Story

Descendants 2 starts with Mal (Dove Cameron) remembering her life in Livevil and feeling that she doesn’t belong in Auradon. Mal feels like a fake and when Ben (Mitchell Hope) exposes her cooking to be the result of a spell, she decides to return to the Isle of the Lost. There she finds that the Pirate Queen, Uma (China Anne McClain), together with Pirate Harry (Thomas Doherty) and their gang have taken control.

Evie (Sofia Carson) soon discovers that her friend is missing and tells Ben that she fears Mal has returned to the Isle. Evie, Ben, Jay (Booboo Stewart) and Carlos (Cameron Boyce) cross the sea hoping to persuade Mal to return. But Mal is determined to stay, and Ben is crushed. While the friends plan what to do next, Pirate Harry and his gang kidnap Ben. He’s taken aboard the pirate ship and tied to a post.

Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos must rescue Ben while fighting off the pirates. And once again Mal must decide what’s really important to her life.

Themes

Fantasy; magic; witchcraft; heroes and villains; good versus evil

Violence

Descendants 2 has some violence. For example:

  • The boys of Auradon practise fencing for self-defence. The fighting is very choreographed and no-one gets hurt.
  • Characters on the Isle of the Lost are aggressive and unfriendly. They push one another out of the way.
  • Harry demands money from Dizzy (Anna Cathcart), a young hairdresser on the Isle. He then smashes everything on a counter.
  • Harry ties Ben to a post on the pirate ship and threatens him with a sword.
  • Harry tries to get Ben to walk the plank but Ben is saved in time.
  • A sword fight breaks out between the pirates and Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos and Ben. The fight is quite extensive but is done as a choreographed scene and no-one gets hurt.

Sexual references

Descendants 2 has some sexual references. For example:

  • Mal and Ben have some romantic moments and kiss a few times.
  • Evie kisses Doug.
  • Carlos and Jane hug.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Descendants 2 shows some use of substances. For example, characters use spells, including a potion that helps someone say how they feel.

Nudity and sexual activity

None noted.

Product placement

None noted.

Coarse language

None noted.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Descendants 2 is the sequel to first Disney Descendants teenage romance.

There is more singing and dancing in this sequel, which is likely to appeal to teenagers. Also, the fight scenes are choreographed, which takes some of the menace out of them. But the movie does have some scary scenes, which make it unsuitable for children under 8 years. We also recommend parental guidance for children aged 8-10 years.

The main messages from this movie are that no-one is completely good or bad – most people are a mixture of both. You have a choice about whether you take a good or bad path, and being true to yourself is important.

Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include:

  • friendship
  • sincerity
  • acceptance of other people
  • forgiveness
  • kindness
  • gender equality.

This movie could also give you the chance to talk about real-life questions like why the teenagers on the Isle of the Lost are so aggressive and nasty. Does the former king (Beast) have some responsibility for them?

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Raising Children Network is supported by the Australian Government. Member organisations are the Parenting Research Centre and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute with The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health.

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