Disney+ Expands Descendants Franchise With The Pocketwatch

By Rebecca Theodore-Vachon 

Disney+ announced the expansion of The Descendants franchise with a new musical titled The Pocketwatch. The music and dance-filled film will introduce seven new songs and include Disney classic songs. Jennifer Phang (Half-Life, The Boys, Advantageous) will direct a screenplay by Dan Frey and Russell Sommer (Magic: The Gathering).

In a statement from Disney+, Phang expressed excitement for helming the project: “The Pocketwatch presents a delightful canvas with fantastical world building. Musicals sparked my imagination when I was a kid and are a huge part of what drew me to filmmaking. I think that’s because they have a way of conveying these lovely, nuanced ideas through song and expressive movement. I’m also always inspired by the diversity of families that exist all around the world. So I really jumped at the chance to craft a supercharged musical experience and explore some new, invigorating themes inside an expansive Disney universe.”

The Pocketwatch will introduce new characters, including Red, the rebellious teenage daughter of The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and Chloe, the perfectionist and athletic daughter of Cinderella and Prince Charming. Red and Chloe join forces and travel back in time via the White Rabbit’s pocket watch to prevent an impending coup in Auradon.

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Each Descendants film premiere has become the most-watched cable movie of the year among children aged 6-11 and tweens 9-14. And Descendants 3 pulled in 11.2 million viewers. In addition, the first two movie soundtracks are certified gold, and the third soundtrack landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Soundtrack chart for four weeks and No.1 on the Children’s Album Chart.

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