Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Sneakerella’ on Disney+, A Gender-Swapped Take On ‘Cinderella’

Disney Channel Original Movies had a reputation for leaning into off-the-wall premises in a fun and grounded way (remember how Smart House was literally about a kid who programs his house to be a motherly figure?). Disney+ is picking up the threads of that legacy and creating films for a new generation, and Sneakerella is one of the first takes — even if it’s loosely based on the Disney property Cinderella. Does it live up to the standards set by its predecessors?

SNEAKERELLA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: A modern take on Cinderella, Sneakerella follows shoe stockroom boy El whose passion is designing sneakers. His stepfather and stepbrothers don’t take the time to understand his dreams and are instead focused on closing El’s late mother’s sneaker shop and moving back to the New Jersey suburbs. When El meets Kira, the heir to the sneaker maven Darius King, he begins to believe he might have a chance and decides to enter his designs in Sneakercon where the Kings are looking for the next new designer.

What Will It Remind You Of?: Obviously there are direct parallels to Disney’s Cinderella, but the film utilizes rapping musical numbers that feel like a Lin Manuel Miranda production (think In The Heights).

Performance Worth Watching: Both central figures Chosen Jacobs and Lexi Underwood are charismatic, but Kolton Stewart who plays one of El’s bumbling but evil stepbrothers is a fun presence onscreen.

Memorable Dialogue: As a departure from the original fable, the evil step-parent contains multitudes. He isn’t inherently evil the way his two sons are, but rather just seems tired in a way that many millennials can relate. “Sometimes you just gotta let your dreams go,” he says to El. (Thankfully El doesn’t follow that advice.)

Sex and Skin: This is a Disney+ film, so nothing to report here.

Our Take: At first glance, Sneakerella seems like just another way to use existing Disney IP to generate new content. And while it technically is exactly that, the story is fun and updated in a way that invites new audiences into the fold. Taking place in Queens, New York, the film is smart to make itself as diverse as possible, reflecting the real demographics of the borough. El (Chosen Jacobs) and his community of neighbors — including local restaurant owner Mrs. Singh, his best friend Sami, and his fairy god-neighbor Gustavo — are tight-knit and respectful of each other’s cultures, which is truly a great thing to see in a production aimed at younger kids.

It’s also a gender-swapped story, from the main character down to the fairy godmother. There are fun nods to the original story, like when Gustavo gifts El and Sami a gnarly orange vintage car as their pumpkin carriage until midnight, but it still manages to feel fresh enough that you don’t feel like you’re just watching Cinderella for the hundredth time. Jacobs and his love interest Underwood are full of really great, youthful energy and it’s obvious that the adults are also having a great time. The updated conclusion of the relationship between El and his stepdad is also heartwarming, and it’s genuinely comical that the stepbrothers are obsessed with going back to New Jersey instead of spreading their wings in one of the greatest cities on earth.

The film, like Cinderella itself, is a musical, but the numbers reflect the urban setting. El raps just as much as he sings ballads and duets, though not every single song is a hit (the opening “Kicks” is oddly reminiscent of the Kanye West track “Clique”). Still, the songs do well to tell the kid’s story and are more reminiscent of Hamilton or In The Heights than a typical Disney song (which makes sense, as Disney is in business with Miranda).

With these types of stories there is an obvious suspension of belief required — El somehow has all of the materials to design AND build high quality sneakers — but the film addresses it upfront with its nods to magical realism. It’s a feel-good film with enjoyable updates to a beloved story.

Our Call: STREAM IT. It’s a cute, updated take on a story we all know well.

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Vulture, Teen Vogue, Paste Magazine and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.