The Descendants

Descendants moves quickly through its two-hour-long running time, builds momentum off of a handful of peppy tunes, and delivers a colorful confection that's sure to impress the younger crowd.

The movie boasts a stronger, more assured story than most of the recent youth-oriented live-action musicals Disney has offered, with plenty of brightly colored bells and whistles as well as songs that range from Broadway to rap.

Will Descendants create the next Zac Efron or Vanessa Hudgens? Of the crowd, [Dove] Cameron seems to have the most star potential.

The lesson of Descendants is to choose love instead of hate. Those are definitely lessons worth learning, even if they are dressed in song and dance numbers and simplistic dialogue.