Descendants (franchise)`

Descendants is an American media franchise centered on a series of Disney Channel musical fantasy films directed by Kenny Ortega and created by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott.

The franchise's world is placed in a universe that serves as a continuation after the Disney Animated Classics series. Starring Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Sofia Carson and Booboo Stewart, each film chronicles the lives of the teenage children of four Disney-villains on the Isle of the Lost, and their move to Auradon at the request of the teenage son of Queen Belle and King Beast. The first film was released as a Disney Channel Original Movie in July 2015. Following its success, a sequel was put into production and premiered across six Disney-owned networks in July 2017. In August 2019, the third film premiered on Disney Channel. Each film was accompanied by original music, and film soundtrack; the first soundtrack peaked at number one in the United States, while the second soundtrack peaked at number six, and the third peaked at number seven.

Descendants (2015)

 * Main article: Descendants (2015 film)

Descendants premiered on July 31, 2015 on Disney Channel, and received immediate commercial success. Prior to its premiere, it was viewed more than one million times on the Disney Now app. On its premiere night, the film received 6.6 million viewers, becoming the most-watched broadcast on the network of 2015, and the highest-rated broadcast on the network since 2013. The film later went onto become the fifth most-watched original movie on cable television. The film's soundtrack debuted atop of the US Billboard 200, becoming the first Disney Channel original movie to do so since High School Musical 2 achieved the same feat in 2007.

In the United States of Auradon, Belle and Beast rule as king and queen, twenty years after they married, united the settings of many Disney animated films, and banished all villains to the Isle of the Lost, a slum surrounded by a magic-suppressing barrier. Beast plans to abdicate in favor of his and Belle's son, Ben, who announces a program to invite four children from the Isle of the Lost to live in Auradon, away from the influence of their villainous parents: Carlos, son of Cruella de Vil; Jay, son of Jafar; Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen; and their gang's leader Mal, daughter of Maleficent. Maleficent orders them to steal the Fairy Godmother's magic wand and deactivate the barrier, so Maleficent can conquer Auradon. But the four find themselves fitting in and enjoying a normal childhood, and Mal begins a relationship with Ben, supplanting Audrey, daughter of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip. When the barrier is inadvertently dispelled, Maleficent attacks Ben's coronation and transforms into a dragon. With Ben encouraging her to make her own choice, Mal decides to be good. She and her friends rebuke Maleficent, turning her into a small lizard, from which state she can recover if she fills her heart with love. The people of Auradon celebrate.

Descendants 2 (2017)

 * Main article: Descendants 2

Descendants 2 was announced on August 15, 2015, at the D23 Expo. The film premiered on July 21, 2017, and was simulcast on six channels: ABC, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Freeform, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movies. The movie was watched by 5.3 million viewers on Disney Channel and 8.9 million through all six networks.

Mal struggles with her new celebrity life as King Ben's girlfriend, secretly using magic to maintain a lifestyle she feels is a façade. Mal decides she does not belong in Auradon; she returns to the Isle, where gang leadership has fallen to her old rival, pirate captain Uma (Ursula's daughter), and her first and second mates, respectively, Harry (Captain Hook's son) and Gil (Gaston's son). Evie, Jay, and Carlos agree to help Ben find her, but Mal rejects Ben, believing it best for him and Auradon. Uma captures Ben and demands the Fairy Godmother's wand in exchange for his life. Uma resents not being chosen to live in Auradon; Ben respects her as a leader and invites her to Auradon, but she vows to make her own way there instead. Using a 3D-printed decoy wand, Mal's group rescues Ben. At the shipboard Royal Cotillion, Uma appears as Ben's date and he announces he will destroy the barrier; Mal realizes Uma has cast a spell on Ben. When Mal discovers Ben commissioned a portrait that depicts her as she was before she changed herself with magic, she accepts the emotion of love and kisses Ben, breaking the spell. Uma and Mal battle, transforming into an octopus and a dragon, respectively. Ben tries to negotiate with Uma, but she leaves, unreconciled. Evie asks to bring more children from the Isle to Auradon and Ben agrees.

Descendants 3 (2019)

 * Main article: Descendants 3

Disney Channel ordered the third film of the franchise on February 16, 2018. The film premiered on August 2, 2019. The movie received 4.6 million viewers on its premiere night.

In the film, Ben proposes to Mal, making her the future queen of Auradon. However, threats from Uma, Mal's father Hades and Ben's ex-girlfriend Audrey has Mal trying to stop evil once and for all. While Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos are recruiting a new generation of villain kids, Hades is trying to breach through the barrier, then Audrey steals the crown and the scepter and becomes the evil version of herself. The VKs return to the Isle of the Lost on a mission to retrieve Hades' ember and later, Uma, Harry and Gil teams up with Mal and the others to stop Audrey from destroying Auradon.

Prequel spin-off

 * Main article: Descendants: School of Secrets

Before the film's premiere air date, Disney Channel announced a live action mini series leading up to the event. Every day leading up to the release of the film, a new episode of Descendants: School of Secrets would be released revealing more secrets about the students at Auradon Prep. Each episode of the series is under 5 minutes long, with 23 episodes in total.

Animated spin-off

 * Main article: Descendants: Wicked World

Right after the film finished airing on Disney Channel, it was announced that a CGI-animated short spinoff entitled Descendants: Wicked World would be released on September 18, 2015. Furthermore, former Phineas and Ferb storyboard artist Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft announced on Twitter that she was directing the series, with Jenni Cook as producer, and that the original cast would be reprising their roles.

Short Films
 Under the Sea: A Descendants Short Story (2018) 

A short film, Under The Sea: A Descendants Short Story was released on September 28, 2018. The story revolves around Mal (Dove Cameron), who discovers a glowing orb in a forest. She then meets Dizzy (Anna Cathcart), who is wearing a necklace that is possessed by Uma (China Anne McClain).

 Audrey's Royal Return: A Descendants Short Story (2019) 

A second short film, Audrey's Royal Return: A Descendants Short Story, was released on July 5, 2019. The story revolves around Audrey (Sarah Jeffery), who stops by her salon for a makeover in preparation for her big comeback at Auradon after her absence the previous year. This seven minutes short film is essentially a summary of the events of the first two films from Audrey's point of view and also explain her absence in the second film.

 Wicked Woods: A Descendants Halloween Story (2019) 

A stop motion animation short film Wicked Woods: A Descendants Halloween Story, was released on October 4, 2019. The story revolves around Mal (Dove Cameron) who tells her friends on Halloween night, about the legend of the Headless Horseman, one of Auradon's first villains, who is said to be lost in the woods of the city and has haunted them for hundreds of years. The shorts was animated using dolls from the Descendants toy line with Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, Cameron Boyce (Posthumously), Sarah Jeffery and China Anne McClain reprising their roles.

Novels
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Television Specials
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