Leo the Lion (Italian: La Storia Di Leo) is a 2005 Italian computer-animated adventure musical film directed by Mario Cambi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Pierstefano Marangoni. It stars Neri Marcorè, Leo Gullotta and Carlo Conti. The film follows Leo, a lion who exhibits a vegetarian diet which causes him to be an outcast among his pride, so he sets off on a journey to find the "Heart of the Jungle", a place that Leo's deceased mother to him to go to, with his friend Uncle Lope and a couple of baby elephants tagging along with him.

Produced by Dujass Film, the film was originally released on June 17, 2005. Sometime around 2013, an English-dub of the film was released onto Netflix by The Weinstein Company.^[1]

Plot

In the African savannas, Leo struggles to fit in his pride. While hunting for zebras with the other lions, Leo's mother dies by falling over a waterfall on the day he goes for his first hunt. After that traumatic experience, he develops a fear of water. Being bullied by the other lions, he leaves them and starts living in a tree. One day he meets a female elephant, Savannah and helps her deliver her twin baby elephants. It is later mentioned that her husband, Eli Phant, was killed by humans. However, it is revealed that he was actually knocked out by Maximus Elefante and is taken to a zoo. After the delivery, the little calves consider him to be their father and follow him constantly. When Leo decides to find the "Heart of the Jungle", a place Leo's mother once told him about before she died, he is accompanied by the elephants and Uncle Lope, a gazelle. They meet many other young animals on their quest, such as a young zebra. After having lots of adventures, they eventually find the Heart of the Jungle, which is also the home of a chameleon. The latter allows to two orphans, a leopard, and a monkey, to stay in her place. On the way back, Maximus, who was following the company, finds the two baby elephants, kidnaps them and later claims he saved them from Leo, the "evil" lion. Maximus then tries to marry Savannah, but Leo turns up at the last moment and stops the wedding. Suddenly, a helicopter appears, shoots Maximus and he is sent to the Zoo. The movie finishes by showing Leo talking to his children, two elephant/lion hybrids.

Cast

Reception

Common Sense Media gave the movie one star out of five, calling it a "horrible Pixar rip-off with terrible songs, annoying voices, subpar animation, and a poorly executed story line".^[2]

References

External links

• Leo the Lion on Netflix
• Leo the Lion at IMDb