New to On Demand: Leap!

Leap Courtesy The Weinstein Company

Inspirational movies are a big winner at the box office. In the movie Leap!, we meet two children who yearn to follow their dreams despite living in an orphanage and having seemingly impossible aspirations. But can dreams come true?

Their living situation is holding Felicie (voice of Elle Fanning) and Victor (Nat Wolff) back. Felicie yearns to be a great ballerina, and Victor wants to be the world’s next great inventor. But to proceed, they must carry out a daring escape from their home. And escape they do! It’s off to Paris.

But once they arrive, the two are separated. Felicie stumbles across the ballet where a great ballerina is performing, but before she can fulfill her dream of becoming a dancer, Felicie merely needs to survive and so the downtrodden Odette (Carly Rae Jepsen) becomes a temporary caretaker for Felicie. Felicie works as a cleaner side by side with Odette and awaits an opportunity. And when she stumbles into one, Felicie is even willing to steal another person’s identity to get ahead.

And oh, Victor. He’s found an inventor to mentor him as well. The two orphans seem well on their way to becoming who they dream to be, but can it last? And will the fact that Victor has a crush on Felicie get in the way of everything? Or could this all crumble around them and put them right back where they started?

Leap! is a film with the kind of follow-your-dreams mentality we should all have when it comes to life in general. Your situation today doesn’t have to be your situation tomorrow. Hard work is important, risk-taking a must — and if you do these things, you can change who you become.

That messaging alone makes Leap! a worthwhile endeavor for kids of all ages. Plus, I’ll admit a quite particular affection for hearing Mel Brooks in this version of the film. A great man added to a talented voice cast is a winner for me. My message to kids both young and old: Take the leap, follow your dreams and become the person you want to be.