What Is the Story About?
Disney’s newest original film ‘Sneakerella’ is a vibrant, gender-swapped reimagining of the age-old tale of Cinderella. El (Chosen Jacobs) is an orphan, who is made to work by his stepfather as a lowly stock boy in his dead mother’s sneaker shop. El is dreams of being a sneakers’ designer, and working the magic of his inherent ‘sneaker psychic’ talent to design stand-out kicks. A chance meeting with Kira King (Lexi Underwood), daughter of sneaker royalty Darius King (John Salley), gives wings to El’s dream; with a little bit of magic thrown in by his neighbour/fairy godfather Gustavo (Juan Chioran), of course!
Performances?
Chosen Jacobs and Lexi Underwood are both excellent in their roles. The chemistry between them is palpable and perfect. Devyn Nekoda is peppy and energetic as El’s best friend, Sami. She plays the kind of friend every angsty, troubled teen would want on their side. The rest of the cast delivers what is required of them. Hayward Leach and Kolton Stewart are a riot as El’s mean, obnoxious stepbrothers.
Analysis
It’s quite human to be wary of a movie that is yet another iteration of the tired and done-to-death Cinderella story. Just last year, Amazon Prime Video had let loose the atrocity called ‘Cinderella’ on unsuspecting audiences. So it’s obvious that most people would view Sneakerella with a jaundiced eye. But surprise of surprises! Sneakerella is nothing like last year’s Cinderella. In fact, it barely resembles even the original Cinderella fairytale in tone and tenor. Sneakerella is a fun, enjoyable and cute reimagining of the age-old fairytale, quite unlike the original. Sneakerella is vivid and vibrant, charming and cheery.
The gender-swapping is done with skillful artistry. Adapting the outdated tale to today’s modern world is done with even more clever ingenuity and creativity. We particularly enjoyed the setting of the film in the fiercely competitive world of sneakers. Sneakerheads lurk in every nook and cranny of today’s world, especially amongst the film’s target group of tweens and teenagers. That’s half the battle won when it comes to grabbing young eyeballs. In that sense, Sneakerella is a story designed to enamour kids of all ages.
Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum has done well in twisting a distinctly regressive tale into a strikingly modern and with-the-times narrative. Sneakerella not only gender-swaps the primary characters of the story, including the fairy godmother into an utterly cute fairy godfather, but also does away with the predominance of white characters in Disney films. Instead, it makes inventive use of people of colour, and in a thoroughly heartwarming way.
Another element in Sneakerella that is strikingly noteworthy is that the narrative doesn’t paint its characters in shades of pure black or white. No character in the film is created ‘evil’, as the original story did. The stepfather does what he does because his business is on its last legs. He acutely misses his dead wife’s magical touch in the business. The stepbrothers are more comical than evil—their only dream is to return to New Jersey, their original hometown. And that is what drives them to jeopardise El’s chances at winning the Sneakercon.
The narrative shifts into drag-mode just before the end. You get the feeling that the story’s been stretched unnecessarily, maybe just to conform to a pre-determined runtime. The final battle rap between El and Darius, however, helps Sneakerella to end with a flourish.
Lastly, the MSP of Sneakerella – the lovely music, and the outstanding choreography. Several numbers in Sneakerella remind one of the recent Disney hit, ‘Encanto’. A few give ‘In The Heights’ vibes. And oddly enough, the first, ‘Kicks’ reminds one of Gully Boy’s ‘Apna Time Aayega’; weird, huh! The Sneakerella soundtrack incorporates songs from every musical genre – there’s rap, hip-hop, slow romantic numbers, deep emotional songs – it’s got it all. But the best number from the soundtrack is definitely ‘Life Is What You Make It’, by Juan Chioran, Chosen Jacobs & Devyn Nekoda. It’s rousing and meaningful. The music is complemented by terrific choreography, and both take Sneakerella a few notches higher.
To sum it up, Sneakerella is a lovely one-time watch, especially for the younger crowd. Grown-ups might want to stay away, given the cheesiness of the story.
Music and Other Departments?
As we mentioned earlier, the music of Sneakerella, by Elvin Ross, is one of its high points. Ebony Williams, Emilio Dosal, Amanda-May Wilson and Alisha Lucchese’s choreography is superb. Cinematographer Matt Sakatani Roe’s use of colour and light infuses the frames with depth, beauty and energy. Sneakerella is a visually pleasing film, all thanks to Matt Sakatani Roe. A special shout out to screenwriters David Light, Joseph Raso, Tamara Chestna, Mindy Stern and George Gore II, who’ve reworked the original story with clever dexterity and ingenuity. Loved how the screenplay incorporated magic and the fairy godfather, aka Gustavo’s conjuring of the chariot (a vintage car here), the glamorous clothes for El, the 12 midnight deadline, and other magical elements into a modern refashioning.
Highlights?
The lead pair
Screenplay and ingenious writing
Music
Choreography
Cinematography
Drawbacks?
Draggy towards the end
Clichéd for sure, but then, what else can it be if not clichéd
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, but for youngsters, and the young at heart. Cynics, give it a miss!
Sneakerella Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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