Parents' Guide to

Sneakerella

By Jennifer Green, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

NYC Cinderella musical has diverse cast, positive messages.

Movie NR 2022 111 minutes
Sneakerella Movie Poster

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 10+

Based on 6 parent reviews

filmbinger
filmbinger Adult
May 30, 2022
age 12+

Very scary and sad montage upset my kid and triggered fears about parent mortality

The movie was good, but my 10 year old was very upset by one montage, which I want to warn other parents about. The montage takes place when El is cleaning up a large closet that his step brothers have caused to be very messy just to be mean. The montage, which goes on for a longer time than most montages, is a flashback that shows the mother of El getting ill, and El being abandoned as a young child when the mother was presumably going to the hospital to die. My 10 year old was extremely upset, turned off the movie, cried, and could not fall asleep for a very long time. After falling asleep, she woke up again in the middle of the night crying. The scene triggered thoughts about parent mortality. Obviously, we knew about the Cinderella background and the fact that the parent dies - we have seen countless versions of Cinderella. However, this montage was particularly pointed and made for tears. Had I known about this, I would have fast forward through the montage or possibly not had my kid watch the movie.
6 people found this helpful.
anrhill
anrhill Parent of 7-year-old
May 16, 2022
age 18+
This movie is very goofy. It is very cool, especially the beginning. The ending of the movie is amazing. I hope your children like it too.
4 people found this helpful.
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In SNEAKERELLA, El (Chosen Jacobs) is a talented shoe designer forced by his grieving stepdad Trey (Bryan Terrell Clark) and scheming stepbrothers Zelly (Kolton Stewart) and Stacy (Hayward Leach) to toil in the stockroom of their shoe store. When El and best friend Sami (Devyn Nekoda) line up to get a pair of newly released sneakers downtown, they meet Kira King (Lexi Underwood). They don't recognize her as "sneaker royalty," the daughter of sneaker entrepreneur and former athlete Darius King (John Salley). El and Kira spend the day together and start falling in love. When her family hosts an event inviting new designers to compete for a contract, El garners attention with his original kicks. He only made it to the event because a local friend, the magical Gustavo (Juan Chioran), helped make it happen. Will Kira's dad take a chance on an unproven designer, and how will that affect the feelings El and Kira have for each other?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (4):

This gender-swapped Cinderella tale might feel a bit too sweet for teens, but its diverse cast, uplifting story, and genre-blending song-and-dance numbers are charmingly original and fun. Sneakerella is High School Musical meets In the Heights. The action takes place in a Disney-fied New York City (read: safe and tidy, with happy people singing and dancing on streets and subway trains). It brings the HSM aesthetic to Queens and Manhattan with a bit less humor and a bit more street cred (imagine Sharpay on the subway) but no more realism.

Some characters deserved more screen time, especially fairy godfather Gustavo and celebrity athlete Darius King, but it's entertaining to see the usual Cinderella roles occupied by the opposite genders. The young stars are talented and charismatic, especially lead Jacobs and the scene-stealing Nekoda as best friend Sami. Underwood is underused. Two highlights of the movie are a scheming number sung by the evil but dimwitted stepbrothers and a rap battle between El and King. In the first one, cartoon character shadows appear on the walls behind them. It's one of many uses of moving graphics and illustrations on top of the live-action scenes, and the whimsical concept plays off the sneaker theme.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what aspects of the Cinderella fairy tale are woven into Sneakerella and what pieces are missing. What other contemporary films based on classic fairy tales have you watched?

  • How does the film overlay graphics and illustrations on the live-action scenes? How does this work with the aesthetic of some of the sneakers and street art seen in the movie?

  • How do some of the characters demonstrate integrity? Who does not demonstrate this character strength?

  • What makes a sneaker unique or worth hundreds of dollars, in your opinion?

  • Did any of the songs in the movie sound familiar? Which musical number was your favorite, and why?

Movie Details

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