Talking shoes. Sure. Why not? After all, they’ve got tongues, why shouldn’t they use them. In one of the more forgettable animated features of 2025, Sneaks explored the hidden world of shoe culture. Not sure it had a great deal to say about such, but the shoes had an adventure by themselves.
The story starts with humans, specifically one human, Edson (voice of Swae Lee), a young basketball phenom in need of decent footwear. He attends a convention and wins the coveted raffle prize, a pair of Alchemy 24s, the newly-minted greatest basketball shoe in the world … for the next fifteen minutes, at least. A burly and aggressive man known as The Collector (Laurence Fishburne) first tries to trade Edson for the shoes.
Honestly? Edson should have taken the trade, which was several vintage pairs. All Edson needed was a decent pair of basketball shoes, not necessarily the Alchemy 24s, and here is his chance to get basketball shoes for life if he swaps sagely. Seriously, what are the odds that the exact pair Edson wins will fit? What is he, Brooklyn Cinderella?
Undaunted by rejection, The Collector breaks into Edson’s flat and steals the shoes. Ah, but now Toy Story rules apply where all shoes are sentient so long as people aren’t paying attention. The shoes try and escape, but only the right (Anthony Mackie) makes it out. And before long, he’s being strung along by a street hustling black shoe (Martin Lawrence).
So you get that we’re following shoes around NYC, yes? The 24 wants to find his “sister.” JB (Lawrence) wants some bling. Edson wants to play in a Midnight Madness tournament and The Collector wants to sell the stolen pair to his boss, The Forger (Roddy Ricch) – a surprisingly decent and almost supernatural villain.
The question is will you care enough about shoes to see what path this story walks down … or are you gonna be a heel, huh? What’s it gonna be? BTW, points off for failure to use the word “aglet.” If there was ever a time to inform the masses of shoe vocab, this was it.
At some point, it was impossible for me to say anything other than “this is a shoe.” And by that I mean, I can get behind an anthropomorphic animal or doll or toy … but a shoe? Not as much. Perhaps 
because it is an article of clothing, and one with a limited shelf life once it starts being worn. I mean, yeah, I guess it’s kind of funny to see Keith David voice an old school Chuck Taylor, but unless you keep those things in a box, they’re not going to last longer than your average hamster.
Ok, perhaps I’m just being harsh. If a toy cowboy can talk, why shouldn’t fancy basketball shoe? Or a stiletto? Or a galosh? Or a mukluk? Sure, all these things can be people, too. The question is: will I care? The answer: I dunno, a little, maybe? Truth be told, about halfway through the film, I stopped wanting the 24 to find his mate and instead decide to team up with JB, maybe form a power alliance between the dated and the high tech. It doesn’t matter. Will your kids care? :Shrug: I’m thinkin’ a little, maybe. Sneaks isn’t a bad film, but I still can’t help thinking, “It’s just a shoe.”
In this film, we are challenged to root
For a shoe desperately seeking its foot
On streets, it will tread
Finding adventure instead
Do we love it, or give it the boot?
Rated PG, 92 Minutes
Director: Rob Edwards, Christopher Jenkins
Writer: Rob Edwards, Erica Harrell, Dylan Hartman
Genre: There’s no business like shoe business
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Shoes?
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Socks?
