At some point, most likely between the ages of seven and ten, you probably had a class pet hanging out in the back of your classroom. Maybe it was a fish or a gerbil or a little hamster named Cheez-It who eventually got lost inside the pipes on a cold winter day but the point is that he was still a part of the classroom ecosystem (may he rest in peace and I’m sorry that I let him out). Imagine all of the gross and/or boring stories that those class pets could tell! This was the basic inspiration behind Leo, Netflix‘s latest animated feature. Who else would play an old, jaded lizard better than Adam Sandler?
Sandler stars as the titular Leo who has been in the classroom for over 70 years, watching students come and go and witnessing historic events through the eyes of a bunch of fifth graders. Leo wants to explore the outside, and it seems like this group of students might be his ticket to freedom. Here is the official synopsis:
Actor and comedian Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, The Wedding Singer) delivers signature laughs in this coming-of-age animated musical comedy about the last year of elementary school – as seen through the eyes of a class pet. Jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo (Sandler) has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle (Bill Burr). 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. It ends up being the strangest but most rewarding bucket list ever…
For the second time this year, Sandler stars alongside his daughters Sadie and Sunny and wife Jackie. The family previously shared the screen in the Netflix comedy You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah which showed that nepotism can actually pay off sometimes. Leo also stars a handful of other comedians, including Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, Heidi Gardner, Nick Swardson, Nicholas Turturro, Robert Smigel, Jo Koy and Stephanie Hsu.
Leo hits Netflix on November 21st. Check out the trailer above.
