Interview with the Stars of “Descendants: The Rise of Red”

Descendants 3 brought the stories of Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos to a close in 2019. Five years later, fans are invited back to Auradon through a new film – Descendants: The Rise of Red. Ahead of the July 12th launch on Disney+, we got to chat with the stars of the film. This interview includes Kylie Cantrall (Red, daughter of the Queen of Hearts), Malia Baker (Chloe, daughter of Cinderella), Ruby Rose Turner (Bridget – teenage Queen of Hearts), Morgan Dudley (Ella – teenage Cinderella), and Dara Renee (Uliana – Ursula’s little sister and Uma’s aunt).

The characters you play are all connected to classic Disney characters or even characters fans love from the first three Descendants films. How did that inform your portrayal in this film?

Kylie Cantrall (Red): I think there is a bit of Mal in Red. They both have that mischievousness and go on that self-discovery journey of trying to find their place in the world and where they fit in regard to good and bad. That is definitely something that Red shares with Mal, and I definitely took some inspiration from that, even if it was subconscious.

Malia Baker (Chloe): They're so iconic. And even with [Alice in Wonderland] and Cinderella, they're such iconic films separately that we get to pull inspiration from. But there's not been an installation [of Descendants] where we see Cinderella's daughter or the Queen of Hearts’ daughter yet, so we had that wiggle room to experiment and have fun with it. I grew up watching Brandy's version of Cinderella, so I feel like I always dreamed of what that possibility could be like. So now, to have that potential come to life is so crazy. It's so special.

Morgan Dudley (Ella): I took little notes from Brandy because I'd seen her in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Also, I got the chance to be on set when I wasn't working to watch her work. But I really thought it was important to make this younger Cinderella my own because there are so many iterations, and I really wanted to bridge the time gap of how she became that sweet. What was the development of that like? Because we were all teenagers, and there's a lot of growth from that.

Dara Renee (Uliana): I definitely took a lot of inspiration from China [Anne McClain]. I looked at all the movies, and I studied her mannerisms and every little thing, I was like, we're in the same movie, I better get it right. So I studied her and Ursula, and I basically just put them together and prayed, so that was that.

Ruby Rose Turner (Bridget): My character is the polar opposite of modern-day Queen of Hearts, so my number one note was literally do the exact opposite to help tell that story and solidify that difference.

Was it intimidating working with music legends like Brandy and Rita Ora?

Malia Baker (Chloe): I don't know if it was intimidating, more just so exciting. They're just such titans of the industry that to be in the same air with them, you felt this rush of energy, and you just wanted to show up for them in a way. And I felt like they felt that way with each other, too. Brandy was Rita's first concert.

Kylie Cantrall (Red): It was so cool witnessing that. It was also Rita meeting Brandy for the first time. She was kind of fangirling a little bit over Brandy, which, I mean, we all were, for sure. I get it. But it was just so cute witnessing their meeting and how well they got along. And there were even moments where Brandy was giving Rita advice.

The wigs in the film are incredible, but I imagine they were also heavy. What was it like acting through all that hair?

Kylie Cantrall (Red): It was pretty heavy, for sure. She was a big girl. I mean, she was the diva of the set. I think [Malia’s and my] wigs, some days they felt like cooperating, other days they didn't feel like it. I mean, it was a wig journey, but there’s no better time to bond with your hair and makeup artists than three hours in the hair chair.

Malia Baker (Chloe): Literally. I don't think mine was too heavy, though. I felt bad for Dara. Uliana, that was wild. She definitely had the longest wig, too. I felt that at some point. I was curious. It’s like 10 pounds heavy. They were pinned in their good for our dancing.

Dara Renee (Uliana): I had an amazing loctician, Antoinette [Black], so my hair was not heavy at all. I'm going to have to give that to Maleficent.

Morgan Dudley (Ella): Mars' wig was actually made by the prop Department, so it was heavy.

Dara Renee (Uliana): Mine was definitely not the heaviest. I don't even think mine was heavy at all, thank goodness. Miss Antonette literally did her thing. At first, it was heavy, but then she came in, and she just ate it up.

Ruby Rose Turner (Bridget): Sometimes I move my neck wrong, and I can still feel the weight of that pink hair. I remember bending down doing the “Life is Sweeter” choreography [and struggling with it].

Morgan Dudley (Ella): You were throwing yourself around, though.

Ruby Rose Turner (Bridget): Bridget’s active. I wasn't I wasn't expecting it.

Morgan Dudley (Ella): I just had a little 80s mullet. Like, I was chilling. I was like, whatever. It was cute. It was light. It was fresh.

It can sometimes be hard to leave a set with a keepsake, but I have to imagine on this film that everyone left with a few rhinestones.

Malia Baker (Chloe): Oh, the rhinestones. I probably did in my suitcase. I remember hearing the little click and clacking.

Morgan Dudley (Ella): I did keep some butterflies from my shoes. A lot of them fell off constantly, and I was collecting them. Sometimes they would take them back when I wasn't looking.

Dara Renee (Uliana): One of the most memorable things that they gave me was my necklace.

Ruby Rose Turner (Bridget): Bridget wears this really pretty pearl heart ring in the movie on one of her fingers. On my last day, I was able to take it home with me. I don't wear it because I'm literally too afraid of losing it, but it sits on my nightstand at home.

Descendants: The Rise of Red premieres Friday, July 12th, exclusively on Disney+. The film will also air on Disney Channel on Friday, August 9th, at 8/7c.