This is an entertaining young child's animated movie about an vibrant orphan girl who seeks to become a great ballerina.

Some people have criticized this movie because of the stealing scene. For those sensitive enough to have moral qualms about this criminal act and this movie, might just as well also condemn the Best Oscar Motion Picture Les Miserables (2012) for stealing wood in that movie. Subsequently, this criminal act has its consequences. Really for an animated children’s movie the morality of the criminal is not as clear cut as it might seem as well. As for those critics whose insistence on historical accuracy and the relatively quick learning curve to become an amazing dancer are missing the nature of this fun, entertaining, in some ways simplistic presentation of an animated feature for young girls who still have dreams and a few boys who want to be inventors ala the prat fallen and accident-prone acclaimed comedian, Jerry Lewis, who died recently at 91 years old. And finally, dancing in a pub as a young girl can’t be looked down on if one realizes this is a European setting where society isn’t so prudish and the association of pubs (where family often gather) and bars is often confused.

The use of animation in this movie was aptly chosen and is fined tuned to the spirited nature of the storyline, particularly the dancing moves which would have been quite unrealistic and poorly received if the movie had been live action instead. The animated dancing offers up a childlike fantasy experience of exciting idealistic movement and the fulfillment of the delicious pleasure of passionate dreams. There is an excellent but difficult and rarely achieved balance between animated realism and the girlish imagination of what could and is possible as seen through a child’s eyes such like Bolt (2008) about a performance dog who believes his acting is part of his real persona. The landscapes, the buildings, cityscapes are often presented with vibrant authenticity yet with a sense of wondrous imperfection as animation as yet hasn’t been able to completely replicate dense photographic images of the real world.

In some ways, Leap! could be consider the young child’s version of La La Land (2016) or Chicago (2002) in its depiction of the entertainment world, its exotic sights and sounds, the captivating energy and the enthralling emotional turmoil and the pulsating excitement of art. This great movie is about not giving up passion and pursuing one’s dreams, who better message can an animated feature offer children?