NOW IN THEATERS! Our modern-day parables often take the form of animation. Tania Vincent and Ricard Cussó’s A Sloth Story is a whimsical tale about a family of sloths learning a valuable lesson about holding to one’s culture while moving on. Laura (Teo Vergara) is a young girl sloth. She lives with her older brother, Mani (Facundo Hache Herrera), and her parents, Luis (Benjamin Gorroño) and Gabriella (Olivia Vásquez). Gabriella runs a wildly popular sit-down, slow-paced restaurant in rural Mexico. She is busy, and Laura and Mani do their best to help.
As much as Laura loves her family, she dreams of one day venturing out on her own and paving a different future from her mother’s. Everything changes when a savage storm hits, and the town is destroyed, forcing the family to move to the city. As Gabriella tries to restart her business, Laura makes friends with Arlo (Matteo Romaniuk) and Platy (Remy Hii), who make her an honorary member of their cricket team.
Laura wants to be a kid and make friends. She realizes she’d rather hang out with her new friends than help her mother with the new restaurant. Meanwhile, across town, the evil fast food corporation run by Dotti Pace (Leslie Jones) is desperate to compete against Gabriella’s authentic Mexican food. She plans to steal Gabriella’s recipes and offer Laura a freer future.
“Everything changes when a savage storm hits, and the town is destroyed, forcing the family to move to the city.”
A Sloth Story is a sweet story about family and generations. For many rural families, it’s an all-too-familiar reality that children will one day leave for the big city, leaving behind the family legacy, whether a family-owned business or their cultural heritage. Then, the film balances it with a child’s desire to dream about what they can be when they grow up. The entire film is about this age-old family conflict and wrestles it to a satisfying conclusion.
The target audience is young children in the single-digit age range. The cast is full of unknowns in the States (sans Leslie Jones), and small kids don’t care. They will be drawn to the film’s cute story, slapstick, and zombie subplot. Let’s also add that the film offers a taste of Mexican culture. Parents might hope for a story that’s a bit more sophisticated to keep them interested, but there’s enough interest here to keep you engaged.
A Sloth Story delivers a message with warmth, charm, and just enough energy for its younger audiences. The film’s heart is in the right place, balancing a gentle cultural exploration with the universal challenge of growing up and finding one’s own way. While parents may wish that more was in the film for them, kids will find plenty to love in this slow but steady tale of family, friendship, and deliciously authentic Mexican food.
"…kids will find plenty to love..."
