Review of Leap (2017) by Garwynn — 03 Sep 2017

To start off, both the name of this movie and the reason for its delayed release in the U.S. are both a mystery to me. The original title in Canada - Ballerina - was a much better name. And given the fact that an English version was already released in Canada I didn't understand why they felt it necessary to re-cast a few roles and change one of the audio tracks out. It also is available for purchase on Amazon Canada at the same time it hit theaters, great for families that do not have a theater nearby to see this in.

It's a simple movie with a simple plot. Rags to Riches, ballet style. Some of the scenes could have been done differently - there's been (valid) criticism about the romance element and (not as valid) criticism about a pub scene. The choice of using modern music in scenes helps keep younger ones interested - our school-age daughter keeps singing Sia's "Suitcase" because that's one of her favorite scenes. Yes, it would be nice to encourage more classical music - but this shouldn't replace the right way to show ballet. And there's only one way to do that - actually go and see them.

All in all, when there are a lack of good (recent) movies for kids showing ballet this checks of all the right boxes. Worth $100 for family of 4 to go? Possibly. Worth $30 to buy it and keep it at home? Absolutely.