Given that Kenny Ortega made a fortune for the Mouse a
decade ago when he directed "High School Musical" (i.e., that 2006
Disney Channel Original Movie which eventually launched a best-selling album, a
sold-out ice show, a super-popular concert tour as well as stage productions
around the globe) … Well, it only makes sense that — as a reward — Mickey
would offer Kenny the Magic Kingdom's crown jewels.
As is: Give Ortega the opportunity to build a brand-new
Disney Channel Original Movie around heritage characters like the Beast &
Belle, Maleficent, the Evil Queen from "Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs" and the Fairy Godmother from "Cinderella."
Mind you, Gary Marsh — the President and Chief Creative
Officer of Disney Channels Worldwide — had to go to the Big Cheese himself
(i.e., Bob Iger, Chairman & CEO of The Walt Disney Company) before
production could then begin on "Descendants."
(Foreground) Kristin Chenoweth & Dove Cameron, (Background, L to R) Sofia
Carson, Cameron Boyce and Booboo Stewart. Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"And the fact that the people at Disney trusted me
enough to let me use these iconic characters in my next project for the
Channel, that was just thrilling," Kenny admitted during a recent phone
interview. "And the best part was that I then got to go out and find fun
people to play these classic Disney characters."
And since Disney had put so much trust in this award-winning
director / choreographer, when it came time to start shooting
"Descendants," Ortega wanted to be working with people he knew and
trusted as well. Which is why — when it came time to cast the Mistress of All
Evil — Kenny reached out to Kristin Chenoweth (who Kenny had directed in her
2014 PBS special, "Coming Home").
"Now you have to understand that 'Maleficent' with
Angelina Jolie had just come out when we started shooting 'Descendants' last
May. So all the more reason to go in a new fresh direction with this
part," Ortega explained. "But to have Kristin Chenoweth … I've
worked with her before. And I adore her. And she just fully inhabits everything
that she does and on so many levels. And Kathy Najimy too. I worked with her
on 'Hocus Pocus.' Kathy did a brilliant
job with the Evil Queen from 'Snow White.' She and Kristin are both very smart,
really funny women."
Kristin Chenoweth as Maleficent and Kathy
Najimy asthe Evil Queen from "Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs." Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
And it wasn't just the people in front of the camera that
Kenny knew & trusted. Ortega also made sure that his
"Descendants" production team was loaded with folks that he'd
previously worked with on the "High School Musical" movies.
"Take — for example — my production designer Mark
Hofeling. He and I did 'High School
Musical' together. All three of them. He's like one of my great partners and I
adore working with Mark," Kenny
enthused. "I mean, wait 'til you see what Mark did with 'Descendants.' He
took the real Vancouver & Victoria and then found a way to turn them into
believable fantasy settings like Auradon & the Isle of the Lost."
Just to be clear here: Ortega didn't only work with old
friends on this Disney Channel Original Movie. In order to make sure that
"Descendants" wasn't a "High School Musical" rehash, Kenny
deliberately added some talented newcomers to his production team. People like
costume designer Kara Saun.
(L to R) Booboo Stewart, Cameron Boyce, Dove Cameron and Sofia Carson.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"Kara's a newcomer to film. She actually comes from the
world of fashion. But boy, did Kara come up with some great costumes for this
TV movie's four main characters. Who are the sons & daughters of
Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, Jafar and the Evil Queen," Ortega stated.
"For the outfits that these four wear while they're on the Isle of the
Lost, Kara came up with the idea of Dirty Candy. Which means that these
costumes look dirty and distressed on the outside but still has a little
sweetness underneath. Anyway, Kara's Dirty Candy wound up being such a cool
design conceit that we wound up incorporating that distinctive look into all
aspects of the Isle of the Lost."
And speaking of "Descendants" production design
… If you're a fan of Walt Disney Animation Studios, you're going to love some
of the witty winks & nods to those classic films that you'll see in this
Disney Channel Original Movie. These include:
- Evie (i.e.,
the daughter of the Evil Queen, played by Sofia Carson)'s purse. Which is
modeled after the box that the Huntsman was supposed to place Snow White's
heart in.
Melanie Paxson and the classic Disney animated character who inspired her
wardrobe. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
- The Fairy
Godmother (who is played by Melanie Paxson)'s dress. Which was clearly inspired
by the outfit that this character wore in Disney's 1950 animated feature.
"Cinderella."
- Or — for
that matter — the Fairy Godmother's wand. Which — if you look closely at this
magical object — you'll see that the wand has a miniature version of
Cinderella's pumpkin coach carved into its handle.
Ortega also found a fun way for "Descendants" to
acknowledge "Once Upon a Time," that popular ABC series which also
draws inspiration from Disney's animated features. Does the actress playing
Queen Belle look familiar? She should. That's Keegan Connor Tracy, who portrays the Blue Fairy / Mother Superior
on this Sunday night show.
Keegan Connor Tracy dressed in
a yellow dress based on Belle's
signature ball gown in Disney's
"Beauty & the Beast."
And speaking of the cast of "Descendants," Kenny had nothing but praise for Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart
and Sofia Carson — the talented newcomers who played the title characters of
this Disney Channel Original Movie. Who — SPOILER ALERT — are supposed to be
the next generation of Disney Villains.
"You have to understand that — when we began making
'Descendants' — our goal was to create this TV movie that the entire family
could enjoy together. That there was enough kid-friendly material in this movie
to entertain the Disney Channel's target audience. But at the same time, that
the performances by our four main characters were strong enough & sincere
enough to keep in the adults in the audience. And Dove, Sofia,
Cameron, & Booboo nailed it," Ortega stated. "I've been to four
screenings of 'Descendants' so far. And when the lights come up after those
screenings, I can't honestly tell you who has the bigger grins on their faces.
The adults or the kids."
Of course, given that "High School Musical" wound
up becoming a billion dollar franchise (More importantly, given that the last
thing we hear from Mal — Maleficent's daughter — before the credits roll is
" You didn't think this was the end of the story, did you?"), is
Kenny planning on returning to Auradon & the Isle of the Lost anytime soon?
(L to R) Dove Cameron, Kristin Chenoweth and Kenny Ortega on the red carpet at the
Disney Lot in Burbank for the premiere of "Descendants." Copyright Disney
Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
"Look, I've had good feelings about this project from
the moment that I read Josann McGibbon
& Sara Parriott's script. And working with these kids and Kristin Chenoweth
& Kathy Najimy on the movie itself was a dream. I mean, this was the
biggest Disney Channel Original Movie I ever worked on. And I loved working with this cast and this
crew," Ortega said. "So would I like to do 'Descendants 2' ? Sure. I
think — were you to ask the cast and the crew — they'd agree that we'd all love
to come back and play here again. The 'Descendants' world really is a wonderful
place to play in. More to the point, there are so many characters from Disney
animated films that we could draw upon, pull in. There are so many more stories
we could tell."
"I mean, I think that we're going to do well in the
ratings. But the big question is will 'Descendants' do well enough that the
Disney Channel will then allow us to make another TV movie? I sure hope
so," Kenny concluded.
Well, given that — leading into its television premiere tonight on the
Disney Channel (8 p.m. ET/PT) —
"Descendants" has posted more than 1 million views on the WATCH
Disney Channel app in just five days (which set records for engagement and
viewing for this app which allows consumers to watch programming anytime and
anywhere via their desktop, smartphone, tablet and connected TV devices) …
it's looking like we'll be returning to the Isle of the Lost sooner rather than
later.
This story was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on Friday, July 31, 2015.