The Disney Channel and Kenny Ortega are back together for a new musical TV movie this Friday, July 31st, at 8pm ET. Descendants has quite an original premise. Belle (Keegan Connor Tracy – Once Upon A Time) and The Beast (Dan Payne – The Cabin In The Woods), have unified the kingdoms, and “got himself elected as king of The United States of Auradon.” He banished all the evil people to the Isle of the Lost.

Watch the first 6 minutes below.

Ortega: “This is a story about after the happily ever after…a once upon a NOW fairy tale.”

Now their son Ben (Mitchell Hope), about to be crowned king, wants to release four of the children of evil – the kids of Malificent (Kristin Chenoweth), The Evil Queen (Kathy Najimy), Jafar (Maz Jobrani), and Cruela de Vil (Wendy Raquel Robinson). The kids are Mal (Dove Cameron), Evie (Sofia Carson), Jay (Booboo Stewart), and Carlos (Cameron Boyce) respectively.

The song shown in the video is catchy, and the dancing is so much better than Ortega’s previous phenomenon, High School Musical, that this might be the break that some of these young actors need (a la Zac Efron). We will see.

I know I will be tuning in. First, because I have a 4 and 11-year old, but secondly, because I think the premise is good enough to tune in.

Let the 6 minutes help you decide.

Cast of Characters:

Mal is the daughter of Maleficent. A natural born leader, she enjoys drawing and casting spells (but only as needed)

Evie is the daughter of the Evil Queen. She is great at creating her own fashion and can communicate with her magic mirror.

Carlos is the son of the infamously famous Cruella de Vil. He is smart, loyal, witty, and, oh yeah, is afraid of dogs, too.

Jay is the loyal son of Jafar, the Ex-Royal Vizier of Agrabah. Jay has a talent for stealing and scheming and is a natural athelete.

Ben is the idealistic son of King Beast and Queen Belle. Next in line for the throne, Ben is caring, brave and not afraid of change.

Audrey is the daughter of Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Prince Phillip. She is the cheerleading captain and has a knack for fashion.

Jane is the shy and insecure daughter of Fairy Godmother. She is fascinated with magic, even if her mum doesn’t let her use it!

Doug is the son of Dopey, the most playful and silly of the Seven Dwarfs. He plays several instruments and is in the marching band.

Chad Charming: Born in Charming Providence, Auradon, Chad is the athletic, good looking and, um, charming son of Prince Charming and Cinderella.

Lonnie, the daughter of Mulan and Shang is a kind and good-hearted soul who enjoys Martial Arts and hip-hop dance.

[Source: Disney]

The Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants premieres Friday, July 31st at 8pm ET.

Descendants: The First 6 Minutes

Kenny Ortega, the director who brought you High School Musical, introduces the first 6 minutes of the Disney Channel Original Movie, Descendants. Prince Ben, son of Beast and Belle, declares that he will offer a chance at redemption to Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay, the teenage sons and daughters of Disney’s most infamous villains — Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil and Jafar. But are these villainous descendants rotten to the core? Watch the first 6 minutes now and then tune in to Disney Channel on Friday, July 31 at 8p to find out!