I’ve mostly been a fan of Adam Sandler’s comedies since the mid-90s and have found myself enjoying his contributions to children’s movies far more than any others.
As such, when I saw the first trailer for ‘Leo’ and heard Sandler’s unmistakable voice, I was game to see exactly how he was going to play a classroom pet reptile.
I’m not so much of a fan of his singing – which happens a few times in this movie – but, he frames his sage advice gently to fit tween problems big and small.
Leo is a 2023 American animated musical comedy film directed by Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim (in Marianetti and Wachtenheim’s feature directorial debuts), written by Smigel, Adam Sandler, and Paul Sado, and produced by Sandler and Mireille Soria.
The second animated feature from Sandler’s production company Happy Madison Productions, stars him in the titular voice role, alongside Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Allison Strong, Sunny Sandler, and Jason Alexander.
It tells the story of a tuatara, longing for the wild and worried about dying, who is taken home by different students per the assignment of a strict substitute teacher.
A tuatara are reptiles endemic to New Zealand and despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia.
Leo clocks in at 102 minutes long and is rated PG for rude/suggestive material and some language.
Longtime class pets Leo the tuatara and Squirtle the turtle (Burr) live in the fifth-grade classroom at a Fort Myers Elementary School.
During a parent-teacher conference, the fifth-grade teacher Mrs. Salinas (Strong) announces her maternity leave because she is pregnant.
The parents are displeased with the substitute teacher whom the principal has selected to cover for Mrs. Salinas.
Leo overhears one of the parents saying that Tuataras live to be 75 years old and despairs when he realizes he is 74 and has not accomplished his dreams of going to The Everglades.
The next day, the strict substitute Ms. Malkin (Strong) arrives and is quickly loathed by the students.
Leo is taken home for the weekend by Summer (Sandler), an overly talkative girl who doesn’t have many friends in class.
While trying to make his escape, Leo accidentally reveals to Summer that he can talk, and suggests to her that she ask more questions to improve her conversations with classmates.
As a result, Summer ends up becoming more popular.
Her classmates Eli, Jayda, Cole, Cole #2, Skylar, Logan, Mia, Kabir, TJ, and Anthony eventually take Leo home and confide in him as well.
He provides wisdom and support which improves each of the student’s lives while having his hilarious adventures.
However, Leo requests that each student keep his talking ability a secret from the others and doesn’t tell any of them that the others know he can talk.
Jealous of the attention Leo is getting, Squirtle decides to expose him.
Feeling betrayed, the class disregards Leo which ends up leading Ms. Malkin to take Leo home where she discovers he talks and has been helping her students.
Leo learns that she never accomplished her dream of being a real teacher and attempts to give her advice.
But, that’s not the end of Ms. Malkin’s issues by any means and it’s worth watching the whole movie to get the full effect.
As a recent Netflix release, Leo’s adventure provides plenty of entertainment for adults and children alike – it was even enough to make my parents laugh, too!
