Leo, the upcoming animated film on Netflix, sets high expectations as its stunning animation, thoughtful yet hilarious storyline and star-studded voice cast promise a great cinematic experience for audiences worldwide. Directed by David Wachtenheim, Robert Marianetti, and Robert Smigel, Netflix is all set to release Leo, featuring Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, and Cecily Strong as voice artists. An aging lizard named Leo is the protagonist of the story, which follows his journey to finding freedom and making friends along the way. The major dilemma of the story revolves around whether Leo will eventually achieve freedom, or he will discover freedom through connections with humans.
Leo shares thematic similarities with animated classics like Up, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc. by exploring friendship, adventure, and self-discovery. Like Carl in Up, Leo goes on an unexpected journey, almost like the Toy Story series. Not only that, but Leo’s journey to find freedom makes it similar to Finding Nemo‘s journey. Despite drawing inspiration from these films, Leo stands out with its unique storyline, which is an impressive take by the writers and filmmakers.
Spoilers Ahead
Story And Plot
By the look and feel of the trailer, we can assume Leo is going to be a hilariously entertaining animated film. Leo, a 75-year-old lizard who has been stuck in a school for many years, finds out that he has reached the end of his lifetime. He and his dearest friend Squirtle, who was a decades-old turtle, talk about their frustration with watching a new batch every year. As Leo comes to know that lizards only live for 75 years, he decides to escape the cage and see the world for the first time. Meanwhile, after substitute teacher Ms. Malkin’s arrival, students are asked to take one of the class pets home on Friday. Apparently, Summer, who accidentally finds out that Leo can talk, tells the entire class that Leo is the coolest of those pets. Every student starts to bring Leo home and talk to him. But Leo asks each one of them to keep the matter private. However, things don’t quite remain private after all, making Leo face some serious questions.
Leo’s journey faced severe trouble when all the students he interacted with learned that Leo actually talked to everyone. As Leo tried to make those kids feel special by saying that he only talked to the special one, their hearts were broken when they found out the truth. The ultimate mission of Leo is to make amends for what he did, but Ms. Malkin stands in his way. Let’s see in the film how things unfold.
Cast And Character Guide
In Leo, the eponymous protagonist is a lizard, voice acted by Adam Sandler. As mentioned previously, Leo is on his way to exploring the world and making connections with the students, but at the age of 75, he needs someone to take him to the outer world. He is a little afraid of the outer world, but he has patience for listening to people’s problems and trying to solve them. We can anticipate that in the upcoming film, we may see Adam Sandler’s amazing comedic timing through Leo as he meets and greets the fresh new batch.
Next up, we are introduced to Squirtle, a turtle who is Leo’s best friend. Bill Burr, as Squirtle, is an amazing character that the audience will definitely enjoy. Squirtle is a well-wisher for Leo. He encourages the lizard in his every attempt to escape the classroom. However, as Leo becomes popular among the students, Squirtle feels a little jealous of him.
Ms. Malkin, played by Cecily Strong, is almost the antagonist of the story. After replacing the permanent teacher, Salinas, who took a lengthy leave for her pregnancy, Malkin took the lead as a substitute teacher. She is a strict teacher who behaves in a very mean way, but she unintentionally did a good thing, which was asking the students to take the class pets home on Friday. In Leo, we might anticipate Leo facing some severe troubles due to Malkin’s presence in the class.
Apart from Leo, Squirtle, and Malkin, we are introduced to a group of students. Among them, the most talkative is Summer (Sunny Sandler), a nerd who can make people feel sleepy just by blabbering all the time. Then, we are introduced to Eli (Roye Smigel), who is the son of a scientist who has created an AI drone to take care of Eli all the time. But Eli is just frustrated with his drone constantly invading his privacy and making him detached from his social life and friends. Another student in the class, Jayda (Sadie Sandler), is a rich and popular girl whose father is a hotheaded businessman who cannot stand Ms. Malkin.
Final Words
Overall, the trailer looked promising and funny, setting high expectations in our minds. Netflix is all set to release Leo on November 21, making it available to all animation lovers worldwide. The trailer made us more eager to watch the film to enjoy this amazing storytelling on freedom, friendship, and the value of human connections. Through a hilarious narrative with so many ups and downs, Leo’s journey tries to tell a story of hope and mental health. It especially emphasizes the concept of child mental health and how a teacher is supposed to behave with them.
So, get ready for a heartwarming adventure as Leo hits Netflix on November 21. With a stellar cast and an engaging plot around Leo’s journey. With a witty banter between Leo and Squirtle, as well as their interaction with the students, this animated gem promises an experience, blending humor and insightful storytelling for animated film enthusiasts.
