NBA Champion John Salley Takes Talent To The Big Screen in Disney’s SNEAKERELLA
By Movieguide® Staff
Basketball legend and four-time NBA Champion John Salley recently appeared in Disney’s newest musical, SNEAKERELLA.
“When Michael Jordan came in and Phil Knight decided that they were going to make him synonymous with sneakers being able to make you fly or stay in the air longer, that started a whole new sneaker culture,” Salley said of the inspiration behind the movie. “When I was younger, you just wanted to have whatever sneaker was new.”
Salley plays Darius King in SNEAKERELLA. King is the head of one of the most popular sneaker brands and is on the search for the next top sneaker designer.
According to the Movieguide® review:
SNEAKERELLA is a musical streaming on Disney Plus. El works for his stepfather in his late mother’s sneaker store in Queens, New York. El is creative, constantly sketching ideas for a new shoe, but his stepfather wants his head out of the clouds and into his work. One day, El and his best friend, Sami, meet Kira King, the daughter of Darius King, a famous former basketball player with his own line of sneakers. However, El and Kira forget to exchange phone numbers. So, Sami comes up with the idea to have El design a shoe in time for the Kings’ charity gala, but can El finish the shoe in time?
SNEAKERELLA is a fun take on the Cinderella story. The musical numbers are catchy, and the cast does a good job. However, SNEAKERELLA has mixed Romantic and moral content. The movie stresses destiny, following your dreams and magic from outside forces to make those dreams come true. It also stresses friendship, helping others, kindness, and integrity. SNEAKERLLA has no obscenities, but it contains 6 light profanities. MOVIEGUIDE® advises slight caution.
While it is not uncommon for NBA talent to take their talents to the big screen—Shaquille O’Neal in KAZAAM and Micheal Jordan in SPACE JAM—Salley said that he was excited for a new challenge.
“I find acting entirely more challenging (than basketball),” Salley explained. “There were scenes with Chosen, who is (under) 25, giving me some of the best acting techniques that I’ve had in five years of acting class. I’m not going to say it’s harder. There are more people involved. When you’re playing a sport, you just have your teammates to worry about. But when you’re making a movie, everybody participates in that movie.”
SNEAKERELLA premieres on Disney+ on May 13.
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