In late 2013, Disney Channel announced ‘Descendants’ as their latest original movie. Following in the footsteps of ‘Once Upon A Time’, ‘Maleficent’, and the endless live-action remakes currently in development such as ‘Sword in the Stone’ or ‘Mulan’, the upcoming musical will follow the children of the most fearsome villains in all of Disney mythology as they are granted entry into the magic kingdom for a second chance at a life of good. Of course, they could follow in the evil footsteps of their parents, but the new king seems optimistic about it. And now, you can get a sneak peek at that royal decree ahead of the film’s July 31st premiere.

Disney’s YouTube channel recently released the first six minutes of the next DCOM directed by ‘High School Musical’ helmer Kenny Ortega and written by ‘Runaway Bride’ team Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriot. In the video, you get a taste of what’s to come thanks to an introduction from the director and the opening number featuring stars Cameron Boyce, Booboo Stewart, Sofia Carson, and Dove Cameron. You can check it out for yourself below, followed by the official synopsis of the film:

In a present day idyllic kingdom, the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s iconic ‘Beauty and the Beast’) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen, and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters.

These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evvie, and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan. However, the evil teens face a dilemma. Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?

Well, that was something, wasn’t it? I think this might be, in their own words, “the baddest of them all.” Honestly, I was on board until the song started, at which point I found the lip-syncing and the lyrics to be a bit off. This film had so much potential, but I’ll reserve full judgment until next week. After all, seeing Kristen Chenoweth and Kathy Najimy as Maleficent and the Evil Queen has to be interesting, right?

What do you think about the first six minutes of the latest Disney Channel original movie ‘Descendants’? Will you be checking it out when it premieres next Friday? Let us know in the comments.