‘Definitely about the shoe’

Sneakerella is a gender-swapped Cinderella story set in the world of sneaker culture in Queens. El (Chosen Jacobs) dreams of taking his late mother’s shoe store, Laces, to new heights with radical new designs. His step-father, Trey (Bryan Terrell Clark) is not particularly sympathetic to El’s dreams while his step-brothers, Zelly (Kolton Stewart) and Stacy (Hayward Leach) are downright mean.

El’s world changes when he meets Kira (Lexi Underwood) who is as much of a sneakerhead as El. The daughter of former basketball star, Darius King (John Salley), Kira’s family is practically sneaker royalty. El has a chance to make his dreams come true if he can show Darius his designs at an upcoming gala.

For all who have wondered if Cinderella pivots around the dress or the glass slipper, director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum says with a laugh, “In our case, it is definitely about the shoe.”

Speaking from Los Angeles over a video call, Rosenbaum says people gravitate towards the Cinderella story for the way desires and dreams come true. “In the traditional version, women could only change their station in life by marriage.” Rosembaum says the story was due for an update. “It was fun to modernise it, to put it in today’s world yet still stay true to the dreaming and the little touches of magic.”

Sneakerella is a musical with original songs as well as a cover of ‘A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes’, from the 1950 animated feature, Cinderella. One of the most special moments for Rosenbaum was shooting the song, ‘Work Up’. “It is right in the middle of the movie where El finally gets the gumption to tap into his creativity and customise his shoes, which are going to be the ticket to the ball. He starts to curate all sorts of details from his world.”

Chosen Jacobs and Lexi Underwood in ‘Sneakerella’

The song is upbeat and a call to action, says Rosenbaum. “It was fun to film because we had Chosen dancing around. It was improvisational filming with him grabbing props and going to the shops. The vibe on set was raw. The choreographers and camera operators were working in the moment. It was a deep collaboration and represented the movie for me both in front of and behind the camera.”

Rosenbaum read the script a few years ago. “It wasn’t a musical at the time. I loved the germ of the idea of a gender-swapped Cinderella, where the woman was the Princess Charming and the boy was the one with the deeper feelings, emotions and dreams. The idea of it being in sneaker culture where creativity and individuality was harnessed in the shoes was a great idea.”

When she first saw the ‘Work Up’ song on the page, Rosenbaum could not read the visuals. “How do we get inside of our lead young man’s brain? I wanted to let it explode on screen. I wanted to draw with animation and pull fabrics from the shops, grab miniatures from the store and put it in his soles. His whole city comes to life in the shoe and is imbued with his magic….”

Rosenbaum says she actively pursued the project. “I put together a huge presentation for Disney. I went into the meeting with so many ideas that I threw at them, that they just didn’t have a choice but to hire me!”

Sneakerella is presently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar