“Leap!” is the latest girl empowerment movie- an animator from the Weinstein Company with a message for the kids: perseverance!!! You can achieve if you work hard at your dreams. Elle Fanning voices the lead of an 11 year old orphan ballerina-wanna-be who runs away from an orphanage with her bff, voiced by Nat Wolff. His dream is to become an inventor. The icon Mel Brooks and Kate McKinnon also voice, along with Carly Rae Jepsen. This one borrows heavily from “The Karate Kid”. There’s really nothing new except the ballet theme. But it’s a fine message for kids and a sweet story with lots of humor.
2-and-a-half stars