2023 Movie
Dir. David Wachtenheim & Robert Marianetti · Australia, United States of America · Arabic, English
A modest animated offering that's better at being an absurd comedy than a musical
Held back by awkward and uninspired musical numbers but otherwise a surprisingly funny and sweet animated comedy, Leo gets a lot of mileage out of being simply weirder than many of its direct-to-streaming contemporaries. As the titular lizard works through his cynicism by spending his last days helping others with their early years (a premise heartwarming enough to stand on its own), the film expresses itself through plenty of cutaway jokes and throwaway lines, excellent physical comedy, and a few particularly bizarre character designs. Everything is played in good fun though, and the movie’s witty, easygoing personality allows it to overcome any limitations from its admittedly ordinary animation.
Jaded 74-year-old lizard 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.
"Strikes just the right balance between heart and fart jokes."
— Peter Debruge
A 74-year-old tuatara lizard dreams of escaping the fifth-grade classroom where he lives, but begins to grow a bond with the students who are tasked with caring for him.
Many animated movies tend to talk down to kids or show some sort of contempt towards children, but Leo clearly has a big heart for them. All of the fifth grade characters are depicted as having complex feelings and insecurities, and all of their bad behavior is always seen as something that can be repaired with kindness. They also get the film's best musical number: "When I Was Ten," a humorous but sweet song in which they reminisce about being younger (AKA just a year ago). And yes, every time the kindergarten kids show up as flailing, unblinking, hyperactive creatures, it's always, always funny.
Whoever had the insane idea to depict kindergarten students as human piranhas deserves some sort of prize.
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
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