Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, Disney's latest venture into the superhero genre, tackles tropes with its superb writing, music, and high stakes.
The first reason why Secret Society succeeds is because of its writing. It doesn't have its protagonist, a princess, be solely focused on being the best princess possible, as Disney movies often do. Instead, it gives this predictable arc to the main character's sister, Eleanor, allowing Sam, portrayed by an always—excellent Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Andi Mack), to develop into her own identity while also referencing Batman and the Avengers, something usually reserved for the sidekick in a Disney film. This is referenced when Mike made the same Batcave reference as Sam. Also, Mike never pursues a romantic relationship with Sam, to his credit. This, again, is Disney veering away from their usual tropes. Another way in which Secret Society veers away from predictability is January turning evil. While Uncle Edmond/Inmate 34 can be guessed (the timeline matches up), a typical Disney film would likely have Mike's groundskeeper dad align with Edmond out of a desire for revenge against the royals, with Mike caught in the middle, but ultimately choosing Sam. They decided not to do this, and the movie was better for it. At the end, when Matteo supports Sam with the butterflies, they are monarch butterflies, which is just another example of great writing. The film has humor, heart, and high stakes, which are the three things that I look for in an action film. I will talk about the high stakes later, but the humor, which came mostly from James Morrow (Skylar Astin, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist), really elevated the film. In addition, the heart, which came mostly from one—on—one conversations between characters, also brought realism to the film. Matteo and Roxanna's relationship was a fun little treat that could possibly be explored further in a second film. Another reason why the film works is the music. Sam and Mike's initial performance of "The Pressure" does well to both establish the tone of the film (typical coming—of—age story) and cement the song's place in the already—filled landscape of songs with "Pressure" in the title (Billy Joel and Queen have largely had a monopoly on the genre until now). The music is also a great backdrop for Sam's relationship with her father, as depicted through flashbacks. Finally, Sam and January's scene in the same room as the aforementioned flashbacks serves as not only a neat parallel, but also fleshes out January's character and provides for a new twist on the classic friend—sees—friend—hanging—out—with—someone—else—and—overreacts trope. Additionally, it shows the impressive musicality of both characters when they can just play on the spot without any rehearsal whatsoever. The final way in which the film separates itself from typical Disney fare is the stakes. They are high, but never absurdly high. The film does not fall into the villain—gets—comically—large trope that I discussed in my Upside--Down Magic review. The stakes are appropriate for a superhero movie. As is typical in the genre, the main character sees the opportunity to be heroic and darts at it, to great personal cost. At this point in the film, the stakes are quite low; that is, until Tuma insinuates that Edmond is not done yet. he was right; Edmond escaped (with January's help) and proceeded with his nefarious plans. By this point, Edmond is already enacting his plans, and the protagonists are the only ones who can stop him, including Mike (who had to let Sam in after she alienated him; admittedly another trope). They are able to do so, with non—powered Mike being essential to the plan (this is another deconstruction of a trope that I always like to see), as he is the only one who can release the nanotoxins to trap Edmond. Edmond also starts playing high—stakes Jenga with the bricks of the castle at this point, which somehow manages not to distract from the gravity of the situation. That is a hard task to do, even in a superhero movie in which telekinesis is the norm. Overall, Secret Society faces tropes head—on, and comes out victorious, which can be attributed to its writing, music, and high stakes. 10/10
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AuthorTyler has been reviewing movies for a long time. He enjoys watching movies with the three H's - humor, heart, and high stakes. |