Leap! (2017) – Review

Grade:

5 hoots out of 5

Transfiguring Adoption awarded this movie 5 Hoots out of 5 based on how useful it will be for a foster/adoptive family. [Learn more about our Hoot grading system here]


Movie Info:

  • Rating: PG (for action and some impolite humor)
  • Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama Kids & Family
  • Runtime: 89 minutes
  • Studio: The Weinstein Company

From the Cover of Leap! (2017) by The Weinstein Company:

“11-year-old orphan, Félicie (Elle Fanning) has one dream – to go to Paris and become a dancer. Her best friend Victor (Nat Wolff), an imaginative but exhausting boy with a passion for creating, has a dream of his own – to become a famous inventor. In a leap of faith, Victor and Félicie leave their orphanage in pursuit of their passions. But – there’s a catch, Félicie must pretend to be the child of a wealthy family in order to gain admittance to the prestigious and competitive Opera Ballet School in Paris. And with no professional dance training, she quickly learns that talent alone is not enough to overcome the ruthless, conniving attitudes of her fellow classmates, led by the devious Camille Le Haut (Maddie Ziegler) and her wicked mother Regine (Kate McKinnon). Determined to succeed, Félicie finds her mentor in the tough and mysterious school custodian, Odette (Carly Rae Jepsen) who, along with Victor’s encouraging friendship, help her reach for the stars.”



Transfiguring Adoption’s Overview:

Leap! (2017) is the American adaptation of Ballerina (2016), which was released in Europe prior. The movie is absolutely adorable and a wonderful movie to view as a family. There are plenty of cute, funny moments for children to enjoy as well as bits of situational humor to keep a parent interested (so no naps for this one, parents!). Most importantly, this film is a great medium to work through issues children may struggle with such as lying. I highly recommend this film for younger children, especially if they have aspirations for dance or ballet, but really anyone can enjoy this film. My teenager watched this one with me and absolutely loved the colorful characters and theme of found family, though she is a proud “tomboy”.


** Spoilers Could Be Ahead **


How Is This Relevant To Adoption & Foster Care?

Félicie is a very relevant character for children in foster care as she is the resident of an orphanage. Though she is not mistreated, she longs to escape the orphanage to become a famous ballerina along with her best friend and inventor, Victor. Félicie and Victor are so determined to make it to Paris to pursue this dream that they have 462 escape attempts under their belts by the time of the film’s start! They successfully escape and each find a way to access their dreams. However, the biggest catch for Félicie is finding her chance under the name of Camille Le Haut, a seemingly mean girl with an even meaner momma by the name of Regine Le Haut (parents, watch out for Kate McKinnon on this one, she’s a hoot in this role!). Félicie is eventually caught in her deception and then has to work through the consequences of her actions after this discovery.

This film handles Félicie’s shortcomings in a kind but firm manner that is beneficial for caregivers to observe. Upon the discovery of Félicie’s deceit all of the adults could have understandably followed Regine’s advice in showing only harsh consequences for stealing Camille’s letter and lying about her identity. However, the adults in Félicie’s life were able to see the intent behind her deception and help her grow and learn from the experience, creating several teachable moments and allowing Félicie a chance to earn her place on stage correctly and form deeper bonds with found family. I highly recommend this film for children and adults alike for this reason!


Discussion Points:

  • Lying/Stealing Are Often Survival Behaviors than Moral Behaviors
    It’s important for caregivers to remember that most of the time children in foster care do not lie or steal to be malicious or because they are “bad kids”. Oftentimes lying or stealing are behaviors learned so a child could survive an extraordinary event as an ordinary person with few options. These behaviors won’t go away just because the child is in a place that you believe is safe. It’s important for caregivers to be mindful of perceived safety vs. actual safety and what kinds of triggers could affect a child’s perceived safety in the home.
  • Children Will Make Mistakes, But How Caregivers Respond Determine If These Become Teachable Moments
    Think waaaaaaay back to when you were a child. Were you truly an angel-child who never did wrong and never made a mistake? I know I’ve made plenty of mistakes but eventually learned better decision making skills from caring adults in my life who chose to make mistakes a teachable moment rather than berate me over the mistake. As adults, sometimes we tend to gloss over those things in our memories and forget how firm kindness can benefit a situation more than angry, out of control feelings from the adults. Children watch the adults to see how to react to situations so it is up to the caregiver to set the tone in processing mistakes and learning from them.
  • Honoring A Child’s Dreams
    Little ones can have some big dreams, and it can be disheartening to see a child lose a dream because someone mocked their dream. Even if a child’s dream may seem outlandish or could change in the future, as adults we should honor our children’s aspirations and find ways to honor those dreams. We can be realistic while encouraging. Which leads to the next discussion point…
  • Dreams Are Important, But Hard Work Makes It Happen
    As we see in the film, Félicie doesn’t just get the part of Clara from providing a well-known name or saying it will happen. Félicie had to put in a lot of work every day and get a lot of help from others around her to make that dream happen, even after making some mistakes. We can absolutely support a dream but also teach our children how to make realistic, timely, measurable goals to make those dreams happen.

Cautionary Points:

  • Children Engaging in Survival Behaviors Such as Lying, Stealing, and Running Away
    These are all addressed in teachable moments later in the film but still may be problematic for children that engage in such behaviors if not discussed after viewing the film and creating a teachable moment from the film.
  • Unrealistic Stunts
    There are a few moments that parents should be aware of so that children do not attempt to act out stunts such as tossing a chicken off a roof (Victor mistakenly thinks the chicken can fly), jumping to and from moving vehicles, climbing and jumping from high places, etc.
  • Bullying Behaviors
    Especially from Regine Le Haut, but both Regine and Camille exhibit bullying behaviors towards Félicie and Odette. This is done in an outlandish and exaggerated manner to indicate being negative behavior, but still should be noted for children sensitive to bullying behavior or acting upon bullying behaviors.
  • Perceived and Verbalized Violence Towards Children
    During a montage it appears that Victor is being chased with the intent of harm by adult men and one of Félicie’s classmates states that an instructor would smash a child’s kneecaps for a punishment. Later in the film Regine Le Haut knocks out Victor with a wrench and tries to hit Félicie with a wrench and sledge hammer during an intense chase scene.
  • Children Homeless in Paris
    Upon arriving in Paris Victor and Félicie are separated and we see Félicie wandering around Paris cold, hungry, and alone until she comes across the Paris Opera and finds Odette.

NOTE: Inclusion on these lists does not necessarily mean endorsement. Furthermore, with all our resources, we highly recommend you preview them first to determine if there are any trauma triggers that your child may not be ready to handle. Transfiguring Adoption does not intend for its reviewers nor its reviews to be professional, medical or legal advice. These reviews and discussion guides are intended to help parents to better be able to connect and understand their children who come from traumatic backgrounds.

Written by
Rachael B. Rathe is an East Tennessee native with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology with a Minor in Child & Family Studies from The University of Tennessee Knoxville. She has worked in mental health since 2013 and in foster care/adoptions for a private provider agency since 2014. Rachael was inspired to work in the field after working with children and teens on a volunteer basis 2008 - 2013. Rachael's ideal self-care day involves snuggling on a couch with her kitties (Tabitha, Fergus, and Rufus) while enjoying a good movie or book. She also enjoys galivanting around conventions concerning all things nerd and geekery.

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