Starring Chosen Jacobs, Lexi Underwood, John Salley, and Devyn Nekoda
Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
Music and Lyrics by various
Even as last year's Cinderella moved to Amazon Prime, Disney had its own modern take on the most famous fairy tale in the world planned. This also has more than a little bit in common with the Nickelodeon movie Rags that debuted a decade ago - male Cinderella who wants to carry on his mother's legacy in a diverse neighborhood falls for the daughter of a high-powered executive and thinks he has to impress her. After pushing it back from February, it finally debuted on Disney Plus in May. Does it come off better than the Cinderella Story series, or should it be shut out of the ball? Let's begin with kids and their fanciful sneakers dancing their way through Queens and find out...
The Story: Eli (Chosen) works as a stock boy in his stepfather Trey's (Bryan Terrell Clark) shoe store in Queens, but he has big dreams. He wants to follow in his mother's footsteps and become a designer of personalized sneakers that show their creativity. He and his best friend Sami (Nekoda) duck out of the store to pick up the latest high-style footwear from King Sneakers in Manhattan. They don't get the shoe, but they do meet Kira (Underwood). Dodging bullies, Eli takes her back to Queens and shows her his neighborhood. She's impressed, especially with how his mother taught him insight into people by looking at their shoes.
Turns out Kira is the daughter of Darius King (Salley), the head and owner of King Sneakers and a former 90's basketball star. Kira upsets her older sister Liv (Robyn Almar) by saying her sneaker designs are too "basic," and insisting on holding a gala event to find a more creative designer. Trey grounded Eli after he stayed out too late with Kira, and his spoiled stepbrothers Zelly (Kolton Stewart) and Stacy (Hayward Leach) lock him in.
Lucky for him, local magical gardener Gustavo (Juan Chioran) finds Sami, frees him, and gets them a sweet ride to Manhattan. Eli's personalized shoes, made to represent and with materials from his neighborhood, turns heads at the gala. Sami inadvertantly spreads rumors that Eli is a major independent designer. Kira and her father think he's a big shot with experience. Eli flees, leaving his custom-made sneaker behind. Kira and Liv start a campaign to find their designer...but Eli's stepbrothers, who want to move back to New Jersey, are determined to keep him from achieving his dreams.
The Song and Dance: The charming cast and infectious hip-hop beat pushes this a notch above last year's more traditional Amazon Prime Cinderella. I really appreciate how the stepfather is played here. He's not the sleazy jerk from Rags or the cold-hearted gold-digger from the Amazon Prime film, but is a fairly decent man overwhelmed by a business and neighborhood he doesn't understand and a son whose dreams are foreign to him. I also like the emphasis on diversity, as seen in the many different nationalities in Eli's neighborhood, and creativity, emphasized by a colorful, ever-changing mural in Eli's neighborhood that Kira can see from her parents' glittering skyscraper in the city.
Favorite Number: We open with "Kicks," Eli's dream sequence as he imagines everyone in Queens wearing his imaginative designs. Eli shows Kira the many different cultures and foods of his neighborhood as they declare their outing to be the "Best Ever." We get a flashback montage of how his mother taught him to love sneakers, designing them, and his neighborhood before her tragic death in the sensitive and touching "In Your Shoes." "Work Up" is another montage, this one of Eli using his mother's old sewing machine to make shoes that'll truly reflect who he and his neighborhood are.
Gustavo reminds the kids that "Life Is What You Make of It" when he gives them clothes and a sweet vintage ride to attend Kira's gala. Disney couldn't resist sneaking in "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from their animated Cinderella for a dream sequence at the gala that has Kira and Eli dancing gracefully together. Liv and Kira set up their video of the fleeing Eli to help them find Kira's "Perfect Fit." The big "Finale" has Eli admitting he lied while explaining why he did it to Kira and Darius and explaining to his stepfather how he just wants to make his mother proud.
What I Don't Like: Like the other versions of Cinderella I've mentioned, this is awash in cliches thick enough to drive a Queens subway through. The "be yourself" moral is heavy-handed and dealt with all the subtlety of a sneaker-clad foot to the face. Also, considering their obnoxious and spoiled behavior, I'm a little disappointed the stepbrothers didn't get into more trouble, or at least were seen taking care of the store in Eli's place in the finale.
In fact, the entire second half during and after the gala drags on for way too long. This movie didn't need to be almost two hours. Kira's attempts to find him and her and her father rejecting him based on what his stepbrothers, two people they barely know, tell them is dull and silly. All of this probably could have been trimmed with none the wiser.
The Big Finale: Sweet, big-hearted fairy tale is on par with the similar Rags and is frankly much better than the strange Amazon Prime Cinderella. Recommended for fairy tale and musical lovers and for kids in the appropriate 8 to 14 age range who'll enjoy the music and story.
Home Media: Currently a Disney Plus exclusive.
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