Descendants Wicked Wonderland

On July 16, 2026, I turned the television on for some background noise. I chose the Disney Channel and landed on the premiere of Descendants Wicked Wonderland. The first three Descendants movies were adorable and have a special place in my heart. I watched those on premiere nights with my baby sister when she was younger. It had become a tradition. Unfortunately, as she hit teenager-dom, I had to watch the last two Descendants movies on my own. I love Alice in Wonderland, so I had high hopes for Rise of Red and was sorely disappointed. The music was fun, but the story was so fast-paced that it felt disjointed. So you can imagine I did not have high hopes for Wicked Wonderland. I'm glad I was wrong.

I was pleasantly surprised by the most recent installment of the Descendant franchise. The story made more sense than Rise of Red where Castle-coming was a theme, but never shown. We never do figure out what the prank was that caused Bridget to become the Queen of Hearts that screams Off with their Heads! As you start the movie, Red and Chloe return from the past to a new timeline where things are a little different. They do succeed in saving their moms and Red gets a little more than she bargained for when returning home. With the addition of new characters and some returning characters the viewers get a story that is very reminiscent of the topsy turvy world of Wonderland. You get to see the world of Wonderland imagined by the Descendants team and it's vibrant and full of life. I enjoyed the colors on the screen and felt transported into a world of wonder.

The struggle that Red has throughout the movie between being a VK and HK is also fun to watch. It's an internal struggle for her to be something she hasn't been before which was a theme that started in the previous movie. She has a VK mind and an HK heart. This movie had some s=fun and funny moments with the introduction of new characters. It also added homages to the original 1951 movie including the ocean of tears that Alice cries and the White Rabbit's cottage.

The best part of the Descendants franchise is always the music and this movie was no different. There were so many fun songs in Wicked Wonderland that it's hard to choose which is the best. One of my favorites though is “The Girl I Used to Be” sung by Brandy and Rita Ora. It's a duet that we were robbed of in the previous movie. Their voices blending together make you forget that you are watching a Disney movie. I have seen people refer to it as the grown of version of “Space Between” from D2. The other songs that have been on replay since I watched the movie are “Dancing with the Enemy”, “Mad”, and “For Once in My Life”. These songs draw a viewer into the story as seamlessly as if you were telling the story itself.

It's hard to watch new Descendants movies without comparing them to the original three, but I do think that Wicked Wonderland is a wonderful movie. It is reminiscent of the original three without being a carbon copy of the old stories. I hope that others view this new movie as it's own entity and give it a chance without comparison. I think you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised.