Disney's Descendants 2 DVD Review

Disney; TV-G; 111 minutes; Walmart

Available today on DVD from Disney Home Entertainment is Descendants 2. Directed by Kenny Ortega ("High School Musical" franchise), the film stars Dove Cameron ("Liv and Maddie"), Cameron Boyce ("Jessie"), Sofia Carson ("Adventures in Babysitting"), Booboo Stewart ("X-Men: Days of Future Past"), Mitchell Hope, China Anne McClain ("A.N.T. Farm"), Thomas Doherty ("The Lodge"), Dylan Playfair ("Some Assembly Required"), and Anna Cathcart ("Odd Squad"). The DVD comes with a FREE Necklace with 5 Villain Icons.

Descendants 2 is the sequel to the hit musical fantasy television movie, Descendants, that aired on the Disney Channel in 2015. The original film centered on the teenage children of Disney's villains leaving the Isle of the Lost, so they can start anew in United States of Auradon. The sequel picks up several months later, where Mal, the daughter of Maleficent, (played by Dove Cameron) is having trouble adjusting to being a celebrity as King Ben's girlfriend. She's also having problems living a princess-like life. Eventually, she gives up, packs her bags, and runs away back to the Isle of the Lost. With a little help fro Dizzy Tremaine, Mal restores her purple hair, and returns to her villainous ways.

After learning Mal has left Auradon, Evie - the daughter of The Evil Queen (played by Sofia Carson), Carlos de Vil - the son of Cruella de Vil (played by Cameron Boyce), Jay - the son of Jafar (play by Booboo Stewart), and King Ben - the son of Beast and Belle (played by Mitchell Hope), sneaks into the Isle of the Lost to find her. Unfortunately, King Ben is spotted and is later kidnapped by Uma, the daughter of Ursula (played by China Anne McClain), and her gang of villains, who ransoms the king in exchange for the Fairy Godmother's wand.

Mal and her pals must come up with a way to save King Ben and defeat Uma and the other forgotten villains.

Bonus Features are:

Cast Secrets - Personal secrets are revealed by cast members Dove Cameron (Mal), Cameron Boyce (Carlos), Sofia Carson (Evie), Booboo Stewart (Jay) and China Anne McClain (Uma) during the filming of the movie.

Bloopers - The cast cracks up on set during some crazy takes.

Deleted Song and More – Includes an extended song, a deleted song and two alternate endings.

Descendants: Wicked World - A collection of all the animated shorts from season 1.

Final Thoughts:The Disney Channel has changed a lot of over the years, especially with their original movies (DCOM), which were lacking in quality for the last few years until the Descendants aired in 2015. Descendants 2 is more in par with the first film. Most of the original cast returns for the sequel, along with a few new villain characters. The plot involves Mal returning to Isle of the Lost, where she has to battle her nemesis Urma, who has kidnapped the king.

Yes, the plot is really thin, but it's a kids movie, so you need to overlook it. The acting is decent for the most part, but lip-syncing in the musical numbers are a bit off mark. The songs are well-written and a few are even catchy, especially the "Chillin' Like a Villain."

The picture and sound quality on the DVD are topnotch. There are quite a few special features, including the entire first season of the animated short series "Descendants: Wicked World."

Overall, Disney's Descendants 2 DVD is a cute fantasy musical that will easily appeal to kids of all ages.