Leo (2023)
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A classroom pet discovers he can speak and begins offering life advice to students who take him home for the weekend.
The story
Leo the tuatara and Squirtle the Florida box turtle are class pets at a Fort Myers elementary school. When their teacher, Mrs. Salinas, goes on maternity leave, a strict substitute teacher named Virginia Malkin takes over. Leo, who is worried about his impending death and his unfulfilled dreams, is taken home by a student named Summer. During their time together, Leo reveals he can talk and begins providing wisdom to various students who take him home each weekend. He helps them navigate their personal issues while requesting they keep his ability to speak a secret from the rest of the class.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Leo the tuatara and Squirtle the Florida box turtle are class pets at a Fort Myers elementary school. When teacher Mrs. Salinas announces maternity leave, Leo learns tuataras live to 75 years old and despairs because he is 74 and hasn't visited the Everglades. A strict substitute, Virginia Malkin, arrives. Summer takes Leo home, and he reveals he can talk, helping her become more popular. Other students take him home as well, and Leo provides them with life advice while asking them to keep his speech a secret. Jealous, Squirtle tries to expose him, but the class disregards Leo. Ms. Malkin discovers Leo's secret and takes him home; Leo realizes she is mean because she never achieved her dream of being a teacher. After the students win a history fair, Ms. Malkin abandons Leo at the Everglades to take the credit. A guilt-ridden Squirtle uses a drone to catch up with the students, revealing Ms. Malkin's lie. The students and Ms. Malkin hijack the bus to rescue Leo. Leo learns from wild tuataras that he can live over 110 years, and he is rescued from alligators by the group. On the final day, Leo encourages the class to look out for each other. Ms. Malkin eventually gets a full-time job as a kindergarten teacher with Leo and Squirtle as pets.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 102
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Marianetti; Robert Smigel; David Wachtenheim
- Writers
- Robert Smigel · writer; Adam Sandler · writer; Paul Sado · writer
- Cast and characters
- Adam Sandler · Leo; Bill Burr · voice role; Cecily Strong · voice role; Jason Alexander · voice role
- Genres
- animated; musical; comedy
- Themes
- Friendship; Aging; Self-discovery; Mentorship
- Tone and mood
- Musical; Comedy; Heartwarming
- Premise and plot tags
- Talking Animals; School Life; Coming of Age; Fantasy
- Franchise connections
- Happy Madison Productions
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who specifically highlighted the animation quality, the vocal performances of the cast, and the musical numbers.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Production trivia
- It is the second animated feature from Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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