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My kids also got to struggle to comprehend a different parenting dynamic with the Villains, where the parents were still attentive and present, but controlling and selfish; parents who did not love their children unconditionally. These will be some interesting themes to discuss further and explore through play.
My 7-year-old prefers to read or play on her computer versus playing with dolls, but she loves looking at beautiful things, so kept her Audrey doll in the box to display on her bookshelves. My 3-year-old, however, was highly impatient to meet her new friends, and threw about five tantrums while we frantically tried to open her Evie and Mal doll packages fast enough! I only managed to convince her to wait to open so she could take photos with me by reminding her of the unboxing videos she likes to watch on her YouTube Kids app!
Now that we had the dolls and could watch the movie DVD any time we pleased, I decided it would be fun to have a little DVD party with some Descendants-themed foods to munch on while our new doll friends "watched" the movie with us... All the foods I came up with were quick and easy, but still super fun!
While Mal doesn't actually have a wand in the movie, her mother does, and the entire plot of the movie revolves around Mal stealing the Fairy Godmother's wand.
So for our movie-night snacks, Mal's "Magic Wands" are just three different colors of grapes on some fun fringed skewers. The purple, black, and green grape colors all go with Mal and her mother Maleficent's color schemes!
Luckily they were so fun to wave around that my kids didn't mind the loose connection to the character!
For Cruella's son Carlos, I was originally brainstorming ideas like half-and-half cake balls or "Cruella deVilsfood Cake." But then sanity returned and I realized that I had zero interest in baking! Then BOOM! It hit me! Pasta with olive "spots!"
I just made a white cheddar macaroni and cheese (with gluten-free noodles and goat milk cheddar) and added some sliced black olives on top. It was such a big hit that my husband didn't actually wait for me to tell him it was okay to dig in... So my photo shoot came to an unexpected halt! Hahaha!
Z was torn between enjoying what would normally be a favorite food, and lamenting my choice of words. She was very sad about the poor spotted puppies that went into this dish...
For Jafar's son Jay, I made some "Prince Ali Kabob-wa" skewers. I had toyed with tying Iago's name in there, because of the chicken [parrot... chicken.. see where I'm going with this...] but opted not to traumatize my kids! Ha!
I had some leftover rotisserie chicken, so I just skewered some chunks of that along with some sweet gherkin pickles and whole kalamata olives, which my kids looooove! I would have included some cherry tomatoes and other veggies instead, and then served with a Ranch dipping sauce, but we were all out of fresh veggies!
Food on a stick - crazy easy, and extremely fun! Both my girls initially balked at these, despite them being loaded with two of their favorite foods. I put one on each of their plates and told them that they didn't have to eat them, and then we went to watch the movie. Both girls gobbled theirs down, and my oldest went back for seconds!
(If your kids are too young to be trusted with wooden skewers, try snipping off the pointed end after you've assembled your kabobs, or else try swizzle sticks instead!)
My 7-year-old liked the Evie doll best, but ended up choosing the Audrey Coronation doll because the dress and accessories were "prettier." I got them both anyway! Teehee!
These apple slices were not only super easy, but they were also addictively yummy! I melted some white chocolate chips with a little coconut oil to thin it out some, and then kind of flicked it onto the apple slices, since apparently it still wasn't thin enough to drizzle!
Of all the Descendants, I think I like Mal best, but that's probably because she was the main character, so we got to see more of her personality and personal journey to discover who she really wanted to be when she was finally on her own without her mother there to ensure that every action was done with an evil purpose. Plus her mother Maleficent was played by the very talented Kristen Chenoweth, one of my personal favorite actors. Mal's burgeoning magical powers are pretty cool too!
But my favorite villain of all-time has got to be Ursula. I love her deep rich voice and her swishy swirly movements, as well as her unwavering self-confidence. She also embraces who she is as a person [fish?] even though no one else likes her. I wonder what her kids would be like!
Who is YOUR favorite Disney villain?
What fun food! I love the spotted mac and cheese - you had me at goat's milk. My favorite character was Evie. I love her fun personality and her genuine heart. #client
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