Look, let's be real: this movie is getting absolutely destroyed in audience ratings, and that tells you everything you need to know. A 4.7 on IMDb and 1.7 out of 5 on Letterboxd? That's not just 'not great'—that's 'we made this because we had to, not because we had a story to tell' territory.
The premise is actually interesting—time travel to prevent your mom from becoming a villain—and the themes about intergenerational trauma are more thoughtful than your typical Disney Channel fare. But good themes don't matter if the execution is so boring or cringey that kids are tuning out.
If your kid is a die-hard Descendants fan who's seen all three previous movies and needs closure, fine. Put it on. But if you're looking for quality family movie night content, there are about a thousand better options on Disney+. This feels like franchise exhaustion in movie form—Disney squeezing one more film out of a concept that peaked two movies ago.
The WISE elements are there on paper, but a movie has to be watchable to actually deliver on any of them.




