There’s a whiteboard of ideas thrown into Leo. The film has everything from a predictable but heartwarming narrative to weird and wacky musical numbers. At its heart, however, is a film with a message for people my age and parents now looking to protect and nurture their children— sometimes it’s best just to let them be kids. 

Adam Sandler voices Leo, a school pet who lives in a tank with a turtled named Squirtle, voiced by Bill Burr. The film opens with a musical number introducing all the kids, the parents, and their current worries coming into the new year, and then Leo learns that he’s 74, and apparently, all lizards die at 75. And with his best years behind, Leo decides it’s time to make a break for it the first chance he gets. His chance comes sooner than he’d think when a relief teacher, voiced by Cecily Strong, wants to re-introduce taking home and looking after a school pet. All the kids groan at this, as a lizard and turtle aren’t exciting. Leo accidentally lets a few worlds slip out of his mouth during his first attempt to escape when a kid brings him. To keep the fact that he can talk a secret, he talks to the kid and shares some sage-like advice using his nearly 75-year-old lizard brain. 

When that kid brings Leo back and wants to take him home again the following weekend, another kid wants to see what’s so good about him. And so Leo begins to let his secret out one kid at a time. He gives them advice, speaks to them like adults, and finds out what’s causing each of the kid’s anxiety or distress in their home and school life. But with the little white lie that each of the kids is the only one who knows he’s able to talk.

As the year progresses, the students are happier with one another doing better with their schoolwork. The parents all begin to think maybe the relief teacher, Ms Malkin, is the thankful face behind all of this, but we know it’s Leo.

Charlotte’s Web is mentioned several times in Leo, and it’s evident that the film is trying to achieve a similar theme and feeling. But what’s holding it back is the almost at-odds tone of the film. As if the two different ends of Sandler’s career are fighting with one another, there’s a very wholesome animal film here where Leo inspires the kids. At the other end, a more adult-centric oddity with wacky characters, songs and jokes well above the minds of the audience at the other end of the film’s tone.  

The animation style of Leo reminded me a lot of Lucky, which is an Apple TV+ Original Film. Both are perfectly fine, with good animation of characters, but it just feels like it needs more real love in the overall production. There’s no feeling of passion to the animation outside of its being a team job, and there’s an odd sense of colour missing from scenes that deserve a little more love and vibrancy, especially considering how weird this movie can get at times.