Sneaks delivers a wholesome look at sneaker culture—from the perspective of the shoes themselves, no less. A nice message about the love between siblings accompanies lots of footwear puns. And content-wise, this film is mostly problem-free, barring a few perilous moments and one “OMG.”
Ty and Maxine have very different outlooks on life.
Ty wants to be pampered and spoiled, to live life on a pedestal and be admired by all. But his sister, Maxine, wants to earn her place in life. She wants to see the world, break in her tread, get a little dirt on her laces …
Oh yeah, I should probably mention that Ty and Maxine are shoes.
But not just any shoes. They’re the über-fancy, ultra-exclusive Alchemy 24s—the only pair of their kind. And they just found their way into the hands (er, feet) of young Edson, an aspiring basketball player who’s hoping the new sneaks will level up his game and help him go pro.
Maxine is ecstatic to have such a meaningful purpose. Helping Edson achieve his dreams is exactly the sort of thing she had hoped she’d be able to do. But Ty is pretty upset. He’d much rather go home with the Collector, a world-renowned sneaker collector who, rather than wearing his lucrative kicks, keeps them in mint condition on a display shelf.
Well, when the Collector comes to steal the Alchemy 24s away, it seems Ty is about to have his own wish granted. But Maxine refuses to cooperate. She immediately hatches an escape plan. Unfortunately, she and Ty are separated in the process.
Now, Ty is lost on the streets of New York City, forced to rough it with other sneaks as he finds his way back to Maxine.
Ty’s experience with the shoes of New York teaches him the value of hard work and perseverance. Unlike him, most shoes have had to work from the moment they came out of their boxes. And once they’d served their purpose, many were discarded and forgotten. But even so, these shoes aren’t bitter or angry. Most are pretty happy with how things turned out. And Ty realizes that Maxine’s desire to serve a purpose may have more merit than he’d previously realized.
Early on, Ty calls Maxine “hideous” after Edson accidentally scuffs her. But Maxine considers it a “badge of honor.” And while Ty finds this ridiculous, his time on the streets shows him that she was right. Ty gets scuffed, dirty and otherwise broken in. And when he reunites with Maxine, he’s proud to show her his own badges of honor.
Ty teams up with J.B., a weathered, old sneaker who initially uses Ty for shoe swag, such as removable gems and stickers. However, as the two of them work their way through New York City, Ty reminds J.B. of a younger version of himself—a version he’d forgotten over the years. J.B. comes to like the young shoe. And he soon resolves to help Ty for Ty’s sake rather than his own.
Maxine, for her part, never stops searching for her brother. Even though she wanted Ty to give Edson and the working life a chance, she never expected him to go it alone. And when the siblings are eventually reunited, it’s with a newfound respect and love for each other.
Other shoes help Ty and Maxine along the way, offering advice and even putting themselves in harm’s way to bring the siblings back together. We learn Edson is a volunteer at a youth center, helping kids achieve their own dreams.
[Spoiler warning] The Collector realizes that his obsession with shoes has gone too far. In stealing the Alchemy 24s, he was stealing Edson’s dream—a dream very similar to the one he once had himself. He rights his wrongs, returning the sneakers to their rightful owner. And he donates the rest of his collection to a local youth center, hoping the shoes will help other kids achieve their own dreams.
Someone says that many people worship fancier sneakers like the Alchemy 24s. One of Edson’s friends asks him not to make a shrine to the shoes (as we see the Collector has done with many of his own sneakers). And while Edson doesn’t plan to make a shrine, he does treat the new shoes with reverence.
Sort of like Toy Story, humans don’t know that their sneaks are sentient. The footwear freezes whenever humans enter the room. However, the shoes do reveal their true nature to one human in order to terrorize him.
Some shoes climb up a statue of an angel.
J.B. flirts with and dances with his ex-girlfriend, a high-heeled shoe named Adriana. Ty meets a shoe named Britney, and they also dance and flirt together. Britney eventually kisses Ty on the shoe equivalent of his cheek.
A human character plays basketball shirtless.
Ty and other shoes get knocked around quite a bit. But they’re shoes, so it’s not really violent so much as it is dramatic.
That said, one shoe seemingly “dies” after getting sliced in half. We don’t see the act onscreen, but he pulls his split seams together to warn J.B. about the Forger, a human who tears shoes apart. After he delivers the information, he lets himself fall apart again, and J.B. tells him, “Rest in peace.”
Dozens of shoes band together to fight off a colony of rats. The rats, we’re told, like to gnaw on discarded shoes. However, their creepy actions throughout the film suggest otherwise. Just before the battle, lone shoes are suddenly whisked offscreen by the rodents. The rats themselves look absolutely feral. And when they swarm around Ty, their sharp teeth certainly look more suited to shredding not gnawing.
The Collector’s dog has many comically sharp teeth. He never actually bites anyone, but he terrorizes Ty and other shoes by chasing them around. He also ruins a wedding reception by showing up and chasing guests, breaking many dishes in the process.
The Forger hacks the Collector’s shoe-cleaning system, threatening to use the robotic scissors, dryers and other accoutrements to destroy the Collector’s collection of shoes. Eventually, though, the shoes turn the tables on him, using the system to beat up the Forger and tie him up.
A couple of characters drive recklessly, nearly crashing several times. A teenager trips and falls after his sneakers split open. A flashback shows that a basketball player got injured badly after losing his shoe during a jump. Some threats are issued. A shoe jokes, “Just shoot me now,” after receiving bad news. One shoe uses her laces to choke another shoe.
Someone exclaims, “OMG!”
None.
The Collector drops $20,000 on raffle tickets, hoping to win the Alchemy 24s. When he loses, he offers Edson an exorbitant amount of money to buy them.
Characters steal and lie. Two characters break into other people’s homes. The Forger destroys fancy sneakers in order to learn how they are made so he can create forgeries. He blackmails the Collector into helping him. A teenager extorts someone for money.
There are jokes about therapy and PTSD. We hear a few “your mama” jokes. Many characters mock and insult each other. When an annoying shoe is carried off by a rat, another shoe says he feels relieved even though he knows it’s wrong. A kid’s shoe (that is 35 years old) wonders if he’s old enough to go to a club.
Ty dry heaves at some bad smells. He throws up a dirty sock after getting stuck in a gym bag. A dog nearly vomits. We hear a dog urinating.
Sneaks delivers a wholesome look at sneaker culture. It explains why some people are obsessed with their kicks. Much like someone might collect baseball cards or action figures, collecting sneakers is a hobby. But the film also pokes at itself, reminding us all that no matter how nice shoes are, they’re still shoes, meant to be worn and even worn out.
There’s also a really nice message here about siblings. No matter how much Max and Ty disagree or even argue, they still love each other. And they miss each other when they’re separated, doing everything they can to reunite. And some other shoe pairs express similar sentiments for their siblings (shoelings?).
I personally wasn’t a fan of the AI-esque computer animation and somewhat flat vocal performances delivered by actors. But in terms of content the film is mostly problem-free. Although there are a few perilous moments, Sneaks doesn’t revel in violence. There’s no foul language, either, barring one “OMG.”
There’s nothing sneaky hiding in Sneaks. And a nice message about siblings (not to mention countless footwear puns) actually makes the movie very family friendly, even if the animation lacks finesse.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
