Film Review – Leap

For family entertainment in the summer of 2017, there have been movies dedicated to the inner lives of cars, minions, squirrels, and emojis. Perhaps it’s time for a human story. “Leap” endeavors to provide a slightly less manic distraction for younger audiences, examining the inner light of an orphan dreaming big, finding herself with a chance to become a star ballerina in Paris in the late 1800s. Directors Eric Summer and Eric Warin make the feature’s entertainment value a priority, but the helmers seem terrified to stay away from formula, slowly erasing everything that makes “Leap” appealing just to keep up with animation expectations. There are plenty of likable elements in the picture, and it serves its purposes as an empowerment tool, but the production spends too much time on autopilot, failing to follow through on its rather bold decision to tell a tale that doesn’t involve cuddly, slapstick creatures.  Read the rest at Blu-ray.com