Ben

King Benjamin "Ben" Florian is a character who appears in the Disney films Descendants, Descendants 2, and Descendants 3, portrayed by Mitchell Hope. He is the son of Belle and Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Ben is also the King of the United States of Auradon and Mal's future husband.

## Background Information

### Official Description

*Ben is the idealistic son of King Beast and Queen Belle. Next in line for the throne, Ben is caring, brave and not afraid of change.*
### Personality

Ben is a sweet-natured teen that feels pity for the children of villains and was willing to give them a second chance when not even his own parents were willing to give them the chance. He seems to take after his father in looks and his mother in personality as he is more willing to see people past their appearances (similarly to how his mother saw beneath the Beast's exterior) along with having a love of reading and books as well as a gentle soul.

In addition, out of all the AKs, he is the one who's mostly on the side of the VKs, usually being the first to approach and defend them and try to socialize and have a conversation with them, particularly Mal. He seemed to have a fascination with Mal the moment he first saw her, and it seems the feeling is mutual especially since both had a dream about the other before their meeting. Even after being given a love potion by her, when it washed off he believed she loved him but didn't think it could happen by itself especially since he was dating Audrey at the time, he still grew to love her and wanted to be with her. He is a very friendly and honest person who believes in the good in others. He is fair and patient with the VKs, understanding that they have had it much rougher than anybody else at his school and was willing to work with them and do whatever it took to have them trust him (such as helping Carlos with his dog phobia and eating a cookie Mal gave him). Despite this, he does seem to have low self-confidence as he sometimes isn't sure if he is cut out to be king and wishes for his parents' (particularly his father's) approval. He also believes who a person's parents are doesn't make them who they are and that is what makes him and Mal so similar.

In *Wicked World*, he is shown to be mildly naive and a goody-two-shoes, becoming distraught after he broke a cup in episode 6 and offering to pay Freddie for damages and in episode 7 when he and the others were transported into Jordan's lamp, he concluded they must be tiny (showing he is slightly slow). He is also a gentleman, once offering to take off his jacket and put it over a puddle of mud so Audrey, Mal, and Evie wouldn't get dirty. He also seems to be influenced by Mal as he lied to Jay to get him to stop bugging him in episode 10, causing Mal to feel further attracted to him. Overall, he is a kind compassionate intelligent person willing to give anyone and everyone a chance.

On a side note, despite being the main prince in the franchise, he takes on the role that is more typical of a princess (or rather the role of his mother) as he tends to be kidnapped like in episode 17 of Wicked World and when Maleficent froze everyone he tried to save them but Mal, Carlos, Evie, and Jay were the ones to save everyone.

### Physical Appearance

Ben is a 16-year-old teenager by the end of *Descendants*. He has brown hair with golden streaks in-between. His eyes are hazel-green.

### Powers & Abilities

Ben does not possess any special powers since he is not descended from a magical bloodline. However, in *Descendants 3*, Audrey transforms Ben into a Beast. It is unknown if Ben can transform into a Beast by will. Therefore, Ben is capable of the following:

* **Statesmanship**: This is essential for Ben's role as ruler of Auradon.
* **Athlete**: Ben is skilled in various sports, such as:
	+ **Tourney**: He is the captain of Auradon Prep's Tourney team.
	+ **Swimming**: Ben can swim, as shown in *Descendants*, during his date with Mal by the Enchanted Lake.
	+ **Fencing**: In *Rise of the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel*, Ben mentioned that he took fencing classes. He used to be on the fencing team until he had to leave when he became king. His skills are later showed during the sword fight in *Descendants 2*.
	+ **Croquet**: Ben is seen playing this sport during Family Day.
* **Driving**: Ben showed this ability on *Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel*. He's also capable of driving a scooter. Ben is also driving a scooter in Descendants when he takes Mal on their first date.

## Roles

### Printed material

#### *Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel*

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 a mystical dream. In his case, he finds himself in 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. This prompts him to make the decision he does in the movie.

#### *Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel*

In the sequel novel, Ben is now in charge of everything in Auradon as its new king. Reports come in from various regions of the kingdom where unusual earthquakes and storms are hitting, and more disturbingly, a dragon has been spotted in Camelot Heights. Worried that they are in danger, the wizard Merlin asks for a petition to use magic. Worried that it would cause consequences, Ben instead decides to visit Camelot and observe the situation. He eventually finds out the monster is indeed a dragon, and many suspect it to be Maleficent's doing despite her incarceration.

Ben returns to Auradon just as Mal and her friends are leaving for the Isle of the Lost to investigate matters of their own. Ben allows them to leave, putting faith in his girlfriend. After much investigation, Ben finds out that the dragon is not Maleficent, but from something else. He and Grumpy then investigate the Dwarf Mines, where he accidentally meets up with Mal's team and the true culprit, Madam Mim. After a hard battle, Ben saves the day by pointing Excalibur (the sword borrowed from Camelot) at Madam Mim, forcing her to surrender. Merlin then sends everyone back to where they belong and seals the underground tunnel to keep the inhabitants of the Isle of the Lost from escaping.

### Films

#### *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 a 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.

At the lunch of Family day, Ben introduces Mal to his parents as his new girlfriend much to their shock, When Ben attend to assure Audrey's grandmother Queen Leah that Maleficent's still on the Isle of the Lost, he introduced Mal and told her about his proclamation, she told him if he lost his mind, Chad Charming also gets involved and anger Ben and the villains kids. When Chad is sprayed by Evie with a sleeping potion, the villains' kids leave the lunch in a hurry, Ben is accused and blamed by his father for inviting the villains' kids to Auradon, because he knew that was a bad idea, after the altercation Ben tries to assure the group that everything will be better after the coronation.

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 a gecko. They then proceed to celebrate their victory in the courtyard of Auradon Prep.

#### *Descendants 2*

Ben is the reigning King of Auradon and is ready to officially pronounce Mal as his "Lady of the Court." Things seem to be going perfectly, with Ben and Mal being the perfect couple and Ben continues to shower Mal with gifts including a purple scooter believing that Mal hardly ever received gifts while on the Isle, until one day while having a picnic date together with Mal he discovers her spellbook and realizes all the spells she had been using to try and fit in at Auradon. When Mal tries to spell Ben into forgetting what he saw, he confronts her and Mal admits to faking everything and that she herself is a fake. She then spells away the picnic lunch and runs off, leaving Ben at a loss.

After discovering Mal had fled Auradon to return to the Isle of the Lost, Ben realizes how much pressure Mal must be going through and decides to follow her to the Isle and apologize to make things right. Ben is accompanied by Evie, Jay and Carlos as they dress him up and teaches him how to blend in and act like a villain (*Chillin' Like a Villain*). On the Isle they are discovered by Gil who rushes off to tell Uma, Ben meets up with Mal and apologizes about their fight and begs her to come home. However, Mal realizing that she doesn't fit in at Auradon refuses to go back with Ben stating that she's a terrible influence for him and that it would be in his and Auradon's best interest for her not to return. Despite Ben's pleas and his confession of love, Mal pleads for him to leave her and rejects his sigma ring signifying the break up of their relationship.

After dejectedly leaving and wandering off on his own, Ben gets kidnapped by Uma and Mal rushes off to save him. However after losing to Uma in an arm wrestling fight, Uma makes a deal with Mal, Fairy Godmother's magic wand for Ben's life.

While on the ship, Harry taunts Ben while Ben tries to talk Uma out of her plan, saying that he didn't realize the hurt he had cause to the VK's who were uninvited and invites Uma to join with him and the rest in Auradon. Uma however rejects Ben's help stating she's always done things herself and will get to Auradon on her own.

During the trade off (*It's Goin' Down*) Uma continually threatens to push Ben off the ship while Ben tries to convince both Mal and Uma to not go through with the plan not realizing that the wand is fake and offering Uma again the chance to come to Auradon. However Uma rejects Ben's offer once again and proceed with the trade off, however after releasing Ben and realizing the wand is fake Uma releases her pirate crew to attack, Mal, Ben, Jay, Evie, Lonnie, and Carlos. During the fight, Ben manages to taunt Harry with a "coochy coochy coo" and they all escape successfully.

While in the limo, Ben apologizes to Mal that it didn't go the way she wanted and says that he was grateful to Uma who allowed him to see what the Isle was like and when Mal tries to argue back, he compares Uma to how Mal was when she first came to Auradon, an angry girl with a bad plan. Upon returning to Auradon, Jane approaches Ben to finalize the surprise he has for Mal for the Cotillion, he asks if she wants to cancel. Ben then tells Mal to do what she needs to do and leaves giving her the space to sort out her thoughts.

During Cotillion, much to everyone's surprise Ben introduces Uma as his new girlfriend and apologizes to Mal saying that he realized that the two of them were not meant to be together since Mal had never told Ben that she loved him. While dancing with Uma, Mal and the other VK's along with Doug and Lonnie prepare to leave but Jane quickly requests to Lumiere to unveil Ben's gift for Mal which is showed to be a beautiful glass painting of the two of them with Mal in her purple hair and green eyes. Ben pauses and stares blankly at the glass painting with Mal realizing that Ben truly does love her for who she is. Uma then reminds Ben of his gift to her and when Beast tries to talk Ben out of it, he retorts back at him with everyone shocked at his sudden change of character. Ben then orders Fairy Godmother to bring down the barrier as his gift to Uma, when Fairy Godmother refuses he demands her to listen to him as her King. With Mal realizing that the real Ben would never have said these things and that he's been spelled, she approaches Ben telling him that he always believed in who they are and what they can be and says that she was afraid of telling him she loved him because she thought that she wasn't good enough for him. Mal then confesses that she's always loved Ben and kisses him with True Love's Kiss breaking the spell, Ben looks lovingly back at Mal and smiles embracing her.

Uma realizing her plan has been foiled tries to escape and ends up jumping off the ship and transforming into a large octopus like her mother. She starts attacking them which enrages Mal who transforms into a dragon and the two of them begin fighting. Ben seeing at how the fighting is never ending gives a large roar before jumping into the sea getting between Uma and Mal. He answers that fighting isn't the answer and that they have to listen and respect each other, he invites Uma once more to Auradon and help him make a difference but Uma simply returns his sigma ring which he had given to her earlier and disappears beneath the sea.

Both Mal and Ben return to the ship with Ben pulling her in for another kiss, he then thanks everyone for helping him and asks if there is anything he could do. Evie then requests for Dizzy and other Villain kids to be given the chance to enter Auradon which Ben happily agrees to. Everyone then celebrates on the ship with Ben and Mal reconciling and he places his signet ring back on her finger as they look forward to their future together smiling and embracing each other. (*You and Me*).

#### *Descendants 3*

On VK Day, Ben and Mal, along with the other original VK's, are preparing to bring the new arrivals to Auradon Prep. Before they leave, Ben organizes a parade and professes his love for Mal in front of the crowd, who have come to welcome the new arrivals. Ben professes his love for Mal and he asks her to marry him, which she happily accepts.

### *Descendants: Wicked World*

#### Season 1

Ben returns in the animated short series *Descendants: Wicked World*, voiced by Mitchell Hope who also portrayed him in the live-action film. Mal accidentally transports herself, Ben, Audrey, and Evie to the Isle of the Lost with an unintended wish. While there, they meet Freddie Facilier, whom Ben recruits in Auradon after escaping the island.