Metacritic reviews

For the cinematic dregs of late August, the earnest and quirky Leap! is charmingly en pointe.

Anyone who’s ever dreamed of tutus, tights and toe shoes will likely get a kick out of Leap!

An unabashed wish-fulfilment fantasy that sweetly checks off every conceivable follow-your-heart cliché.

Leap! remains peppy as it sets its bar at a low-to-medium height then cheerfully clears it.

As heartwarming as the story in Leap! can sometimes be, and as strong as the relationship is between Félicie and Odette, her actions can make it difficult to cheer for her as wholeheartedly as the film intends.

The film’s careful attention to detail in the animation is continuously undermined by a formulaic plot and anxious pandering to contemporary sensibilities.

It’s not a leap to call “Leap!” perfectly watchable, if entirely too dull for the very young — especially the hyper-active.

As an orphan who dreams of joining the Paris Opera Ballet in the animated feature Leap!, Elle Fanning really hears it about the artistry and precision required to become a prima ballerina. The makers of this cheery but subpar confection probably should have been taking notes in addition to scripting them.

Rather than inspiring some kind of connection between disparate eras, Leap! uses pop music as a quick fix for kids who might be bored by ballet or orphans.

All three screenwriters either forgot or didn’t care that their heroine is 11. Even worse is when Félicie ends up dancing on tables in a bar — as in, a bar — “Coyote Ugly”-style. What? It’s not easy to take a message about taking leaps of faith from a movie that too often has two left feet.