Leo the Lion (2005 film)

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Leo the Lion
Directed byMario Cambi
Written by
  • Mario Cambi
  • Pierstefano Marangoni
Story byMario Cambi
Produced byVeronica Salvi
Starring
Edited byClaudio Di Mauro
Music byAlessandro Molinari
Production
company
Dujass Film
Distributed by
Release dates
  • June 17, 2005 (2005-06-17) (Italy)
  • July 18, 2013 (2013-07-18) (United States)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

Leo the Lion (Italian: La Storia Di Leo) is a 2005 Italian 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 in Italy. In the United States, an English-dub of the film was released onto Netflix by The Weinstein Company on July 18, 2013.[1]

Plot[edit]

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 (Italian: Avoria) 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 (Italian: Zanco L'elefante Bianco) 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"(Italian: Lago Di Latte), a place Leo's mother once told him about before she died, he is accompanied by the elephants and Uncle Lope (Italian: Cobo), an impala. 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[edit]

Italian Version[edit]

  • Neri Marcorè as Leo
  • Carlo Conti as Zanco
  • Leo Gullotta as Cobo
  • Simona Marchini as Avoria
  • Elio Pandolfi as Lady Camea

English Version[edit]

Reception[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ "The Nightmare World of Leo the Lion, Netflix's Worst Movie". Intelligencer. August 2016. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  2. ^ "Leo the Lion". Common Sense Media. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 2020-06-17.

External links[edit]

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