What do you get when you combine a popular streaming service with an incredibly well-known actor? Usually, a recipe for success.
Netflix has been doing this for years with some of its movies. From Academy Award-nominated flicks like the expensive The Irishman to huge movies that broke records such as Red Notice, the streaming platform is starting to dominate the film industry. It's also begun to establish itself as an animation hub, as well, releasing big animated movies such as Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, a fantastic stop-motion film, to the 2023 release of Nimona.
The platform has been on a roll with many of its releases the last few years, and now, they are bringing back a Netflix veteran for their latest animated tale – Leo, starring Adam Sandler. If you're interested in it, here is what we know about the animated flick.
What Is The Leo Release Date?
Get ready, animation fans, as Leo is releasing on November 21, 2023, according to Tudum, which announced the news in January 2023. There was even a sneak peek of the film released at France's Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2023, according to Deadline, so the movie is already starting to pop up at festivals.
Many new films are coming out on Netflix in the coming months. Now, Leo is just one of many added to that list. The 2023 movie release schedule is heating up.
Adam Sandler Voices The Main Character
As mentioned in the introduction and confirmed by Tudum, Adam Sandler is voicing the main character, Leo.
This isn't Sandler's first time into voice acting. His most prominent voice role has been voicing Count Dracula in the Hotel Transylvania series for three films, but other than that, he's done voice work in movies such as Eight Crazy Nights and Zookeeper. This will be his return to voice-over roles since stepping away from Dracula for Hotel Transylvania: Transformania.
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Sandler has also established himself as a Netflix star, appearing in many of the big films that have come out on the platform. He's one of the stars of the Murder Mystery franchise, alongside co-star Jennifer Aniston, and appeared in other Netflix films such as Hustle, Hubie Halloween, and The Ridiculous 6.
The comedian has, of course, been in the industry for decades, appearing in huge films such as Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, and many more.
Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, And More Also Star
Besides Sandler starring in the lead role, several other actors are confirmed for Leo.
According to Tudum’s January 2023 article, the movie also stars Bill Burr, Nick Swardson, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Rob Schneider, Nicholas Turturro, and Heidi Gardner. Also confirmed in another Tudum article from April 2023 was that Stephanie Hsu, Jo Koy, and Robert Smigel were also a part of the cast.
The cast announcement with Leo is impressive. Bill Burr is a well-established comedian and actor who recently had a role in 2022's Dog. Cecily Strong rose to fame on NBC's Saturday Night Live but left the show recently in pursuit of other opportunities – one of which led her to the hit Schmigadoon! on Apple TV+ (and with a better season 2). Stephanie Hsu was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her part in Everything Everywhere All At Once, so it's exciting to see her take on a voice role.
Rob Schneider is also a fun addition to this list, considering he and Sandler collaborated on multiple films. So, it will be enjoyable to see them come back together for their voice roles, since they had previously worked on the live-action movie, Hubie Halloween.
Watch The Trailer For Leo
If you want to see the cuteness that is going to come with Leo, be sure to check out the trailer, which highlights just a hint of the crazy adventure that this class pet is going to get into.
Leo Follows The Story Of A Class Pet That Finds Out He Only Has One Year Left To Live
If you're wondering what Leo is about, Tudum has you covered. In that article about the upcoming animated film, it explains that the story follows a lizard who is a class pet. He's been bringing joy to the students of his classroom in Florida for many years – so many that he finds out that he only has one year left to live.
Intending to find a way to spend that time meaningfully, he tries to escape – but when a horrible substitute teacher takes over his class, he finds a way to help the students first.
In the Tudum article from April 2023 detailing the new animated films coming to Netflix, the directors – Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, and David Wachtenheim – spoke about the story of Leo. They said that while the film is silly and funny, there's plenty that both kids and parents can relate to from their years in elementary school:
We've collaborated on many crazy projects, going back to the SNL TV Funhouse cartoons, but Leo is a little different. It's silly and funny, but, aside from the central character being a very old class pet, our story is also about honest emotions and situations that every kid (and parent) experiences in elementary school. People of all ages will relate to it. And so will talking lizards!
I don't think talking lizards exist, but a girl can dream.
Leo Is Going To Be An Animated Musical
Something else that was confirmed in the Tudum article about Leo is that the movie will be a musical comedy. While this isn't the first time we've heard of Sandler singing – as he's done so plenty of times in his past comedic performances – it has been some time. Now, we'll get to see him sing as a lizard. That sounds like something that's up my alley.
Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, And David Wachtenheim Directed Leo
The last thing we'll talk about, as confirmed by the April 2023 Tudum article, is that the film is co-directed by three people – Robert Marianette, Robert Smigel (who also happens to be a part of the voice cast), and David Wachtenheim.
The three have collaborated before, specifically on Saturday Night Live within the animation department, and other small projects, but this one is their first time co-directing a feature.
Leo is releasing soon, and now all we have to do is be patient. I need to check out some other incredible animated movies in the meantime.
