A Sloth Story Review: Sacred Family Values

Though overloaded with themes, A Sloth Story is an uplifting animation that reflects the importance of family and staying true to oneself.

On the flip side, Laura’s mother Gabriella (Olivia Vasquez), and her father Luis (Benjamin Gorroño), who run a restaurant called Esto Es Vista!, have a much more casual approach to running their eatery, particularly Gabriella. She’s always hard at work in the kitchen but takes her time, even though some patrons end up waiting 2 hours for their food.

As a helper at the restaurant, Laura is always clumsily tripping over customers, recklessly balancing plates, and frantically bouncing between tables. Still, she’s memorable among the guests visiting the establishment, even if everyone around this speedy sloth continuously tells her she needs to slow down. Meanwhile, her older brother, Mani (Facundo Hache Herrera), is the polar opposite. When Laura asks if he plans on lending a helping hand at the restaurant, as she’s run off her feet, Mani proclaims that he’s “still waiting for the inspiration to strike.” If you’ve grown up with brothers and/or sisters, the dynamic between Laura and Mani is very relatable. It reflects how siblings born into the same family often grow up to be vastly different people, with distinct personalities and perspectives.

After a storm hits the area, Esto Es Vista! is destroyed, leaving the devastated sloth family with nothing. Well, except for their trusty van they can transform into a food truck. When the family is instructed to move away from their cozy, sleepy town, as it’s unsafe to stay there, they relocate to Sanctuary City. This new place that they now call home is a thriving community that Laura adores, even more so when she finds out Dotti Pace resides there. However, the family faces hurdles when they set up shop in town. Their slow-paced cooking method isn’t cutting it with the town’s residents, who find the service sluggish. That is until Laura convinces them to prepare the food faster. Then, their food truck is a roaring success and becomes the talk of the town.

What I didn’t expect when entering the viewing experience is how relatable and mature the themes depicted in A Sloth Story would be. This movie will not only appeal to children for its vibrant, eye-catching visuals and wholesome characters but also to adults who can easily connect with the topics explored throughout the film, which will resonate with many. A Sloth Story details the devastation of losing almost everything you own in a natural disaster, the challenges that can accompany moving to a new location, and the importance of family. In addition, the film analyzes people’s tendencies to idolize their lives and create an image that greatly differs from reality, a human’s desire to venture out of the bubble they grew up in, while embracing change and their true selves, and last but certainly not least, how having a different mindset from your nearest and dearest and not living up to what’s expected of you can feel isolating.

A Sloth Story masters in-depth character development, which allows viewers to learn in much greater detail about certain characters’ thoughts and feelings and understand their points of view. Laura represents a child who is caught between a rock and a hard place. She is clearly an adventurous soul who wishes to pave her own path in life and is growing tired of everyone telling her to slow down because she wants to be herself. But she also doesn’t want to disappoint her relatives, as family values mean a great deal to her.

On the other hand, her mother is set in her ways and is used to a more low-key approach to life. The relationship between the pair highlights the generational gaps that exist between parents and their children and is handled effectively throughout the film to communicate this idea. As kids ourselves, I think we can all relate to being in this situation and perhaps not always seeing eye to eye with our parents when it comes to our life choices. Although after moving to Sanctuary City Laura loves her new life, she is put to the ultimate test when her idol Dotti Pace (who is voiced brilliantly by Jones) asks for a favor that could impact Laura’s family a great deal. At its core, A Sloth Story is a tale about the importance of family loyalty and one’s ability to stay true to it.

A Sloth Story might not have a revolutionary plot, and it feels as though the movie tries to juggle one too many themes that aren’t adequately explored. However, this uplifting film about a sloth family facing familiar challenges has a lot of heart and is a tale worth telling. It’s a story embedded in family values, personal growth, Latino representation and culture, and how one shouldn’t give in to detrimental external pressures to impress others and fit in.

A Sloth Story opened in US theatres on February 28, 2025 and in UK & Irish cinemas on February 14. The film will be released theatrically in Canada on March 7, 2025.