Disney Channel will give classic villains’ offspring a second chance in Descendants

By Kevin McFarland | December 12, 2013 | 11:13pm

Aux Features TV

Much like its sister network ABC’s Once Upon A Time and Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, the Disney Channel is delving into its vast studio vault of fairy-tale characters, for a new original movie that gives the children of its iconic villains a shot at redemption. High School Musical director and choreographer Kenny Ortega will helm Descendants, a live-action film that “revolves around the progeny of some of Disney’s most evil classic villains, introducing a modern-day generation of teenagers who question the evil that’s always been in their hearts.” So, you know, the usual angst, fairy-tale-style.

The film will be set in a contemporary kingdom where Belle and Beast’s teenage son gives the children of Cruella De Vil, Jafar, Maleficent, and the Evil Queen (previously sequestered on an island prison) a chance to attend prep school with the offspring of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Mulan, and others—essentially creating Once Upon A Time: Mean Girls Edition. Presumably, the film will explain how characters from Aladdin and 101 Dalmatians ended up in the same fictional universe that's presided over by the characters from Beauty And The Beast, where there's also a secluded island near a small French kingdom, besides the magic of crossover branding.