The Sloth Lane (also known in the United States as A Sloth Story) is a 2024 Australian animated adventure-comedy film directed by Tania Vincent. It is the fifth film in Like a Photon Creative's The Tales from Sanctuary City franchise. The film stars the voices of Teo Vergara, Olivia Vásquez, Ben Gorroño, Facundo Herrera, Remy Hii, and Leslie Jones.
Produced by Like A Photon Creative and Screen Queensland Studios with animation services by Cosmic Dino Studio, The Sloth Lane had its world premiere at the Annecy Animation Film Festival in France on 10 June 2024, and was released by Maslow Entertainment in Australia on 25 July.
Contents
Plot
Laura Romero and her family of Mexican sloths move to Sanctuary City after their family restaurant is destroyed by the storm. After moving to the city with their old food truck, they all have to adapt to life in the fast lane, while remembering and respecting their family and cultural customs. Armed with their family recipes that have been perfected for generations, their food truck becomes a huge success, which does not go unnoticed by entrepreneur and snappy dresser, Dotti Pace. After being deceived into giving up their secret recipes, Laura and her family must defy the odds and find a way to get their beloved recipe book back.
Voice cast
Teo Vergara as Laura Romero, a 12-years old sloth and the daughter of the Romero family
Olivia Vásquez as Gabriella Romero Flores, the mother of the Romero family
Ben Gorroño as Luis Romero, the father of the Romero family
Facundo Herrera as Mani Romero, the son of the Romero family
Leslie Jones as Dotti Pace, a cheetah who works as a fast food magnate
Remy Hii as Platy, a platypus and Dotti Pace's henchmen
Matteo Romaniuk as Arlo, a kiwi
Dan Brumm as Chief Furbank, an elderly dingo who works as a state guard
Production
The film's voice cast was revealed in October 2023 that included Leslie Jones, Teo Vergara, Olivia Vásquez, Ben Gorroño, Facundo Herrera, Remy Hii and Matteo Romaniuk. Dan Brumm joined the cast the following year in May.
Release
The Sloth Lane had its world premiere screening at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 10 June 2024. It then screened at Sydney Film Festival on 15 June ahead of its domestic theatrical release in Australia on 25 July.
The film has international sales by the Stuttgart-based company Sola Media and opened in US theatres on 28 February 2025, distributed by Blue Fox Entertainment using the name A Sloth Story.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.6/10.
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.