"Sneakerella" Takes a Beloved Disney Classic, Steps It Up and Makes It Matter

The public domain fairy tale is one we know well or at least thought we did Usually the main character is a sweet motherless girl abused by her wicked stepmother and nasty stepsisters as she toils in some vaguely medieval likely central European municipality Sneakerella steps it up and makes it current With sneaker culture as the backdrop our hero is a young Black man El Chosen Jacobs True to the story his mother has died She had a sneaker store and encouraged El39s art to design sneakersThe story unfolds in Astoria Queens and Manhattan El is putupon His stressedout stepfather makes him stock boy who also cooks and cleans El39s two idiotic stepbrothers plot against him Of course good must conquer all this is a Disney movie But how we get there is the joy of this musical And as happy as Jacobs was the young man could not stop smiling no one was more infused with joy than the newly minted president of Disney Branded Television Ayo DavisquotThis is about making dreams come truequot Davis told MediaVillage in an exclusive interview after the screening quotIt is so hopeful To see a young man in a genderswapped movie that he is sharing with the world And this is a movie that shows us that we can chase our dreams When you work hard enough and your passions are greatest this shows that you can do itquotWearing a hot pink satin pantsuit and silver sequined sneakers kicks were crucial this night Davis could not be the collected executive she must be in meetings She was so excited that she was jumping and there was no way she was acting Davis believes in this musical lay the odds now that it will wind up on Broadway because it proves the power of determination community and goodnessMuch is packed into this 90minute movie with songs and dances including two lovely moments of inclusivity gracefully woven into the film In the opening number where El gathers a crowd as he dances down his street a young man on crutches dances along No big deal is made of it but he uses his crutches to boogie And later El39s best friend Sami Devyn Nekoda pictured at top with Jacobs a skateboardriding social media maven is on the subway with him and the revelation that she is gay is casually worked into the conversationSami and El are heading to the sale of a limitededition sneaker They39re workingclass kids from Queens so they pool all of their resources to buy a pair to share While waiting in line for the shoes they meet a lovely young woman Kira Lexi Underwood She39s more of a princess in a good way Her father is a legendary basketball player turned sneaker mogul John Salley Kira and El are clearly smitten with each other but there must be some drama and wrong turns until their happily ever afterAlong the way there are sweet nods to the animated Disney classic Cinderella At one point Kira hums quotA dream is a wish your heart makesquot Their chariot a retooled orange muscle car has a fun license plate and El39s fairy godmother is a fairy godfather Gustavo Juan Chioran Since he runs the community garden Gustavo knows about planting seedsIn addition to acting Jacobs gets to sing and dance throughout quotThis is the first time I got to do everything I ever worked onquot said the 20yearold who was in It and God Friended MeWhile most movies on TV are shot in about a month Jacobs said this was a fourmonth shoot and had a month of rehearsal quotEl is a dreamerquot he explained of his character quotEl is a kid who doesn39t always have the best cards in his hand but finds a way to flip themquotWhen life feels too tough and he can39t find his way by himself El knows he has true friends and caring neighbors who will help him They guide him and love himSure there39s a sprinkle of fairy dust magic that helps it all along Who couldn39t use a little fairy dust What wouldn39t you give for a Gustavo Or even for a subway ride where the worst thing anyone breaks out is a song and dancequotI think it resonates with everybodyquot Ayo Davis notedquotWe really are the only content provider to go from 2 to 102quot she said of Disney39s broad appeal quotOur goal is to ensure we are telling stories that matter to everyone and I think this does thatquotSneakerella premieres May 13 on DisneyClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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"Sneakerella" Takes a Beloved Disney Classic, Steps It Up and Makes It Matter

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Jacqueline Cutler

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"Sneakerella" Takes a Beloved Disney Classic, Steps It Up and Makes It Matter

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Jacqueline Cutler

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