This post is going to be the first of a multi part series based on the Descendants Franchise highlighting the books by Melissa Del La Cruz and the three films. I believe that book one “Isle of the Lost” is a great lead in to the first movie. I also believe that the full adventure would have made a good TV series as opposed to just using the “Wicked World” shorts. Some people might disagree with me, but I think that the Descendants Franchise touches upon a lot of issues when analyzed from an adult perspective even though the viewership that it was created for may not be able to pick up some of them – plus, like most Disney material it is supposed to be bubble gum.
One of the themes that may not be picked up on right away is the comparison of a third world country (The Isle of the Lost) compared to a first world country (the USA – United States of Auradon). The first few chapters highlight some of the living conditions of the Isle of the Lost such as the run down buildings and the poor living conditions of its citizens – food on the Isle consists of moldy and spoiled fruits and vegetables, the environment is damp, dark and basically undesirable. All of the worlds villains were exiled to this island to keep the world safe. An interesting side note – this is actually how the Island nation of Australia was formed (not villains of course, but a penal colony for criminals). As we all know, Australia is not a third world country. I believe that the Isle of the Lost is also compared to a third world country as there is no diplomacy, the Isle is said to be ruled by the most evil villain of them all, Maleficent through fear, while on the other hand despite the fact that King Beast had made himself the leader of the United States of Auradon there are still diplomatic elements such as as the council meeting with Prince Ben based upon love and goodness (although he does have a fit during the first meeting and he corrects his behavior later).
Through the eyes of the four villain kids VK’s, the reader gets a better glimpse of what life is like in a less developed location. Through the remainder of the book we see that the struggles are real such as the development of the famous friendships that will eventually make Descendants famous and how the VK’s formed their friendship despite all odds. We also see the formation of the chain of command such as Mal the leader, Jay – her loyal enforcer, though he would never admit it, Evie – the outcast, and Carlos – the nerd. Along with the form of the chain of command – the theme of wanting to be accepted by or pleasing their parents is also a recurring theme throughout the “Isle of the Lost” and the first movie, more about that later.
Melissa Del la Cruz does an excellent job of setting up “Isle of the Lost” to address these main themes from the creation of the conflict between Evil Queen and Maleficent (which ultimately leads to the tension between Mal and Evie) to the development of the love-hate relationship between Mal and Jay or developing the relationship between Carlos and Evie.
I must admit, Del la Cruz also did a stand up job when highlighting the relationship between each Villain Kid and his or her parent and the effect it had on each VK’s personality.
Mal who is supposed to be a natural leader – though fear of course, like her mother. This is illustrated when Mal gets Carlos to hold the Hell Raiser (a party) in his home, (Hell Hall). Mal’s leadership through fear can even be demonstrated when Carlos is inviting people (if you don’t show up Mal will do such and such – a threat more than an invitation really). Mal’s reasoning for the party illustrates her leading ability as well as her wanting to please her mother – Mal leads Carlos and wants to take revenge upon Evie to teach Evie a lesson and show her mother that she can be wicked.
Evie, she is an outcast who wants to fit in since she has never had any real relationships due to being home schooled (read Castle Schooled) since the fallout between Evil Queen and Maleficent – she wants to please her mother by being popular, the fairest of them all. Evie shows that she cares for Carlos when she offers to give him a pillow -she does not want to show weakness (caring) and states that she is only going to give it to him since it is going into the trash anyways.
We also have Jay, the son of Jafar, who wants to please his father and strives to please him by stealing “the big score” – rather than stealing other people’s junk just to stock Jafar’s Junk Shop. Jay is known to be quick, athletic and “able to steal anything but his father’s heart”. Jay can be seen as the enforcer of Mal’s schemes even though he does not like to admit it.
Last but not least we have Carlos, very intelligent yet lacks confidence as he is used by his mother as a servant when he fluff’s her furs and does the laundry or house cleaning or even the cleaning of the car. He aims to please his mother by being the servant since she feels that this is all Carlos will ever amount to. He fears Mal but is also shown to have some courage and compassion when he safely gets Evie out of his mother’s fur closet after Mal put her in there. Evie shows that she cares for Carlos when she offers to give him a pillow -she does not want to show weakness and states that she is only going to give it to him since it is going into the trash anyways.
The reader gets to see the growth and development of the friendships throughout a journey – the retrieval of the Dragon’s Eye (Maleficent’s scepter). Mal wants Jay to go originally so she is not the first person to touch it but eventually invites Evie to tag along because her original wicked scheme was a disappointment. Jay wants to go because he wants to steal it since Jafar thinks it could be the “biggest score”. Evie goes because she wants companionship and a sense of adventure and Carlos goes because he was drug along, plus he wants to take care of his machine.
Throughout the journey to recover Maleficent’s scepter on the Isle of the Doomed – we see how the villain kids band together in the name of survival and ultimately friendship by the end. Mal ultimately does not put Evie to sleep and as a result is a disappointment to Maleficent when she has to recover the scepter, herself. Jay is seen as a disappointment since he did not steal “the big score”. Evie is seen as a disappointment since she comes home a mess. Finally, Carlos is a disappointment since he did not stay home to do his chores.In all, I believe “Isle of the Lost” is a very good lead in to the first movie as it makes sense, it allows the reader to get a better glimpse into the main characters and their history. The Isle of the Lost should have actually been a movie in my opinion, the first movie serving as a prequel as the first movie makes more sense after reading it.
In the next post – I will discuss the first movie and why in my opinion it fit in perfectly after the first book.
4.5/5
