4 Reasons Why THIS Mom's Excited About Disney's Descendants! #DisneyDescendants

*Minor spoilers included in this post.

Disney’s “Descendants” is the latest Disney Channel Original Movie. The film is a way fun twist on the classic fairy tales we all know and love. We get to meet the kids of some of Disney’s most well-known villains. Mal (daughter of Maleficent), Evie (daughter of Evil Queen from “Snow White”), Carlos (son of Cruella de Vil), and Jay (son of Jafar), all happen to be modern day teens, around the same age! After living their entire first years banished to the Isle of the Lost (it’s where all of the Disney Villains are exiled to), with their parents, the teens get the chance to attend high school in the magical land of Auredon! This means they get to see what everyday life is like there, where everything isn’t about being evil. According to the film’s director Kenny Ortega, Disney’s Descendants takes us way past the “happily ever after” of what happens in the classic Disney stories we grew up with. You’ll have to watch it to get the film though, to get the entire story!

Take a peek at the extended trailer:

I can’t put my finger on just one reason why I’m so excited about Disney’s Descendants. I’ve gotten excited every time one of the previews has come on during all of the months preceding its release. I can even sing along with the songs on the trailer now. I think there are a lot of reasons why I feel this way about this latest Disney Channel Original Movie.

First of all, I’m what you’d call a true “Disney Channel Mom”, so I get excited about pretty much anything happening with Disney Channel. On any given day, depending on if I’m working or off for the summer, I might find myself watching anything from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to Jessie to Teen Beach 2 (the sing-a-long version) at my house. If you’re wondering…yes I sing AND dance along whenever it’s necessary, which is always. Not only do I enjoy watching these shows with my daughter, but I’ve also found myself with the shows on while doing other things, like dishes or blogging, when my daughter isn’t even in the room! Yep, I will totally claim being a Disney Channel mom! As soon as I read that Kenny Ortega had a major hand in this film (he’s the director), I squealed inside. In our house, we know Mr. Ortega as “THE High School Musical guy“. He’s responsible for High School Musical trilogy, which was one of the most fun Disney Channel series of dance movies in my opinion. High School Musical 3 was one of the first films that got my daughter and I dancing together in our living room. It’s the series that millennials still hold hope out for a fourth film, perhaps “College Years Musical”. (even though everyone knows it’ll never happen)

Mr. Ortega’s extensive list of works goes way back though to films like Dirty Dancing. I love that he can adapt a story and tie in the singing and dancing elements to it, making it something that the entire family can watch together. I get giddy when I see interviews with Mr. Ortega talking about Disney’s Descendants though. You can pretty much count on anything he’s working on to be genius and go gold!

Here’s a musical clip from the film. I love “Rotten to the Core“. It’s just super catchy! Tell me what you think?

When the first sneak peek of Descendants was on, my daughter pointed out how much she liked “Evie”, the daughter of Evil Queen, and a character that’s played by Colombian-American actress Sofia Carson. My daughter loves her costume and her hair for the movie and tells me every time we see a preview that Evie is her favorite. Then she made another connection…Sofia was on Austin & Ally, which is one of my daughter’s favorite shows on Disney Channel! (Yep, that means I watch it too!). Since then, she’s done more research on her own about Miss Carson and comes to me to share tidbits of information about her. “Mom, did you know that “Sofia” is a singer too?” “Sofia goes to UCLA, Mom AND she does acting.” I love that my daughter adores Sofia Carson mainly because I feel that she’s a great role model to the kids who are watching her and looking up to her. She’s showing them how important it is to pursue an academic career regardless of what path your acting career is taking you in. Disney Channel has done such a great job choosing Sofia Carson not only as an actress but as a role model as well.

As a mom of a pre-tween, I love that this film has a story that can speak directly to kids as young as my daughter’s age! (she’s 10) Once you get past how scary these kids’ parents are, you get to see their vulnerable side. You get to see that, they too, have many of the struggles “normal” kids do everyday. I love that the film conveys the message to its viewers that you get to choose who you’re going to be, despite who your parents are or what you were born into. As my daughter grows, I’m looking for deeper messages like this in what she watches on TV, as well as on the big screen. As a mom, I am content knowing that Disney is creating thoughtful, quality content like this for our kids to watch!