Disney image.
Disney Channel’s live-action movie Descendants about the teenage children of classic Disney villains and heroes is filming today at the historic Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a castle. Dozens of Victoria background performers cheer at what looks to be the kingdom of Auradon’s teen heir apparent Ben (Mitchell Hope) passing by in a carriage with [Maleficent’s daughter Mal (Dove Cameron)] and then walking up the steps [to meet his parents Queen Belle (Keegan Connor Tracy) and King Beast (Dan Payne).]
Filming some sort of carriage castle scene at #bcleg for Disney movie pic.twitter.com/0njn3eespp
— Rob Shaw (@robshaw_vansun) June 17, 2014
Who needs a vacation with #Disney filming in your own backyard? #yyj. Great surprise on my walk. pic.twitter.com/NvEItnzZ53
— Dee Govang, CFP (@DeeGovang) June 17, 2014
What is this TV movie about? Ben’s first proclamation as he prepares to take the throne is to give amnesty to the teen descendants of banished Disney villains like Maleficent (Kristin Chenoweth), Jafar (Maz Jobrani), Cruella De Vil (Wendy Raquel Robinson) and the Evil Queen (Kathy Najimy) and ask them to join descendants of Disney heroes at the same prep school. What could go wrong? Here’s the main teen quartet: Maleficent’s daughter Mal (Dove Cameron in the scene at the BC Parliament buildings); Jafar’s son Jay (Booboo Stewart), Cruella’s son Carlos (Cameron Boyce) and the Evil Queen’s daughter Evie (Sofia Carson) in a photo taken at what looks like the Terminal City Ironworks complex in east Vancouver. That’s where filming of Descendants started at the end of May.
Dove Cameron as Mal, BooBoo Stewart as Jay, Cameron Boyce as Carlos & Sofia Carson as Evie. DISNEY CHANNEL/Bob D’Amico.
What else might be shot around Victoria over the next two weeks? More scenes from Isle of the Lost, the remote prison where the Disney villains lived for 20 years and raised their kids? And perhaps scenes from the prep school where those kids join the teen progeny of Disney heroes like Mulan’s daughter Lonnie (Dianne Doan), Cinderella’s son Chad (Jedidiah Goodacre), Sleeping Beauty’s daughter Audrey (Sarah Jeffery) and Dopey’s son Doug (Zachary Gibson) — all local actors — as well as the Fairy Godmother’s daughter Jane (Brenna D’Amico)?
Descendants is splitting the musical-adventure between Vancouver and Victoria and is expected to return to the mainland for the final week of what will be a six-week shoot.
Descendants is expected to air on the Disney Channel sometime in 2015.