The Wasteland Reviewer

Sneaks (2025) Written Review

How much mileage can you get out of a story about talking shoes? There is plenty of process when it comes to the new animated film Sneaks. Writer/directors Rob Edwards and Christopher Jenkins bring a wild tale of talking shoes getting up to shenanigans in the big city. You have the timeless tale of siblings being split up and trying to get back to each other. Except these are not people…it is a pair of beloved shoes. They need to get back together and return to their rightful owner. But you know…there cannot possibly be too many roadblocks. It is not like there are shoe poachers, giant rats, and bulldogs present to mess everything up. 

Does Sneaks deliver a fun and engaging animated experience? There is honestly a lot of frustration around the visual aesthetic of this film. There is certainly passion in the creation of the film (major sneakerhead vibes going on here) but there is something so clunky and awkward about the whole visual palette. There are some more inspired visuals centered around spray paint and graffiti. This is an inspired visual style, but it is better in idea than execution (there is an over reliance on smooth and blobby animation which makes this look so bland). But that is a more interesting looking visual of the film…not a great sign. The regular animation is quite unpleasing aesthetically. Clunky and awkward looking, this film looks like it was made with computer-generated animation of the mid-90s. The humans look borderline grotesque and off-putting. This might not bother the younger members of the audience, but it is quite distracting.

Is there at least an engaging story? The central concept is quite simple. One shoe searches for his sister shoe so they can go home. But there only scratches the surface on how many elements are threaded into this screenplay. Our protagonist, Ty, meets plenty of other shoes, animals, and people along the way. There is a big climatic chase through the park involving a giant horde of large rats…which feel so random. There are plenty of large gatherings of shoes and the story just keeps stuffing more and more characters into this film (which feels quite overwhelming). Sneaks are convoluted but it also feels derivative of so many other famous animated films. One of the biggest supporting characters, J.B., feels obviously Mater coded in both presence and personality. But even more obvious, there are plenty of sequences, gags, and ideas lifted directly from Toy Story. The humor is uninspired as well with only so many possible shoe puns to throw in there. 

How does this talented voice cast add to the proceedings? Anthony Mackie is a talented performer for sure but there are some moments where his voice performances are just too cartoonish and ridiculous. There are a few veteran performers like Keith David and Laurence Fishburne who bring a needed weight to this silly and clunky film. They have great voices to begin with, but they also inject some emotion and gravity with their characters. Martin Lawrence delivers a strange and annoying performance that does not do him or the film too many favors. There are plenty of other performers who deliver serviceable performances trying to make this lackluster script come to life.

Is Sneaks a fun and engaging time for the whole family? Not really…maybe just for the youngest in attendance. There is also a strong connection to “Sneakerhead” culture which might get some of their attention. There are only fleeting elements that will stand out as artful and engaging. Overall, this is an unpleasing animated experience that offers up a script that is scattered and messy from start to finish.