Leap!

Aimed specifically at pre-teens, this animated feature was originally a French/Canadian co-production titled Ballerina that performed well in Europe last year. Unfortunately, the Americanized version lost its magic somewhere over the mid-Atlantic. Set in the French countryside of Brittany in the late 19th century, the story begins at a dreary orphanage, where spirited 11-year-old Felicie (voiced by Elle Fanning) and her scruffy friend Victor (Nat Wolff) decide to run away to Paris, where Felicie can become a famous ballerina and Victor an accomplished inventor. After escaping from the surly supervisor, Monsieur Luteau (Mel Brooks), they arrive in the City of Light, where they accidentally become separated. Victor lands a menial job as an apprentice in the prestigious workshop of Gustave Eiffel (the Eiffel Tower is under construction). After wandering the streets, Felicie sneaks into the Paris Opera Ballet, where she's befriended by the custodian, Odette (singer Carly Rae Jepsen), who also works for evil restaurateur Régine Le Haut (Kate McKinnon). Madame Regine's daughter Camille (Maddie Ziegler) is also an aspiring ballerina, and Felicie deviously wangles her way into Ballet Academy auditions by impersonating snotty, selfish Camille. Although Felicie yearns to play Clara in The Nutcracker, she has a problem. As Master Merante (Terrence Scammell) puts it, Felicie has “the energy of a bullet and the lightness of a depressed elephant.” Not only is Leap! a thinly-scripted, formulaic story with an often anachronistic underdog plot, it's historical basis is bunk, since The Nutcracker did not premiere until 1892 and was not performed outside of Russia for many years after that. Optional. (S. Granger)