Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker are dishing on their new movie Descendants: Wicked Wonderland!
The two young stars reprise their roles as Red and Chloe, respectively, in the fifth installment of Disney’s hit movie musical franchise.
Ahead of the movie’s premiere this week, Just Jared caught up with Kylie and Malia to get the scoop on returning to the franchise after the last movie’s success, their favorite song, walking on set for the first time, and more!
Keep reading below to see what they shared with us…
What was it like returning to the franchise after the massive success of Descendants: The Rise of Red and the Worlds Collide Tour?
“So cool. It felt like coming back to high school as a senior, and so much has changed, but also, so much is still the same,” Kylie shared. “I think I had a lot of moments when I was watching myself get the red wig back on, and I’m like, ‘Okay, this is happening. We’re back.’”
“It feels like it, honestly, feels like I never left, but also, there has been so much life that has been lived between filming Rise of Red and this one, and I feel like I was able to kind of bring my own personal evolution to the character’s evolution and it’s going to be fun for the fans, I think, to see how much has changed and how much the characters have evolved,” she continued.
Malia added, “Very true. You emulate exactly what you’ve gone through in real life and I feel like having scenes that kind of feel like the exact same chapter and era that you are was very gratifying in its own way. I think it was, we had this one scene, which is our opening scene, where we are literally in the exact same outfits as we were in the last movie, but the final scene, being back in those, it was so trippy and eerie because they are legit the exact same costumes as you wore, at least when I was 16. I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is something else.’”
“So, I think it was very special to be able to kind of give a nod to our past selves, but also being able to continue their chapter and their own stories, and yeah, just celebrate them,” she added.
What was like it like walking on to set for the first time?
“Oh my gosh. I mean, crazy,” Malia said. “Tyler [Bishop Harron], our set dec, he is insane. Everything that, most of what you see is all practical, which I feel like is such a rarity. You’re, most of the time, we’re literally working with green screen.
“I remember with the past movie, we had the whole Uliana’s ‘Perfect Revenge’ bit, and we were jumping on these, well, what turned into these stones, was really just a bunch of a green huge warehouse,” she continued. “It’s really hard to even understand conceptually what that will look like, but they literally made Wonderland in the middle of nowhere and within a studio.”
“I think my favorite set had to have been the, what’s it called? ‘Dancing with the Enemy’ set. We were on this legit huge chess board that we had to choreograph to stay within the squares because the squares were like a certain size and everything and you see a picnic basket,” Malia added. “But it was real, in real life, so, I think it’s very cool to be able to watch it be as whimsical and magical as it was in real life on a screen.”
What is your favorite song from this movie?
“I think it changes every day, but right now, it would have to be, ‘For Once in My Life,’” Kylie dished. “She’s a cute little R&B ballad, cutesy moment.”
Malia agreed that “it’s a good number.”
Can you describe the movie in three words?
“Oooh emotis,” Malia said. “I feel like I could describe… I think it’s adventurous…”
Kylie chimed in with “unexpected,” and Malia added, “Magical?”
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland premieres TONIGHT (July 16) on Disney Channel, and it streams tomorrow (July 17) on Disney+. Watch the trailer here!
If you missed it, get the scoop on all the new cast members.
Posted To:Descendants Exclusive Interview Kylie Cantrall Malia Baker
Leave a Reply