Freeform's Weekend Fairy Tale Programming To Celebrate Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings Premiere (on May 7)

Press release:

In anticipation of the premiere of "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings," FreeForm (part of the Disney/ABC Television Group) invites you to relive all of your favorite love stories during the network's weekend programming event starting SATURDAY, MAY 6 and continuing through SUNDAY, MAY 7. Follow along as Tiana kisses a few frogs to find her prince while Snow White patiently waits for true love's kiss, then cheer on Cinderella as she gets ready for the ball.

The highlights are:

Saturday, May 6

(8:00 - 10:00a.m. EDT) A CINDERELLA STORY: IF THE SHOE FITS (live action movie with Sofia Carson)

(10:00a.m. - 12:35p.m. EDT) THE PRINCE & ME (live action movie with Julia Stiles)

(12:35 - 2:40p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (feature animation)

(2:40 - 4:45p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 9:05a.m. EDT.

(4:45 - 6:50 p.m. EDT) DISNEY/PIXAR'S BRAVE (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 11:10 a.m. EDT.

(6:50 - 9:00 p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S TANGLED (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 3:20p.m. EDT.

(9:00 - 11:30 p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S FROZEN (feature animation) -  repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 5:30p.m. EDT.

(11:30p.m. - 1:30 a.m. EDT) DISNEY'S ALADDIN (feature animation) - repeats on Sunday, May 7, at 1:15 p.m. EDT.

Sunday, May 7

(8:00 - 9:30 p.m. EDT) DISNEY'S FAIRY TALE WEDDINGS - FreeForm PREMIERE

Getting married is one of the most special days of your life and one you will never forget. For three exceptional couples, their weddings will include some Disney magic and elegance, as well as a few surprises thrown in, to give them the wedding they always dreamed of and more. And while three couples are entering wedded bliss, one lucky couple is just about to start their wedding journey with a proposal of a lifetime. Hosted by "The Bachelor" alums Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell, "Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings" will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the one-of-a-kind weddings, including a surprise performance by the multiplatinum-selling a cappella group Pentatonix and magical engagements that take place at Disney Destinations around the globe.

* All dresses pictured are from Disney Bridal

Note: we're not sure why Frozen is being featured - there's no wedding in that movie!

'Tangled: Before Ever After' Series Kicks Off with Original Movie (& Life Gets Hairier)

The world, universe and adventures of Tangled have been begging for exploration ever since its theatrical success and the follow-up short, Tangled: Ever After, wasn't quite what fans were looking for. The fan market has remained strong, almost a decade later, but apart from a wedding only being good for so many laughs for kids, once the 'hairy adventures'  aspect was over, with Rapunzel's hair being bobbed and not quite as potentially weaponized, what was there to watch that could be quite as magical and exciting?

Slight trivia aside: the first thing Rapunzel paints in her new room is the (fairy) tale of what happened in the 2010 movie. Neat huh?

The creators were stumped for a while until they decided to look at the themes of Tangled and, essentially, reboot them in series form. The trick was, to do that without redoing the movie's story and all that mythos and hard-earned happy ending, and they found an interesting way to do just that: turns out, in some ways, Rapunzel traded one prison for another. OK. Maybe that's a bit strong, since nothing quite adds up to being stuck in a doorless tower for most of your life, but it turns out Rapunzel is indeed chafing under the weight and stifling responsibility of her new position, not to mention the duties and the expectations everyone has of her.

Rapunzel sets out to fight that stifling...

[Here's a clip in which Eugene discovers she's slipped out of the castle, defying her father's orders. It illustrates the sense of fun we can expect to see in the coming series as well.]

... and is magically 'helped' along the way by getting back the means by which she was able to explore her freedom before: her magically long hair. (It's not her choice, to get back her 70 feet of blonde-ness, but it's one she embraces pretty quickly.)

Here's the scene in which Eugene tries desperately not to freak out when he discovers The Hair is back:

The series was introduced this weekend, with a special Disney Channel Original Movie, which fills in the gap between the end of Tangled, the movie, and Tangled Before Ever After (which is the new series showing what happens between Tangled and the Tangled Ever After short aka the wedding, got it?)

Confusing, yes. Here it is in story-chronological order:

1. Tangled - feature film 2010
2. Tangled Before Ever After Disney Channel Original Movie - just aired this weekend
3. Tangled Before Ever After series - first episode to air March 24, 2017
4. Tangled Ever After - short (2012)

The movie’s official description reads:

“It’s just the beginning of happily ever after for Rapunzel and Eugene. As Rapunzel reacquaints herself with her parents, her kingdom and the people of Corona, she comes to realize that there is so much more she needs to learn about the world and herself before she becomes Princess of Corona. With the help of her handmaiden and friend, Cassandra, and Eugene, she begins to find the adventure she desires right outside her door. Life is about to get a little hairier!” 

In addition to Moore and Levi, the cast includes Ashley Judd, who plays Rapunzel’s mother Queen Arianna, and Broadway actress Eden Espinosa as Rapunzel’s handmaiden and close friend Cassandra.

As you can see from the promotional artwork and clips, the movie and series are no longer CG but very stylized traditional animation, returning to more of a storybook quality. Turns out fans are really happy about this, feeling like they'll be getting fairy tales again. (Nice to know!) In fact, the response has been so positive, the series has been confirmed as renewed for a second season, even before the first has aired. That's fairly unusual, so you know what that means: people want their fairy tales!

Here's a little more behind-the-scenes info, giving you an idea of how this developed and what they'll be doing with the series.

It's clearly adorable, has a very fun sense of humor and is wonderfully artistic. Though we'll have to see how the individual episodes pan out story-wise, the series looks very promising and is delighting fans of Disney fairy tales everywhere already. Looks like something we should be checking in with regularly when it gets rolling.

Note: The Tangled Before Ever After Original Movie will be available on DVD April 11th, 2017.
It will include four 'Tangled Short Cuts': 
Checkmate
Prison Bake
Make Me Smile
Hare Peace

Lego's 'Frozen Northern Lights' Trailer (Series Airs Dec 9)

The upcoming Lego four-part animated shorts, revolving around Disney's main Frozen characters, are set to air December 9th (a little later than originally anticipated) on the Disney Channel, and have just released their trailer for the series.

Frozen Northern Lights will be an original story spanning multimedia art forms including books and animated shorts.“It’s a new story that follows Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and, of course, Sven on an epic adventure to restore the Northern Lights,” Josh Gad explains. (People)

With the original Frozen cast of Kristin Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel, this is primed to be popular!

Take a look:

(Nice nod to Wicked there!)

The first book for this collection, Journey to the Lights was released in July 2016  and is likely the first of many more to come.

What's the fairy tale content? Likely more snow adventure that derives from snow fairy tales like the Snow Queen, the Snow Maiden. We might get some Polar bear King references, and some holiday-jolly ones too, considering the release season (though the plan was initially to stay away from it being particularly 'holiday'-seasonal). We can also look forward to lots of variations on ice magic and good doses of courage and friendship. If we're lucky we might get some legendary references to the folklore and stories surrounding the Northern Lights, which many cultures have, and possible more troll lore too, as a young troll is a new character joining them on the journey.

The Northern Lights Adventure Notebook (illustrated) is a great companion to the book and series and might inspire a little storytelling at home. Here are a couple of pages, with two more at the link. We wish they made more books for young kids like this that inspire fairy tale imagination and magical adventure!

What impact - if any - this will have on the 'mythology' of Frozen 2 remains to be seen, but in the meantime extra magic for the yule season is always welcome.

Disney's 'Frozen' - & Making Of - Airing in December

Frozen fan art - artist unconfirmed (Rella?)

It's a first - Frozen being aired on TV, that is - but we don't know if this will be a big event, since every enthusiastic family already likely has word through multiple DVDs of Frozen, is on their 3rd and already knows it all by heart (not to mention would be annoyed by ad breaks). But perhaps Disney has a fresh spin on why it will be worth staying up for. Perhaps teasers closer to the time will illuminate us. In the meantime:

Never Let It Go - Heather Theurer

Disney's animated film blockbuster Frozen will make its network TV premiere on ABC-TV’s Wonderful World of Disney December 11 at 8 PM ET, followed by the documentary The Making of “Frozen”: A Return to Arendelle at 10:04 PM ET. (source)

... that includes an exclusive sneak peek of the yet-untitled, all-new 'Frozen' special, coming to ABC Holiday 2017. (source)

We're only curious to see if the new making of - or Frozen special - actually addresses the story behind the story and other fairy tale inspirations. Neither the Blu-ray, nor the Making of Book was exactly forthcoming on any of that. In fact the content for both was pretty sparse and very light on actual information - very disappointing, especially considering the very long and detailed history of Disney trying to make Snow Queen. We don't have high hopes, but we're keeping tabs because when you least expect it, there are those gems..

Disney's "Descendants": First 6 Mins Preview

I've been seeing Descendants getting a lot of mention right alongsideABCs Once Upon A Time which is a little brow furrowing for me - not in confusion but slight concern, so when the six minute preview was released I took a look to get a better idea of what audiences are in for (because the marketing push seems to be getting bigger and I'm beginning to see merchandise. ! )

Here's the extended preview if you've missed what this is all about:

So onto the preview: I didn't think this would be my cup of tea so I'm not too surprised by what I'm seeing but I'll let you be the judge. (I was starting to come around until the song kicked in.)

Take a look:

Disney's Descendants is scheduled to premiere on Friday July 31st at 8pm (EST) on the Disney Channel.

OUAT's #HeroesAndVillains Season Finale Is Going to be a 2 Hr TV Movie On Sunday

OUAT fan art of villains by DadoSuperstar90 (characters by Adam Osgood)

Note: I'm not convinced there are really spoilers here. I don't think it reveals very much about what's happened all season and with this twist, everything is completely different anyway, so I think you'll be safe... Maybe don't watch the trailers if you're truly concerned about spoiling your finale viewing.

There are all sorts of promises being made about this season's finale for Once Upon A Time. 

You're probably aware that the first half of this season was the "Frozen" season (-sigh-) and that the second half has been about the villains looking for their happy ending (ditto -sigh-).

I have to say, I've been less than riveted for most of it BUT we have been promised writing that uses a full two hours to explore a whole flip side to the storyline - thanks to a devious move of "rewriting" by the nefarious 'Author', everyone switches roles: the good become "evil" and the 'evil' become good.

There have been a few gem-like pieces of writing that have been stand-outs this season* so I know they have the chops. I'm really hoping they had someone work as hard on getting this finale to work 'just right' for as long as it took, rather than have it be handled in the usual speed-writing manner of TV series, because, if they do it right, it could bring Once Upon A Time back onto the 'series you should be watching' map, but if they do the "everyone switches roles exactly and says each others' lines from previous episodes" (like the example preview I saw), I'm not going to be too impressed. (Must think positive!)

This finale, titled Heroes and Villains (add the hashtag to follow all the crazy on Twitter!) has potential to be interesting, that's for sure, and I'm glad they're just keeping it to the two episode/two hour length to explore it too - hopefully that will keep it tight and focused.

Here's the official description and promises making the rounds to get you excited before Sunday. But hang on - we need the trailer too. Make that two trailers...:

Things are really getting shaken up in the "Once Upon a Time" Season 4 finale. 
The above clip shows that the Author (Patrick Fischler) is having fun switching roles. The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) is good, while Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) have slipped to the dark side.  

What else is in store for the finale? Creators Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis tell Zap2it that fans should be ready for "Once Upon a Time" film experience. 
"The finale has to be when the Author starts writing," Kitsis says. "[Fans] should be prepared for a two-hour movie."   

This means the Season 4 finale will work much like the Season 3 season finale that introduced the "Frozen" story arc, rather than two different stories being forced together. 

"There's a unifying story idea that takes place over the two hours. It's not two separate episodes back to back," Horowitz clarifies.  

Kitsis uses the phrase 'concept world' to describe the changes coming to the Enchanted Forest -- but he doesn't want over-hype the finale before people get a chance to see it.  

"We don't want to over-promise, but just maybe. Our hope is that people will say that."  

See who turns out to be hero or a villain when "Once Upon a Time's" Season 4 finale airs Sunday, May 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT 

Oh and in other OUAT news? It has been renewed for a FIFTH season. (Please don't hit the reset button - again!) 

Is that watery ink..? 

* The Ice Queen was wonderfully drawn/written - and especially wonderfully played. Ursula's story was really interesting but far too short and easily wrapped up and the Author being revealed as a job rather than a specific person was great too. Despite my lack of love for the villains in general, Maleficent losing her egg-baby was heart wrenching and Cruella De Vil was completely evil through and through - and she always had been. It was wonderfully refreshing after the patterns we've seen. 

Disney's "Descendants" Trailer

It's coming and this made-for-TV-movie is premiering on Disney Channel in July. Looks like the advertising is about to get intense.

There is a prequel book, a whole toy line (already, yes - I think that's why they're making this movie actually), and accessories popping up all over the place.

Here's the main trailer (there are also character trailers which you can watch HERE):

I'm... not quite on board with this whole thing.

Ever After High already does it better. Way better.

My biggest problem with it, is that any substance in any of these stories, fairy tale, mythic or otherwise, really appears to have been watered down very significantly and left without much of a leg to stand on, Instead of being a fun fantasy with substantial roots, it's turned into dismissible fantasy fluff (with what-the-heck costumes). The character promos at least talk about the 'origin stories' of their 'parents', and it does look like the cast had fun at least, but these villain-kids don't hold a candle to what the Ever After High characters (who are also descendants of fairy tale characters) have to deal with and make decisions about.

If you'd like to read up on it though, here's a little about the book, available for pre-order:

Description:

Evil tree. Bad Apple?

Twenty years ago, all the evil villains were banished from the kingdom of Auradon to the Isle of the Lost--a dark and dreary place protected by a force field that makes it impossible for them to leave. Stripped of their magical powers, the villains now live in total isolation, forgotten by the world.

Mal learns from her mother, Maleficent, that the key to true darkness, the Dragon's Eye, is located inside her scepter in the forbidden fortress on the far side of the island. The eye is cursed, and whoever retrieves it will be knocked into a deep sleep for a thousand years. But Mal has a plan to capture it. She'll just need a little help from her "friends." In their quest for the Dragon's Eye, these four kids begin to realize that just because you come from an evil family tree, being good ain't so bad.

"Emerald City" Returns (aka is "un-cancelled") + A Round Up Of All the Other Oz Offerings in the Works

So, there's a new word in town: "un-cancelled", meaning a show that got canceled before it even got on the air, has been revived/given a second chance. In this case it's the previously-dead Emerald City miniseries that has just been given it's Frankenstein moment. It will (if all goes to plan this time around) be on our screens sometime soon.

As iO9 put it: "Dorothy got home easier than this show got on the air." 

Here's the description, along with character outlines, as of mid-2014, though that may change. Maybe.

In the blink of a tornado’s eye, 20-year-old Dorothy Gale and her K9 police dog are transported to another world, one far removed from our own—a mystical land of competing kingdoms, lethal warriors, dark magic and a bloody battle for supremacy. This is the fabled Land of Oz in a way you’ve never seen before, where wicked witches don’t stay dead for long and a young girl becomes a headstrong warrior who holds the fate of kingdoms in her hands. 

DOROTHY GALE | A natural, and not waify, beauty scarred by past experiences, Dorothy has patched a life together for herself despite the fact that she sells herself short. Outward insecurity and lack of self-awareness hide the savior survivor that she will discover she truly is. 

WEST | This 30something femme is a corruptive — and fearsome — force of nature, a drugged-out virtuoso filled with self-loathing. She's equal parts compelling and unsettling. 

NORTH | In her 30s or 40s, this Type-A manipulative perfectionist has a bit of a "big sister" relationship to West. 

HENRY | The series' male romantic lead, this handsome and well-built gent presents a seemingly open nature that belies a bit of a past. #Denry 

THE WIZARD | On the exterior, this 40something male is a charismatic and politically astute leader, earnest in his beliefs and intentions but also an "ends justify the means" sort. His showmanship however conceals a dangerous, and perhaps deadly, seriousness. 

EAMONN | The Wizard's righthand man is unquestioningly loyal. A strong, silent type. 

TIP | All of 15 and harboring a secret past, this lass is undergoing the discomfort of discovering her sexuality. 

JACK | Tip's neighbor and closest friend, an adventurous and energetic teen. 

OJO | A member of the Munja'kin, a primitive and isolated cross-pollinated culture, this stoic and fearsome man (mid-30s to early 40s) is rather unsympathetic to Dorothy's plight. 

SYLVIA | A "good mimic" is sought to play this odd, feral and haunted 10-year-old.

The projected season is 2015-2016. But don't worry. even if this Game-Of-Thrones-meets-Dorothy reboot of the Oz story doesn't take, there are five more still on the way. (Yes, you read that right: FIVE.)

Here they are, complete with their summaries/log-lines:

Warriors of Oz (from SyFy): ”A fantasy-action reimagining of the classic story in which a warrior from present day Earth is transported to a post-apocalyptic future Oz where he must team up with three other warriors, Heartless, Brainless, and Coward, in order to defeat the evil Wizard who has enslaved the land.”


Dorothy (CBS): ”A medical soap based in New York City, inspired by the characters and themes immortalized in The Wizard of Oz.”

Dorothy Must Die (CW): Based on the best-selling book (and series) - ”A revisionist take on the classic tale set in present day, 80 years after Dorothy Gale supposedly came home. In reality, the magically-ever-youthful Dorothy has stayed in Oz, presiding over a now fascist fairyland with her perfectly manicured iron fist and the help of her henchmen – the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.  But when another young woman from Kansas is swept up in a tornado and magically dropped into this war-torn Oz, our hero discovers a revolutionary underground of witches and enchanted beings only to learn that she is destined to lead their people in the fight to reclaim Oz from a power-hungry Dorothy’s ruthless clutches.”


Red Brick Road (Lifetime): ”In the classic 1939 feature, when Dorothy set off for the Emerald City, she followed the Yellow Brick Road. But among the yellow bricks at Dorothy’s feet, there was also a swirl of red bricks. They’ve been there the whole time in plain sight. Unnoticed. Unexplored. Which raises the question — just where do they go? Red Brick Road will answer that by following Dorothy down that fateful path, taking her to the oldest, darkest and most dangerous parts of Oz to find what became of her friends who all have gone missing.”


The Wiz (NBC - December 3rd, 2015): ”Opening in 1975, The Wiz ran for four years on Broadway and won seven Tonys, including best musical. It retells the classic story of The Wizard Of Oz in an African-American context.”
And I'm adding more info to the new The Wiz via Variety, because seriously - this is awesome: 
“The Wiz” will be co-produced by Cirque du Soleil’s new stage theatrical division. After the television event, the musical will make its Broadway revival for the 2016-17 season, also presented by Cirque du Soleil.
...Cirque’s incredible imagination will help bring the fantasy world of Oz vividly to life and give this great show a modern spin on the age-old story we all love.”

“We are delighted that NBC and Cirque du Soleil will present ‘The Wiz,’” Zeiger said. “It’s a musical I have wanted to produce for years, and it’s the perfect show to present under the new Cirque du Soleil Theatrical banner.”

I want to declare a home run on the last project, except for the slight detracting factor of the "live musical TV event" aspect (not that Cirque will disappoint but recent live TV musicals have been giving me "the cringe", unfortunately.) 

So - you up for some Oz viewing?

Note: Emerald City "Travel Posters" credits first to last in post:1. Joe Cavazos 2. Laurent Durieux 3. AllPosters (artist not credited) 4. Retro Planet USA

Tim Burton's Long Lost Disney Project: "Hansel & Gretel" (1982)

This "long lost" film resurfaced on YouTube last year while I was in recovery and I found my note to myself to post the news on OUABlog when I returned, just today. (The images included are some of Burton's concept art for the project.)

A little background:
The film was conceptualized and created by Tim Burton whilst in Disney's employ. It aired one time only on Halloween night in 1983 on the The Disney Channel, due to the Disney Executives horrified reactions when they saw it on air, and I think, in this instance, they were right. It doesn't really fall within the Disney branding, and I wouldn't have been pleased to find a little one watching this either! (Did no one check the show before it aired? Yikes.)

The film was included in the MoMA exhibit that featured Burton's earlier and lesser known works and history a few years ago but hasn't been available to see anywhere before or since (except in Paris for a similar exhibition).

The movie is usually classified stop motion, though it uses real (amateur) actors, all of whom are Japanese*. (Note: it's also Tim Burton's first time working with live actors, which may be apparent in the quality of performance, though his direction is often very imaginative.) In yet another interesting choice, (especially for the time period) the same male actor plays both the Stepmother and the Witch. Seen throughout are designs now considered "Burtonesque", many of which might be considered precursors to other film designs seen in Frankenweenie and The Nightmare Before Christmas. There's interesting use of birds in this one too (duck and swan in particular), and that little toy duck looks remarkably like one Jack Skellington has Halloween town make as one of the presents.

From Wikipedia:

Filmed for $116,000 on 16mm, this live-action short film featured a cast of amateur Japanese actors, kung fu fights (despite kung fu being Chinese) and Japanese toys, as Burton was obsessed with Japanese culture at the time of production. The film's design style and color schemes paid homage to the Godzilla movies and is said to be heavy on special effects, making use of front projection, forced perspective and even some stop-motion animation.

Here you go. Enjoy! (Or, be creeped out):

CAST--------- 

Hansel - Andy Lee 

Gretel - Alison Hong 

Stepmother / Wicked Witch - Michael Yama  

Father - Jim Ishida 

Dan Dan the Gingerbread Man (voice) - David Koenigsburg 

Features early work by Stephen Chiodo of the Chiodo Bros. Studio as well as the late Joe Ranft of Disney and Pixar. 

Music by John Costa of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood fame!(source)

Can I just say: I'm just not going to ask what the Father did to the Stepmother, and I will stick with my regular Gingerbread Men, thank you very much!

* Has anyone else noticed the Asian (specifically Japanese) fascination with Hansel and Gretel? I wonder what it is about the tale, exactly?

Disney's Newest Maleficent is Kristin Chenoweth

Honestly, it feels a little like Disney are attempting to cover all bases left open after Maleficent with this Descendants movie.

We've been told that Maleficent "honors the classic" and that it has "all the iconic scenes you want to see" and that begs the question of whether or not Maleficent dies, just like she does in the classic (which is crazy-iconic!) and how that cuts Disney off from the possibilities of sequels once this film busts all the blocks at the box office (you know what I mean).

So, sounding suspiciously much like the far-better-than-I would-ever-have-believed-possible show and doll line, Ever After High, Disney's Descendants has its own Maleficent, complete with bratty teen offspring attempting to redeem herself (something which the classic Maleficent never got the chance to wrangle, that being motherhood, and no, the goons don't count).

And she's Kristin Chenoweth.

OK then...

I guess Glinda will walk a mile in Elphaba's shoes after all. Sort of.

It looks like they've taken a leaf out of the Once Upon A Time book for this Maleficent. She even looks a lot like the OUAT Maleficent (played by Kristin Bauer van Straten, who, it's hard to believe, played the eyebrow-raising vampire Pam in True Blood). But perhaps they'll take a note of Ms. van Straten's transformation into a fluffy villain we couldn't quite be afraid of, and send Chenoweth in the Pam-in-True-Blood vein instead (ha!).

I don't know. This seems like for all the gravitas the Maleficent film is being touted to have, regarding themes and classic scenes, Descendants is going to do its best to undo all that and make everyone just misunderstood and worthy of second (or twenty-second) chances. That way they can take the franchise in any direction. :/ I love that it would appear they're taking risks with the movie. I don't love that this sounds like something churned out from the Disney sequel-studio.

But hey, maybe I'll be wrong about it. (Right now, though, that animated office evil-queen comedy sounds far more promising to me.)

Here's the latest synopsis & cast/character details:

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 De Vil, 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, Evvie and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel 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?

(I'm going to go with "save the kingdom". I'll bet you a pretzel.)

Chenoweth’s Maleficent will be butting heads with her daughter Mal, played by budding Disney star Dove Cameron. Also among the cast are Booboo Stewart (X-Men: Days of Future Past) as Jafar’s son Jay; Cameron Boyce (Grown Ups 2) as Cruella De Vil’s son Carlos; Sofia Carson as the Evil Queen’s daughter Evvie; and Mitchell Hope as Belle and the Beast’s son Ben. 

Quote source: HERE 

'Descendants' Movie Mirrors 'Ever After High' (We Hope...)

It would appear that the profitable 'Ever After High pie' has Disney drooling for a piece of their own.

Enter the 'Original Disney Movie, Descendants'. The show's development has certainly been boosted by the high anticipation surrounding the live action Maleficent as well. Clearly, the trend of villain stories and anti-heroes isn't going away any time soon for Disney. While it's been in development for a few months already (it was announced in December, I believe), we now have a release window and format: it's heading straight to Disney Channel, in live action form, and is set to air sometime during 2015.

The Descendants is going to be Disney's original movie that will feature the now teenage children of the heroes and (more specifically the) villains. 

Beast and Belle (of Beauty and The Beast) rule over an "idyllic kingdom" with a son of their own, who's waiting to take over the throne, according to Entertainment Weekly. In his first proclamation, the young prince looks to give some redemption to his not-so-well-behaved classmates Carlos (son of 101 Dalmatians' Cruella De Vil), Mal, (child of Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent), Evvie (daughter of Snow White's the Evil Queen) and Jay (son of Aladdin's Jafar).They all attend the kingdom's prep school with offspring of other Disney favorites like The Fairy Godmother (from Cinderella), Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan.  

The children of Disney's villains are about to face a dilemma of whether to take the evil steps laid out by their parents or to follow the goodness in their hearts.

The famous High School Musical director will be directing Disney Movie Descendants with the script written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott (The Starter Wife, Runaway Bride). Mark Hofeling, another High School Musical veteran will be in charge of the production design for the Disney movie "Descendants."

Disney Channel, despite some decent animation series in their offerings, doesn't have as stellar a track record with it's live action shows, other than High School Musical. Despite the credits of those involved being noteworthy, I still have my doubts about this. My guess is, if the movie does well, it may have the option to branch into a series.

The movie's redeeming factor - and the one thing that will set it apart - is that it will be focusing on the Disney VILLAINS' offspring, rather than all the possible offspring. It has good potential using this emphasis, but I'm very leery of the live action approach in comparison to the other Disney live action shows. Kitsch is just too easy a trap to fall into with whatever formula it is they use, but we'll see. Hopefully we'll be pleasantly surprised.

But why, do you ask, am I hoping that Descendants will mirror Ever After High? (At least, in some respects.)

Far from first impressions, Ever After High is, to coin a phrase from critics of The Lego Movie*, "far better than it has any right to be". Seriously. The designs are crazy-girly, the animation has a lot of flash bopping about but the characters, their development, the writing and the story lines are ridiculously good. Even the designs have far more to them than first looks imply. It's yet another one of those things I've been dismissing, only bothering to give it another look because respected fairy tale author, Shannon Hale's name remains attached.

I'm really glad I did.

Here's the premise (from Wikipedia), in case you have no idea what I'm talking about:

The Ever After High storyline is based on the lives of the teen children of famous fairytale characters who are destined to follow in their parents’ footsteps in order keep their stories alive through the generations. If they do not, these stories will cease to exist and the characters will disappear. 

The main characters are Raven Queen (daughter of the Evil Queen), who is unhappy with her destiny, and Apple White (daughter of Snow White), who is destined to "live happily ever after." Raven would prefer to create a new destiny for herself, while Apple White believes that if Raven changes her own story. this will put her own "happily ever after" in jeopardy. The school gets divided into "Royals and Rebels". The Royals are supporters of Apple who also know they will have a "happily ever after" and are content (even enthusiastic) with their fates. The Rebels are supporters of Raven who prefer the idea of creating their own destinies. Many disagreements and fights result between the groups.

When I finally took the time to have a proper look, I was truly surprised that something so 'fluffy looking' had so much real fairy tale soul. In fact, I would bet that there are a LOT of fairy tale references in the dialog, plots and designs that are completely missed by those not up on their slightly-more-obscure fairy tales reading. And I LOVE that! For the EAH fandom (which is growing fast) who are really getting into the characters (and they really are!) there's always more to mine and if you take time to peruse the EAH fandom Tumblrs you see the discussions border on 'Buffyverse depth' at times (if you're not Buffy-savvy, that means it's a good thing).

The fandom are getting into the ideas so much they're looking up the 'original' tales for themselves so they can better speculate motivations, among other things, and discovering other lesser known tales they'd like to see explored as well. Here's an example in 'Ever After High Confessions' format:

I want a child of the princess and the pea, and I want them to either have insomnia or be a sleep walker. I feel like it’d work with the princess and the peas story line.You could even make that character constantly worried that because of his/her insomnia or sleep walking, they won’t be able to follow their parents story right. It’d be a super intense storyline. I’d LOVE IT! (Source)

HERE's my original post about the toy line and series before it premiered. You may notice the bit about "is it 'scarier' than Monster High?', meaning, are little girls everywhere in for another disturbing dose of pop-sexism? Surprisingly, the answer is 'no, they're not'. In fact, those 'out there' concerns, commented on by Tumblr people when they heard the announcement of the dolls (eg, "...this is giving me some serious NO REALLY THIS IS F***ING DISTURBING feelings regarding fate and free will and the fact that some of these kids are expected to have no choice beyond ultimately dying in unbelievably gruesome ways..." ), are specifically being addressed - smartly! - by the writing. And all this effort is primarily for A TOY LINE.

Clearly, someone understands just how influential dolls can be and has chosen to not only give them what they think they want (sparkle, girly, glitter, pink, SHOES!), but dose it liberally with real issues and embed it with some meaty tale explorations.

Thank you Ms. Hale!!

I discovered this by realizing I hadn't really given the series the time of day and that Ms. Hale's work deserved better attention than that so set up the Ever After High Valentine's Day special to record as a reminder. Cleaning out the DVR last week I let the special run while I was doing other things "just in case there was anything worth noticing, fairy-tale-wise". Boy was there ever! I went back to watch the whole thing without distractions and, although I couldn't stop wincing at the over-the-top sparkly-curlicue designs (and the thinness - although they are not as thin as the Monster High dolls - and the crazy high shoes) I was amazed at how layered it was.

How they/Ms. Hale, struck this balance, I have no idea. It feels as ridiculous on the surface as the 'pinkest' shows out there (I know, you know what I mean) and yet... we have a truly girl-empowering show (and - surprise - boys too!) that sneaks in really solid fairy tale motifs, themes, plot lines and archetypes with many a modern twist. While 'choose your own destiny' seems like a simple enough premise at first, the Ever After High treatment of the (very large) topic has more gravitas than much of what I've seen come out of Once Upon A Time on the same theme.

Take, for instance, the True Hearts Day special, in which Valentine's Day celebrations have been banned because of the danger that the kids might consider people other than their 'destined partners' as potential mates. This all comes across as 'our fun party has been sabotaged by the meanie school principal' but you look closer and realize a key antagonizer in this episode is Odile, the 'false', black swan from Swan Lake and you start to get an idea of the layering.

At the end:

-- SPOILER ALERT!!!!--

 (highlight the space below to read the text)

The kids are able to give their (physical) valentine tree hearts to the person of their choice and while it's completely expected that Cinderella's daughter (Ashlynn), who is in love with a 'rebel' (the Huntsman) instead of her destined Prince Charming, finally gets the courage to stand up to her friends and choose him no matter what their response will be, the surprise is that Apple White (Snow White's daughter, who has a serious problem with the Evil Queen wanting her own destiny instead of ending up Evil and thus guaranteeing Apple's preferred happy ending) gives HER valentine heart to her friend, Cinderella, saying "although I don't always agree with your choices, it doesn't mean you're not still my friend."
Gasp! I did not see that coming. Nicely done, Ms. Hale!

--END OF SPOILERS--

(Once again), I feel embarrassed by my initial dismissal of the show but even if it's too sparkly for your taste to sit through, you can be comforted in knowing that any girls (and boys) watching, will be getting good content. REALLY good content. And that the main things the girls buying these dolls are thinking about are not so much fashion and make-up but the issues of free will, destiny, responsibility and choice.

If you'd like to read more, you can currently get ebook samplings of the writing for free for the Kindle HERE by downloading various character stories (one link hooks you up to the others. There are six different character stories available for free download. To catch up you can watch the webisodes (which have already aired on TV) HERE (note: as girly as it looks, you may want to pay close attention to the various designs used. There's been a lot of research and thought about story going into all that as well), and, as of this week, you can also read the first two chapters of the second Ever After High novel, The Unfairest of Them All, for free on your Kindle HERE (the whole novel will be released on March 23rd).

Whether or not Descendants has any of the same type of substance as Ever After High has proven to have, remains to be seen, but we are hopeful... After all, once you start taking a closer look, fairy tales are rarely as dismissible as people are led to believe.

Additional source: HERE

*If you haven't yet seen The Lego Movie - see it. It has mythic aspects to it and is a wonderful, affirming ride to the land of make-believe.