Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Movie Review: Leap! (Ballerina)

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

Maybe not a new animated classic but a thoroughly enjoyable movie.


The animation here is absolutely top notch. This is of course very important for an animated movie that centers around dancing. Each movement when these characters dance is extremely precise and done with the upmost care. Yet it always flows naturally and never feels forced. As well as the dancing animation the animated acting is also excellent, letting these characters truly come to life through that animation. Our main character is very likable and relatable. At every moment in this film you believe her love for dancing, because her passion feels completely real. The story of this movie is very clichéd and there is no getting around that. At almost every moment you know what is going to happen next. However because of the believability of our main character and moments where you can feel the filmmakers passion the story is actually pretty effective. While this movie has a clear message that we have heard a million times, the filmmakers understand that the audience is intelligent enough to get what the film is trying to say and because of this it never hammers the message in but it seems instead to just come naturally from the story.


This movie certainly has problems. I have mentioned above that it is clichéd and no where is that worse than with the villain. In fact there is no need for this movie to have a villain and having one alone feels forced. The villain herself is extremely bland and pretty much just wastes screen time. While the other clichés are still handled pretty well, this one is handled horribly and it is definitely the worst part of the film. The humor in this movie is another big problem. It is never funny and there is a lot of it. However the good in this movie outshines the bad and it is definitely well worth a watch even if it probably won't become a classic.

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