In the film Descendants The Rise of Red, audiences are taken into darker and more mature chapters of the magical world that is familiar in the Descendants trilogy. Rita Ora is believable as the mad and evil Queen of Hearts while Kylie Cantrall plays the role of her disobedient daughter Red. Red has a disdain for her mother’s cruelty and instead, is encouraged to join the Auradon Prep School. Together with her mother, Red arrives and they meet Cinderella and her daughter, Chloe Charming portrayed by actress Malia Baker. The Queen of Hearts and Cinderella were actually schoolmates. What Red does not know is that her mother brings destruction and chaos and eventually reigns. Red has a pocket watch which allows her to time travel and try to go back a few minutes to foil her mother’s plans. In the mix-up, Chloe who is looking to help her mother comes head to head with Red, the one person she does not know is equally trying to prevent her mother from doing the same. They do not travel a couple of minutes back into time but a few years backward when their parents used to be in school. In order to save Null’s present time from the Queen of Hearts, Red and Chloe have to go back to the moment that inspired the creation of the Queen of Hearts as the monster that she has become now. Time is not on their side though and if possible, they need not take such measures that invite consequences in this act or else they will regret it.
The one thing that is worth mentioning is that it is a lot darker and a more mature rating than the previous films. Similar to the previous films which are more for younger audiences, this one has a view for families and older audiences. Right from the outset, this film rectifies all the previous mistakes ranging from the plot to the humor and does not feel as though the audience is a little thick compared to the previous movies. The humor is more adult oriented with two and mildly my favorite parts, a prank that Sonya Red made regarding her father in one of the songs and in the some other moments, and when Chloe said, ‘I wondered’ regarding wonderland along with a few other funny scenes. I was invested in the story, and when both lead characters were presented to us, we saw action scenes including a small sword fight. Junior actors Chloe and Red emphasize the idea that bullying has an impact on the person, even long after the bullying has ended, and the aftermath stays regardless of the act itself ending. The film poses social, deeper, and essential issues. This representation is important because it draws from real life experiences and shows why it is important to prevent and understand bullying.
Kylie Cantrall is impressive as Red. I appreciated her character because she was tough but never really evil like her mother, just a little cold and hurtful, but this was understandable because of her upbringing. Red also wished to do the best and fight for what was the best. I was attracted to Red, and I liked her character because she was never written as a villain. Red’s role as the character began as a disappointed person struggling to follow a different path. For example, when a character fails to reach the pocket watch, Red half smirks to give a very dispassionate look with her eyes. She appeared to be confused about their cooperation but amused that Chloe could not catch it. Malia Baker is as brilliant as Chloe. Her approach demonstrates both gentleness and courage combined and the character’s entire arc is one of growth across the film. Chloe probably deals with the worst situation, seeing something that really hurts her but still hoping inside. She manifests her strength as she keeps positive and focused all through.
As if that isn’t enough, this is a Disney film after all, so the story doesn’t get too gruesome either by going into too much detail on the disturbing events. With the way she carried herself and spoke, she gave me princess vibes. There’s also Morgan Dudley as the teenage grey-eyed Cinderella called Ella, and Ruby Rose Turner as little Bridget, the future mother of Queen of hearts. They manage to entertain, while Bridget’s princess acts conflict with Ella’s strong character who is determined to defend what she believes is right. She certainly impressed me and displayed wisdom beyond her years. This creates an interesting narrative: Young Cinderella behaves like Red and she’s then the young Queen of Hearts, but they grow up their roles. Dara Reneé is also appropriate as a villain kid. During the premiere, I was in contact with the cast of the film, and Ruby shared that in preparation for her role, she practiced for two months shuffle and card tricks, and it was worth it. There are great songs in the movie with two of them being slightly easier to memorize than the rest. The entire cast is incredible; they’re all very good singers. The costumes are fantastic; Red’s fierce jacket and boots, Chloe’s sequined ensemble, and dazzling glass slippers were particularly teasing.
In the case of The Rise of Red, there were however a couple of problems I sass how some minor spoilers affected more than the second half. The climax, particularly, appeared to be extremely hurried. Gazing at someone stopping the prank and all of sudden all kids are happy again because the Queen of Hearts is actually a pox on all of civilization’s understanding was rather absurd. No hints were offered as to what had become of the remnants of her malevolence, which is probably where the film’s creators put the most emphasis on. The pace of the ending was also rapid and left much to be desired. There are numerous things that are left unresolved in the established world and I hope the sequel would pursue these threads and expand on the darker aspect of the Queen of Hearts which is completely unrealistic.
In conclusion, this film was amazing, a good story, great cast, good songs and the tone was more sinister as befits an adult audience. I do wish the ending wasn’t as rushed, except for that, it was a beautiful movie and I am now looking forward to the next chapter of the franchise!
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