DVDizzy Forum

A new Disney+ movie titled Sneakerella produced by Jane Startz (Ella Enchanted, The Baby-Sitters Club) is in the works, and the studio is looking to begin filming late May of this year. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film, written by Tamara Chestna (After), Mindy Stern, and George Gore II (My Wife and Kids) will be a retelling of the famous Cinderella story in the setting of street sneaker culture.

No news of a director or cast yet, but a search is underway. Casting directors Natalie Hart and Jason La Padura of iconic Disney Chanel movies such as High School Musical, Twitches, and Camp Rock, are casting for this princess story as we speak.

Sneakerella will have no relation to the live-action Disney+ exclusive fairy godmother film, Godmothered, starring Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street) and Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers), which is currently in production in Massachusetts.

farerb wrote:Wasn't Disney Plus purpose was to put quality productions there? Why do they continue putting there garbage that should belong to the Disney Channel? Why would this film give people incentive to subscribe?!

unprincess wrote:what the heck is street sneaker culture?

unprincess wrote:btw what happened to that Frozen 2 special called Into the Unknown? Didn't they make a big deal before the film came out about this being exclusive to Disney +? Was it cancelled?

Maybe that will premiere on Disney+ shortly before Frozen II appears on the service, similar to Lamp Life showing up a few weeks before Toy Story 4 added.

We have learned that Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum (Ramona and Beezus) has signed on to direct the project. Rosenbaum has some notable television directing credits including Empire, Dead to Me, The Exorcist, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, and Franklin & Bash.

We have also learned that pre-production on the project is underway, and will shoot in Canada later this year.

Here is a brief synopsis on Sneakerella: "A modern twist on Cinderella set in New York City’s sneaker culture… when a hip sneaker designer meets the daughter of a famous shoe empire, a little magical intervention makes sparks fly and a successful line of sneaker-wear history".

Set in the avant-garde street-sneaker subculture of New York City, Sneakerella introduces El (Jacobs), an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens who works as a stock boy in the shoe store that once belonged to his late mother. El hides his artistic talent from his overburdened stepfather and two mean-spirited stepbrothers who constantly stomp on any opportunity that comes his way. But when El meets Kira King (Underwood), the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King (Salley), sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a “legit” sneaker designer in the industry.

Now in production, the pop/hip-hop musical leaves a sneaker culture imprint on the "Cinderella" fairy tale. Jane Startz ("Ella Enchanted") and Rachel Watanabe-Batton ("I Pity the Fool") serve as executive producers, with co-executive producer Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum ("Ramona and Beezus") who will also direct the film.