Kenny Ortega Reflects on Descendants Magic After HSM Whirlwind (Exclusive)

As Descendants turns 10, director Kenny Ortega is remembering the profound impact of the franchise. 

After directing and choreographing Disney Channel’s other hit trilogy, High School Musical, Ortega tells PEOPLE he knew he was in for another groundbreaking project as he read the script for the 2015 film. 

Though he was drawn in by the concept of the movie, which follows Dove Cameron (Mal), Cameron Boyce (Carlos), Sofia Carson (Evie) and Booboo Stewart (Jay) as the children of iconic Disney villains, he also quickly realized the “challenge” and “importance” of telling the story the moment he signed on.

He notes that casting the lead roles became a crucial part of the whole process, especially after witnessing the incredible rise to fame of the High School Musical cast firsthand. 

“Casting is vital and you can’t direct chemistry,” he explains. “You can’t ask for chemistry. It exists or it doesn’t. So you’ve got to keep your eyes open and then [looking for] promise. Is there an actor there that has a promise that isn’t necessarily showing it right now, that if you give them a little more permission that you’re going to get something really special?”

“I say to all the actors as we get closer and closer, I’m not just looking for actors. I’m looking for partners [who are] going to bring something to the party every day,” he continues. “That’s what I learned early on, early, early on, was how important that is when you’ve got actors that show up and aren’t just waiting for you to guide, steer and direct them, but they’d come in and say, ‘I was looking at this Kenny.’ Ashley Tisdale was the queen of that.” 

He adds that it was especially important that he choose actors who were ready for the whirlwind ride of fame coming their way. 

“They come to understand the responsibility that comes with it and the sacrifices that come with it,” he explains. “There’s glory as well. Incredible glory. I mean, I’m dancing in my dreams still. I love what I do, but it can come quickly, fame can come quickly, celebrity can come quickly and it can just so interrupt your flow,” he says, reflecting on how fame impacted previous stars he’s worked with.

“I mean way back, knowing the impact it had on Michael Jackson, knowing the impact it had on Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze for Dirty Dancing, knowing the impact it had on Zac [Efron] and Vanessa [Hudgens] and Ashley [Tisdale] and Corbin [Bleu] and Monique [Coleman] and that entire group of kids overnight, suddenly they couldn’t walk out their front door. So there’s a sort of glee and excitement that I feel for them, but I also worry about it because it robs you of something. And when you’re that young, it can rob you of a lot of your childhood and the innocence of your childhood. We got to be careful.” 

As the driving force behind the Descendants franchise, Ortega says that it was especially crucial for him to create a positive environment on set, where the young actors felt not only safe, but valued. 

“Creating an environment is everything to me,” he says. “I like to create an environment where the cast has a voice and where they know that they are in a place of safety or they’re not going to be judged. That if they trip and fall or make a mistake, I’m going to be the first one reaching down to pick ’em up, dust ’em off, and congratulate them, knowing that because of those mistakes and taking those risks that they’re going to grow and something special is going to happen.” 

He would also filter that info down to the crew, from hair and costuming to producers, letting them know that “these kids have a voice” in the project. “They’re playing the character, not you,” he continues of his motto on set. “They’re the ones that are going out there bringing all of this to life, bringing your wardrobe to life, your hair and makeup to life, everything to life. So don’t discount them. They’re here because they’re special. And I believe in them. It’s just creating an environment where, and the doors are wide open and everyone can come in and take a look, and that there’s no fear. Fear only gets in the way of creativity.” 

Reflecting on the first film, Ortega recalls witnessing Disney magic come to life as they filmed the opening number “Rotten to the Core.” 

“[When] we shot the ‘Rotten to the Core’ musical dance number with the kids coming down the Isle of the Lost, [I remember] standing behind the camera, watching that going, ‘Oh my goodness, we are going to do something again here special.’ And having this feeling, this real exhilaration, that I was looking at the potential for success again.” 

Of course, Ortega can’t talk about the magic of Descendants without mentioning the starpower of the late Cameron Boyce, whom he affectionately refers to “the Forever Boy.” 

“Everything about him was so special, and we all knew it,” he says about Boyce, who died at age 20 in July 2019 due to a seizure. “I used to say to him, Cameron, don’t tell anybody, but you’re my favorite.” 

“When that boy walked onto the set, it was like the lights in the room got brighter,” he says of the late actor. “If he wasn’t in the mirror working on something to improve for himself, he was helping someone else come over a breakthrough, a weakness that he was the most generous, loving, inspired, imaginative kind person.” 

Now, a decade after helming the iconic Disney Channel franchise, Boyce’s legacy continues to live on with new Descendants movies, Descendants: The Rise of Red and Descendants: WIcked Wonderland, the latter of which will be released next year. 

China Anne McClain, who reprised her role for Descendants: The Rise of Red, told PEOPLE last year that she thinks Boyce would have been very excited to see the new generation of VKs carry on the franchise. 

“I think that he would’ve been really excited to see it and to see how [the movie] turned out because, to be honest, none of us knew how anyone was going to receive it,” she says, noting that looking at the production experience through the eyes of the movie’s new cast members brought back memories of filming. “They were so excited, and they’re so young. All of them are so young that I looked at them, and I was reminded of when I stepped on set to do Descendants the first time.”

Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker, who lead the new iterations of Descendants, tell PEOPLE it’s extra special being a part of the franchise now, having grown up with the original movies.

“I just remember in school genuinely being so in love with the cast and everything that they envisioned and created on screen,” Baker recalls, noting that the “hero-villain storyline” connects with all audiences. 

“Descendants is so iconic for me and so many people,” Cantrall adds. “It holds such a special place in everyone’s hearts. The concept is so just evergreen; these themes of finding your identity and trying to differentiate who you are from your parents and family legacy and navigating friendships and relationships and just these concepts that I feel like everyone can kind of resonate with. And being able to be a part of this iconic franchise and tell this story is just so, so insane. And it feels like a pinch-me moment every day that I’m on set.” 

From High School Musical to Descendants, Ortega notes that he’s “deeply grateful” and “humbled” to see his work live on and be introduced to new generations in the process. 

“I don’t say yes unless I really believe [in it],” he says. “Gene Kelly taught me this phrase, “raison d’être,” [which means] “reason for being” that that I’ve always been careful about saying yes for many, many years without really making sure that there’s something that lived at the center of an idea that would make it worthwhile getting up for every day that was going to do more than entertain, but that could impact the lives of young people watching.” 

“So I’m so grateful for the projects that I’ve been able to be a part of, and for the fans that have found them, that continue to come back to the word of mouth and telling their younger brothers and sisters,” he adds. “It’s amazing the generations that are still out there. They’re still out there for people to find. It’s mind-blowing.”