Ben

**King Benjamin "Ben" Florian** (better known as **Ben**) is a character who appears in the Disney film *Descendants*, *Descendants 2,* and *Descendants 3*, portrayed by Mitchell Hope. He is the son of Belle and Beast from *Beauty and the Beast,* current King of the United States of Auradon and future husband of Mal.

## Background

### Official Disney Bio

*Poised to take the throne, he makes his first proclamation and offers a chance at redemption to Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay when they are given a chance to attend Auradon Prep. Unlike his peers, he does not fear the trouble-making teens and embraces them as friends while he helps them navigate the unfamiliar land where goodness runs rampant.*
## Appearances

### *Descendants*

One month before being coronated King, Ben informs his parents of his first royal decree: to give the children of the Isle of the Lost a chance at redemption and to attend Auradon Prep. To ensure the safety of both his plan and the citizens, he decides to start small with the children who need the help most - Carlos, Jay, Evie and Mal.

He tries his best to befriend them and help, but his girlfriend Audrey is completely unwelcoming and takes him away, forcing Doug to take care of the tour and explanations.

Having been told how terrible Maleficent was in the past, Ben attempts reaching out to Mal the most. Because of this, he begins developing affection for her. He also helps get both Jay and Carlos on the Tourney Team. Unaware of the kids' mission to steal Fairy Godmother's wand, Ben is tricked by Mal into eating a cookie laced with love potion. This actually proves helpful as this allows him to break up with Audrey and date Mal, finding they have more in common.

On a date, Ben swims in an enchanted lake, which removes the love spell from him. After Mal attempts to save him, thinking he drowned, he tells her that he can see her inner goodness is stronger than the evil she's descended from. He continues faking being under the spell, but genuinely shows love for her as the day of his coronation nears.

On the day he is to be crowned king, Ben rides in a carriage with Mal, who gives him a cupcake with the antidote in it. He eats it too early, then reveals that he has been free from the spell since their first date, and forgives her for her doing because he believed that she did not believe they could be together as long as he was with Audrey. When she questions whether he'd been faking his affection, he reveals that he's truly in love with her as he gives her his signet ring. During the ceremony, Jane steals the wand to use its magic to improve her looks. Unfortunately, the wand unleashes a blast of magic that undoes the barrier around the Isle of the Lost, allowing Maleficent to escape and attempt stealing the wand. Ben talks Mal into listening to her heart, which subsequently convinces the others to do the same thing. They all decide to be good people of Auradon moments before Maleficent arrives and freezes everyone in the hall.

Ben is left happily surprised when the spell is undone thanks to Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos, who used their combined goodness to shrink Dragon Maleficent to the size of gecko. They then proceed to celebrate their victory in the courtyard of Auradon Prep.

### *Descendants: Wicked World*

Ben returns in the animated short series *Descendants: Wicked World*, voiced by Mitchell Hope who also portrayed him in the live-action film.

## Printed material

### *Descendants: Isle of the Lost*

In the prelude novella, Ben is holding a council meeting in his father's stead. He is extremely anxious because it is his first time to hold a meeting. Despite encouragement from both Belle and Beast, the meeting goes horribly wrong and Ben loses his temper. In the end, Ben manages to find a solution to the problems and invites Grumpy to a one-on-one meeting, believing that it would be better that way and solves the situation peacefully. He then comes to believe in himself as the King that he is instead of the King everyone expects him to be.

Like Mal, he has dreamt about being on the Isle of the Lost where he meets a strange girl with mischievous eyes and purple hair. While singing *Once Upon a Dream* on his date with Audrey, Aurora's daughter, Ben realizes the relevance between the song and his dream.

This novella also explains the reason to why he feels pity for the children on the Isle of the Lost. Like them, he was born into his life, where everything was taken care of for him. Though he is proud to be his parents' son and the future king of Auradon, he also felt trapped and started imagining how it would feel like for those children, who even had lesser choices than him.

## Gallery

***The Descendants Wiki*** has a collection of images and media related to ***Ben***.
## Trivia

* According to the film, his middle name is Florian. He is captain of the Tourney Team, and he is 16 years old.
* In the prequel book, at the end (which takes place right before the film), it is revealed he had a dream of being inside the Isle of the Lost and meeting a purple-haired green-eyed girl. Mal also had a dream, set near the Enchanted Lake and being "on the stone floor of an ancient temple ruin" with Ben (whom she never met or seen prior to the dream and meeting him).
	+ The prelude also confirms that Ben takes after his mother more than his father; he shares her interests in books and reading, and is more of a gentle soul in comparison to his father.
* Since Mal is 16-years-old, and Ben is "turning 16" by the time he makes his proclamation, Ben is younger than her by a few to several months.
* Near the end of the film, Ben reveals that he didn't fake his affection for Mal after the love spell was washed away in the Enchanted Lake.
* In 'Disney Descendants Yearbook', Ben's "Secret Wish" is to live happily ever after while his "Not-so-secret Wish" is to see everyone in Auradon treated the same, regardless of what their parents have done in the past.
* Similar to names of Maleficent and Mal using the root word "mal-" based off the word "malevolent" meaning "bad" and/or "evil", Ben's name serves as a contrast using the root word "ben-" from the word "benevolent" which means "kind and generous" like how the character is portrayed.

**Web Series:** *School of Secrets* | *Descendants: Wicked World*
**Video Games:** *Descendants: Isle of the Lost Rush*
**Music:** Soundtrack

**Descendants: Wicked World:** Jordan | Freddie Facilier | Ally | Ruby