I Thought Adam Sandler’s Leo Was Adorable, But There’s One Specific Element About The Netflix Film That Surprised Me Most

(Image credit: Netflix)

Adam Sandler is no stranger to finding success on Netflix. The comedian extended his lucrative deal with the streaming giant back in January 2020 for four more feature films. The latest of these movies is the animated family flick Leo, which was released on November 2023.

Sandler voices Leo, a lizard who has spent his life as a 5th-grade class pet at an elementary school in Florida alongside a turtle (voiced by Bill Burr). After learning he likely only has a year left of his life, Leo plans to escape. Unfortunately, his classroom is put under the instruction of a mean substitute teacher who requires the student to take home one of the pets every weekend. Leo plans to use his weekend getaway to escape, but ends up sticking around when he learns he can help the students through their personal struggles.

Leo is everything an animated movie should be. It’s cute, funny and has a heartwarming message. Personally, I really enjoyed Leo, but there was one element about it that surprised me.

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(Image credit: Netflix)
I Had No Idea Leo Was A Musical
I watched the trailer for Leo weeks before it came out and saw plenty of advertisements for the movie on the internet. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what the movie was about, so imagine my surprise when I finally sat down to watch it and Leo breaks out into song.

As an avid watcher of Sandler movies, it’s not unheard of for him to break into song at least once. Naturally, I thought that’s what was going on in Leo. I quickly learned I was mistaken when several of the other characters had their own songs too, making Leo an animated musical.

Now, a quick Google search would have revealed this part of the story to me, but I shouldn’t have to do that — the trailer should tell me it’s a musical! Properly marketing movies as musicals seems to be a problem for Hollywood lately. The same thing is happening to Mean Girls, which has yet to feature a song in any of its trailers despite the movie being an adaptation of the stage musical.

Luckily, I’m a fan of musicals, so realizing Leo was one was a pleasant surprise, especially since the songs were good and catchy. Even so, it was still jarring to learn in the midst of watching. I can’t imagine how people who don’t enjoy them would feel. Hollywood seriously needs to get better at marketing movies for what they are.

(Image credit: Netflix)

Still, Leo Was Adorable And Worth The Watch

Surprise musical numbers aside, Leo really was an adorable movie that is fun for all ages. I think most people can relate to the horror of learning the substitute taking over for your sweet teacher is a strict elder (at least, I know I did).

The chemistry between the cast was incredible, as is common in most Sandler movies. It even featured some new voices to the Sandler universe, including Saturday Night Live stars Cecily Strong and Heidi Gardner. The jokes were also a pleasant mix of gross humor (like when Squirtle gets scared and starts peeing) and clever jokes.

What really made Leo shine though was the heartwarming message that everyone is special and struggling, and the best way to get through life is with good friends and family to support and help you. I honestly believe it might be one of Sandler’s best movies.

If you’re still in that post-holiday haze, I suggest logging into that active Netflix subscription and queueing up Leo. It won’t disappoint! After that, check out everything new and coming soon to Netflix in 2024.

Danielle Bruncati is a writer and pop culture enthusiast from Southern California. She recently earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Television Writing and Producing from a top film school. While she works tirelessly on her portfolio of original scripts, she is also a Freelance Writer for CinemaBlend. Danielle watches just about everything, but her favorite shows and movies often land in the YA and romantic comedy spaces. When she’s not writing, she can be found wandering around Disneyland or hanging out with her laughter-hating corgi.