Pint-Sized ReviewsStreaming MoviesWoke-ish

Descendants: The Rise of Red

Descendants: The Rise of Red lacks even the complexity of its prequels, which is saying a lot, but it's mostly innocent fun
60/1008674
Starring
Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Ruby Rose Turner
Director
Jennifer Phang
Rating
TV-G
Genre
Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Release date
July 12, 2024
Where to watch
Disney+
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Story/Plot/Script
Visuals/Cinematography
Performance
Direction
Age Appropriate
Parent Appeal
Non-Wokeness
Rating Summary
In a franchise not exactly known for its depth, Descendants: The Rise of Red is even lighter on story than the rest. However, its quick pacing and numerous generic song and dance numbers move things long quickly, and its hour and half runtime is over before you know it. Young girls will likely enjoy it but its messaging may be worth steering them in another direction.

Fairytales in film date back to the late 19th century. The first notable adaptation was Georges Méliès’ 1899 silent film “Cinderella,” but Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937 established Disney as a dominant force in fairytale filmmaking. Over the decades, fairytales have been continuously adapted and reimagined in various genres and styles, reflecting cultural shifts and advancements in film technology. The Descendants franchise, beginning with 2015’s “Descendants,” took the genre in a new direction, mashing up the children of many of Disney’s most famous fairytales into a singular kingdom.

Descendants: The Rise of Red

Descendants: The Rise of Red follows Red, the daughter of the Queen of Hearts, and Chloe, Cinderella’s daughter. When Red’s mother incites a coup against Auradon, Red and Chloe travel back in time to stop a pivotal event that turned the Queen of Hearts evil.

 

Parental Notes

PARENTAL NOTES

Important Information for Parents

Our Parental Notes flag the material parents may want to know about before pressing play, including profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, frightening intensity, hyper-stimulating sequences, and other family-content concerns.

UNLOCK PARENTAL NOTES.Profanity, blasphemy, adult content, extreme violence, hyper-stimulating intensity, and more.
Woke Report

WOKE REPORT

You're Only Getting Half the Picture.

This section is our site's secret sauce, and what truly separates us from the rest. If you don't read it, you haven't read our review.

Have the filmmakers chosenradical progressive messaging over story?
Unlock the insightsthat could change your viewing experience and protect your family.
Try it for just $1!Unlock now

James Carrick

James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.

previous
Fly Me To The Moon
next
Twisters
Leave a Review

No comments yet.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

No audience reviews yet. Be the first to leave one.

Related Posts

Hoppers

Hoppers

13
9984
James Carrick
GOAT

GOAT

7418
James Carrick
The Thundermans: Undercover (season 1)

The Thundermans: Undercover (season 1)

2422
James Carrick

 

 

 

'; win.document.open(); win.document.write(html); win.document.close(); return true; } function escapeHtml(str){ return String(str || '').replace(/[&<>"']/g, function(ch){ return ({'&':'&','<':'<','>':'>','"':'"',"'":'''})[ch] || ch; }); } function renderShareOptionsWindow(win, landscapeUrl, squareUrl, shareUrl, heading){ if (!win || win.closed) return false; var safeHeading = escapeHtml(heading || 'Share options'); var safeLandscape = escapeHtml(landscapeUrl || ''); var safeSquare = escapeHtml(squareUrl || ''); var safeUrl = escapeHtml(shareUrl || ''); // Keep this HTML script-free. A nested script tag inside this inline footer script can break under Cloudflare Rocket Loader. var html = '' + safeHeading + '' + '' + '

' + safeHeading + '

' + (wiowCanAdminNext ? '' : '') + '
'; win.document.open(); win.document.write(html); win.document.close(); try { var doc = win.document; var btn = doc.getElementById('copyLinkBtn'); var status = doc.getElementById('shareStatus'); var field = doc.getElementById('shareUrlField'); var urlToCopy = String(shareUrl || ''); function setCopied(){ if (status) status.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (btn) { btn.textContent = 'Copied!'; win.setTimeout(function(){ btn.textContent = 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } function focusField(){ if (!field) return; field.removeAttribute('readonly'); field.focus(); field.select(); field.setSelectionRange(0, field.value.length); field.setAttribute('readonly','readonly'); } function legacyCopy(text){ var ta = doc.createElement('textarea'); ta.value = text; ta.setAttribute('readonly','readonly'); ta.style.position='fixed'; ta.style.top='0'; ta.style.left='0'; ta.style.opacity='0.01'; ta.style.pointerEvents='none'; doc.body.appendChild(ta); ta.focus(); ta.select(); ta.setSelectionRange(0, ta.value.length); var ok=false; try{ ok=!!doc.execCommand('copy'); }catch(err){} doc.body.removeChild(ta); return ok; } win.__wiowCopyShareLink = async function(){ if (!urlToCopy) { if (status) status.textContent='No share URL available.'; return false; } focusField(); try { if (win.navigator && win.navigator.clipboard && typeof win.navigator.clipboard.writeText === 'function') { await win.navigator.clipboard.writeText(urlToCopy); setCopied(); return false; } } catch(err) {} if (legacyCopy(urlToCopy)) { setCopied(); return false; } if (status) status.textContent='Press Ctrl+C or Cmd+C to copy the selected link.'; focusField(); return false; }; if (btn) btn.addEventListener('click', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); win.__wiowCopyShareLink(); }); var nextBtn = doc.getElementById('nextComboBtn'); if (nextBtn) nextBtn.addEventListener('click', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); if (win.opener && win.opener.__wiowRefreshShareOptions) win.opener.__wiowRefreshShareOptions(win); }); var mainBtn = doc.getElementById('mainComboBtn'); if (mainBtn) mainBtn.addEventListener('click', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); if (win.opener && win.opener.__wiowResetShareOptions) win.opener.__wiowResetShareOptions(win); }); Array.prototype.slice.call(doc.querySelectorAll('.preview-frame img')).forEach(function(img){ img.addEventListener('click', function(){ var overlay=doc.createElement('div'); overlay.className='overlay'; var full=doc.createElement('img'); full.src=img.getAttribute('data-full') || img.src; full.alt='Preview'; overlay.appendChild(full); overlay.addEventListener('click', function(){ overlay.remove(); }); doc.body.appendChild(overlay); }); }); } catch(err) {} return true; } async function buildShareImage(container, options){ options = options || {}; var postId = container.getAttribute('data-post-id'); var sharePage = container.getAttribute('data-share-page'); var kind = (container.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').toLowerCase(); var posterUrl = container.getAttribute('data-poster-url') || findPosterUrl(); if (!posterUrl){ posterUrl = ''; } var isRatings = (kind === 'ratings' || kind === 'ratings-admin' || kind === 'ratings-question'); var isAudience = (kind === 'audience' || kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'audience-question'); var action = isRatings ? 'wiow_build_ratings_share_image' : (isAudience ? 'wiow_build_audience_share_image' : 'wiow_build_share_image'); var payload = new URLSearchParams(); payload.append('action', action); payload.append('post_id', String(postId)); payload.append('poster_url', posterUrl); payload.append('share_context', kind); if (options.force) { payload.append('force', '1'); } if (options.reset) { payload.append('reset_combo', '1'); } if (kind === 'ratings-admin') { payload.append('admin', '1'); } if (kind === 'ratings-question' || kind === 'audience-question' || kind === 'critics-question') { payload.append('questions', '1'); payload.append('mode', 'questions'); } if (kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'critics-teaser') { payload.append('mode', 'teaser'); } var res = await fetch('https://worthitorwoke.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', { method: 'POST', credentials: 'same-origin', headers: {'Content-Type':'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8'}, body: payload.toString() }); var data = await res.json(); if (!data || !data.success || !data.data){ throw new Error((data && data.data && data.data.message) ? data.data.message : 'Share build failed.'); } return { image_url: data.data.image_url, share_url: data.data.share_url || sharePage, cycle_image_url: data.data.cycle_image_url || '', poster_url: data.data.poster_url || posterUrl || '' }; } async function buildShareSquareImage(container, cycleImageUrl, posterUrl, options){ options = options || {}; var postId = container.getAttribute('data-post-id'); var sharePage = container.getAttribute('data-share-page'); var kind = (container.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').toLowerCase(); var isRatings = (kind === 'ratings' || kind === 'ratings-admin' || kind === 'ratings-question'); var isAudience = (kind === 'audience' || kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'audience-question'); var action = isRatings ? 'wiow_build_ratings_share_image_square' : (isAudience ? 'wiow_build_audience_share_image_square' : 'wiow_build_share_image_square'); var payload = new URLSearchParams(); payload.append('action', action); payload.append('post_id', String(postId)); payload.append('share_context', kind); if (kind === 'ratings-admin') { payload.append('admin', '1'); } if (kind === 'ratings-question' || kind === 'audience-question' || kind === 'critics-question') { payload.append('questions', '1'); payload.append('mode', 'questions'); } if (kind === 'audience-teaser' || kind === 'critics-teaser') { payload.append('mode', 'teaser'); } if (cycleImageUrl) { payload.append('cycle_image_url', cycleImageUrl); } if (posterUrl) { payload.append('poster_url', posterUrl); } if (options.force) { payload.append('force', '1'); } if (options.reset) { payload.append('reset_combo', '1'); } var res = await fetch('https://worthitorwoke.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php', { method: 'POST', credentials: 'same-origin', headers: {'Content-Type':'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8'}, body: payload.toString() }); var data = await res.json(); if (!data || !data.success || !data.data){ throw new Error((data && data.data && data.data.message) ? data.data.message : 'Square share build failed.'); } return { image_url: data.data.image_url, share_url: data.data.share_url || sharePage, cycle_image_url: data.data.cycle_image_url || cycleImageUrl || '', poster_url: data.data.poster_url || posterUrl || '' }; } window.__wiowRefreshShareOptions = async function(win){ if (!wiowCanAdminNext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext.row) return false; var ctx = window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext; var row = ctx.row; var heading = ctx.heading || 'Share options'; var targetWin = win || ctx.win; try { renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(targetWin, heading); var built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true }); var builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url || !builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) throw new Error('Share build failed.'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: targetWin }; renderShareOptionsWindow(targetWin, built.image_url, builtSquare.image_url, built.share_url || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || '', heading); } catch(err) { if (targetWin && !targetWin.closed) { var msg = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not build next combo.'; targetWin.document.open(); targetWin.document.write('

Could not build next combo

' + escapeHtml(msg) + '

'); targetWin.document.close(); } } return false; }; window.__wiowResetShareOptions = async function(win){ if (!wiowCanAdminNext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext || !window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext.row) return false; var ctx = window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext; var row = ctx.row; var heading = ctx.heading || 'Share options'; var targetWin = win || ctx.win; try { renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(targetWin, heading); var built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true, reset:true }); var builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true, reset:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url || !builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) throw new Error('Share build failed.'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: targetWin }; renderShareOptionsWindow(targetWin, built.image_url, builtSquare.image_url, built.share_url || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || '', heading); } catch(err) { if (targetWin && !targetWin.closed) { var msg = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not build main combo.'; targetWin.document.open(); targetWin.document.write('

Could not build main combo

' + escapeHtml(msg) + '

'); targetWin.document.close(); } } return false; }; // Unified capture-phase share handler. Chrome incognito can allow the visual // pointer animation while another script prevents the later bubbling click // handler from ever running. Handle all top-level share buttons here first. document.addEventListener('click', async function(e){ var targetEl = e.target && e.target.nodeType === 1 ? e.target : (e.target && e.target.parentElement ? e.target.parentElement : null); var btn = targetEl && targetEl.closest ? targetEl.closest('.wiow-share-btn') : null; if (!btn) return; // Ignore the Audience modal "Rate" button (it also has wiow-share-btn class in your CSS usage) if (btn.hasAttribute('data-wiow-audience-open')) return; var row = btn.closest('[data-wiow-share="1"], .wiow-share-row'); if (!row) return; var platform = btn.getAttribute('data-platform'); // Public top-level controls must work even when AJAX generation or membership-gated data is unavailable. // Options still uses the full image-builder path below. if (platform === 'x' || platform === 'link') { e.preventDefault(); e.stopPropagation(); var quickStatus = row.querySelector('.wiow-share-status'); var quickUrl = btn.getAttribute('data-copy-url') || row.getAttribute('data-share-page') || row.getAttribute('data-post-url') || wiowShareFallbackUrl(row); if (!quickUrl) { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'No share URL available.'; return; } if (platform === 'x') { openPopup(btn.getAttribute('href') || btn.getAttribute('data-wiow-x-intent') || wiowShareXIntentUrl(row)); if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = ''; return; } if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Copying link…'; var copiedQuick = await wiowCopyShareText(quickUrl); var quickLabel = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var quickOriginal = quickLabel ? quickLabel.textContent : 'Copy link'; if (copiedQuick) { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (quickLabel) { quickLabel.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ quickLabel.textContent = quickOriginal || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (quickStatus) quickStatus.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } e.preventDefault(); var previewWin = null; if (platform === 'copy') { previewWin = openShareOptionsWindow(); var preloadKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var preloadHeading = (preloadKind === 'audience' || preloadKind === 'audience-teaser' || preloadKind === 'audience-question') ? 'Audience share options' : ((preloadKind === 'ratings' || preloadKind === 'ratings-admin' || preloadKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'Ratings share options' : 'Critic share options'); renderShareOptionsLoadingWindow(previewWin, preloadHeading); } var statusEl = row.querySelector('.wiow-share-status'); if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (platform === 'link') ? 'Copying link…' : 'Preparing share…'; try { var publicShareUrl = wiowShareFallbackUrl(row); var publicPostTitle = (row.getAttribute('data-post-title') || '').trim(); if (!publicPostTitle) publicPostTitle = 'this'; var publicShareKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var publicUpperTitle = publicPostTitle.toUpperCase(); var publicLineTwo = (publicShareKind === 'audience' || publicShareKind === 'audience-teaser' || publicShareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'See what the audience is saying.' : ((publicShareKind === 'ratings' || publicShareKind === 'ratings-admin' || publicShareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'See the Worth it or Woke score.' : 'See what sane critics say.'); var publicBaseText = 'Is ' + publicUpperTitle + ' Worth it or Woke?\n\n' + publicLineTwo + '\n\nFollow @worthitorwoke for more.'; // Public top-level X and Copy Link controls should not depend on AJAX image generation. // The share URL itself carries the OG/Twitter metadata; scrapers can generate/fetch the image from that URL. if ((platform === 'x' || platform === 'link') && publicShareUrl) { if (platform === 'link') { var copiedPublicLink = await wiowCopyShareText(publicShareUrl); var publicLabel = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var publicOriginalLabel = publicLabel ? publicLabel.textContent : ''; if (copiedPublicLink) { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (publicLabel) { publicLabel.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ publicLabel.textContent = publicOriginalLabel || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } openPopup('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=' + encodeURIComponent(publicBaseText) + '&url=' + encodeURIComponent(publicShareUrl)); if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = ''; return; } var built; var builtSquare = null; if (platform === 'copy') { // Build the landscape first so it chooses exactly one featured/gallery cycle image, // then pass that same image to the square builder. This prevents two square // outputs or mismatched gallery states in the Share Options window. built = await buildShareImage(row, { force:true }); builtSquare = await buildShareSquareImage(row, built.cycle_image_url || '', built.poster_url || '', { force:true }); if (!built || !built.image_url) { throw new Error('Landscape share build failed.'); } if (!builtSquare || !builtSquare.image_url) { throw new Error('Square share build failed.'); } } else { built = await buildShareImage(row); } var shareUrl = built.share_url; var postUrl = (row.getAttribute('data-post-url') || '').trim() || shareUrl; var postTitle = (row.getAttribute('data-post-title') || '').trim(); if (!postTitle) postTitle = 'this'; var shareKind = (row.getAttribute('data-share-kind') || 'critics').trim().toLowerCase(); var upperTitle = postTitle.toUpperCase(); var lineTwo = (shareKind === 'audience' || shareKind === 'audience-teaser' || shareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'See what the audience is saying.' : ((shareKind === 'ratings' || shareKind === 'ratings-admin' || shareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'See the Worth it or Woke score.' : 'See what sane critics say.'); var baseText = 'Is ' + upperTitle + ' Worth it or Woke?\n\n' + lineTwo + '\n\nFollow @worthitorwoke for more.'; var textWithUrl = baseText + '\n\n' + shareUrl; var postTextWithUrl = baseText + '\n\n' + postUrl; var encodedUrl = encodeURIComponent(shareUrl); var encodedBaseText = encodeURIComponent(baseText); var encodedTextWithUrl = encodeURIComponent(textWithUrl); if (platform === 'link') { var copiedLink = await wiowCopyShareText(shareUrl); var label = btn.querySelector('.wiow-share-btn__label'); var originalLabel = label ? label.textContent : ''; if (copiedLink) { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Link copied.'; if (label) { label.textContent = 'Copied!'; window.setTimeout(function(){ label.textContent = originalLabel || 'Copy link'; }, 1500); } } else { if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Could not copy link.'; } return; } if (platform === 'x'){ // X gets the URL through the intent URL parameter, so do not also duplicate it in the tweet text. openPopup('https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=' + encodedBaseText + '&url=' + encodedUrl); } else if (platform === 'facebook'){ // Facebook sharing has been intentionally removed from this plugin flow. if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = 'Facebook sharing is currently disabled.'; } else if (platform === 'copy'){ var heading = (shareKind === 'audience' || shareKind === 'audience-teaser' || shareKind === 'audience-question') ? 'Audience share options' : ((shareKind === 'ratings' || shareKind === 'ratings-admin' || shareKind === 'ratings-question') ? 'Ratings share options' : 'Critic share options'); window.__wiowLastShareOptionsContext = { row: row, heading: heading, win: previewWin }; var shown = renderShareOptionsWindow(previewWin, built.image_url, (builtSquare ? builtSquare.image_url : ''), shareUrl, heading); if (!shown) { var copied = false; if (navigator.clipboard && window.isSecureContext && navigator.clipboard.writeText){ try { await navigator.clipboard.writeText(shareUrl); copied = true; } catch (copyErr) {} } if (!copied) { var ta = document.createElement('textarea'); ta.value = shareUrl; ta.setAttribute('readonly', 'readonly'); ta.style.position = 'fixed'; ta.style.opacity = '0'; document.body.appendChild(ta); ta.focus(); ta.select(); ta.setSelectionRange(0, ta.value.length); copied = !!document.execCommand('copy'); ta.remove(); } } } if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (platform === 'copy') ? 'Ready.' : ''; } catch(err){ if (previewWin && !previewWin.closed) { previewWin.close(); } if (statusEl) statusEl.textContent = (err && err.message) ? err.message : 'Could not share.'; } }, true); })();