Leo

"Breaking out this November."

2023 1h 42m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 1,413

AnimationComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jaded 74-year-old reptile Leo has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle. When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students — including an impossibly mean substitute teacher.

“Breaking out this November.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Adam Sandler
Leo (voice)
Bill Burr
Squirtle (voice)
Cecily Strong
Mrs. Malkin (voice)
Jason Alexander
Jayda's Dad (voice)
Rob Schneider
Principal (voice)
Allison Strong
Mrs. Salinas (voice)
Jo Koy
Coach Kimura (voice)
Sadie Sandler
Jayda (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Wachtenheim
Writers: Robert Smigel, Ken Morrissey, Adam Sandler
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Leo Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Geoff Zanelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor J.J. Titone shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Adam Sandler and Bill Burr and Cecily Strong carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Breaking out this November.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5755238 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Wachtenheim directs. Geoff Zanelli scores. J.J. Titone cuts. Produced in Australia, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 3 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Australia, United States of America.
3Part of the "Leo Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Original score by Geoff Zanelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor J.J. Titone shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Adam Sandler and Bill Burr and Cecily Strong carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Breaking out this November.".
8IMDB entry: tt5755238 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "midlife crisis", "classroom", "musical", "school".

The technical file

Original score: Geoff Zanelli
Editing: J.J. Titone
Production design: Simon Rodgers
Sound: Brandon Proctor
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Leo (2023)

Part of

Leo Collection

Also by

David Wachtenheim

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-11-22
★ 7/10
"Leo" is a lizard who has lived with his tortoise pal "Squirtle" in a school classroom watching the kids come and go over the years. They've actually become quite adept at on-the-spot evaluations of them - the spoiled ones, rich ones, lonely ones etc., and are a bit tired and cynical. A chance conversation gives "Leo" a bit of an headache - he may be about to die of old age! He is determined not to end his days in this glass cage, and when a disciplinarian supply teacher ("Ms. Malkin") decides that each child has to take a pet home for the weekend, he sees an opportunity to abscond! Needless to say, his escape attempts are the stuff of slapstick, but instead he begins to bond with each child. He can talk! They can talk! He only talks to them, though - they are special...! "Leo" is their secret friend who actually turns out to be quite the social worker/therapist/motivator soon becoming a firm favourite - even if he is no nearer freedom. Can he get to the Everglades before he hits the terminal 75? This actually reminded me a little of "Ron's Gone Wrong" (2021) in that it uses animation - and quite a sarcastically observant script - to again draw our attention to just how children are increasingly "un-parented". Left to their own devices - quite literally - and dependent on constant peer validation (or domination). The characterisations of the human beings here are a bit extreme, but it does serve to illustrate quite well how a broad gamut of parenting skills results in a broad gamut of increasingly flawed and vulnerable small people. The ending involves quite a fun bus chase and some menacing crocodiles - but are they as terrifying as a fed up "Ms. Malkin"? It's worth a watch to see...
r96sk2024-02-17
★ 8/10
Unexpectedly quite fun. Happy Madison Productions and Netflix teaming up for an animation flick hardly sets the pulse racing and as such I was, perhaps naively, anticipating <em>'Leo'</em> to fall rather flat. Happily, I was wrong. It does a great job at merging meaning and humour, I laughed a fair bit. My negative predictions were almost confirmed as soon as Adam Sandler starts talking in this 2023 film, as the voice he puts on was one I thought was going to be very grating. However, again, that was not the case. He makes it work and then some. Bill Burr is also a pleasant cast member. The rest of the voice bunch are good too. The musicial elements aren't the most fitting, though in all honesty don't drag the film down all that much. Overall, a relatively exceptional movie.
dumasori2024-06-07
★ 6/10
Heartwarming and wholesome ❤️😊