Secret Society of Second-Born Royals (2020)
Secret Society of Second-Born Royals has a distinct “made for TV” feel. It’s premiering on Disney+ so you can’t say you’re not getting what you paid for. Even so, adults can point to a half-dozen films who do what this one does but better. Kids? They’ll find it diverting enough as long as they don’t think about it too much.
In the kingdom of Illyria, Sam (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is the second daughter of the royal family. She loves rock and hates the crown her older sister Eleanor (Ashley Liao) is about to inherit. Always misbehaving, she’s sent to summer school as punishment by her mother (Élodie Yung). Actually, it’s a training academy for second-born royals gifted with superpowers.
It’s important for children to see themselves represented on-screen. SSoSBR fares quite well in the representation department. Sam and her heightened senses are joined with Princess January (Isabella Blake-Thomas) who can neutralize and absorb the powers of others, Princess Roxanna (Olivia Deeble) who can turn invisible, Prince Matteo (Faly Rakotohavana) can communicate and control insects, while Prince Tuma (Niles Fitch) can compel others. As a bonus, their instructor, Professor Morrow (Skylar Astin) is gay. The movie checks ALL the boxes. Sam and her family look nothing alike but having an Asian girl as the lead is great. Performance-wise, the kids do fairly well. Director Anna Mastro doesn't ask anything grandiose of them but that’s fine. They meet the script's demands. Niles Fitch even shows a fair amount of on-screen charisma.
The story’s premise is wobbly and unfortunately, the script isn't inventive or intelligent enough for you to suspend your disbelief as you should. Apparently, all royals have the X-Gene but it only manifests in second-borns. That makes no sense, particularly when twins are involved. Talk about winning the lottery though. You’re born rich AND a superhero! Yeah, the movie brings up the pressures of having to rule and the enormous expectations everyone has of you, but come on. The kids watching aren’t buying it.
The logical problems become more important from there. Sam wants to abolish the monarchy…. but her royal blood is what’s given her the ability to protect the country. Are royals something we want to move away from… or look up to? It gets even muddier when the villain’s motivation is revealed. His identity is a twist you can see coming right away. You can predict most of this story in fact, though one twist towards the end did surprise me. The obvious developments partially come from this story’s DNA. It’s a mashup of Harry Potter and X-Men. but not as good as either. Mostly, it's from a lack of imagination. Everything about this movie is basic.
Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is more unremarkable than bad; the kind of movie that’s a stepping stone to bigger, better things for everyone involved. Many of the superhero films we get today are too intense for little children. For them, this moves swiftly enough to entertain until they outgrow it. (October 17, 2020)