Weekes, Quinton Reviews, Sarah Z, Strange Aeons, and Cainvarner. They all do media breakdowns or analysis and many of theirs vids are hours+ long which i loooove!

[@alyssanielsen8521]

@@amphibiously I love Friendly Space Ninja and Mr. Nostalgia! I'll have to check out those other channels! If you like Mr. Nostalgia and haven't already checked out their channels, I think you would like Keyan Carlile and Jordan Fringe!

[@imaperson610]

The KZbinr Sapp0sfriend13 made a 3 hr long descendant vid that’s amazing

[@ArgosSees]

I like the 'some people can do math, but anyone can use a calculator' metaphor. It implies magic is a skill that can be honed, and some people can control it easier than others. Nicely done :D

[@everylead]

"Baby's first video", it might be but OMG was it a really good vid in general. That was the one that led me to watch your other vids

[@fawnlowell6094]

surprisingly, the descendants musical adaptation fixes a lot of the pacing and character awkwardness. my friend was in charge of lighting for a recent production at his campus which made me curious enough to look into it and the changes are all really good- for one thing, carlos and jay get a song for their subplot and actual character involvement, then since its just the plot of the first movie but they wanted to include some songs from the second and third they reorder things and shuffle around in an interesting way that makes Ben a way more active character. like, he gets to be rightfully upset about being roofied and shares "if only" as a duet because he actually needs time to consider if he can trust the core four and if he can still fall in love with mal post roofie. then at the end he makes the declaration to open the border which erases the idiocy of him just,,, forgetting to do that in movie 2. also "ways to be wicked" is like, a mob song for audrey and chad which i think is a great decision since the song didnt have any plot relevance in the second other than establishing a vibe and its used here to demonstrate the tension rising between the core four and Auradon kids. would highly recommend if you enjoy the music but the plot is. so much

[@brandiarmstrong2902]

54:52 the third film's setup almost feels like the 4 new kids were each sponsored by one of the core four graduates, since they've graduated from Aurodon High at this point, proving that VKs can be "rehabilitated" (gah... I hate calling it that).

[@fawnlowell6094]

1:13:25 "but they found me :)" is so funny sdfghjh I think Chad is one of the funniest characters and putting him in the B group for the third movie is a great idea purely because he's comedy gold and I like the idea of everyone looking for Audrey and being all solemn and serious and then they cut to chad whos cheerfully humming a little diddy because hes just happy to be part of the plot and he cannot read a room for the life of him

[@quistwing]

"and i cut those jokes out because it made me feel like cinemasins" words to live by

[@Mikkashiki]

You mentioning the Tinkerbell franchise has me so excited for your commentary on the Disneytoon film series. I have been SO into fairies (Disney’s and in general folklore) for the longest time too, and I loved hearing your thoughts on the Tinkerbell books in that video. You have such a lovely voice to listen to while I work ^.^

[@drachenkatara9479]

as a storyteller. the island thing could be so simple. Imagine the normal way to deal with villains, would be to kill or banish them. what happens in the Disney movies. and one day the remaining villains get together and resurrect the dead to take revenge. The heroes panic and don't know what to do. Only the beast keeps a clear head. He unites the kingdoms and gathers all those gifted with magic together, to banish the villains to an island. To prevent them from escaping, he cuts them off from Magi with a Barrier. (The fact that the internet doesn't work there could be an unintended side effect of the barrier) Of course you can't banish everyone at the same time. A big war breaks out and only one by one, the villains arrested on the island. When it's finally done. Everyone is so excited about the beast's competence, that they make him king above all and ask him to unite and protect the kingdoms. Now the beast has to decide what to do with the villains on the island, in the long term. But the villains who were imprisoned there at the beginning of the war, already have children and he now feels bad to execute the parents. Even if he built a real prison, he wouldn't put the children in there. But no one wants to take care of the bad children either. Since he can't find a solution, he decides to just leave it as it is. at least they are at peace now. Tata, a plausible and logical history. I sometimes wonder if Disney even tried to come up with a good reason.

[@sydneyrose7168]

When I was a kid, me and my sister used to love descendants. I used to tell her stories about random characters I had made up interacting with the children of the core four. I have only realized recently that I had literally invented verbal fanfiction at like 8.

[@dragonfly._.doodles]

5:29 well placed watermelon

[@growingupwithdisney]

it drew my attention lol, a nice visual

[@theweirdochannel8735]

The slowly fading in watermelon… 🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

[@aeronprosek7963]

Here is the thing, for me. Mal's continuous shittiness is deeply obnoxious, yes, so a lot of your changes to the second and third movie I agree with. However, I WANT her to be a terrible person in the first one. She just gets egg on her face for it. So she uses the love spell, heals the love spell, and Ben doesn't know how to feel. He was unhappy with Audrey before and they connected well, but then she had to go and roofie him so he just doesn't trust her. Crucially, she doesn't DO anything with the love spell. Ben calling her his girlfriend gets her into the advantageous position she needs for the plan; there's no need to kiss him or hug him or anything else, and when she has to go on the date for appearances she's pretty avoidant about it all. I like that song there and listen to it occasionally but in context it's just awful. Just let the girl yearn for affection and support and a world where dating a cute boy she likes doesn't involve magical 4D chess (it is not nearly that complicated and I know it isn't, but I like to be funny, even at the cost of coherence). Just put off the resolution for them until the third movie and have Ben asking Mal out publicly be what pushes Audrey over the edge, since she's been spending a while trying to get Ben's attention and he's been very politely brushing her off.

[@obehiikhigbonoaremen1241]

Right? I like Mal being flawed! I just disliked that her nastiness in the books, the depth of her cruelty is ignored in the movies despite claiming to show her "bad side" the movies version is " bored slightly edgey hot girl who is fluent in sarcasm" instead of the ruthlessness she showed in the books!😂😂😂😂😂

[@naaaiya]

I absolutely loved your added dialogue it fr adds another level of authenticity

[@obehiikhigbonoaremen1241]

Right?

[@Valentineatelier]

What I always found strange about descendants is that every single villain settled down and opened a small business on the isle. Especially the ones who were former royalty or plotted to be royalty. WHAT would trigger lady Tremaine to open a hair salon😭 Ursula I can understand because she was always an entrepreneur, even Jafar since being deceitful and taking from others is in his nature but the others???

[@justyouraverageevilwitchof8222]

Hades had a souvlaki shop, okay? Being Greek myself, I'm still not over it... (For anyone who doesn't know, souvlaki is a greek food, usually either meat on a stick or shredded meat ,wrapped up in a bread-dough thing and paired with other things like sauces, fries, onions etc. It is sort of a fast food item, but not really).

[@april1642]

i loved the first descendants video u put out n it was the reason i find ur channel n subbed!! so excited to see that you have made another:)

[@josf9616]

Same!!

[@paganofthegoodtimes]

genuinely thank you for posting this. i was anticipating this all week, and my week wasn’t great. definitely made my day.

[@colorsaremyfrends]

this is the over thinking of disney media that i adore

[@coreynmarie]

this was amazingg. (kenny ortega should’ve hired you lmao) and thank youuu for the ending talking point. i’ve been saying descendants was inspired by monster high and once upon a time instead of eah. it’s annoying whenever it’s brought up

[@sorcerersapprentice]

How I would handle this...? - I would make all of the villains still living and were trapped on the isle as an effort to keep their kingdoms safe. Then, years later, they all vote on allowing their kids off the isle. Characters like Anna, Rapunzel & Eugene, Snow White and Aladdin & Jasmine vote to in favour of it, because they don't want to punish the children, who did nothing wrong. That's how the plot kick starts. (That way the plot is more straightforward and everyone is in character) - No Hades on the isle - This is will take place in olden times instead of modern, so characters like Carlos wouldn't be born yet. - No United States of Auradon. All of their kingdoms still exist. - I would make Jay the son of Aladdin and Jasmine who was kidnapped as a baby to punish them for forcing him to come to the isle. (Jay never came off as Jafar's kid to me. If anything, Jamil Viper from Twisted Wonderland is what I imagine a son of Jafar to act like, not him.) - I won't make Ben/Mal endgame. Instead after Mal does the cookie thing, he's angry at her and doesn't want to speak to her again. Mal would remain single or end up with Uma. - The wand is locked away in a vault in Adam's castle, not in a museum.

[@DISC0UNTM0SS]

I haven’t even finished the video yet but I have so much respect for you speaking out abt what’s happening right now like holy shit too many voices r staying silent and too many atrocities are happening all around the world rn

[@jenfirelight]

You do realize one of Mel's emotional conflicts in the first movie is the fact that she loved Potioned Ben.

[@Pinkbunnyrose2323]

I always thought Merlin from the sword in the stone would have made a better head master

[@Robins_art_bin]

To explain the thing with maleficent’s scepter and why it isn’t locked up. There’s a curse she put on it so that anyone who touches her scepter will fall asleep for 1000 yrs. But I think the only reason it worked for Audrey is because the scepter chose her to use its power.

[@dragonfly._.doodles]

I remember loving this series as a kid, but a rewriting video essay hasn’t failed me yet on this website so I’m excited for your take!

[@captainshadowfox]

I’m gonna be SUPER honest, that truth cookie twwist of the song aftermath had me gasping wwith my hand over my Mouth like omggggg, the dramaaaaaa

[@elfi643]

56:20 oftentimes people get married because it’s symbolic of the next step in a relationship.

[@violetlavi2207]

your truth potion fix is also better because it comes AFTER Ben and Mal have already gone on a date. It's not the basis for their relationship the way the love potion is in canon

[@mrpeeber]

As someone who has literally watched descendants every night of my life these are the questions I legit used to lie awake at night as a kid thinking about 😭 so glad this video exists

[@michaelinthebathroom7560]

I love the whole magic thing because Mal is half dark fae and it really feels like she has to use her magic to live. I've always headcanoned that the reason she was having that thing in D2 with her eyes glowing when she got emotional was because she wasn't using her magic enough.

[@obehiikhigbonoaremen1241]

True!

[@Cherrycherrytheythem]

"I dont like any genre of man" same

[@jackt4048]

Its so funny that u think of descendants everyday lol

[@growingupwithdisney]

1:07:59 I agree, Uma looked GREAT! I wish her hair was more like this for the Descendants: Rise of Red movie, but they showed her with basically the same hair as D2 (which still looked good tho)

[@mikoevelynn111]

30:29 the way i GASPED when you said this like KSFLJKDSFLJ THAT'D ACTUALLY BE SO CUTE DSJKLSDKL

[@SuperJJx]

Having magic gone haywire is a good way to have the Villains back and make the Auradanians scared of magic. I would make it so that the children pledge their magic to keep the barrier in place when they turn 18 or graduate. They only learn enough to do the pledge, and using it for anything other than that is forbidden. I'm fine with the Core four being immature and stunted due to their environment. I don't hate the love potion, but I agree that it needs to be a bad thing to do and Ben should absolutely not just go with it after it's lifted!! Maybe they plan to use the love potion but don't end up using it? Maybe the Auradanian students are so convinced they would do something like that and the Core four just play along while they make their own plans.

[@thatsprettyshadys]

loved the changes but can i suggest lesbian evie in the rewrites like her thinking she need a man in the first movie just to realize she dont want a man (yes im a lesbian who likes to turn characters i like into lesbians too what about it)

[@tuntalia]

I couldve watched the antics of uma and harry for like 2 hours Disney slept on the origin story movie tbh. Guess we gotta do it ourselves

[@Donnetellotheturtle.]

I was always confused to why hades was there. Like, the guy has a job to do! Are pain and panic taking care of the underworld?

[@imaperson610]

In Greek mythology pain and panic aren’t real and stuff that’s just a Disney thing so I assume Cerberus is doing it or something ig

[@joshxx2000]

The world-building is like a weird Europe fanfic. Like you create a United Europe in the Middle Ages and then send all criminals to Australia. Its just weird that originally this fairytales all take place in Europe, besides Aladin (that is a mess in itself)

[@mightymorphinmatt420]

Another thing to add is Once Upon a TIme and Grimm I'm pretty sure were originally supposed to be an adaptation of the comic book Fables, which is the same concept. Fairy Tale characters interact in modern day after being chases away from their original land. The game "A Wolf Among Us" is adapted from these comics and its great.

[@izzyqueen5280]

the feeling like cinnimasins is so valid

[@sillygoofy1893]

these movies were a fever dream and i loved your first video on them!

[@biancafairytale]

I loved this, I feel like you’re my bestie ranting on her passionate ideas okay

[@magicpenguin118]

this is truly a genius pitch,, imo ofc. the love spell stuff was really noncon territory, and i never thought about it that way, but you're so right about the mal and jane bullying thing. kids wouldn't be able to subtly perceive the big idea, just things at face value: thinking it is okay to make someone feel bad about themselves and their looks. tbh i was surprised you didn't mention anything with evie dancing with doug's unconscious body in "one kiss." the fact they made Cruella 4busive Abus!v3 is something everyone should be aware of wtf, i didn't know that. i don't think i'll ever be able to get your "what if..." version of the franchise out of my head. you not only got rid of / address problematic stuff, but you genuinely made better and cohesive ideas, like having things in d3 tie back to references in d1 btw i couldn't stop staring at your eyeshadow. my gaze was bouncing between that, how your lip thing was so glossy (i have personal issues with lip gloss okay????), and your dolls

[@skrrskrr5386]

I saw the trailer for descendants 4 literally today, then this video drops😂 can't wait to spend over an hour watching this video because I really enjoyed your first❤

[@haleyhersh3850]

wAIT WHAT?!

[@demetriam2408]

I can't believe that they're breaking the threequel rule

[@sophiatalksmusic3588]

With the whole thing with Mal and Jane, it always bothered me how it didn't just stop at her haircut (which was already fine, by the way); Mal also had to point out that her face shape or whatever was unattractive. A haircut is one thing; that's something people can easily change. But saying someone's face shape needs to be changed? Not only is that sending a bad message to child audiences, I can't imagine it did any favors to Jane's actress, either. I don't know anything about her, so I don't know if this was actually an issue, but there are plenty of stories out there of young Disney Channel actors developing body image issues due to the high standards of the network. It's bad enough that those young people face all that pressure behind the scenes, but writing into the script that a character's (and by extension, the actor's) face needs to be "fixed" is disgusting.

[@SkyeID]

I like Sarah's versions of the Descendents movies. I would add Gil and Harry being a couple, as well as Jay and Carlos.

[@KitCatIsNotACat]

I think I like your version of descendants a lot more than the original (except for some minor things I want to keep).

[@MsSingingV]

I agree on your point about Mal using magic to spell Ben in the second movie and that being bad but I actually think in the first movie it makes a lot of sense for her character to put a love spell on Ben. She grew up in the isle and was raised by Malificent, it makes a lot of sense for her to lack those morals of manipulation and mind control. And the ending with her wanting to give Ben a reversal spell cookie shows her character growth and her morals becoming better. If she never spelled him in the first place it wouldn’t feel very realistic as someone named the worst villain kid on the isle. She should be nasty and manipulative and depend on magic because that’s all she knows from her mom. It’s only after she gets a lot of exposure from Auradon that she should grow out of that and have those morals.

[@whiteelephantproductions8104]

I love how shes calling her fix-it fic a pitch

[@sarah_serif]

🤫😉

[@eerielakeerie]

i feel like you’d either really enjoy or really hate the descendants ao3 tag because a lot of the fics over there exist soley to fix stupid plot holes or make the weird lore make sense

[@randomhaylee__eelyah4657]

I cannot lie, this is a wonderful piece of media. I’ve always wanted someone to redo the descendants movie and I like how you handled it. This video makes me want to read the books.

[@SlimeMcfly]

12:45 But I think that makes sense for her as someone raised on the Isle. Her actions are motivated by self-preservation. You would think Ben would get the VK’s counseling.

[@soap_soap]

This video is a blessing. We with selective attention spans thank you.

[@Alexa-xl1gi]

“Starting over sounds like a poor use of your time.” I don’t know why but that is so funny to me. Like how to say “i’m begging you, don’t do it” in the most formal way possible.

[@IlovePonys54]

I am loving this video so far, thank you for making videos I am interested in. You are so fun to watch love it!

[@quistwing]

my question for the "no evil magic possible" thing would be, how to distinguish evil and non-evil? though maybe there is a clear distinction between good and evil magic in the disney-universe anyway lmao

[@SoupwithSeafood]

oh my god I literally rewatched the OG video LAST NIGHT I am *prepared*

[@princessdollgf]

I honestly don’t blame them for imprisoning all villains. Why? Because the first thing they wanted when their children were granted a chance at a better life was seek to take over the world. They are one-track-minded on EVIL. They wanted their kids to be villains, to blossom into their image and be a “mini me” instead of live a nice life and fulfill their own fairytale dreams.

[@elise2920]

proud watcher of the first descendants video here 😌🤚

[@RukaKikuchi]

Even with its flaws and my gripes with the third movie, I'm always gonna have a soft spot for Descendants! I was in high school when it came out, and I remember how excited I was reading the first book in between classes, making my own clay charm version of Evie's necklace in art class, and cosplaying Evie for a Halloween dance and singing her version of Rotten to the Core (yeah I love Evie, did I mention that? 🙈😊) Heck, even now looking back on it, I've thought of my own rewrite ideas on how I would've done things differently. Regardless, I've always been a sucker for fairytale reimaginings and crossovers, and I still love a lot of Descendants' characters and their arcs, imperfect as they may be.

[@risa4173]

im obsessed with ur eyeshadow and am choosing to believe it was inspired by bibble from barbie fairytopia

[@user-vt1er6gr3t]

I'm glad you didn't scrap the old video I thought it was great and that's how I found you!!

[@call-me-pigeon]

New sarahserif video, come get yall food!